Well-aligned carbon nanotube array membrane and its field emission properties

Ensembles of aligned and monodispersed carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can be prepared by templating method which involves fabrication of porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template, control of catalytic iron particle size and chemical vapor deposition of carbon in the cylindrical pores of AAO. Here we show that template-synthesized CNTs can be fabricated as well-aligned nanoporous CNTs membrane, which can be directly used as an electron field emitter. A low threshold electric field of 2-4 V/mum and maximum emission current density of similar to 12 mA/cm(2) are observed. The results also show that the electron emission current is a function of the applied electrical field and the Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) plot almost follows a linear relationship which indicates a Fowler-Nordheim tunneling mechanism, and the field enhancement factor estimated is about 1100-7500. The simple and convenient approach should be significant for the development of nanotube devices integrated into field emission displays (FEDs) technology.