Beam Trajectory Analysis of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Emitters with a Microchannel Plate
Citation
Adhikari, B.C.; Ketan, B.; Kim, J.S.; Yoo, S.T.; Choi, E.H.; Park, K.C. Beam Trajectory Analysis of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Emitters with a Microchannel Plate. Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 4313. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12234313
Keywords
- vertically aligned carbon nanotube
- field emission
- beam trajectory
- microchannel plate
- electron beam
- field emission microscopy
- current-voltage characteristics
- Fowler-Nordheim plot
- signal-to-noise ratio
- exposure time
Brief
This article describes how a 14 x 14 array of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can be used as a single beam source to produce a high-resolution electron beam with low dispersion.
Summary
This article, published in 2022 in the journal Nanomaterials, describes the fabrication and characterization of vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) emitters for use in electron beam applications. The researchers fabricated an array of 14 x 14 CNT emitters on a silicon wafer using a combination of sputtering, photolithography, and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD).
Here are the key findings of the article:
- The researchers used a microchannel plate (MCP) to characterize the field emission properties of the CNT emitters. MCPs offer several advantages over conventional phosphor screens for this purpose, such as the ability to enhance emission current near the threshold voltage and protect the CNTs from damage.
- The researchers found that the CNT emitters produced a highly focused electron beam with a small beam divergence angle of 2.9°.
- The researchers were able to control the size of the electron beam spot by varying the applied voltage and the exposure time. The beam spot size remained constant at 2.71 mm (FWHM) after an applied voltage of 900V.
- The researchers observed that the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the electron beam images increased as the exposure time decreased.
The authors conclude that vertically aligned CNT emitters show promise as a source for high-resolution electron beam applications, such as electron microscopy and X-ray imaging.
Origin: https://www.semanticscholar.org/reader/13c9e044988b2bad8cfd9d334079d96398016ba4