SBIR Phase I: Efficient Production of High Quality Carbon Nanotube Field Emitters

这个SBIR第一阶段项目的目的是展示含有少量壁的碳纳米管(CNT)的可行性和合成，而不是目前市场上提供的单壁和多壁碳纳米管。基于碳纳米管的场发射器件需要高质量的碳纳米管来提高发射的均匀性、电流密度、发射稳定性和寿命。目前商用的碳纳米管在成本、场发射性能和热稳定性方面都存在局限性。该公司与杜克大学合作，发现了一种生长少壁碳纳米管(FECNT)的专利方法，与其他商业上可用的碳纳米管相比，这种碳纳米管显示出良好的场发射性能。在这个项目中，该公司将(A)改进化学气相沉积(CVD)系统，以提高工艺的安全性和效率，研究催化剂组成和CVD条件对制备的FWCNT结构和形貌的影响，并增强FWCNT阴极薄膜中碳纳米管与基质材料之间的附着力。这项技术的更广泛影响将是改进的场发射器件，提高电流密度，这将显著提高X射线管和场发射显示器的性能。这将对医疗应用和先进研究中使用的更高效的X射线设备的制造产生重大的积极影响。具有更明亮、更稳定和更持久的显示器，用于各种应用，包括娱乐、高清电视、手持设备等，将极大地受益于场发射显示器市场。

This SBIR Phase I project is aimed at demonstrating the feasibility and synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) containing few walls, as opposed to the single- and multi-wall CNTs available in the market today. CNT-based field emission devices require high quality CNTs to improve emission uniformity, current density, emission stability and lifetime. The current commercially available CNTs have limitations in terms of cost, poor field emission properties, and thermal stability. The company, in collaboraion with Duke University, discovered a proprietary method for growing few-walled CNTs (FECNTs), which show promising field emission performace compared to other commercially available CNTs. In this project, the company will (a) modify the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system to improve the safety and efficiency of the process, investigage the effects of catalyst composition and CVD conditions on the structure and morphology of the FWCNTs produced and enhance the adhesion between the CNTs and the matrix materials in the FWCNT cathode films.The broader impacts of this technology will be in improved field emission devices with enhanced current densities, which will significantly enhance the performance of X-ray tubes and field-emission displays. This will have a significant positive impact on the manufacture of more efficient X-ray equipment used in medical applications and advanced research. The field emission display market will benefit greatly from having brighter, more stable and longer lasting displays, used in a variety of applications, including entertainment, HDTVs, handheld devices, etc.