We have studied the enhancement of field-emission characteristics by hydrogen-free nitrogen-doped diamondlike carbon (DLC) coating on Mo-tip field emitter arrays by a layer-by-layer technique using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The Spindt-type molybdenum tip is used as an emission source without a resistive layer on the silicon substrate. The maximum emission current for each pixel was increased from 160 to 1520 mu A by a 20 nm N-doped DLC coating. Furthermore, the emission current from DLC-coated field emitter arrays (FEAs) is more stable than that of noncoated FEAs.