Abstract
Mo-tip field emitter arrays(FEAs) were fabricated by conventional Spindt process and their life time characteristics and failure mode were evaluated. The fabricated Mo-tip FEA could generate at least $0.35\{mu} A/tip$ emission current for about 320 persistently under a constant gate bias of 140 V and was finally destroyed through self-healing mode. Thin diamond-like carbon films were coated on the M-tip by plasma-enhanced CVD and the dependence of emission properties upon the DLC thickness was investigated. By DLC coating, the turn-on voltage and emission current were appeared to be improved whereas the current fluctuation was increased in the DLC thickness range of $0~1,000\{AA}$.