Room-temperature fabrication of high-resolution carbon nanotube field-emission cathodes by self-assembly

In this letter, we report a process for room-temperature assembly of patterned and periodic structures of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Well-defined patterns with less than a 10-mum linewidth and variable thickness were readily deposited. The CNTs show long-range in-plane orientation ordering and adhere strongly to the substrates. The self-assembled macroscopic structures emit electrons under applied electrical field with the emission characteristics comparable to those from the high-temperature or/and low-resolution deposition processes. This room-temperature self-assembly method can be utilized for assembly and integration of nanostructured materials for a variety of devices, including the field-emission displays. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.