Carbon Nanotubes - Field Emission Applications of Buckytubes

Background

Buckytubes are the best known field emitters of any material. This is understandable, given their high electrical conductivity, and the unbeatable sharpness of their tip (the sharper the tip, the more concentrated will be an electric field, leading to field emission; this is the same reason lightening rods are sharp). The sharpness of the tip also means that they emit at especially low voltage, an important fact for building electrical devices that utilize this feature. Buckytubes can carry an astonishingly high current density, possibly as high as 1013 A/cm². Furthermore, the current is extremely stable [B.Q. Wei, et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 79 1172 (2001)].

Carbon Nanotubes in Field Emission Flat Panel Displays

An immediate application of this behaviour receiving considerable interest is in field-emission flat-panel displays. Instead of a single electron gun, as in a traditional cathode ray tube display, here there is a separate electron gun (or many) for each pixel in the display. The high current density, low turn-on and operating voltage, and steady, long-lived behaviour make Buckytubes attract field emitters to enable this application.

Other Field Emission Display Applications of Carbon Nanotubes

Other applications utilising the field-emission characteristics of Buckytubes include: general cold-cathode lighting sources, lightning arrestors, and electron microscope sources.

Source: Carbon Nanotechnologies, Inc.

For more information on this source please visit Carbon Nanotechnologies, Inc.