Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026
09:20
Fabrication of Low Temperature Carbon Nanotube Vertical Interconnects Compatible with Semiconductor Technology
Published on: December 7, 2015
Re-grown aligned carbon nanotubes with improved field emission
Xiaodai Lim1, Yanwu Zhu, Binni Varghese
1Department of Physics, Blk S12, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117542, Singapore.
Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
|April 25, 2012
Summary
Researchers improved multi-walled carbon nanotube field emission using a novel regrowth technique. This method enhances field enhancement factor and reduces turn-on field, creating better field emission quality for applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Surface Science
Background:
- Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are promising field emitters.
- Improving their field emission properties is crucial for practical applications.
- Current methods for enhancing MWCNT field emission can be complex or inefficient.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a simple technique for enhancing the field emission properties of MWCNTs.
- To investigate the impact of a regrowth process on MWCNT field emission characteristics.
- To identify the underlying mechanisms responsible for the observed improvements.
Main Methods:
- A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) intermediation layer was used to transfer as-grown MWCNTs to new substrates.
- Re-growth of MWCNTs was performed on these transferred samples using similar synthesis parameters.
- Field emission studies were conducted to evaluate the performance of re-grown MWCNTs compared to as-grown ones.
Main Results:
- Re-grown MWCNTs exhibited a 2.6-fold improvement in field enhancement factor.
- The turn-on field for field emission was significantly reduced from 2.85 V/µm to 1.40 V/µm.
- More uniform field emission was observed for the re-grown MWCNTs.
Conclusions:
- The regrowth technique effectively enhances MWCNT field emission properties.
- The improvements are attributed to the formation of new emission sites from sharp carbonaceous impurities.
- This method offers a viable route for producing high-quality MWCNT field emitters.
