Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have novel properties that make them potentially useful in many applications in nanotechnology, electronics, optics and other fields of materials science. These characteristics include extraordinary strength, unique electrical properties, and the fact that they are efficient heat conductors. Field emission is the emission of electrons from the surface of a condensed phase into another phase due to the presence of high electric fields. CNT field emitters are expected to make a breakthrough in the development of field emission display technology and enable miniature X-ray sources that will find a wide variety of applications in electronic devices, industry, and medical and security examinations. This first monograph on the topic covers all aspects in a concise yet comprehensive manner - from the fundamentals to applications. Divided into four sections, the first part discusses the preparation and characterization of carbon nanotubes, while part two is devoted to the field emission properties of carbon nanotubes, including the electron emission mechanism, characteristics of CNT electron sources, and dynamic behavior of CNTs during operation. Part three highlights field emission from other nanomaterials, such as carbon nanowalls, diamond, and silicon and zinc oxide nanowires, before concluding with frontier R&D applications of CNT emitters, from vacuum electronic devices such as field emission displays, to electron sources in electron microscopes, X-ray sources, and microwave amplifiers. Edited by a pioneer in the field, each chapter is written by recognized experts in the respective fields.

Yahachi Saito is a Professor in the Quantum Engineering Department of Nagoya University. He received his doctorate in Engineering from Nagoya University in 1980 and has held professorial positions at Toyohashi University of Technology (1981-1985) and Mie University (1990-2004) in addition to Nagoya University (1985-1990, 2004-present). He has also spent time as a visiting scientist at AT&T Bell Laboratories. Saito?s area of expertise encompasses the synthesis, characterization and application of nanometer scale materials, especially inorganic atomic clusters and fine particles, fullerenes, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). He has studied CNT field emitters since 1996, collaborating with Noritake Itron Corp since 1997 for the development of display devices using CNTs as a cold cathode. They demonstrated the world?s first CNT-based display device at the SID International Conference in 1998. Saito is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Yazaki Arts and Science Award (2004), the Prize for Science and Technology of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports Science and Technology (2006), and the 2007 SID Int. Symp. Distinguished Paper Award.

PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CNTS Structures and Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes Preparation of Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Emitters FIELD EMISSION FROM CNTS Field Emission Theory Field Emission Properties of CNTs Field Emission Microscopy (FEM) of Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes In-situ TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) of CNT Emitters Field Emission from Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes Field Emission from Patterned Arrays Surface Treatments of CNT Emitters FIELD EMISSION FROM OTHER NANOMATERIALS Graphite Nanoflakes and Diamond Carbon Nanowalls Si Nanowire and ZnO Nanowire APPLICATIONS OF CNT EMITTERS Field Emission Display Electron Sources in Electron Microscopes Field Emission X-Ray Sources Microwave Amplifier Parallel Electron-Beam Lithography