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journal article·2025

Quantitative correlation between carbon nanotube tip morphology and field emission properties at cryogenic temperature

Luca Cecchini, Carlo Pepe, Benedetta Corcione, Orlando Castellano, Daniele Paoloni, Federico Malnati, Gianluca Cavoto, Marco Carminati, Carlo Fiorini, Giorgio Pettinari, Ravi Prakash Yadav, Ilaria Rago, Alice Apponi, Andrei Puiu, Carlo Mariani, Mauro Rajteri, Alessandro Ruocco, Francesco Pandolfi

Nanoscale· Volume 17· Issue 36
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Source abstract

Abstract

We present a thorough analysis of the field emission properties of three varieties of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VA-CNTs), characterized by different morphologies as a consequence of different post-growth plasma etching treatments. Following the Fowler-Nordheim theory on field emission, we have determined the field enhancement factor β of the samples thanks to a precise measurement of their work function through ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy, and through the study of the emitted electron current at a temperature of T = 2.8 K. We find that plasma etching has the effect of significantly increasing the β of the samples, reaching a high value of β = (15.2 ± 2.5) × 103 for the sample treated with the strongest etching. We have furthermore studied the morphology of the samples with an atomic force microscope (AFM), and measured the mean radius of curvature of the emitting tips, rc. We have found a relationship of the form β(rc) = k/rc, with k = (175 ± 13) μm, which allows prediction of the field-emission properties of a VA-CNT sample through a simple AFM scan.
Source: europepmc · Quality: candidate unverified · Source record ↗

Research context

Nanomaterials

OpenAlex topics: Carbon Nanotubes in Composites · Graphene research and applications · Diamond and Carbon-based Materials Research

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

INFN Sezione di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, 00185 Rome, Italy

Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica, Strada delle Cacce 91, 10135 Torino, Italy

Institut de Microelectronica de Barcelona, IMB-CNM (CSIC), Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Carrer dels Til·lers, s/n, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain

Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, 00185 Rome, Italy

Dipartimento di Scienze Università degli Studi Roma Tre, and INFN Sezione di Roma Tre, Via della Vasca Navale 84, 00146 Rome, Italy

Dipartimento di Scienza Applicata e Tecnologia, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy

Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, and INFN Sezione di Milano, Via Giuseppe Ponzio, 34, 20133 Milano, Italy

Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie del CNR, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy

Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Via Giovanni Acitelli 22, 67100 Assergi, L'Aquila, Italy

Funding

John Templeton Foundation · Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca

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