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Thermionic electron emission from single carbon nanostructures and its applications in vacuum nanoelectronics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2017

Xianlong Wei ,
Qing Chen  and
Lian-Mao Peng
Xianlong Wei
Affiliation:
Department of Electronics, Key Laboratory for the Physics and Chemistry of Nanodevices, Peking University, China; weixl@pku.edu.cn
Qing Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Electronics, Key Laboratory for the Physics and Chemistry of Nanodevices, Peking University, China; qingchen@pku.edu.cn
Lian-Mao Peng
Affiliation:
Department of Electronics, Key Laboratory for the Physics and Chemistry of Nanodevices, Peking University, China; lmpeng@pku.edu.cn
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Abstract

Nanoscale electron sources with high electron-emitting performance are of great interest in vacuum nanoelectronics. Resembling traditional thermionic emission sources based on a hot tungsten filament, a hot carbon nanotube or graphene can function as a nanoscale electron source because of its excellent thermal stability and electrical conductivity. In this article, studies of thermionic emission from single hot carbon nanostructures are overviewed, emphasizing their differences in physics from macroscopic thermionic emission as well as potential applications in vacuum nanoelectronics. Due to their low dimensionality, nanoscale size, and nonequilibrium electron distribution, Richardson’s Law, which governs thermionic emission from macroscopic metals, breaks down in the case of thermionic emission from single carbon nanostructures, and an internal electric field in a carbon nanostructure can contribute directly to its thermionic emission. Graphene-based nanoscale thermionic emission sources, source arrays, and vacuum transistors have been fabricated and demonstrated to exhibit the advantages compared to those based on field emission. The advances imply the promise of realizing high-performance nanoscale electron sources and vacuum electronic devices based on thermionic emission.

Keywords

thermionic emissionCnanostructure
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Bulletin , Volume 42 , Issue 7: Electron-Emission Materials , July 2017 , pp. 493 - 499
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2017 

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