PECASE: A Novel Approach for Controlled Fabrication of Micro-Gated Carbon Nanotube Field Emitter Arrays and Their Electrical Property Characterizations

碳纳米管（CNTs）的高纵横比和小尖端曲率半径使其特别适合作为场发射源。最近，一些报道已经证明，在微栅场发射体阵列（MG-FEAs）内制造CNT可以降低所需的电压，并且能够更好地控制发射电流。门控CNT FEAs的潜在应用包括平板显示器、高频放大器、航天器推进系统、高压和高温电子学、便携式X射线源和多电子束光刻。然而，这种三极管型CNT场发射器和发射器阵列的研究一直是一个较少宣传的努力。微栅控碳纳米管场发射阵列（MG-CNT-FEAs）的制备和表征的报道很少，这主要是由于栅控衬底阵列制备的复杂性以及难以控制碳纳米管在衬底柱顶部或栅控绝缘体单元阵列底部的生长。在此，我们提出了一个研究方案，利用一种新的混合方法，使用聚焦离子束（FIB）和化学气相沉积（CVD）制造MG-CNT-FEAs具有更好的控制。这项拟议中的研究将允许，第一次，一个全干法蚀刻工艺制造微阵列基板。所提出的技术，如果它被成功开发，将不仅消除繁琐的湿化学过程，但也提供了灵活性，以制造具有各种配置的MG-CNT-FEAs。因此，本研究计划的主要目标是：（1）采用FIB和CVD相结合的方法制备不同结构的MG-CNT-FEAs;（2）表征所制备的MG-CNT-FEAs的场发射行为;（3）优化制备工艺以最大化MG-CNT-FEAs的性能;（4）改进生长高质量碳纳米管的技术;（5）提高碳纳米管的质量。以及（5）探索用于大规模制造MG-CNT-FEAs同时按比例缩小其单个组件（单元电池）的尺寸的程序。此外，该计划创造了一个独特的机会，将研究生，本科生和选定的高中生的教育经验与最先进的制造技术和尖端研究相结合。这项工作的结果将通过在经评审的期刊上发表的出版物、会议报告以及PI的万维网主页上公布。

The high aspect ratio and small tip radius of curvature of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) make them especially suitable as sources for field emission. Recently, several reports have demonstrated that fabricating CNTs within micro-gated field emitter arrays (MG-FEAs) can reduce the required voltage and enable greater control over the emission current. The potential applications of gated CNT FEAs including flat panel displays, high frequency amplifiers, spacecraft propulsion systems, high voltage and high temperature electronics, portable x-ray sources, and multiple electron-beam lithography. The study of such triode-type CNT field emitters and emitter arrays, however, has been a less-publicized effort. The scarcity of reports on fabricating and characterizing micro-gated carbon nanotube field emitter arrays (MG-CNT-FEAs) is largely due to the complexity of making gated substrate arrays and the difficulty of controlling the growth of CNTs on the tops of substrate posts or on the bottoms of gated insulator-cell-arrays. Herein, we propose here a program of research that exploits a novel hybrid approach of using the focused ion beam (FIB) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to fabricate MG-CNT-FEAs with better control. This proposed research will permit, for the first time, a fully-dry-etching process for fabricating micro-array substrates. The proposed technique, if it is successfully developed, will not only eliminate tedious wet chemistry processes but also provide the flexibility to fabricate MG-CNT-FEAs with various configurations. The main objectives of the proposed research program are therefore to (1) develop MG-CNT-FEAs of various configurations using a combined FIB and CVD technique; (2) characterize the field emission behaviors of the fabricated MG-CNT-FEAs; (3) optimize the fabrication procedures to maximize the MG-CNT-FEAs performance; (4) improve the techniques for growing high quality carbon nanotubes; and (5) explore procedures for the large-scale manufacture of MG-CNT-FEAs while scaling down the size of their single components (unit cells). In addition, the program creates a unique opportunity for blending the educational experience of graduate, undergraduate, and selected high school students with state-of-the-art fabrication technology and cutting edge research. The results of this work will be disseminated through publications in refereed journals, conference presentations and will also be posted in the PI's world-wide-web home page.