Oscillating current observed in field emission from a single zinc oxide nanostructure and the physical mechanism

Xiao, Zhiming; She, Juncong; Li, Z. B.; Yang, Yu‐Guang; Yang, Guangli; Deng, Shaozhi; Chen, Jun; Xu, Ning

doi:10.1063/1.3168445

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Moreover, the deformation of the tip apex may cause either by the field induced evaporation 16 17 18 or the electromigration 11 19 20 21 of the specific atoms. In our experiments, the direction of the applied electric field was opposite to that in the field evaporation model 17 18 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field-Induced Crystalline-to-Amorphous Phase Transformation on the Si Nano-Apex and the Achieving of Highly Reliable Si Nano-Cathodes

Huang

Deng

Wang

et al. 2015

Sci Rep

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Nano-scale vacuum channel transistors possess merits of higher cutoff frequency and greater gain power as compared with the conventional solid-state transistors. The improvement in cathode reliability is one of the major challenges to obtain high performance vacuum channel transistors. We report the experimental findings and the physical insight into the field induced crystalline-to-amorphous phase transformation on the surface of the Si nano-cathode. The crystalline Si tip apex deformed to amorphous structure at a low macroscopic field (0.6~1.65 V/nm) with an ultra-low emission current (1~10 pA). First-principle calculation suggests that the strong electrostatic force exerting on the electrons in the surface lattices would take the account for the field-induced atomic migration that result in an amorphization. The arsenic-dopant in the Si surface lattice would increase the inner stress as well as the electron density, leading to a lower amorphization field. Highly reliable Si nano-cathodes were obtained by employing diamond like carbon coating to enhance the electron emission and thus decrease the surface charge accumulation. The findings are crucial for developing highly reliable Si-based nano-scale vacuum channel transistors and have the significance for future Si nano-electronic devices with narrow separation.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field-Induced Crystalline-to-Amorphous Phase Transformation on the Si Nano-Apex and the Achieving of Highly Reliable Si Nano-Cathodes

Huang

Deng

Wang

et al. 2015

Sci Rep

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“…Interesting phenomenon such as the emission current oscillating ( Figure 14 ) was also reported in the field emission of individual ZnO nanowire by Z. Xiao et al [ 65 ], which they attributed to the self-heating induced melting process at the nanowire tip. Details for the self-heating of a ZnO nanowire will be introduced in the mechanism part ( Section 3.2 ).…”

Section: Field Emissionmentioning

confidence: 62%

“…Another important concern for the field-emission mechanism of ZnO nanowire is probably the joule heating-induced vacuum breakdown event, which is related to the maximum field emission current of ZnO nanowires and limits the applications. So far, many works have reported the melting phenomenon of a ZnO nanowire at its tip ( Figure 18 ) when operating under large field-emission current [ 53 , 65 , 83 ]. To explain these findings, researchers have simulated the temperature at the nanowire’s tip under the operating current.…”

Section: Field Emissionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To explain these findings, researchers have simulated the temperature at the nanowire’s tip under the operating current. For example, Z. Xiao et al [ 65 ] calculated the tip temperature of ZnO nanowire can be as high as 2248 K (melting point for bulk ZnO). While in another work, V. Semet et al [ 53 ] simulated the highest temperature at the nanowire’s tip should be lower than 1700 K, which they attributed to the nanowire having a lower melting point than its bulk value due to the size effect.…”

Section: Field Emissionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…( a ) Reproduced from [ 63 ], with the permission of ACS Publications, 2007. ( b ) Reproduced from [ 65 ], with the permission of AIP Publishing, 2009.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Recent Progress on ZnO Nanowires Cold Cathode and Its Applications

