Template-based carbon nanotubes field emitter

The growth of carbon nanotubes(CNTs) in anodic aluminum oxide(AAO) template and their application to a field emitter are described. AAO templates were fabricated by anodizing bulk aluminum and sputtered thin Al film on Nb-coated Si wafers. After Co catalyst had been electrochemically deposited into the bottom of the pores in AAO template, CNTs were grown by pyrolyzing C 2 H 2 . Depending on the reaction conditions, CNTs grew up to or over the top of the pores in AAO template with different structures. The morphology and structure of CNTs were observed with a scanning electron microscope and a transmission electron microscope. The diameter of CNTs strongly depended on the size of the pores in AAO template and the growing conditions. The electron field emission measurement of the samples resulted in the turn-on field of 1.9-2.2 V/μm and the field enhancement factor of 2450-5200. The observation of high field enhancement factors is explained in terms of low field screening effect.