碳纳米管场致发射中的空间电荷效应

采用微波等离子体化学气相沉积(MWPCVD)方法成功制备以碳纳米管束为单元的场致发射阵列,获得很好的场致发射电流发射特性,在电流密度较大时,发现I-V特性偏离由Fowler-Nordheim公式计算出的结果。采用Electron Beam Simulation(EBS)软件进行模拟分析发现:在电流密度较低时,I-V特性能很好与F-N公式吻合。但碳纳米管尖端电流密度大于106A/cm2时,碳纳米管尖端处的有效电场强度受空间电荷的影响比较明显,进而对碳纳米管的场致发射特性显现出不可忽略的影响,此时碳纳米管的发射电流密度开始受到空间电荷的限制。     

Field emission characteristic of screen-printed carbon nanotube cathode

The fabrication of carbon nanotube emitters with excellent emission properties is described. The multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method were purified with oxidation method and mixed with organic binding pastes and then screen-printed on glass substrates with ITO film. We applied anode voltage gradually to refine the emission behavior of the emitter by cleaning the top surface of screen-printed carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The density of the carbon nanotubes is about 2.5×10⁸/cm². Diode field emission experiments were performed in dynamic vacuum system to study the emission current, the emission uniformity, etc. Bright and stable character emission images were obtained in the diode structure and the emission current could approach 1 mA/cm².     

铜基碳纳米管薄膜的制备及其强流脉冲发射特性研究

为了研究碳纳米管薄膜的强流脉冲发射特性, 采用酞菁铁高温热解方法在机械抛光铜基底上直接生长了碳纳米管薄膜 (Cu-CNTs), Cu-CNTs生长方向各异. 在20 GW脉冲功率源系统中采用二极结构对Cu-CNTs的强流脉冲发射特性进行研究, 研究结果表明: 在单脉冲发射条件下, 随脉冲电场峰值的增大, Cu-CNTs薄膜的发射电流峰值呈线性增加, 当宏观场强为15.5 V/μ时, 发射脉冲电流的峰值可达到5.56 kA, 对应的发射电流密度0.283 kA/cm², 当宏观场强达到32.0 V/μ时, 发射脉冲电流的峰值可达到18.19 kA, 对应的发射电流密度0.927 kA/cm², 发射电流能力明显优于已有报道. 在相同峰值, 连续多脉冲情况下, 碳纳米管薄膜具有良好的发射可重复性, 且发射性能稳定. 关键词： 强流脉冲发射 碳纳米管 铜基底 稳定性     

Degradation of a carbon nanotube-based field-emission cathode during ion sputtering

The degradation rate of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in an electron field emitter is calculated. The degradation mechanism is taken to be the sputtering of the CNT surface by the ions that result from the ionization of residual gas molecules by an electron impact. The degradation rate and the corresponding CNT lifetime are calculated as a function of the nanotube geometry, the applied voltage, the pressure and kind of a residual gas, the interelectrode gap, and the nanotube array density. The obtained strong dependence of the degradation rate on the applied voltage is caused by a sharp character of the I?CV emission characteristic determined by the Fowler-Nordheim relationship. The dependence of the degradation rate on the interelectrode gap is induced by the corresponding dependence of the probability of reaching the CNT surface.     

