Field - Emission Characteristics from Carbon Nanotube Field Emitter Arrays (CNT FEAs) Grown on Silicon Emitters

摘要

The aligned carbon nanotube field emitter arrays (CNT FEAs) have become the subject of growing interest. This is due to the fact that the uniform distribution of the emission sights is an essential factor for application of field emitter arrays. Recently, fabrication methods of aligned carbon nanotube emitters have been reported. We reported on the emission properties from the CNT FEAs grown on silicon emitters. However, the evaluation of the number of active carbon nanotube emitters and distribution of the emission sights was not fully known. In this study, the relationship between fluctuation of the emission current and the number of active carbon nanotube emitters is discussed, and also the effect of gas adsorption on the emission characteristics is investigated.