Comparison of macroscopic and microscopic emission characteristics of large area field emitters based on carbon nanotubes and graphene

Nanostructured multitip surfaces have sufficient potential to obtain the high emission currents necessary to develop stable and noninertial sources of free electrons with increased levels of permissible currents. The key to understanding the processes of formation and stability of macroscopic emission currents from these large area field emitters (LAFEs) is assessing the local characteristics of individual emission sites. Herein, a method for determining the local emission characteristics of nanoscale emission sites is developed via processing the glow pattern data and a system for rapidly recording the current–voltage characteristics of LAFEs.