The fabrication and properties of field emission display based on ZnO tetrapod-liked nanostructure

ZnO tetrapod-liked nanostructure with fine crystalline structure and high purity was synthesized via CVD method. Each branch of the nanotetrapod was 50-200 nm in diameter and the nanotetrapod structure exhibited a high aspect ratio. Cathode emission materials with this nanostructure were employed to fabricate field emission display with 72 x 72 pixel array. The as-obtained device showed an ideal field emission property with a threshold electric field of 4.1 V/mu m and an emission current density of 1 mA/cm(2) when the electric field reached 11.5 V/mu m. The field enhancement factor of the nanotetrapods was calculated to be 1852. Using proper circuit drive, dynamic Chinese characters can be successfully displayed in the device. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.