Impact of ion induced changes on field emission in multi-walled carbon nanotubes

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics 2023-05, Vol.34 (14), p.1152, Article 1152
• Main Authors: Sharma, Himani, Kaushik, Vishakha, Pathak, Sachin, Agarwal, Dinesh C., Shukla, A. K., Avasthi, D. K., Vankar, V. D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Argon ions; Carbon; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electrons; Emission analysis; Emitters; Emitters (electron); Energy; Field emission; Grain boundaries; Ion beams; Ion irradiation; Materials Science; Monte Carlo simulation; Multi wall carbon nanotubes; Optical and Electronic Materials; Physics; Raman spectroscopy; Software; Spectrum analysis
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-023-10533-4

In the present paper, we have investigated the effects of low-energy argon (Ar) ion irradiation on the structural properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and their impact on field-emission (FE). The energy of Ar + ions was kept constant at ~ 1.2 keV, while the irradiation fluences were varied from 5 × 10 15 to 1.6 × 10 17 ions/cm 2 . The structural changes induced due to low-energy ion irradiation were studied by micro Raman spectroscopy. The effect of structural modifications of MWCNTs on their FE characteristics has also been investigated and found to be greatly influenced. After ion irradiation, the MWCNTs with open tips could perform better electron emitter with low turn-on and threshold fields of 1.3 and 3.2 V/µm, respectively. The mean field enhancement factor ( β ) increases from 3356 for a pristine sample to 9469 for ion-irradiated MWCNTs. Thus, the ion-irradiated MWCNTs show better FE properties, which could open up promising practical applications.