Influence of Pretreatment Conditions of Stainless Steel Substrates on Field Emission Properties of Carbon Nanotubes Films

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are synthesized from methane and hydrogen gas mixture directly on stainless steel plates by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MWPCVD).By varying pretreatment conditions of the substrates such as mechanically polishing and acid washing,it is found the polishing and acid washing can lower the turn-on field and improve the emission current density.The current density of the un-pretreated sample attains 1.2mA/cm 2,but the polished sample and polished acidly washed sample attain 3.2 and 2.75mA/cm 2,respectively,at the electric field of 6.25V/μm.

Field emission of carbon nanotube array with normal-gate cold cathode

A hexagon pitch carbon nanotube （CNT） array vertical to the normal gate of cold cathode field emission displayer （FED） is simulated by solving the Laplace equation. The calculated results show that the normal gate causes the electric field around the CNT tops to be concentrated and the emission electron beam becomes a column. The field enhancement factor and the emission current intensity step up greatly compared with those of the diode structure. Emission current density increases rapidly with the decrease of normal-gate aperture. The gate voltage exerts a critical influence on the emission current.

Field Emission from a Mixture of Amorphous Carbon and Carbon Nanotubes Films

A mixture of amorphous carbon and carbon nanotubes films was synthesized on stainless steel plates by a micro- wave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system. The source gases were hydrogen and methane with flow rates of 100 and 16sccm,respectively,with a total pressure of 5.0kPa. The surface morphology and the structure of the films were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and Raman scattering spectroscopy. Field emission properties of as-deposited film were measured in a vacuum room below 5 ×10^ 5 Pa. The experimental results show that the initial turn-on field is 0. 9V/μm; The current density is 4.0mA/cm2 and the emission sites are dense and uniform at an electric field of 3.7V/μm. These results indicate that such a mixture of amorphous carbon and carbon nanotubes films is a promising material for field emission applications.

Simple method to rapidly fabricate chain-like carbon nanotube films and its field emission properties

A simple process to fabricate chain-like carbon nanotube （CNT） films by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition （MPCVD） was developed successfully. Prior to deposition, the Ti/Al2O3 substrates were ground with Fe-doped SiO2 powder. The nano-structure of the deposited films was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, and Raman spectroscopy. The field electron emission characteristics of the chain-like carbon nanotube films were measured under the vacuum of 10-5 Pa. The low turn-on field of 0.80 V/μm and the emission current density of 8.5 mA/cm2 at the electric field of 3.0 V/μm are obtained. Based on the above results, chain-like carbon nanotube films probably have important applications in cold cathode materials and electrode materials.

Field emission properties of capped carbon nanotubes doped by alkali metals:a theoretical investigation

The electronic structures and field emission properties of capped CNT55 systems with or without alkali metal atom adsorption were systematically investigated by density functional theory calculation.The results indicate that the adsorption of alkali metal on the center site of a CNT tip is energetically favorable.In addition,the adsorption energies increase with the introduction of the electric field.The excessive negative charges on CNT tips make electron emittance much easier and result in a decrease in work function.Furthermore,the inducing effect by positively charged alkali metal atoms can be reasonably considered as the dominant reason for the improvement in field emission properties.

Enhanced Field Emission from Printed Carbon Nanotubes by Hard Hairbrush

A method, the morphology of screen printed carbon nanotube pastes is modified using a hard hairbrush, is presented. In this way, the organic matrix material is preferentially removed. Compared to those untreated films, the turn-on electric field of the treated film decreases from 2.2V/μm to 1.6V/μm, while the total emission current of the treated increases from 0.6mA/cm2 to 3mA/cm2, and uniform emission site density image has also been observed.

Experimental and theoretical study on field emission properties of zinc oxide nanoparticles decorated carbon nanotubes

Field emission properties of zinc oxide （ZnO） nanoparticles （NPs） decorated carbon nanotubes （CNTs） are investigated experimentally and theoretically. CNTs are in situ decorated with ZnO NPs during the growth process by chemical vapor deposition using a carbon source from the iron phthalocyanine pyrolysis. The experimental field emission test shows that the ZnO NP decoration significantly improves the emission current from 50 μA to 275 μA at 550 V and the reduced threshold voltage from 450 V to 350 V. The field emission mechanism of ZnO NPs on CNTs is theoretically studied by the density functional theory （DFT） combined with the Penn-Plummer method. The ZnO NPs reconstruct the ZnO-CNT structure and pull down the surface barrier of the entire emitter system to 0.49 eV so as to reduce the threshold electric field. The simulation results suggest that the presence of ZnO NPs would increase the LDOS near the Fermi level and increase the emission current. The calculation results are consistent with the experiment results.

Coherent field emission from a multi-walled carbon nanotube with two open-ended branches

Interference fringes are obtained in a field-emission microscopy （FEM） study of a multi-walled carbon nanotube （MWCNT） with two open-ended branches. The FEM pattern, which is composed of three parallel streaks, can be interpreted by using classical Young＇s double-slit interference with the ends of the two MWCNT branches treated as two secondary sources of the electron wave. The origin of the coherency of the electron beams from the two branches is discussed on the basis of the quantitative analysis of the FEM pattern. The result suggests a new approach to obtaining a coherent electron source.

