원추형 금속 기판의 팁 각도에 따른 탄소 나노튜브 이미터의 전계방출 특성

Abstract

A tip-type carbon nanotube(CNT)-based field emitter was studied to consider it as electron source for micro-focused x-ray tube. The CNT was grown directly on a metal (tungsten) substrate by using an inductively coupled plasma-chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD) method. Prior to CNT growth, the metal substrate was etched to have various tip angles from 10o to 180° (flat-type). The morphologies and microstructures of all the grown CNTs were analyzed via field-emission SEM. Furthermore, the effects of substrate tip-angles on the emission properties of CNT-based field emitters were characterized to estimate the maximum current density, the turn-on voltage, and the spatial distribution of electron beams. Prolonged long-term stability testing of the CNT emitters was also performed. All the experiment results obtained from this study indicated why a tip-type CNT emitter, compared with a flat-type CNT emitter, would be more desirable for a micro-focused x-ray system, in terms of the emission current level, the focused beam area, and the emission stability.