Field emission properties of aligned carbon nanotubes grown on stainless steel using CH4/CO2 reactant gas

Abstract

Aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were grown on stainless steel 304 by bias-enhanced microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition, using CH4/CO2 as the reactant gas. A bias was applied to the microwave plasma to grow the nanotubes over various periods. Experimental results show that well-aligned CNTs grow on stainless steel at a negative bias of - 300 V Energy dispersive spectrometer on TEM indicated that the metal catalyst on the top of the CNTs includes Fe and Ni, but not Cr. The field emission properties of the resultant CNTs were obtained at a negative bias of - 300 V: the emission current was 194 muA at 2.2 V/mum; and the turn-on voltage, which is the voltage needed to extract current density of 10 muA /cm(2), was 1.4 V/mum. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.