Field emission from multi-walled carbon nanotubes and its application to electron tubes

Field emission from closed and open-ended multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs) was studied by field-emission microscopy. As an application of nanotube field emitters, we manufactured lighting elements with the structure of a triode-type vacuum tube by replacing the conventional thermionic cathodes with the MWNT field emitters. Stable electron emission, adequate luminance and long life of the tubes have been demonstrated.