Chen

Deng

et al. 2021

Nanomaterials

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A cold cathode has many applications in high frequency and high power electronic devices, X-ray source, vacuum microelectronic devices and vacuum nanoelectronic devices. After decades of exploration on the cold cathode materials, ZnO nanowire has been regarded as one of the most promising candidates, in particular for large area field emitter arrays (FEAs). Numerous works on the fundamental field emission properties of ZnO nanowire, as well as demonstrations of varieties of large area vacuum microelectronic applications, have been reported. Moreover, techniques such as modifying the geometrical structure, surface decoration and element doping were also proposed for optimizing the field emissions. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review on recent progress on the ZnO nanowire cold cathode and its applications. We will begin with a brief introduction on the synthesis methods and discuss their advantages/disadvantages for cold cathode applications. After that, the field emission properties, mechanism and optimization will be introduced in detail. Then, the development for applications of large-area ZnO nanowire FEAs will also be covered. Finally, some future perspectives are provided.

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Stable Heating Above 900 K in the Field Emission of ZnO Nanowires: Mechanism for Achieving High Current in Large Scale Field Emitter Arrays

Chen

Luo

Cao

et al. 2020

Adv Elect Materials

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FEAs is particularly the major challenge that requires not only comprehensive knowledge on the intrinsic field emission mechanism of individual field emitter but also improvement on the actual proportion of field emitters that contribute to the FEAs. In addition to the screen effect, [11] thermal runaway is an important factor limiting the actual proportion of ZnO nanowire. [12] A general picture for the thermal runaway originated from the positive feedback of the self-heating characteristic of the Q1D field emitter on its thermal field emission current, which induces vacuum breakdown. Although several previous works have studied the thermal runaway mechanism for Q1D field emitter [13-15] and the melting of ZnO nanowire has been reported, suggesting the existence of thermal runaway, [12,16] the question of what temperature the individual Q1D ZnO field emitter can reach steadily, which determines the maximum emission current and breakdown field, remains unclear. With a high breakdown field, more emitters can be activated when increasing the applied field. One could also make better use of the ballasting effect usually existing in the ZnO nanowire field emitter itself [5] or equipped with an active driving device [17-18] and thus a highly uniform stable emission and a high emission current could be achieved. The field emission ring pattern was reported as a signature for the thermal field emission of the tungsten tip and the carbon nanotube (CNT). [19-21] It generally comprises the emission current from both the tip and the sidewall of the field emitter. Accordingly, one can obtain the thermal field emission current distribution along the emitter, which gives information on its temperature, by analyzing the ring pattern profile. [20] Compared to the field emission electron energy distribution that has been utilized to measure the temperature of individual CNT, [22] the method of field emission pattern is more simple. Furthermore, it can be applied in a large-scale substrate with potential application as a temperature monitor for FEAs. Although field emission ring patterns comprising several emission spots have been reported in ZnO nanowires, [23-24] they are different from those observed from the CNT, which is a continue ring. Their underlying mechanisms are due to the tip structure and the adsorbate instead of the thermal field emission. Considering that the ZnO nanowire The thermal runaway of a quasi-1D (Q1D) field emitter is an important cause of vacuum breakdown, which limits the field emission current density in field emitter arrays (FEAs). Comprehensive knowledge on the self-heating process of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires is important for obtaining a high breakdown field for activating more emitters. This work investigates the self-heating model of individual ZnO nanowire by considering the thermal field emission current distribution along the nanowire. Theoretical calculations suggest that the thermal field emission distribution along the nanowire can be reflected on the profile of the field emission pattern, ...

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Oscillating current observed in field emission from a single zinc oxide nanostructure and the physical mechanism

Cited by 17 publications

References 28 publications

Field-Induced Crystalline-to-Amorphous Phase Transformation on the Si Nano-Apex and the Achieving of Highly Reliable Si Nano-Cathodes

Field-Induced Crystalline-to-Amorphous Phase Transformation on the Si Nano-Apex and the Achieving of Highly Reliable Si Nano-Cathodes

Recent Progress on ZnO Nanowires Cold Cathode and Its Applications

Stable Heating Above 900 K in the Field Emission of ZnO Nanowires: Mechanism for Achieving High Current in Large Scale Field Emitter Arrays

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