Emission properties of carbon surface formed during the explosive emission process

The graphite is a well known material for explosive emission cathodes due to the high stability and practically unlimited resource of emission ability. Such merits are resulted from the fact that during the explosive electron emission (EEE) a microrelief with nanometer microtips develops and it mainly conserves on the graphite after the process. However, the sustaining of liquid phase on graphite is possible only due to the high pressure of cathode plasma, since under natural conditions it sublimates by-passing the liquid phase. We have shown previously that nano-scale size tips of 10⁸ sm^-2 surface density are formed at a liquid carbon surface at EEE. The purpose of this work was a more detailed study of the structure and composition of carbon nanoclusters on the surface of graphized polyacrylnitrile fibres by means of scanning electron and field emission microscopy. Emission characteristics of the carbon nanoclusters are studied in the EEE and field electron emission regimes. The field emission initiation threshold is found.