The effect of a nickle layer for the field emission properties of carbon nano-fiber

In this paper, we show that the field emission current of carbon nano-fibers (CNFs) is significant improved by introduction of a thin nickel layer on the cathode. Carbon nano-fibers were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition using Pd as catalyst on a 304 stainless steel filament that electroplated with a thin nickel layer. The field emission current increased from 0.424 mA to 4.12 mA with respect to the cathode without a nickel layer at 8000 V. After the aging process, we found that at different aging voltage, the morphology of CNCs was also changed.