INFLUENCES OF DENSITY AND DIMENSION OF CARBON NANOTUBES ON THEIR FIELD EMISSION

The influences of density and dimension of carbon nanotubes on their electron emission from arrays are studied. The tip electric field of nanotubes, electric field enhancement factor, and optimum nanotube density are expressed by analytic equations. The theoretical analyses show that the field enhancement factor is sensitive to nanotube density, and can be sharply improved at a specific and optimum density. Some experiments have demonstrated these. Owning to electrostatic screening effect, the length of carbon nanotubes has little effect on their emission. A uniformly-distributed carbon nanotube array model is set up, and applied to analysis of carbon nanotube arrays. The results obtained here are in good agreement with the experimental data.

Enhanced field emission from nano-graphite coated carbon nanotubes

An effective method by low energy carbonhydrogen ion treatment to enhance field emission of the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is demonstrated. Comparing with control, field emission (FE) currents of the CNTs by carbonhydrogen ion irradiation increased, and the turn-on field and the threshold field decreased significantly. The structure characteristic revealed by transmission electron microscopy demonstrates that CNTs are coated by nano-graphite particles after being treated with low energy carbonhydrogen ion and that there are large quantities of defects and grain boundaries in the coated layer. It is considered that the coating layer can decrease the effective surface work function of CNTs and correspondingly increase field emission. In addition, the defects, the grain boundaries and the C-H dipoles forming in the process of the low energy ions irradiation can effectively enhance the field emission.

Initiation of vacuum breakdown and failure mechanism of the carbon nanotube during thermal field emission

The carbon nanotube （CNT）-based materials can be used as vacuum device cathodes. Owing to the excellent field emission properties of CNT, it has great potentials in the applications of an explosive field emission cathode. The falling off of CNT from the substrate, which frequently appears in experiments, restricts its application. In addition, the onset time of vacuum breakdown limits the performance of the high-power explosive-emission-cathode-based diode. In this paper, the characteristics of the CNT, electric field strength, contact resistance and the kind of substrate material are varied to study the parameter effects on the onset time of vacuum breakdown and failure mechanism of the CNT by using the finite element method.

Synthesis and Field Emission Properties of Carbon Nanowire-Single Walled Carbon Nanotube Networks Hybrid Films

Carbon nanowire (CNW)-singlewalled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) networks hybrid films with a large area (~400 mm2) are grown on molybdenum (Mo) layers by microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition system. The Mo layers, which were deposited on Al2O3 ceramic substrates through electron beam evaporation deposition, were pretreated by a laser-grooving (LG) technology. Furthermore, the surface morphology, micro-structure and field emission properties of these samples are characterized by scanning electron microscope, Raman spectra, and field emission I - V measurements. ACNW-SWCNT networks hybrid film was formed in the surface of Mo layer, but the laser etched area (linear pits array area) the distribution of the CNW-SWCNT networks density is lower than the un-etched area CNW-SWCNT networks distribution density. The diameter of the CNWs and SWCNTs, respectively in the 8 - 15 nm and 0.9 - 1.5 nm range, and the length of CNW-SWCNTs ranges from 1 μm to 4 μm. The growth mechanisms of the films were discussed. Effects of LG pretreatment on surface morphologies and microstructure of the hybrid films were investigated. The field electron emission experimental results shown that the ture on field as low as 1.6 V/μm, and a current density of 0.15 mA/cm2 at an electric field of 4.3 V/μm was obtained.

A High-Luminescence Fringelike Field Emission from Screen-Printed Carbon Nanotube and Zinc Oxide Composite Film

A fringelike field emission with high-luminescence and stable emission current from screen-printed carbon nanotube mixed zinc oxide (CNT-ZnO) composite cathode was investigated. The luminescent patterns are significantly different from those observed in the field emission measure of pure CNT cathode. SEM images reveal that the CNTs are perfectly matched with ZnO powders by filling the interspaces in CNT film. XRD analysis demonstrates that the CNTs and ZnO have a high degree of crystalline perfection. Field emission measurement exhibits that the turn-on field of CNT-ZnO cathode is 2.08 V/μm, lower than 2.46 V/μm for pure CNT cathode. The large fringelike emission current at the brims of CNT-ZnO cathode is attributed to a combination of the increased effective contact area of CNTs, which decrease the sheet resistance of cathode film, and the dangled CNT bundles at the brims of CNT-ZnO film cathode.

Improving the field-emission properties of carbon nanotubes by magnetically controlled nickel-electroplating treatment

A novel magnetically controlled Ni-plating method has been developed to improve the field-emission properties of carbon nanotubes （CNTs）. The effect of the magnetic field and Ni-electroplating on CNT field-emission properties was investigated, and the results are demonstrated using scanning electron microscopy, J-E and the duration test. After treatment, the turn-on electric field declines from 1.55 to 0.91 V/μm at an emission current density of 100μA/cm2, and the emission current density increases from 0.011 to 0.34 mA/cm2 at an electric field of 1.0 V/μm. Both the brightness and uniformity of the CNT emission performance are improved after treatment.

