Improved metrological characteristics of a carbon-nanotube-based ionization gauge

摘要

A low-pressure detection technology utilizing the field emission of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is introduced and its performance is characterized. To overcome the limitations of conventional ionization gauges, the CNTs had been proposed as an electron source. However, the simple triode structure of previous CNT pressure sensor not only has suffered from a limited measurement range but is also subject to a serious CNT array degradation problem. In this letter, the authors report the characterization results of an improved CNT-based pressure gauge, which is implemented by a screen-printing method, a modified mesh structure, and a pulse width modulation signal.