Mechanism of field electron emission from carbon nanotubes

Field electron emission (FE) is a quantum tunneling process in which electrons are injected from materials (usually metals) into a vacuum under the influence of an applied electric field. In order to obtain usable electron current, the conventional way is to increase the local field at the surface of an emitter. For a plane metal emitter with a typical work function of 5 eV, an applied field of over 1 000 V/μm is needed to obtain a significant current. The high working field (and/or the voltage between the electrodes) has been the bottleneck for many applications of the FE technique. Since the 1960s, enormous effort has been devoted to reduce the working macroscopic field (voltage). A widely adopted idea is to sharpen the emitters to get a large surface field enhancement. The materials of emitters should have good electronic conductivity, high melting points, good chemical inertness, and high mechanical stiffness. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are built with such needed properties. As a quasi-one-dimensional material, the CNT is expected to have a large surface field enhancement factor. The experiments have proved the excellent FE performance of CNTs. The turn-on field (the macroscopic field for obtaining a density of 10 μA/cm²) of CNT based emitters can be as low as 1 V/μm. However, this turn-on field is too good to be explained by conventional theory. There are other observations, such as the non-linear Fowler-Nordheim plot and multi-peaks field emission energy distribution spectra, indicating that the field enhancement is not the only story in the FE of CNTs. Since the discovery of CNTs, people have employed more serious quantum mechanical methods, including the electronic band theory, tight-binding theory, scattering theory and density function theory, to investigate FE of CNTs. A few theoretical models have been developed at the same time. The multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) should be assembled with a sharp metal needle of nano-scale radius, for which the FE mechanism is more or less clear. Although MWCNTs are more common in present FE applications, the single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are more interesting in the theoretical point of view since the SWCNTs have unique atomic structures and electronic properties. It would be very interesting if people can predict the behavior of the well-defined SWCNTs quantitatively (for MWCNTs, this is currently impossible). The FE as a tunneling process is sensitive to the apex-vacuum potential barrier of CNTs. On the other hand, the barrier could be significantly altered by the redistribution of excessive charges in the micrometer long SWCNTs, which have only one layer of carbon atoms. Therefore, the conventional theories based upon the hypothesis of fixed potential (work function) would not be valid in this quasi-one-dimensional system. In this review, we shall focus on the mechanism that would be responsible for the superior field emission characteristics of CNTs. We shall introduce a multi-scale simulation algorithm that deals with the entire carbon nanotube as well as the substrate as a whole. The simulation for (5, 5) capped SWCNTs with lengths in the order of micrometers is given as an example. The results show that the field dependence of the apex-vacuum electron potential barrier of a long carbon nanotube is a more pronounced effect, besides the local field enhancement phenomenon.     

Modeling and simulation for the field emission of carbon nanotubes array

To optimize the field emission of the infinite carbon nanotubes (CNTs) array on a planar cathode surface, the numerical simulation for the behavior of field emission with finite difference method was proposed. By solving the Laplace equation with computer, the influence of the intertube distance, the anode–cathode distance and the opened/capped CNT on the field emission of CNTs array were taken into account, and the results could accord well with the experiments. The simulated results proved that the field enhancement factor of individual CNT is largest, but the emission current density is little. Due to the enhanced screening of the electric field, the enhancement factor of CNTs array decreases with decreasing the intertube distance. From the simulation the field emission can be optimized when the intertube distance is close to the tube height. The anode–cathode distance hardly influences the field enhancement factor of CNTs array, but can low the threshold voltage by decreasing the anode–cathode distance. Finally, the distribution of potential of the capped CNTs array and the opened CNTs array was simulated, which the results showed that the distribution of potential can be influenced to some extent by the anode–cathode distance, especially at the apex of the capped CNTs array and the brim of the opened CNTs array. The opened CNTs array has larger field enhancement factor and can emit more current than the capped one.     

Effect of screening on the emissivity of field electron emitters based on carbon nanotubes

The effect of screening on the emissivity of a field cathode built around a carbon nanotube array is analyzed. A numerical method of solving the Laplace equation for intricate-shape cathodes is developed that makes it possible to relate the amplification factor to the nanotube spacing in arrays containing as many as 225 emitters. Mutual screening of the tubes, which shows up in the dependence of the field amplification factor on the average emitter spacing, is studied numerically. The optimal spacing between the tubes that provides an emission current maximum density at a given applied voltage is determined. The role of edge effects in carbon nanotube screening is established.     

Adjustable thermal conductivity in carbon nanotube nanofluids

Homogeneous and stable nanofluids have been produced by suspending well dispersible multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into ethylene glycol base fluid. CNT nanofluids have enhanced thermal conductivity and the enhancement ratios increase with the nanotube loading and the temperature. Thermal conductivity enhancement was adjusted by ball milling and cutting the treated CNTs suspended in the nanofluids to relatively straight CNTs with an appropriate length distribution. Our findings indicate that the straightness ratio, aspect ratio, and aggregation have collective influence on the thermal conductivity of CNT nanofluids.     

Field emission of carbon nanotube array with normal-gate cold cathode

A hexagon pitch carbon nanotube (CNT) array vertical to the normal gate of cold cathode field emission displayer (FED) is simulated by solving the Laplace equation. The calculated results show that the normal gate causes the electric field around the CNT tops to be concentrated and emission electron beam become a column. The field enhancement factor and the emission current intensity step up greatly compared with those of diode structure. Emission current density increases rapidly with the decrease of normal-gate aperture. The gate voltage exerts a critical influence on the emission current.     

