Performance of Miniature Carbon Nanotube Field Emission Pressure Sensor for X-Ray Source Applications
There is a lack of an effective approach to measure vacuum conditions inside sealed vacuum electronic devices (VEDs) and other small-space vacuum instruments. In this study, the application performance of an innovative low-pressure gas sensor based on the emission enhancements of multi-walled carbon...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Micromachines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/16/7/817 |
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| author | Huizi Zhou Wenguang Peng Weijun Huang Nini Ye Changkun Dong |
| author_facet | Huizi Zhou Wenguang Peng Weijun Huang Nini Ye Changkun Dong |
| author_sort | Huizi Zhou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There is a lack of an effective approach to measure vacuum conditions inside sealed vacuum electronic devices (VEDs) and other small-space vacuum instruments. In this study, the application performance of an innovative low-pressure gas sensor based on the emission enhancements of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) field emitters was investigated, and the in situ vacuum performance of X-ray tubes was studied for the advantages of miniature dimension and having low power consumption, extremely low outgassing, and low thermal disturbance compared to conventional ionization gauges. The MWCNT emitters with high crystallinity presented good pressure sensing performance for nitrogen, hydrogen, and an air mixture in the range of 10<sup>−7</sup> to 10<sup>−3</sup> Pa. The miniature MWCNT sensor is able to work and remain stable with high-temperature baking, important for VED applications. The sensor monitored the in situ pressures of the sealed X-ray tubes successfully with high-power operations and a long-term storage of over two years. The investigation showed that the vacuum of the sealed X-ray tube is typical at a low 10<sup>−4</sup> Pa level, and pre-sealing degassing treatments are able to make the X-ray tube work under high vacuum levels with less outgassing and keep a stable high vacuum for a long period of time. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b28fcb5fc91d481f96615d4fb6e9e2c4 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2072-666X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj-art-b28fcb5fc91d481f96615d4fb6e9e2c42025-08-20T03:08:13ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2025-07-0116781710.3390/mi16070817Performance of Miniature Carbon Nanotube Field Emission Pressure Sensor for X-Ray Source ApplicationsHuizi Zhou0Wenguang Peng1Weijun Huang2Nini Ye3Changkun Dong4Wenzhou Key Lab of Micro-Nano Optoelectronic Devices, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, ChinaKailong Medical Instruments Co., Ltd., Hangzhou 311401, ChinaWenzhou Key Lab of Micro-Nano Optoelectronic Devices, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, ChinaWenzhou Key Lab of Micro-Nano Optoelectronic Devices, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, ChinaWenzhou Key Lab of Micro-Nano Optoelectronic Devices, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, ChinaThere is a lack of an effective approach to measure vacuum conditions inside sealed vacuum electronic devices (VEDs) and other small-space vacuum instruments. In this study, the application performance of an innovative low-pressure gas sensor based on the emission enhancements of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) field emitters was investigated, and the in situ vacuum performance of X-ray tubes was studied for the advantages of miniature dimension and having low power consumption, extremely low outgassing, and low thermal disturbance compared to conventional ionization gauges. The MWCNT emitters with high crystallinity presented good pressure sensing performance for nitrogen, hydrogen, and an air mixture in the range of 10<sup>−7</sup> to 10<sup>−3</sup> Pa. The miniature MWCNT sensor is able to work and remain stable with high-temperature baking, important for VED applications. The sensor monitored the in situ pressures of the sealed X-ray tubes successfully with high-power operations and a long-term storage of over two years. The investigation showed that the vacuum of the sealed X-ray tube is typical at a low 10<sup>−4</sup> Pa level, and pre-sealing degassing treatments are able to make the X-ray tube work under high vacuum levels with less outgassing and keep a stable high vacuum for a long period of time.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/16/7/817multi-walled carbon nanotubefield emissionadsorptionpressure sensorX-ray tube |
| spellingShingle | Huizi Zhou Wenguang Peng Weijun Huang Nini Ye Changkun Dong Performance of Miniature Carbon Nanotube Field Emission Pressure Sensor for X-Ray Source Applications Micromachines multi-walled carbon nanotube field emission adsorption pressure sensor X-ray tube |
| title | Performance of Miniature Carbon Nanotube Field Emission Pressure Sensor for X-Ray Source Applications |
| title_full | Performance of Miniature Carbon Nanotube Field Emission Pressure Sensor for X-Ray Source Applications |
| title_fullStr | Performance of Miniature Carbon Nanotube Field Emission Pressure Sensor for X-Ray Source Applications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Performance of Miniature Carbon Nanotube Field Emission Pressure Sensor for X-Ray Source Applications |
| title_short | Performance of Miniature Carbon Nanotube Field Emission Pressure Sensor for X-Ray Source Applications |
| title_sort | performance of miniature carbon nanotube field emission pressure sensor for x ray source applications |
| topic | multi-walled carbon nanotube field emission adsorption pressure sensor X-ray tube |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/16/7/817 |
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