Current switching by photo-assisted electron field-emission from diamond surfaces

Abstract

Electron field emission from hydrogen-terminated, H2O treated (transfer doped) diamond surfaces triggered by illumination with weak visible light (green; red; white) shows a strong dependence of the emission current on irradiation intensity, increasing by more than an order of magnitude with increasing impinging photon flux. No dependence of the emission on photon energy (color) is observed. The fact that the emission can be controlled by visible light illumination opens up the possibility to easily turn electrical currents "on" and "off", at will, at room temperature hence serving as a simple, readily available, current switch. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.