Effect of Cathode Geometry on the Field Emission Properties of Individual Carbon Nanotube Emitters

The effects of shape and the surface area of cathode support structure on the field emission properties of carbon nanotube cathodes are investigated and quantified in this paper. This study demonstrates that the overall structural geometry, specifically the area of the cathode support structure, plays a significant role and should be considered in the design rules for optimization of electron source for advanced electron microscopy.