.Post-treatment method for improving field emission from carbon nanotubes/nanofibers[J].Optoelectronics Letters,2006,2(4):252-255 Post-treatment method for improving field emission from carbon nanotubes/nanofibers GUO Ping-sheng SUN Zhuo ZHENG Zhi-hao Nanotech Center and Department of Physics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China Abstract:       A novel post-treatment method is reported for improving the field emission characteristics of screen-printed carbon nanotubes/nanofibers (CNTs/CNFs) cathodes. After the treatment at the temperature of 500°C in H2 and C2H2 gas for 20 minutes, the CNTs/CNFs cathodes exhibit much better field emission properties than those untreated. The emission current increases from 0.02 mA/cm2 to 0.5 mA/cm2 at 3.9 V/μm with a decrease in the turn-on field from 2.4 V to 1.8 V, and the emission site density is increased by almost four orders in magnitude. The enhanced field emission of treated CNTs/CNFs cathodes is attributed to the appearance of a large number of exposed CNTs/CNFs caused by heat treatment. This surface morphology is very favorable for the electron field emission. Supported by Funds of Trans-Century Talents Project of State Education Ministry and Shanghai Nanotechnology Promotion Center (0452nm048) Hits: 3442 Download times: 141 View Full Text    Download reader