Enhanced field emission from a nest array of multi-walled carbon nanotubes grown on asilicon nanoporous pillar array

Abstract

A large scale nest array of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (NACNT) was grownon a silicon nanoporous pillar array (Si-NPA) by thermal chemical vapourdeposition. Field emission measurements showed that a current density of6.8 mA cm−2 was obtained at anelectric field of 3.1 V µm−1, witha turn-on field of 0.56 V µm−1. The enhancement factor calculated according to the Fowler–Nordheim theory was∼25 000. This excellent field emission performance was attributed to the unique structure andmorphology of NACNT/Si-NPA, especially the formation of NACNT, and the presence ofnumerous iron particles encapsulated in the CNTs. These results indicated thatNACNT/Si-NPA might be an ideal candidate cathode for potential applications in flatpanel displays.