Field emission from aligned carbon nanofibers grown in situ by hot filament chemical vapor deposition

Aligned high-aspect-ratio carbon nanofibers were grown in situ using modified hot filament chemical vapor deposition. The field-emission properties were then studied. An Fe-Cr wire filament acted as a catalytic source and a heat source. Carbon nanofibers were deposited on a Si substrate with CO2 as a carrier gas through ethanol. The experimental results indicate that the flow in the horizontal direction to the substrate produces carbon nanofibers with diameters of less than 10 nm. The field-emission current of 2 V/mum was 0.54 mA/cm2; the turn-on field of the sample was 1.1 V/mum. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.