Field emission from carbon nanotubes in air

The properties of the field emission (FE) from multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in air used to generate the microplasma at near-atmospheric pressure were investigated in a removable gas cell built into a scanning electron microscope. The gaps between the electrodes were adjusted from 5 to 100 μm and the pressure was changed from 0 to 100 kPa. The obtained results have shown that the FE properties of the CNTs at 10 kPa and lower pressures were the same as those in vacuum. At a pressure more than 10 kPa, the FE threshold voltage in air was higher than those in vacuum, and increased with increasing atmospheric pressure. When the FE threshold voltage became higher than that of the gas breakdown, the microplasma was ignited before the FE initiation. Thus, the FE properties of the CNTs in air were stable when the FE potential was lower than the voltage of conventional gas discharge with CNT cathode.