Field emission from single-walled carbon nanotubes aligned on a gold plate using a self-assembly monolayer

Abstract

Field emission from single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) aligned on a patterned gold surface is reported. The SWNT emitters were prepared at room temperature by a self-assembly monolayer technique. SWNTs were cut into sub-micron lengths by sonication in an acidic solution. Cut SWNTs were attached to the gold surface by the reaction between the thiol groups and the gold surface. The field-emission measurements showed that the turn-on field was 4.8 V/mum at an emission current density of 10 muA/cm(2). The current density was 0.5 mA/cm(2) at 6.6 V/mum. This approach provides a novel route for fabricating CNT-based field-emission displays.