Enhanced electron field emission from preferentially oriented graphitic films

The electron field emission properties of nanographite films, whose basal planes display a degree of preferred orientation perpendicular to the surface, are reported. It was found that nanometric thick films which display a high degree of preferred orientation perpendicular to the substrate emit electrons at a high turn on field (TOF), while thicker films which display a much lower degree of preferred orientation emit electrons at a significantly lower TOF. It is suggested that the observed effect is mainly associated with the degree of basal planes orientation of the nanostructures and not just to their length.