G Pirio et al 2002 Nanotechnology 13 1 doi:10.1088/0957-4484/13/1/301
G Pirio1, P Legagneux1, D Pribat1, K B K Teo2, M Chhowalla2, G A J Amaratunga2 and W I Milne2
Show affiliationsWe report on the fabrication of field emission microcathodes which use carbon nanotubes as the field emission source. The devices incorporated an integrated gate electrode in order to achieve truly low-voltage field emission. A single-mask, self-aligned technique was used to pattern the gate, insulator and catalyst for nanotube growth. Vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes were then grown inside the gated structure by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition. Our self-aligned fabrication process ensured that the nanotubes were always centred with respect to the gate apertures (2 µm diameter) over the entire device. In order to obtain reproducible emission characteristics and to avoid degradation of the device, it was necessary to operate the gate in a pulsed voltage mode with a low duty cycle. The field emission device exhibited an initial turn-on voltage of 9 V. After the first measurements, the turn-on voltage shifted to 15 V, and a peak current density of 0.6 mA cm-2 at 40 V was achieved, using a duty cycle of 0.5%.
81.16.Rf Nanoscale pattern formation
79.70.+q Field emission, ionization, evaporation, and desorption
81.15.Gh Chemical vapor deposition (including plasma-enhanced CVD, MOCVD, etc.)
Condensed matter: electrical, magnetic and optical
Issue 1 (February 2002)
Received 4 July 2001, in final form 17 September 2001
Published 2 October 2001
G Pirio et al 2002 Nanotechnology 13 1
Juan Antonio Valiente Kroon 2004 Class. Quantum Grav. 21 5457
K. Sonnabend et al. 2003 ApJ 583 506
Gregory P Lousberg et al 2009 Supercond. Sci. Technol. 22 125026
Anthony J McCaffery and Richard J Marsh 2001 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 34 R131
E Orlandini et al 2005 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 38 3473
S Chand and J Kumar 1995 Semicond. Sci. Technol. 10 1680
J Singh 1980 J. Phys. C: Solid State Phys. 13 3639
Zhu Bo et al 2009 Chinese Phys. Lett. 26 114102
Ruth Gregory et al 2000 Class. Quantum Grav. 17 4437