Enhanced Field-Emission Performance from Carbon Nanotube Emitters on Nickel Foam Cathodes

We present a three-dimensionally configured cathode with enhanced field-emission performance formed by combining carbon nanotube (CNT) emitters with a nickel foam (NiF) substrate via a conventional screen-printing technique. The CNT/NiF cathode has low turn-on electric field of 0.53 V μm−1 (with current density of 10 μA cm−2) and threshold electric field of 0.87 V μm−1 (with current density of 0.1 mA cm−2), and a very high field enhancement factor of 1.4 × 104. The porous structure of the NiF substrate can greatly improve the field-emission properties due to its large specific surface area that can accommodate more CNTs and increase the emitter density, as well as its high electrical and thermal conductivities that facilitate current transition and heat dissipation in the cathode. Most importantly, the local electric field was also enhanced by the multistage effect resulting from the rough metal surface, which furthermore leads to a high field enhancement factor. We believe that this improved field-emission performance makes such cathodes promising candidates for use in various field-emission applications.