Carbon nanotube loop arrays for low-operational power, high uniformity field emission with long-term stability

We present a rational field emitter array architecture composed of thin multi-walled carbon nanotube “loops” which simultaneously satisfies the important requirements for practical applications. We achieved low turn-on voltage (1.27 V/μm for 10 μA/cm2 emission), high enhancement factor (2400), uniformity, and long-term emission stability exceeding 10,000 h at 1 mA/cm2, where each of the values approaches or exceeds the highest reported values to date for field emission arrays.