Enhanced Field Emission of WS2 Nanotubes

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. Tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanotubes protruding on top of microstructures are efficient cathode field emitters with turn‐on fields as low as 1 V/μm and field enhancement of a few thousand fold. The high field enhancement and superior reliability suggest potential application of WS2 cold emitters in vacuum nanoelectronics and flat panel displays.