Field emission properties of macroscopic single-walled carbon nanotube strands

Centimeter-long strands of well-aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) synthesized by a hydrogen-argon arc discharge method were employed for the investigation of their field emission properties. These macroscopically long aligned SWNT strands showed advantages of low turn on electric field, high current density, good emission stability, and easy manipulation over the disoriented SWNT samples. The field enhancement factor of the strand is basically linearly proportional to its macro aspect ratio when the microstructure of the emission tip is kept unchanged. The present SWNT strands can be valuable candidates for the applications as electron-emitting sources in various electronic devices. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.