Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been considered to be an
ideal cathode
candidate for field emission applications since 1995, and there is
always a trade-off between the number of emission tips and the field
screening effect to achieve a high field emission performance. In
this study, CNT cathode films with spontaneously formed cracks are
fabricated by a simple vacuum-filtration process at room temperature
without caring about the alignment of CNTs, and the crack feature
can be controlled with CNT concentration. The crack-assisted field
emission devices display greatly enhanced performance, and the best
is achieved with pretty low turn-on field of 0.40 V/μm and threshold
field of 0.55 V/μm, a recorded high field enhancement factor
of 43000, and excellent field emission stability. This outstanding
performance due to simultaneous increase of the emission tips and
reduction of the field screening effect demonstrates the crack-assisted
CNT film can be a promising candidate for field emission applications.
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