Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 11, 2025
09:32
Well-aligned Vertically Oriented ZnO Nanorod Arrays and their Application in Inverted Small Molecule Solar Cells
Published on: April 25, 2018
8.8K
Stable Field Emission from Vertically Oriented SiC Nanoarrays
Jianfeng Xiao1,2, Jiuzhou Zhao2, Guanjiang Liu2
1Henan Institute of Advanced Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)
|November 27, 2021
Summary
Fabricating silicon carbide (SiC) nanoarrays for field emitters is now simpler using reactive ion etching. This method yields uniform, high-performance SiC nanoarrays suitable for vacuum electronics.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Semiconductor Physics
Background:
- Silicon carbide (SiC) nanostructures are excellent field emitters due to superior material properties.
- Fabricating SiC nanotips arrays is challenging due to SiC's chemical inertness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a simple and scalable method for fabricating well-aligned SiC nanoarrays.
- To evaluate the field emission performance of the fabricated SiC nanoarrays.
Main Methods:
- Utilized industry-familiar reactive ion etching on 4H-SiC wafers.
- Characterized the morphology, uniformity, and field emission properties of the resulting SiC nanoarrays.
Main Results:
- Achieved vertically oriented SiC nanoarrays with high packing density (>10^7 mm^-2) and aspect ratios (~35).
- Demonstrated high geometry uniformity with <5% length and <10% diameter variation.
- Observed low turn-on fields (4.3 V μm^-1) and a high field-enhancement factor (~1260).
- Exhibited excellent current emission stability over 8 hours (1.9 ± 1% fluctuation).
Conclusions:
- The reactive ion etching method provides a viable route for scalable production of high-performance SiC field emitters.
- The fabricated SiC nanoarrays show significant potential for various vacuum electronics applications.
