Carbon nanotube electron blackbody and its radiation spectra

Abstract

An optical blackbody is an ideal absorber for all incident optical radiation, and the theoretical study of its radiation spectra paved the way for quantum mechanics (Planck's law). Herein, we propose the concept of an electron blackbody, which is a perfect electron absorber as well as an electron emitter with standard energy spectra at different temperatures. Vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays are electron blackbodies with an electron absorption coefficient of 0.95 for incident energy ranging from 1 keV to 20 keV and standard electron emission spectra that fit well with the free electron gas model. Such a concept might also be generalized to blackbodies for extreme ultraviolet, X-ray, and <i>γ</i>-ray photons as well as neutrons, protons, and other elementary particles.