Growth of a Sub-Micron Single Diamond Particle on a Silicon Tip and its Field Emission Characteristic

A sub-micron single diamond particle was successfully grown at the apex of a microfabricated Si tip using the microwave plasma-enhanced CVD technique, and its field emission characteristic was measured. The diamond growth strongly depends on the condition of the bias-assisted treatment. For the selective growth of the diamond particle at the apex, a Si tip covered with SiO2 except for at the apex was used as a substrate and a bias-assisted treatment for 5 min in H-methane plasma was applied before the growth process of diamond. The field emission experiments reveal that the diamond particle is hardly emissive, as compared with a conventional Si emitter. 17 refs.