The authors report field emission from nanometer-sharp tips of polarized PbZr x Ti 1Àx O 3 (PZT), silicon, and platinum. The PZT nanoemitters are fabricated in a batch fabrication process from single-crystal silicon tips that are coated with a 30 nm thick film of crystalline PZT. The nanoemitters start to emit electrons at fields as low as 2 V/lm and reach threshold emission, or turn-on, at fields as low as 3.9 V/lm. The turn-on field is 3.9 V/lm for PbZr 0.2 Ti 0.8 O 3 , 6.8 V/lm for PbZr 0.52 Ti 0.48 O 3 , and 10.75 V/lm for PbZr 0.8 Ti 0.2 O 3 . The silicon nanoemitters have an electron emission turn-on field of 7.2 V/lm, and the platinum nanoemitters have an electron emission turn-on field of 5.75 V/lm. Using a Fowler-Nordheim analysis, the calculated effective work function of the PbZr 0.2 Ti 0.8 O 3 film is 1.00 eV, and the field amplification factor is $

We report pyroelectric emission from PbZrxTi1−xO3 (PZT) thin films on nanometer-sharp tips. The epitaxial PZT films are 30 nm thick and grown directly on single-crystal silicon tips. Pyroelectric emission occurs for heating rates of ≥50 °C/min in a 20 V/μm external field. The emission current is a maximum of 240 nA when the heating rate is 100 °C/min and the electric field strength is ≥6.7 V/μm. The emitted charge is ∼7% of that expected for a perfect thin film emitter of epitaxial PbZrxTi1−xO3. We calculate that pyroelectric emission can occur without an applied field if the heating rate exceeds 4.0 × 107 °C/min.