A High-Luminescence Fringelike Field Emission from Screen-Printed Carbon Nanotube and Zinc Oxide Composite Film

Shiguang Shang, Ling Zhao, Weihua Liu, Ping Zhao, Xin Li

.

DOI: 10.4236/jemaa.2010.212085                

Abstract

A fringelike field emission with high-luminescence and stable emission current from screen-printed carbon nanotube mixed zinc oxide (CNT-ZnO) composite cathode was investigated. The luminescent patterns are significantly different from those observed in the field emission measure of pure CNT cathode. SEM images reveal that the CNTs are perfectly matched with ZnO powders by filling the interspaces in CNT film. XRD analysis demonstrates that the CNTs and ZnO have a high degree of crystalline perfection. Field emission measurement exhibits that the turn-on field of CNT-ZnO cathode is 2.08 V/µm, lower than 2.46 V/µm for pure CNT cathode. The large fringelike emission current at the brims of CNT-ZnO cathode is attributed to a combination of the increased effective contact area of CNTs, which decrease the sheet resistance of cathode film, and the dangled CNT bundles at the brims of CNT-ZnO film cathode.

Keywords

Carbon Nanotube, Fringelike Field Emission, Film Cathode

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	S. Iijima, “Helical Microtubes of Graphite Carbon,” Nature, Vol. 354, No. 7, 1991, pp. 56-58.
[2]	J. H. Lee, S. H. Lee, W. S. Kim, H. J. Lee, J. N. Heo, T. W. Jeong, C. H. Choi, J. M. Kim, J. H. Park and J. S. Ha, “Uniformity Measurement Of Electron Emission From Carbon Nanotubes Using Electron-Beam Resist,” Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, Vol.23, No. 2, 2005, pp. 718-722.
[3]	H. Y. Choi, W. S. Chang, H. S. Kim, Y. H. Park and J. U. Kim, “Acquisition of X-Ray Images by Using a CNT Cold Emitter,” Physics Letters A, Vol. 357, No. 1, 2006, pp. 36-41.
[4]	S. Demoustier, E. Minoux, M. Le Baillif, M. Charles and A. Ziaei, “Review of Two Microwave Applications of Carbon Nanotubes: Nano-Antennas and Nano-Switches,” Comptes Rendus Physique, Vol.9, No. 1, 2008, pp. 53-66.
[5]	H. Gao, C. Mu, F. Wang, D. Xu, K. Wu, Y. Xie, S. Liu, E. Wang, J. Xu and D. Yu., “Field Emission of Large-Area And Graphitized Carbon Nanotube Array On Anodic Aluminum Oxide Template,” Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 93, No. 9, 2003, pp. 5602-5605.
[6]	J. Li, W. Lei, X. Zhang, X. Zhou, Q. Wang, Y. Zhang and B. Wang, “Field Emission Characteristic of Screen- Printed Carbon Nanotube Cathode,” Applied surface science, Vol. 220. No. 1-4, 2003, pp. 96-104.
[7]	X. H. Liu, C. C. Zhu, W. H. Liu, F. G. Zeng and C. H. Tian, “Large-Area Carbon Nanotubes Film Synthesized for Field Emission Display by Special Cvd Equipment and the Field Emission Properties,” Materials Chemistry and Physics, Vol.93, No. 2-3, 2005, pp. 473-477.
[8]	Y. S. Shi, C. C. Zhu, Q. K. Wang, X. Li, “Large Area Screen-Printing Cathode of CNT for FED,” Diamond and related materials, 2003,Vol. 12, pp. 1449-1452.
[9]	Y. S. Choi, Y. S. Cho, J. H. Kang, Y. J. Kim, I. H. Kim, S. H. Park, H.W. Lee, S.Y. Hwang, S. J. Lee and C. G. Lee, “A Field-Emission Display with a Self-Focus Cathode Electrode,” Applied Physics Letter, Vol. 82, No. 20, 2003, pp. 3565-3567.
[10]	T. J. Vink, M. Gillies, J. C. Kriege and H. Van de Laar, “Enhanced Field Emission from Printed Carbon Nanotubes by Mechanical Surface Modification,” Applied Physics Letter, Vol. 83, No. 17, 2003, p. 3552.
[11]	J. T. L. Thong, C. H. Oon, W. K. Eng, W. D. Zhang and L. M. Gan, “High-Current Field Emission From A Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Field Emitter Array,” Applied Physics Letter, Vol. 79, No. 17, 2001, p. 2811.
[12]	J. S. Suh, K. S. Jeong, J. S. Lee and I. Han, “Study of the Field-Screening Effect Of Highly Ordered Carbon Nanotube Arrays,” Applied Physics Letter, Vol. 80, No. 13, 2002, p.2392.
[13]	D. H. Kim, C. D. Kim and H. R. Lee, “Effects of the Ion Irradiation of Screen-Printed Carbon Nanotubes for Use in Field Emission Display Applications,” Carbon, Vol. 42, No. 8-9, 2004, pp. 1807-1812.
[14]	Y. Kanazawa, T. Oyama, K. Murakami and M. Takai, “Chemical Vapor Deposition-Formed P-Type ZnO Thin Films,” Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, Vol. 22, 2004, p. 1342.
[15]	A. Hosono, T. Shiroishi, K. Nishimura, F. Abe, Z. Shen, S. Nakata and S. Okuda, “Emission Characteristics of Printed Carbon Nanotube Cathodes after Laser Treatment,” Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, Vol. 24, No. 3, 2006, pp. 1423-1427.
[16]	C. Lou, X. Zhang, W. Lei and C. Qi, “New Method to Fabricate Field-Emission Cathode of Carbon Nanotubes,” Applied Surface Science, Vol. 251, No. 1-4, 2005, pp. 254-257.
[17]	S. G. Shang, C. C. Zhu and W. H. Liu, “Enhanced Field Emission from Printed CNT by High-Temperature Sintering and Plasma Bombarding in Hydrogen,” Microelectronics Journal, Vol. 39, No. 1, 2008, pp. 85-89.
[18]	A. P. Burden RDF, R. D. Forrest and S. R. P. Silva, “Enhancing the Field Emission Properties of amorphous Carbon Films by Thermal Annealing,” Thin Solid Films, Vol. 337, No. 1-2, 1999, pp. 257-260.
[19]	K. Murakami, S. Nishihara, N. Matsubara, S. Ichikawa, F. Wakaya and M. Takai, “Superposition of Fringelike-Electron-Emission Pattern from Radical-Oxy- gen-Gas Exposed Pt Field Emitter Fabricated by Electron-Beam-Induced Deposition,” Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, Vol. 27, No. 2, 2009, pp. 721-724.
[20]	H. Y. Shin, W. S. Chung, K. H. Kim, Y. R. Cho and B. C. Shin, “Effects of Bonding Materials in Screen-Printing Paste on the Field-Emission Properties Of Carbon Nanotube Cathodes,” Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, Vol.23, No. 6, 2005, pp. 2369-2371.
[21]	J. Zhang, X. Wang, W. Yang, W. Yu, T. Feng, Q. Li, X. Liu and C. Yang, “Interaction between Carbon Nanotubes and Substrate and Its Implication on Field Emission Mechanism,” Carbon, Vol. 44, No. 3, 2006, pp. 418-422.