Mechanism Responsible for Initiating Carbon Nanotube Vacuum Breakdown

N. Y. Huang, J. C. She, Jun Chen, S. Z. Deng, N. S. Xu, H. Bishop, S. E. Huq, L. Wang, D. Y. Zhong, E. G. Wang, and D. M. Chen

Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 075501 – Published 11 August 2004

Abstract

We report a physical mechanism responsible for initiating a vacuum breakdown process of a single carbon nanotube (CNT) during field emission. A quasidynamic method has been developed to simulate the breakdown process and calculate the critical field, critical emission current density and critical temperature beyond which thermal runaway occurs before the CNT temperature reaches its melting point. This model is in good agreement with experiments carried out with a single CNT on a silicon microtip.

Received 14 April 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.075501

Authors & Affiliations

N. Y. Huang¹, J. C. She¹, Jun Chen¹, S. Z. Deng¹, N. S. Xu^1,*, H. Bishop², S. E. Huq³, L. Wang³, D. Y. Zhong⁴, E. G. Wang⁴, and D. M. Chen⁵

¹State Key Lab of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Materials and Technologies, Sun Yat-sen (Zhongshan) University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
²Printable Field Emitters Ltd., Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
³Central Microstructure Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
⁴State Key Laboratory for Surface Science Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100080, People’s Republic of China
⁵Rowland Institute at Harvard, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA

^*Corresponding author. Email address: stsxns@zsu.edu.cn

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

Issue

Vol. 93, Iss. 7 — 13 August 2004

Reuse & Permissions

Access Options

Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Physical Review Letters