Analysis-of the field-electron energy distribution from amorphous carbon-nitride films

The study of field-electron energy distribution (FEED) from amorphous carbon-nitride (a-CN) films is, essential to understanding the mechanism of field emission from this promising material. In this work, the FEED from an a-CN film was obtained by measuring the distribution of electrons field-emitted from individual emitting sites. The FEED are recorded at different electrical fields. We found that the peak shifts as well as the half-widths increase with increasing applied fields. Furthermore, multipeak features are observed at the low-energy side of the spectra. The FEED data are fitted by using a theoretical energy distribution of free-electron approximation. We assumed that the small peaks originate from the interband states of a-CN film. We propose that although the emission mainly originates from current injection into the conduction band of a-CN film, the electrons may also be emitted from interband states. (C) 2003 American Vacuum Society.