Stabilized electron emission from silicon coated carbon nanotubes for a high-performance electron source

Abstract

The authors show that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) coated with an amorphous silicon layer around their periphery show enhanced and stable electron emission. The CNT-field emitter array was grown on silicon substrate through a resist-assisted patterning process. The CNTs become coated with silicon from the substrate, which is etched and redeposited onto the CNTs. The authors obtained enhanced and stabilized electron emission from the silicon coated CNTs with a turn-on field of 2 V/μm at an emission current density of 1 μA/cm2. The structure and electron emission properties of the functionalized emitters are discussed.