Thermal instability of field emission from carbon nanotubes

The mechanism that limits the emission current of a carbon-nanotube-based cathode due to the temperature dependence of the emissivity of the nanotube is studied. This limitation has the character of thermal instability that shows up as an infinite increase in the emitter temperature after a certain emission current is exceeded. The heat conduction equation is solved for a nanotube at various model temperature dependences of the thermal and electrical conductivities of the nanotube in order to derive the limiting emission current as a function of the electrical conductivity of the nanotube.     

Optimization for field emission from carbon nanotubes array by Fowler–Nordheim equation

In order to optimize the field emission from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) array by the emission current density, the calculation of the field emission was extended with the floating sphere model and the Fowler–Nordheim equation, and the trend of the emission current density versus the intertube distance (the distance between the nearest CNTs) was mainly discussed in this paper. Only considering the field enhancement factor in the previous works, the field emission from CNTs array was optimized only by possibly decreasing the intertube distance with the maximal field enhancement factor. Herein, both the field enhancement factor and the emission current density were taken into account, the field emission from CNTs array could be optimized analytically with the intertube distance of 10th of the tube height, which was much smaller than the estimated value and the experiment result.     

一种平行栅碳纳米管阵列阴极的场发射特性研究

建立一种平行栅碳纳米管阵列阴极,利用悬浮球模型和镜像电荷法进行计算,给出碳纳米管顶端表面电场与电场增强因子的解析式. 在此基础上,进一步分析器件各类参数以及接触电阻对阴极电子发射性能的影响. 分析表明,碳纳米管间距大约为2倍碳纳米管高度时阵列阴极的分布密度最佳,靠边缘部位的碳纳米管发射电子能力比其中心部位的大;除碳纳米管的长径比之外,栅极宽度和栅极间距也对电场增强因子有一定作用;接触电阻的存在大幅度降低碳纳米管顶端表面电场与发射电流,而接触电阻高于800 kΩ时,器件对阳极驱动电压的要求更高. 关键词： 平行栅碳纳米管阵列 悬浮球 场增强因子 接触电阻     

An improved planar-gate triode with CNTs field emitters by electrophoretic deposition

An improved planar-gate triode with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) field emitters has been successfully fabricated by conventional photolithography, screen printing and electrophoretic deposition (EPD). In this structure, cathode electrodes and ITO arrays linked with gate electrodes were interdigitated and paralleled on the same plane although the gate electrodes and cathode electrodes were isolated by dielectric layer, a so-called improved planar-gate triode structure. An electrophoretic process was developed to selectively deposit CNTs field emitters onto cathode electrodes in the CNTs suspension by an applied voltage between the gate electrodes and cathode electrodes. The optical microscopy and FESEM image showed that the CNTs emitters with the uniform packing density were selectively defined onto the cathode electrodes. In addition, field emission characteristics of an improved planar-gate triode with CNTs field emitters were investigated. The experiment results indicated that the turn-on voltage of this triode structure at current density of 1 μA/cm² was approximately 55 V. The anode current and gate current came to 396 μA and 325 μA, at gate voltage and anode voltage of 100 V and 4000 V, respectively and at the anode-cathode spacing of 2000 μm. The emission image became brighter and the luminous image with dot matrix on the anode plate obviously increased with the increase of the gate voltage. Moreover, the emission current fluctuation was smaller than 5% for 11 h, which indicated that the improved planar-gate triode has a good field emission performance and long lifetime.     

碳纳米管/硅纳米孔柱阵列的场发射性能

"通过热化学气相沉积的方法将碳纳米管生长到硅纳米孔柱阵列衬底上．采用场发射扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜、高分辨透射电子显微镜、拉曼光谱和X射线能谱对所制备的样品形貌、组成进行了分析．结果发现：所制备产物为一种具有面积大、准周期性的碳纳米管/硅巢状阵列复合结构．能谱分析表明碳纳米管仅含有碳元素．对样品进行场发射性能测试表明该结构开启电压为1.3 MV/m,当外加电压为4.26 MV/m,发射电流为5 mA/cm2．由FN公式计算相应的场增强因子约为1.1￡104．碳纳米管/硅纳米孔柱阵列好的场发射性能被归     

Designing variable height carbon nanotube bundle for enhanced electron field emission

A variable height model has been implemented in order to improve the emission performance from a nanotube bundle. A Gaussian distribution of nanotube heights has been considered. This resulted in a nearly uniform electric field distribution across all the nanotubes and consequently an enhanced emission current in comparison to a nanotube bundle with all the nanotubes having the same height. Simulation results from linear as well as area nanotube bundles are reported. The analysis helped in providing a better understanding of the previously reported experimental results on enhanced field emission from plasma treated nanotube bundles having CNTs of variable heights.     

