Visualization of the temperature distribution of carbon nanotube field emitters using thermochromic liquid crystal sheets

In this experiment, we used a plastic sheet of thermochromic liquid crystal R29C4W that changes colors from 29-33/spl deg/C ranging from blue, green, yellow, red, brown to black. Prior to carbon nanotube deposition and other carbon-containing emitters, a 6 nm thick layer of Cr was deposited by e-beam evaporation onto the front side the film. This thin layer is optically transparent and does not interfere with the color changes. The carbon nanotubes were deposited by a spin coating technique.