Field emission studies of amorphous carbon deposited on copper nanowires grown by cathodic arc plasma deposition

• Published in: New carbon materials Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 97 - 101
• Main Authors: Huang, Bohr-Ran, Yeh, Chun-Shin, Wang, Dau-Chung, Tan, J.T., Sung, J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.06.2009
• Subjects: Amorphous carbon; Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO); Copper nanowires (CuNWs); Field emission; Copper nanowires (CuNWs); Field emission; Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO); Amorphous carbon
• ISSN: 1872-5805; 1872-5805
• DOI: 10.1016/S1872-5805(08)60040-2

The field emission properties of amorphous carbon/copper nanowire (CuNW)/Si composites have been investigated. The CuNWs (50–80 nm in diameters) were deposited anodically within the pores of a porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) nano-template by electrolysis of a CuSO 4-H 2SO 4 solution at room temperature using DC current. Two kinds of structure, amorphous carbon/Si and amorphous carbon/CuNWs/Si, were used. Both of them can emit electrons in vacuum towards an anode at a very low turn-on field. Field emission from the amorphous carbon/CuNWs/Si shows a fourfold decrease in turn-on field compared with the amorphous carbon/Si. Results indicated that the electrons were emitted under the effect of an enhanced field because of the geometry of the amorphous carbon sample.