Abstract
Carbon nanotube (CNT) field emitters that exhibit extremely high stability against high-voltage arcing have been demonstrated. The CNT emitters were fabricated on a sharp copper tip substrate that produces a high electric field. A metal mixture composed of silver, copper, and indium micro- and nanoparticles was used as a binder to attach CNTs to the substrate. Due to the strong adhesion of the metal mixture, CNTs were not detached from the substrate even after many intense arcing events. Through electrical conditioning of the as-prepared CNT emitters, vertically standing CNTs with almost the same heights were formed on the substrate surface and most of loosely bound impurities were removed from the substrate. Consequently, no arcing was observed during the normal operation of the CNT emitters and the emission current remained constant even after intentionally inducing arcing at current densities up to 70 mA/cm2.
Highlights
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are widely used as field emission electron emitters for X-ray tubes [1,2,3,4], field emission displays [5], and high-resolution electron beam instruments [6,7] because of their excellent electron emission property, chemical inertness, and high electrical and thermal conductivity [8,9]
These results indicate that silver NPs could not work as a good binder of a CNT emitter that can withstand against high-voltage arcing
CNT emitters were fabricated on copper tip substrates using a metal mixture that was composed of silver, copper, and indium micro- and nanoparticles as a binder
Summary
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are widely used as field emission electron emitters for X-ray tubes [1,2,3,4], field emission displays [5], and high-resolution electron beam instruments [6,7] because of their excellent electron emission property, chemical inertness, and high electrical and thermal conductivity [8,9]. In spite of these superior characteristics, practical applications of CNT field emitters to devices requiring high-voltage operation are limited due to unstable electron emission properties of the CNT emitters. CNT emitters on small metal tips can suffer from much serious and frequent arcing, and stable operation of the CNT emitters against arcing is a big issue [4,14]
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