A film (carbon and/or diamond) for a field emitter device, which may be utilized within a computer display, is produced by a process utilizing etching of a substrate and then depositing the film. The etching step creates nucleation sites on the substrate for the film deposition process. With this process patterning of the emitting film is avoided. A field emitter device can be manufactured with such a film. A field emission device results where the cathode has a continuous film that has not been subjected to etching, and thus has superior emission properties. A pixel in the cathode includes the emitting film deposited directly on the substrate with the conductor deposited on one or more sides of the emitter film. In one embodiment the emitter is in a window formed in the conductor layer.