title: A carbon nanotube field emission cathode with high current density and long-term stability.
abstract: Carbon nanotube (CNT) field emitters are now being evaluated for a wide range of vacuum electronic applications. However, problems including short lifetime at high current density, instability under high voltage, poor emission uniformity, and pixel-to-pixel inconsistency are still major obstacles for device applications. We developed an electrophoretic process to fabricate composite CNT films with controlled nanotube orientation and surface density, and enhanced adhesion. The cathodes have significantly enhanced macroscopic field emission current density and long-term stability under high operating voltages. The application of this CNT electron source for high-resolution x-ray imaging is demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Curriculum in Applied Science and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Xiomara
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Calderón-Colón
authors.forename: Huaizhi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: An
authors.forename: Guohua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Otto
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Zhou