Document Type
Presentation
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Proceedings of the Applied Space Environments Conference 2019
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Publication Date
5-14-2019
First Page
1
Last Page
4
Abstract
Electron emission of carbon nanotube (CNT) forests grown on silicon substrates was measured to investigate possible electron yield suppression due to the composition and morphology of CNT forests. CNT forests are vertically-oriented tubular formations of graphitic carbon grown on a substrate; these have been widely investigated for their extreme properties in optical, electrical, and mechanical aspects of physics and material sciences. CNT coatings are good candidates for yield reduction, in analogy with the near-ideal blackbody optical properties of CNT forests. Carbon with its low atomic number has an inherent low yield due to its low density of bulk electrons. Furthermore, the large aspect ratio of this vertically-aligned CNT allows for easy penetration of the high energy incident electrons, but enhanced recapture of lower-energy secondary electrons due to their wider angular distribution of emission. Total (TEY), secondary (SEY) and backscattered (BSEY) yield curves using 15 eV to 30 keV electron beams, along with energy emission spectra, were acquired for three CNT forest samples to determine the extent of yield suppression of the substrate due to the CNT forests [Wood, 2018].
Recommended Citation
Brian Wood, Jordan Lee, Gregory Wilson, T.C. Shen and JR Dennison, “Suppression of Electron Yields with Carbon Nanotube Forests: A Case Study,” Proceedings of the Applied Space Environments Conference 2019, (Los Angeles, CA, May 12-17, 2019).