Field electron emission from a carbon-covered iridium tip

The formation of a carbon coating on an iridium field-emission electron emitter by benzene vapor pyrolysis has been studied. Processes on an emitting tip differ from those studied earlier on flat metal surfaces. The resulting coating either represents a monoatomic graphene film on the flat faces of the emitter or consists of graphene clusters. The field electron emission is localized on the edges and in the corners of a faceted graphite outgrowth. After alkali metals are adsorbed on the carbon coating, emissions from the flat faces anomalously grows and localizes on graphene-coated faces with alkali atoms present on the surface and under the graphene film.