Open AccessTheoretical optimization for field emission current density from carbon nanotubes array
Author(s) -
Xinqing Wang,
Liang Li,
Chu Ning-Jie,
Jin Hongxiao,
Hongliang Ge
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
wuli xuebao
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.199
H-Index - 47
ISSN - 1000-3290
DOI - 10.7498/aps.57.7173
Subject(s) - carbon nanotube , field electron emission , current density , electric field , field (mathematics) , materials science , current (fluid) , carbon nanotube quantum dot , nanotube , physics , condensed matter physics , nanotechnology , electron , quantum mechanics , mathematics , pure mathematics , thermodynamics
With the help of the floating sphere mirror image model and the Fowler-Nordheim equation, the emission current density from carbon nanotube was calculated in this paper. Taking the field enhancement factor and the emission current density into account, the field emission of carbon nanotube array was optimized in theory. The result shoved that the field emission from carbon nanotube array is maximal when the intertube distance is equal to one tenth of the tube height, which is a little smaller than the previous result. When the intertube distance is larger , the field enhancement factor increases, but the emission current density decreases even more rapidly with increasing intertube distance. For carbon nanotube arrays with higher array density, the field enhancement factor decreases greatly with the decreasing intertube distance due to the screening of the electric field.