New method to fabricate field emission cathode of carbon nanotubes

A method to fabricate the field-emission cathode of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is proposed. We made the carbon nanotube cathode through the processing of powder metallurgy. Zinc powder and carbon nanotubes are mixed, pressed and sintered to form a bulk material. The surface of the sintered sample is etched by HNO/sub 3/ to remove a thin layer of zinc in order to make the tops of nanotubes to form the tips for field emission. The measurement shows that the cathode has typical I-V curve and F-N curve.