Field Emission Study of Au Catalytic Grown ZnO Nanowires

In this investigation, the field emission properties of ZnO nanowires grown on a silicon substrate and their emission performance in various vacuum gaps are reported. Nanowires of zinc oxide are grown by thermal vapor deposition using Au catalyst show their length of 3-6 μm and their diameter in the range of 40-80 nm. TEM observations indicate that Au nanoparticles grown on top of the nanowires. The turn-on emission field and the enhancement factor of nanowires are found 26 V/μm and 948 at the vacuum gap of 70 μm, respectively. The grown nanostructures are good candidate in vacuum microelectronic applications.

Keywords:

ZnO , Nanowires , Field Emission Measurements