Abstract
Aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) films exhibit excellent electron emissionproperties at very low fields. This has been attributed to the high aspectratio of CNTs, i.e. their emitting surface can have high local field due togeometrical enhancement. It is found that a new mechanism can be responsiblefor the enhancement of the local field on the emitting surface of CNTs. Thisresults from the space charge in the vacuum gap, which is readily generated dueto the high emission current density of CNTs. Details are given of bothexperimental and theoretical studies of this effect. The mechanism alsoaccounts for the distinct nonlinearity in Fowler-Nordheim plots oftenobserved with CNTs. The implication of the technical application of our findingsis also included.
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