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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 March 2011
Novel heterostructured cold cathodes made of nanoseeded diamond and cathodic arc process grown nanocluster carbon films, were studied. The nanocrystalline diamond with varying diamond concentration was first coated on to the substrate. The nanocluster carbon films were then deposited on the nanoseeded diamond coated substrates using the cathodic arc process at room temperature. The resultant heterostructured microcathodes were observed to exhibit electron emission currents of 1μA/cm2 at low fields of 1.2 - 5 V/μm. Further some of the samples seem to exhibit I-V characteristics with a negative differential resistance region at room temperature conditions. This negative differential resistance or the resonant tunneling behaviour was observed to be dependent on the nanoseeded diamond concentration.