Hydrogen Plasma Treatment of Aligned Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Arrays for Improvement of Field Emission Properties

Vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays show potential for the development of planar low-voltage emission cathodes. The characteristics of cathodes can be improved by modifying their surface, e.g., by hydrogen plasma treatment, as was performed in this work. The surface of multi-walled CNT arrays grown on silicon substrates from toluene and ferrocene using catalytic chemical vapor deposition was treated in a high-pressure (~104 Pa) microwave reactor. The structure, composition, and current-voltage characteristics of the arrays were studied before and after hydrogen plasma treatment at various power values and durations. CNT tips were destroyed and catalytic iron was released from the CNT channels. The etching rate was influenced by iron particles that formed on the array surface. The lower emission threshold in the plasma-treated arrays than in the initial sample is explained by the amplification factor of the local electric field increasing due to graphene structures of unfolded nanotube layers that formed at the CNT tips.