High-performance field emission from a carbon nanotube carpet

We have created a field emitter composed of a carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn, which was prepared by direct spinning through chemical vapor deposition and then formed into a carpet structure by tying the yarn to a conductive substrate before cutting it. The structure of the carpet is arranged to induce t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Carbon (New York) 2012-08, Vol.50 (10), p.3889-3896
Main Authors: Lee, Jeongah, Jung, Yeonsu, Song, Junyoung, Kim, Jun Suk, Lee, Geon-Woong, Jeong, Hee Jin, Jeong, Youngjin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon nanotubes
Carpets
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science
rheology
Density
Electric fields
Emission
Emittance
Exact sciences and technology
Field emission
Fullerenes and related materials
diamonds, graphite
Materials science
Physics
Specific materials
Yarns
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Summary:We have created a field emitter composed of a carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn, which was prepared by direct spinning through chemical vapor deposition and then formed into a carpet structure by tying the yarn to a conductive substrate before cutting it. The structure of the carpet is arranged to induce the tips of the CNT yarn to protrude toward the anode for maximum electron emission. The turn-on field, threshold field, and field enhancement factor of the device are 0.33, 0.48V/μm, and 19,141, respectively. Extremely low operating electric fields and a high field enhancement factor result from the high density of CNT emitters with high crystallinity, the electrically good contact between the emitters and the substrate, and the effects of the multistage structure. The emission is stable even at a high current density of 2.13mA/cm2, attributed to the strong adhesion between the emitters and the substrate. The emission performance is found to be customizable by adjusting the structure, for example, the CNT pile density. These results are relevant for practical applications, such as large-area flat-panel displays, large-area low-voltage lamps, and X-ray sources.
ISSN:0008-6223
1873-3891
DOI:10.1016/j.carbon.2012.04.033