Field nanoemitters: ultrathin BN nanosheets protruding from Si3N4 nanowires

Field emitters in nanoscale are important in micro/nanoelectronic devices. Here, we report a large scale synthesis and effective field emission of field nanoemitters. The integrated nanostructures of ultrathin BN nanosheets aligned on Si3N4 nanowires are prepared through a two-stage process. Si3N4 nanowires were previously synthesized through heating Si powder at 1500 degrees C under a N2 atmosphere. Ultrathin BN nanosheets were then deposited on Si3N4 nanowires by heating a homemade B-N-O precursor under a N2/NH3 atmosphere. The as-prepared nanofilaments act as cold electron emitters displaying excellent field emission performance owing to the untrathin and sharp edges of the protruding BN nanosheets.