Performance of nanocrystalline graphite field emitters

Nanocrystalline graphite field emitters fabricated on silicon substrates ha ve been characterized in terms of current voltage, pressure dependency, lon g term stability, work function and lateral momentum. The work function is 4.0-4.2 eV and the cone angle of emission due to the lateral momentum of th e emitting electrons in less than 1 degrees. It is shown that with proper p re-testing treatment and copper anodes, these emitters can operate for over 5000 h without significant changes in emission current. They also operate at pressures of 5 x 10(-5) Torr with current fluctuations DeltaI/I of less than 1%. A quite complex emission pattern develops in conjunction with CRT phosphors. The transmission coefficient of electrons exiting a grid can var y from 1-50% depending on which phosphor is being used. (C) 2001 Elsevier S cience Ltd. All rights reserved.