Field electron emission and field desorption of cesium from graphene

Field electron emission and field desorption of cesium ions from a monatomic graphene film on Ir and graphene clusters in amorphous carbon are investigated using field electron microscopy and continuous-mode field desorption microscopy. The deposition of cesium on amorphous carbon with graphite clusters leads to inversion of the emission (i.e., emission from the emission centers disappears against the back-ground of uniform emission from the previously nonemitting surface). In both systems, ion current pulses are observed during field desorption in a stationary electric field. During field desorption from the graphene film, current pulses of Cs$^+$ ions with a duration shorter than 0.1 s appear from the plane faces of the iridium point. During desorption from graphite clusters, ion current pulses form a pattern of “collapsing rings” on the screen. Possible mechanisms of the observed processes are considered using the model of cesium intercalation by graphite and by the graphene layer and the desorption of Cs atoms under the action of the electric field, as well as the “flip” of the dipole moment during the cesium intercalation.