Designing variable height carbon nanotube bundle for enhanced electron field emission

A variable height model has been implemented in order to improve the emission performance from a nanotube bundle. A Gaussian distribution of nanotube heights has been considered. This resulted in a nearly uniform electric field distribution across all the nanotubes and consequently an enhanced emission current in comparison to a nanotube bundle with all the nanotubes having the same height. Simulation results from linear as well as area nanotube bundles are reported. The analysis helped in providing a better understanding of the previously reported experimental results on enhanced field emission from plasma treated nanotube bundles having CNTs of variable heights. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.