High-Performance Field Emitters Based on SiC Nanowires with Designed Electron Emission Sites

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Physics

Background:

• Achieving low turn-on field and high current emission stability is crucial for practical field emitter applications.
• Current field emitters face challenges with structural integrity and consistent performance during operation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate high-performance field emitters using silicon carbide (SiC) nanowires with engineered sharp corners.
• To fundamentally enhance electron emission sites and improve the stability of field emission (FE).

Main Methods:

• Utilized a facile etching technique to create tailored densities of sharp corners around SiC nanowires.
• Integrated emission sites and nanowires into a single-crystalline configuration, eliminating interfaces.
• Fabricated SiC field emitters and characterized their field emission properties.

Main Results:

• Achieved a significantly low turn-on field (E_to) of 0.52 V/μm, comparable to state-of-the-art emitters.
• Demonstrated high electron emission stability with a current fluctuation of only 2% over 10 hours.
• The single-crystalline structure prevented damage from Joule heat and electrostatic forces during long-term FE operation.

Conclusions:

• The designed sharp corners on SiC nanowires effectively enhance electron emission sites and performance.
• The robust, interface-free single-crystalline structure ensures long-term operational stability.
• These high-performance SiC field emitters show great promise for various FE-based electronic units.