Fabrication of field emitter arrays of carbon nanotubes aligned on patterned substrates using self-assembly monolayer

Field emissions from the singlewalled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) attached on various patterned substrates such as silicon wafer and polymer film, are reported. SWNTs were cut into sub-micron length by sonication in an acidic solution. The SWNT emitters were aligned on Au surface at room temperature by self-assembly monolayer technique. The field emission measurements in a silicon wafer and a polymer film showed that the turn-on fields were 2.8 V/mum and 3.9 V/mum at the emission current density of 10 muA/cm(2), respectively. The current densities were 0.9 mA/cm(2) and 1.6 mA/cm(2) at 6.0 V/mum. This room temperature process is suitable for the fabrication of flexible field emission devices with carbon nanotubes.