Abstract
Field emission (FE) properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in vacuum, Ar gas or air were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The gas pressures were changed from 0·2 to 1 kPa. The results showed that when the gap was smaller than 20 μm, the FE properties of CNTs were the same in vacuum and in Ar. The FE properties in original vacuum and in air were the same, which were different from that in vacuum after FE measurement in air. When the gap was changed from 20 to 100 μm, there was a discharge at 200–300 V. After the Ar discharge, the FE properties were the same in vacuum. After the air discharge, there was damage on the surface of the CNTs and the turn-on voltage in vacuum was higher than that in original vacuum. The stability of the CNTs experiments results showed that the CNTs were more stable in Ar than that in air during 300 s measurement.
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