Electron field emission characteristics of individual multiwalled carbon nanotubes have been investigated by a piezoelectric nanomanipulation system operating inside a scanning electron microscopy chamber. The experimental setup ensures a high control capability on the geometric parameters of the field emission system (CNT length, diameter and anode-cathode distance). For several multiwalled carbon nanotubes, reproducible and quite stable emission current behaviour has been obtained with a dependence on the applied voltage well described by a series resistance modified Fowler-Nordheim model. A turn-on field of about 30 V/um and a field enhancement factor of around 100 at a cathode-anode distance of the order of 1 um have been evaluated. Finally, the effect of selective electron beam irradiation on the nanotube field emission capabilities has been extensively investigated.
@article{arxiv.0803.0810,
title = {Field emission from single multi-wall carbon nanotubes},
author = {M. Passacantando and F. Bussolotti and S. Santucci and A. Di Bartolomeo and F. Giubileo and L. Iemmo and A. M. Cucolo},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0803.0810},
year = {2011}
}