Synthesis Of Carbon Nanomaterial By Chemical Vapor Deposition And Its Field Emission Display Application

Field emission display (FED) has many advantages such as wide viewing angles, fast response time, low power consumption, high brightness, and a wide operating temperature range, and is a promising candidate for the next generation of flat panel display. Conventional Spindt-type based FED has drawbacks of complicated production process, high cost and high vacuum level for device operation. In recent years, carbon nanotubues/nanofibers (CNTs/CNFs) have attracted much attention as field emitters due to their low work function, high aspect ratio, excellent mechanical and chemical properties. In the thesis, researches on the CNTs/CNFs to the application of field emission display, including CNTs/CNFs preparation, CNTs/CNFs cathode fabrication and its field emission, CNTs/CNFs FED(c-FED) vacuum package etc., are performed.1. Using nickel foil as both substrate and catalyst, we report a simple, cheap and easily controllable thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) for mass synthesis of CNTs/CNFs. Grams of CNTs/CNFs with high purity and good uniformity can be obtained at the temperature range of 550⁶50 ℃ in a gas mixture of C₂H₂ and H₂. First, the temperature effect on the yield, morphologies of carbon deposits was studied. In the low temperature range (450-550 ℃), the carbon deposit consists of graphite particles and amorphous phase mixture with some CNTs/CNFs. With increase of the temperature (550-650 ℃), the CNTs/CNFs purity and the deposits yield increase. At about 600 ℃, CNTs/CNFs with the highest purity and yield are achieved. In high temperature range (700-800 ℃), the deposit consists of CNTs/CNFs and nanoparticles mixture and its yield decreases. The Raman spectra are consistent with the SEM morphologies. Secondly, the morphologies and yield of carbon deposits on different alloys of Ni, Ni-Cr and Ni-Cu are investigated. CNTs/CNFs on Ni-Cr alloy have the highest purity and uniformity in diameter distribution, but lowest yield, whereas those on Ni-Cu alloy have the poorest diameter uniformity and intermediate yield. Compared with Ni-Cr and Ni-Cu alloys, CNTs/CNFs with a relatively good...