On the cold emission mechanism of diamond coated tips

A formal implementation of the Fowler-Nodheim equation to emission characteristics of diamond coated cold cathodes gives values of the work function which depend on surface curvature of the coating, thus making it incorrect. Experiments with diamond coated Si tips having different coating radii have shown, that their emissivity depends on the radius of the Si tip rather than on the radius of the diamond coating. The emission mechanism of diamond coated conductive tips is considered where electron emission is controlled by the conductive tip-diamond interface. A new definition of an ''effective'' work function has been proposed which can be used for characterization of emissivity of diamond cold cathodes.