Amplification of terahertz radiation in carbon nanotubes

We investigate theoretically the feasibility of amplification of terahertz radiation in aligned achiral carbon nanotubes, a zigzag (12,0) and an armchair (10,10) in comparison with a superlattice using a combination of a constant direct current (dc) and a high-frequency alternate current (ac) electric fields. The electric current density expression is derived using the semiclassical Boltzmann transport equation with a constant relaxation time. The electric field is applied along the nanotube axis. Analysis of the current density versus electric field characteristics reveals a negative differential conductivity behavior at high frequency, as well as photon assisted peaks. The photon assisted peaks are about an order of magnitude higher in the carbon nanotubes compared to the superlattice. These strong phenomena in carbon nanotubes can be used to obtain domainless amplification of terahertz radiation at room temperature.     

Nanoelectronic Devices Based on Carbon Nanotubes

We review the state-of-the-art in the carbon nanotube (CNT) electronics. The emphasis is made on actually created devices. The history of discovery of fullerenes is outlined and their properties are considered. Experimental discovery of nanotubes and nanotube synthesis technologies are reviewed. The CNT conductivity dependence on the geometrical structure of nanotubes is discussed. Various nanoelectronic CNT devices, such as nanowires, heterojunctions, diodes, and field-effect transistors are presented. Quantum properties of CNTs at low temperatures are discussed. CNT-based mechanical devices, memory elements, and switches are considered. Field emission properties of CNTs are analyzed. The data on the developed CNT-based light-emitting elements and the manufactured pre-production models of CNT flat-panel displays are given.     

Numerical study on the field emission properties of aligned carbon nanotubes using the hybrid field enhancement scheme

The magnitude of the local electric field and the electron emission current density for an array of aligned carbon nanotubes is estimated. For describing in detail the properties of the local electric field in the vicinity of the nanotube tips, a hybrid method allowing for the local determination of the field enhancement factor is introduced. The field factor consists of two parts: an internal factor which describes the structure of the carbon nanotubes and an external factor which represents the field screening effect due to neighboring nanotubes. The current density is obtained using the Fowler–Nordheim equation with the hybrid field enhancement scheme. As a result, the emission properties for an array of nanotubes with a given length are described satisfactorily, and an optimum value for the nanotube spacing is determined. PACS 85.45.Fd; 85.45.Db     

Aligned growth and alignment mechanism of carbon nanotubes by hot filament chemical vapor deposition

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) growth on Inconel sheets was carried out using hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) in a gas mixture of methane and hydrogen. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and field electron emission (FEE) measurement were applied to study the structure and FEE properties of the deposited CNTs. The effect of bias voltage and substrate surface roughness on the growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes was investigated. Well-aligned CNTs were synthesized by bias enhanced HFCVD. The results show that a bias of −500 V generates the best alignment. It has been observed that at the early growth stage, aligned and non-aligned CNTs are growing simultaneously on the unscratched sheets, whereas only aligned CNTs are growing on the scratched sheets. The results indicate that tip growth is not necessary for the electric field to align the CNTs, and larger catalyst particles created by scratching before the heat treatment can induce alignment of CNTs at the early growth stage. In addition, tree-like CNTs bundles grown on the scratched substrates exhibit better FEE performances than dense carbon nanotube forest grown on the unscratched substrates due to the reduced screen effect.     

Field electron emission form single-walled carbon nanotubes with deposited cesium atoms

It has been found that deposition g of cesium atoms on single-walled carbon nanotubes covered with potassium atoms not only drastically increases emission current but also considerably changes the shape of current-voltage characteristics of field electron emission, namely, the characteristics become nonlinear in Fowler-Nordheim coordinates. It has been assumed that this effect is associated with the fact that field electron emission in these layers comes from single-walled carbon nanotubes, which have p-type conductivity after potassium treatment, while deposition of cesium leads to the formation of p-n junctions near nanotube tips. Part of the applied voltage drops in p-n junction, thus causing a nonlinearity of current-voltage characteristics.