Characterization of X-ray charge neutralizer using carbon-nanotube field emitter

An X-ray charge neutralizer using a screen-printed carbon-nanotube field emitter is demonstrated to show the possibility of a large-area flat-panel charge neutralizer, although the device dimensions in the present work are not very large. The X-ray yields and spectra are characterized to estimate the ion generation rate as one of the figures of merit of neutralizers. Charge neutralization characteristics are measured and show good performance.