Large Field Emission from Vertically Well-aligned Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

AbstractWe have grown well-aligned carbon nanotube arrays by thermal chemical vapor deposition at 800°C on Fe nanoparticles deposited by a pulsed laser on a porous Si substrate. Porous Si substrates were prepared by the electrochemical etching of p-Si(100) wafers with resistivities of 3 to 6 ωcm. These well-aligned carbon nanotube field emitter arrays are suitable for electron emission applications such as cold-cathode flat panel displays and vacuum microelectronic devices like microwave power amplifier tubes. Field emission characterization has been performed on the CNT-cathode diode device at room temperature and in a vacuum chamber below 10−6 Torr. The anode is maintained at a distance of 60[.proportional]m away from the carbon nanotube cathode arrays through an insulating spacer of polyvinyl film. The measured field emitting area is 4.0×10−5cm2. Our carbon nanotube field emitter arrays emit 1mA/cm2at the electric field, 2V/[.proportional]m. And they emit a large current density as high as 80mA/cm2 at 3V/[.proportional]m. The open tip structure of our carbon nanotubes and their good adhesion through Fe nanoparticles to the Si substrate are part of the reason why we can attain a large field emission current density within a low field. The field emitter arrays in our diode device are vertically well-aligned carbon nanotubes on the Si-wafer substrate.