Field emission from point diamond cathodes under continuous laser irradiation

The presented study investigates the impact of continuous laser irradiation in the visible range on the field emission properties of diamond needle-like micro-sized crystallites with a nanometer tip radius. The measurements were carried out in a vacuum diode configuration with a flat metal anode using DC voltage source. It was found that the field emission current increased under illumination, showing a direct correlation with the radiation power. At a maximum power density of about 400 W/cm2 the relative increase in current under the action of laser irradiation was 13%. The relative increase in current is determined by the parameters of the dark current-voltage characteristic and reaches its maximum value in the region corresponding to the minimum increase in dark current with voltage. It is shown that the most likely mechanism for the increase in current is a change in the electrical resistance of the diamond microneedle as a result of absorption of laser radiation in the presence of electron levels located in the band gap of the diamond associated with impurities or structural defects in the near surface layer of the diamond microneedle.