Abstract
We demonstrate long-term field emission stability from single-walled carbon nanotubes. Unballasted nanotubes operate without degradation for over 350 h at 10−9 Torr. Nanotubes are shown to be significantly less sensitive to operating environments than metallic emitters. In 10−7 Torr of H2O, we demonstrate 100 h of continuous bias field emission with no current degradation. Protrusion growth and current runaway, typical problems for unballasted metal emitters, are not observed with nanotubes. Single-walled nanotubes do show susceptibility to damage by oxidation. We suggest that the exceptional environmental stability of carbon nanotubes is due to a combination of geometry, strong carbon bonding, and the lack of protrusion growth.
Keywords
Carbon nanotubeField electron emissionMaterials scienceTorrOptical properties of carbon nanotubesDegradation (telecommunications)Mechanical properties of carbon nanotubesPotential applications of carbon nanotubesNanotechnologyCarbon fibersCarbon nanobudSelective chemistry of single-walled nanotubesMetalChemical engineeringChemical physicsComposite materialNanotubeChemistryMetallurgyThermodynamics
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Publication Info
- Year
- 1999
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 75
- Issue
- 19
- Pages
- 3017-3019
- Citations
- 287
- Access
- Closed
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Cite This
Kenneth A. Dean,
Babu Chalamala
(1999).
The environmental stability of field emission from single-walled carbon nanotubes.
Applied Physics Letters
, 75
(19)
, 3017-3019.
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.125219
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1063/1.125219