Vacuum Outgassing Behavior of Carbon Nanotube Cathode with High-Intensity Pulsed Electron Emission

Experimental investigations on the vacuum outgassing of a carbon nanotube （CNT） cathode with high-intensity pulsed electron emission on a 2 MeV linear induction accelerator injector are presented. Under the 1.60 MV diode voltage, the CNT cathode could provide 1.67 kA electron beam with the amount of outgassing of about 0.51 Pa.L. It is found that the amount of outgassing, which determines the cathode emission current, depends on the diode voltage and the vacuum.

Uniform arrays of carbon nanotubes applied in the field emission devices

Carbon nanotubes(CNTs)were grown into anodic aluminum oxide(AAO)channels by chemical vapor deposition(CVD)using C2H2/N2mixtures as feeding gas,which can be used as field emitters.The bottom surface of AAO template was etched slightly and the tips of CNTs were explored as the field emission arrays which were uniform and vertical.Field emission characterization showed a low turn-on field about 3.25 V/m and high emission current about 30 mA/cm2with the electric field about 4 V/m.These superior field emission characteristics could be attributed to low density of vertical CNTs and higher conductivity of the substrate.

Well-aligned carbon nanotube array membrane and its field emission properties

Ensembles of aligned and monodispersed carbon nanotubes (CNTs)can be prepared by templating method which involves fabrication of porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template, control of catalytic iron particle size and chemical vapor deposition of carbon in the cylindrical pores of AAO. Here we show that template-synthesized CNTs can be fabricated as well-aligned nanoporous CNTs membrane, which can be directly used as an electron field emitter. A low threshold electric field of 2-4 V/μm and maximum emission current density of ～12 mA/cm2 are observed. The results also show that the electron emission current is a function of the applied electrical field and the Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) plot almost follows a linear relationship which indicates a Fowler-Nordheim tunneling mechanism, and the field enhancement factor estimated is about 1100-7500. The simple and convenient approach should be significant for the development of nanotube devices integrated into field emission displays (FEDs) technology.

Laser tuned field emission of the carbon nanotube arrays grown on an optical fiber

Laser was coupled into an optical fiber,on which covered a layer of well-aligned carbon nanotubes(CNTs)serving as cathode,to tune the field emission of the cathode.CNT arrays as field emission cathode were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition(CVD)on a naked fiber core.When the laser was coupled into the fiber,the turn-on voltage(Vto at a current density of 1 mA cm?2)decreased from 1.0 to 0.9 kV and the emission current density increased from 0.83 mA cm?2(at a 1 kV bias voltage)to3.04 mA cm?2 on 40μm diameter fiber.A photon absorption mechanism is attributed to the field emission improvement.The estimated effective work function of CNT arrays on the optical fiber decrease from 4.89 to 4.29 eV.The results show the possibility of constructing a waveguide type laser modulated field emission cathode.

Large field emission current and density from robust carbon nanotube cathodes for continuous and pulsed electron sources

Highly adhesive cold cathodes with high field emission performance are fabricated by using a screen-print- ing method. The emission density of carbon nanotube （CNT） cold cathode reaches 207.0 mA cm-2 at an electric field of 4.5 Vμm-1 under continuous driving mode, and high peak current emission of 315.8 mA corresponding to 4.5 A cm 2 at the electric field of 10.3 V μm-1 under pulsed driving mode. The emission patterns of the cold cathodes are of excellent uniformity that was revealed by vivid luminescent patterns of phosphor coated transparent indium tin oxide （ITO） an- ode. The cold cathodes also exhibit highly stable emission under continuous and pulsed driving modes. The high adhe- sion of CNTs to molybdenum substrates results in robust cold cathodes and is responsible for the high field emission performance. This robust CNT emitter could meet the operating requirements of continuous and pulsed electron sources, and it provides promising applications in various vacuum- micro/nanoelectronic devices.

Synthesis and field emission properties of carbon nanotube films modified with amorphous carbon nanoparticles by a simple electrodeposition method

Amorphous carbon nanoparticles （a-CNPs） on a multi-walled carbon nanotube （MWCNT） film, deposited on a silicon substrate, were synthesized using an electrodeposition combination from a methanol suspension of polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride-modified MWCNTs. A low-voltage electropho- retic deposition of the MWCNTs and a high-voltage electrochemical deposition of the a-CNPs were carried out to yield homogenously attached a-CNPs on the surfaces of the MWCNTs, and form a composite film with good adhesion to the substrate. This scalable technology can produce a large area of a-CNP/MWCNT film. And the field emission investigations show that the a-CNP/MWCNT film has turn- on electric field of 3.17 V μm- 1 （at 10 μA cm-2） and threshold field of 4.62 V μm-1 （at 1 mA cm-2）, which are lower than those of the MWCNT film. The a-CNP/MWCNT film can be deposited simply with large areas and may be a promising cathode material applied in field emission displays.