Field emission of carbon-nanotube point electron source

Carbon nanotube (CNT)-based point electron emitter was fabricated using a cavity-confined dielectrophoresis. The emission current of an individual multi-walled CNT (MWCNT) was stable up to 10 μA and reached ~ 2 mA (1.7 × 108 A/cm2), about three orders of magnitude higher than the threshold current of the existing single MWCNT tip. At low electric field, the current fluctuated in a stepwise manner. On the other hand, above critical field, CNT point emitter started to disintegrate so that the current fluctuated rapidly and gradually diminished. These anomalous behaviors were explained from the cap opening and field-induced unraveling of tip edges.