High-vacuum apparatus for electron emission experiments

碳纳米管是一种新型材料，由于其优异的电子和机械性能，在过去的十年中引起了人们的广泛关注。特别是，这些纳米材料作为电子源具有非常有前途的特性。这种电子源需要超高分辨率显微镜，平板显示器和一些创新的电子设备应用。电子发射实验必须在真空中进行，以防止产生的电子被空气分子散射。此外，由于实验的敏感性，需要高水平的真空来防止在实验过程中样品的降解。我们建议建造一个高真空装置来进行上述实验。该系统将由一个体积约为1立方英尺的主室组成。它将通过几个泵的组合排出空气。为了探索碳纳米管的各种电子发射机制，该系统将配备电馈线、精密可移动探针、样品加热器、电子枪和窗户，以便从外部照射样品。本文研究的电子发射体对于微电子工业是重要的，它是制造和检查电子电路的高性能工具的必要组件。另一个应用是改进的显示技术。这项研究还将通过探索新的电子设备和促进我们对纳米技术和小尺度物理现象的认识而产生长期影响。

Carbon nanotubes are new materials that have attracted significant attention over the past decade due to their outstanding electronic and mechanical properties. In particular, these nanomaterials have very promising properties as electron sources. Such electron sources are needed in ultra-high resolution microscopes, flat-panel displays and a number of innovative electronic device applications. Electron emission experiments must be performed in vacuum to prevent the scattering of the generated electrons by air molecules. Also, due to the sensitivity of the experiments, a high level of vacuum is needed to prevent the degradation of the samples over the course of the experiments. We propose to build a high-vacuum apparatus for the above experiments. The system will consist of a main chamber with a volume of approximately 1 cubic foot. It will be evacuated of air by a combination of several pumps. In order to explore various electron emission mechanisms from carbon nanotubes, the proposed system will be equipped with electrical feedthrough lines, a precision movable probe, a sample heater, an electron gun and windows to allow the illumination of samples from outside. The electron emitters investigated here are important to the microelectronics industry as necessary components in high-performance tools for the fabrication and inspection of electronic circuits. Another application is in improved display technologies. This research will also have a long-term impact by exploring novel electronic devices and contributing to our knowledge of nanotechnology and physical phenomena at small scales.