Abstract
Here, we investigate, through parametrically optimized macroscale simulations, the field electron emission from arrays of carbon nanotube (CNT)-coated Spindts towards the development of an emerging class of novel vacuum electron devices. The present study builds on empirical data gleaned from our recent experimental findings on the room temperature electron emission from large area CNT electron sources. We determine the field emission current of the present microstructures directly using particle in cell (PIC) software and present a new CNT cold cathode array variant which has been geometrically optimized to provide maximal emission current density, with current densities of up to 11.5 A/cm2 at low operational electric fields of 5.0 V/μm.
Highlights
IntroductionIn the drive towards realizing the next-generation of high performance electron emission systems for use in vacuum devices, carbon nanotubes are coming to the fore as a noteworthy material
In the drive towards realizing the next-generation of high performance electron emission systems for use in vacuum devices, carbon nanotubes are coming to the fore as a noteworthy material.They readily overcome many of the intrinsic limitations associated with incumbent and pervasive thermionic devices, including functional issues associated with their high temperature operation and slow temporal response [1,2,3,4,5]
The emission is dominated by the tip of the carbon nanotube (CNT)-coated Spindts in our model, in the present study, the CNTs are experimentally realized on all Spindt surfaces given the conformity of the catalyst physical vapor deposition and the CNT chemical vapor deposition
Summary
In the drive towards realizing the next-generation of high performance electron emission systems for use in vacuum devices, carbon nanotubes are coming to the fore as a noteworthy material. They readily overcome many of the intrinsic limitations associated with incumbent and pervasive thermionic devices, including functional issues associated with their high temperature operation and slow temporal response [1,2,3,4,5]. Optimal architectures are therein investigated based on the suggested geometries with the present study offering a concise means of modeling the emission characteristics from CNT-based electron gun systems for future vacuum device development
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