High Current Density Planar Field Electron Emitters with Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

Planar field electron emitters with carbon nanotubes that operated at high current density mode ( j ∼ 1 A/cm2) have been elaborated using the CVD method. At average density of the emission, current of several tenth of A/cm2 and more intense visible light radiated by nanotubes heated by the flowing emission current have been observed. By the field emission characteristics analysis based on Fowler-Nordheim theory, the numbers of emitting nanotubes N before and after high emission currents flowing has been estimated.