Field emission from an electron-beam irradiated C60 film

Abstract

The field-emission characteristics of an electron-beam (EB) irradiated C60 film have been investigated. A C60 film on a stainless-steel substrate was irradiated by a 3 keV EB primarily for 10 h in an ultrahigh vacuum and subsequently for 10 h under a hydrogen atmosphere in order to induce a coalescence reaction between the adjacent C60 molecules and to introduce C–H bonds, which provide a good emission site, to the film surface. The coalescence reaction and C–H bond formation were confirmed by in situ Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. It was found that the field emission was enhanced for the 20 h irradiated C60 film. This enhancement was discussed in terms of the structural change in the C60 film.