Liquid-phase fabrication of patterned carbon nanotube field emission cathodes

High-resolution electron field emission cathodes were fabricated at room temperature by a high throughput electrophoresis process using functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Well-defined and adherent CNT patterns with 20 mum feature size were achieved on a variety of substrates with fine control of the CNT morphology. The cathodes show uniform emission pattern across the entire surfaces and emission current with long-term stability. This room-temperature liquid-phase process is efficient and has no intrinsic limit on the deposition area. The emission characteristics of these cathodes compare favorably to those from other fabrication methods for CNT based field emission display applications. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.