Nonlinear characteristics of the Fowler–Nordheim plots of carbon nanotube field emission

The barrier between substrate and field emitters can dominate the overall process of field emission. Carbon nanotube (CNT) films were synthesized by thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on silicon substrate covered with a very thin SiO2 layer as the interface contact barrier. The current versus a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physica scripta 2010-09, Vol.82 (3), p.035602-035602
Main Authors: Chen, Lei-feng, Ji, Zhen-guo, Mi, Yu-hong, Ni, Hua-liang, Zhao, Hai-feng
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Barriers
Carbon nanotubes
Chemical vapor deposition
Electric potential
Field emission
Nonlinearity
Silicon dioxide
Silicon substrates
Voltage
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Summary:The barrier between substrate and field emitters can dominate the overall process of field emission. Carbon nanotube (CNT) films were synthesized by thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on silicon substrate covered with a very thin SiO2 layer as the interface contact barrier. The current versus applied voltage curve shows a high turn-on voltage, and the Fowler--Nordheim (FN) plot exhibits nonlinearity characteristics and departures from the original line and exhibits current saturation in the high-voltage region. However, the FN plot of CNTs grown on Si substrates without SiO2 layers had no obvious critical voltage and approximately followed the FN law in our experimental voltage region. The reasons for the nonlinearity of FN plots of CNTs grown on a SiO2 layer were discussed in terms of circuit theory.
ISSN:1402-4896
0031-8949
1402-4896
DOI:10.1088/0031-8949/82/03/035602