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Field electron emission

About: Field electron emission is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 16909 publications have been published within this topic receiving 298243 citations. The topic is also known as: field emission.


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Journal ArticleDOI
28 Nov 2002-Nature
TL;DR: The reduced brightness is measured, and it is shown that an individual multi-walled carbon nanotube emits most current into a single narrow beam, which is expected to lead to a significant improvement in the performance of high-resolution electron-beam instruments.
Abstract: Carbon nanotubes can act as electron sources1 with very rigid structures2, making them particularly interesting for use as point electron sources in high-resolution electron-beam instruments. Promising results have been reported with respect to some important requirements for such applications: a stable emitted current3,4,5 and a long lifetime6,7. Two parameters of an electron source affect the resolution of these instruments: the energy spread of the emitted electrons and a parameter called the reduced brightness, which depends on the angular current density and the virtual source size. Several authors have measured a low energy spread associated with electron emission3,7,8,9. Here we measure the reduced brightness, and find a value that is more than a factor of ten larger than provided by state-of-the-art electron sources in electron microscopes. In addition, we show that an individual multi-walled carbon nanotube emits most current into a single narrow beam. On the basis of these results, we expect that carbon nanotube electron sources will lead to a significant improvement in the performance of high-resolution electron-beam instruments.

527 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a well-aligned array of ZnO nanoneedles was fabricated using a simple vapor phase growth, and the diameters of the nanomeedle tips are as small as several nanometers, which is highly in favor of the field emission.
Abstract: Well-aligned arrays of ZnO nanoneedles were fabricated using a simple vapor phase growth. The diameters of the nanoneedle tips are as small as several nanometers, which is highly in favor of the field emission. Field-emission measurements using the nanoneedle arrays as cathode showed emission current density as high as 2.4 mA/cm2 under the field of 7 V/μm, and a very low turn-on field of 2.4 V/μm. Such a high emission current density is attributed to the high aspect ratio of the nanoneedles. The high emission current density, high stability, and low turn-on field make the ZnO nanoneedle arrays one of the promising candidates for field-emission displays.

500 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a series of ultrathin multilayered structure cathodes (UTMC) is constructed to simulate the field emission (FE) process of nanostructured semiconductor film cathodes.
Abstract: Considering the effect of both the buffer layer and substrate, a series of ultrathin multilayered structure cathodes (UTMC) is constructed to simulate the field emission (FE) process of nanostructured semiconductor film cathodes (NSFCs). We find a generalized FE mechanism of the NSFCs, in which there are three distinct FE modes with the change of the applied field. Our results clearly show significant differences of FE between conventional emitters and nanofilm emitters, which the non-Fowler-Nordheim characteristics and the resonant FE will be inevitable for NSFCs. Moreover, the controllable FE can be realized by fine-tuning the quantum structure of NSFCs. The generalized mechanism of NSFCs presented here may be particularly useful for design high-speed and high-frequency vacuum nano-electronic devices.

488 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a model based on the a−C:H:N acting as a space charge interlayer on the n++−Si cathodes was proposed to explain the emission at low electric fields.
Abstract: Field emission measurements using 0.3 μm thick nitrogen containing hydrogenated amorphous carbon films (a‐C:H:N) on n++‐Si cathodes are reported. Onset emission fields as low as 4 V μm−1 have been obtained using a flat plate anode configuration. Uniform emission is observed over the entire cathode area at current densities below 7×10−2 mA cm−2. At higher current density preferential emission from spots is observed. The spot emission is imaged using the ITO coated plate anode. A model based on the a‐C:H:N acting as a space charge interlayer on the n++‐Si is proposed to explain the emission at low electric fields.

471 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the emission behavior of single-wall, closed and opened arc-discharge multi-wall and catalytically grown multilayer carbon nanotubes was investigated.
Abstract: We report on the extensive characterization of carbon nanotube electron field emitters. We studied the emission behavior of single-wall, closed and opened arc-discharge multi-wall, and catalytically grown multi-wall nanotubes, as single emitters and in film form. The nanotube field emitters show excellent field emission properties, but significant differences were observed between the different types of nanotubes. To obtain good performances as well as long emitter lifetimes, the nanotubes should be multi-walled and have closed, well-ordered tips. Complementary results such as energy distribution and luminescence induced by the field emission give further precious indications on the field emission mechanism. The large field amplification factor, arising from the small radius of curvature of the nanotube tips, is partly responsible for the good emission characteristics. Additional evidence however shows that the density of states at the tip is non-metallic, appearing in the form of localized states with well-defined energy levels.

467 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
2023132
2022262
2021251
2020314
2019337
2018427