We report observation of electron emission from individual carbon nanotubes. Two classes of emitters are observed, one emitting electrons with momentum nearly parallel to the nanotube axis, the other emitting electrons with nonzero momentum perpendicular to the tube axis. The emission pattern reflects the electronic structure of a particular tube and allows us to distinguish between structurally different nanotubes. These nanotube emitters exhibit excellent macroscopic emisson properties; they can operate at a very larte current density, as high as 4 A/cm~2. At electric fields as low as 4-7 V/ mu m, they emit technologically usful current densities, e.g. 10 mA/cm~2. The emission characterics and durability of the carbon nanotube cold cathodes offer promising applications for vacuum microelectronic devices.
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机译：我们报告观察到单个碳纳米管的电子发射。观察到两类发射器，一类发射电子的动量几乎平行于纳米管轴，另一类发射电子的动量垂直于管轴，且非零。发射图反映了特定管的电子结构，并允许我们区分结构上不同的纳米管。这些纳米管发射体具有出色的宏观emisson特性。它们可以在非常大的电流密度下工作，高达4 A / cm〜2。在低至4-7 V /μm的电场下，它们会发出技术上有用的电流密度，例如， 10 mA /厘米〜2。碳纳米管冷阴极的发射特性和耐久性为真空微电子器件提供了有希望的应用。
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