title: Enhanced field emission of WS₂ nanotubes.
abstract: Results on electron field emission from free standing tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanotubes (NTs) are presented. Experiments show that the NTs protruding on top of microstructures are efficient cold emitters with turn-on fields as low as 1 V/μm and field enhancement of few thousands. Furthermore, the emission current shows remarkable stability over more than eighteen hours of continuous operation. Such performance and long-term stability of the WS2 cathodes is comparable to that reported for optimized carbon nanotube (CNTs) based emitters. Besides this, it is found that the WS2 cathodes prepared are less sensitive than CNTs in chemical reactive ambients. The high field enhancement and superior reliability achieved indicates a potential for vacuum nanoelectronics and flat panel display applications.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL), Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Heraklion, 71110, Crete, Greece; Technical University of Crete, 73100, Hania, Greece; Electrical Engineering Department and Center of Materials Technology & Laser, School of Applied Technology, Technological Educational Institute of Crete, Heraklion, 71004, Crete, Greece.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Viskadouros
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zak
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stylianakis
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kymakis
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tenne
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stratakis
keywords: field emission; inorganic nanotubes; inorganic nanotubes composites; nanoelectronics; tungsten disulfide