Influence of Contact Resistance on the Field Emission Characteristics of a Carbon Nanotube

Recently, we introduced an accurate algorithm to calculate the spatial dependence of the temperature distribution along a carbon nanotube (CNT) during field emission (FE). The algorithm considers the effects of Joule heating in the CNT, radiative losses from the CNT sidewall and tip, as well as the rate of heat exchange per unit area at the CNT tip due to either Henderson-cooling or Nottingham-heating effects. The previous work assumed that the temperature at the base of the CNT was the same as the temperature of the chuck to which it is attached and that the latter acts as a perfect heat sink. In this work, we consider the effects of contact resistance between the base of the CNT and the chuck and investigate its influence on the CNT FE properties. All other parameters being equal, our simulations show that the temperature profile along a CNT and its emission current are actually found to be larger those determined assuming a constant temperature T
0
= 300 K at the CNT/chuck contact [1].