A novel fabrication process of carbon nanotubes emitters with filed emission properties is presented in the paper. Carbon nanotubes powder is synthesized by DC arc discharge. The purified carbon nanotubes suspension with high concentration was produced after we purifying and filtering the powder. Carbon nanotubes suspension is dropped on metal or silicon substrate. Special treatment technique is done to improve the adhesion between the carbon nanotubes and the substrate. Compared with carbon nanotubes thin film produced by other fabrication processes, i.e. chemical vapor deposition and screen printing et al, the kind of carbon nanotubes thin film can be attained more easily, which will be able to widen greatly the application range of carbon nanotubes. After vacuum annealing surface treatment, the measurements of properties of field emission are carried out using a simple diode structure. The experiment results reveal that electron field emission of thus fabricated carbon nanotubes can be turned on at less than an electric field 4.2V/ μm (10 μA/cm~2) and can attain a current density of 4.8mA/cm~2 at an electric field of 7.5V/μm, following the Fowler-Nordheim behavior. Moreover, the carbon nanotubes thin film produced using the method is proved to have excellent adhesion with the substrate.
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