Field emission of silicon nanowires

Field emission of single crystal silicon nanowires of 100 nm in diameter grown at 480 degrees C from silane using Au as catalyst has been investigated. An emission current density of 1 mA/cm(2) over a 0.2 cm(2) area was obtained at an electric field of 3.4 V/mu m with a turn-on field of 2 V/mu m at 0.01 mA/cm(2). The annealing of the as-grown samples at 550 degrees C in vacuum has drastically improved the field emission performance. The low growth and annealing temperatures make the process applicable to glass substrates. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.