Origin of enhanced field emission characteristics postplasma treatment of multiwalled carbon nanotube array

Field emission properties of chemical-vapor-deposition-grown multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with plasma treatment have been investigated. Origin of the enhanced field emission current was interpreted in terms of surface morphology of MWCNTs, work function, field enhancement factor, and emission area. Contrary to the general belief, the change in the work function increased slightly with the plasma treatment time, whereas the field enhancement factor decreased. We found that the number of emittable MWCNTs played a dominant role in the current enhancement. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.