Controlling growth and field emission properties of silicon nanotube arrays by multistep template replication and chemical vapor deposition

A multistep template replication route was employed to fabricate highly ordered silicon nanotube (SiNT) arrays, in which annular nanochannel membranes were produced first, and then silicon was deposited into the annular nanochannels by pyrolytic decomposition of silane. Electron microscopy revealed that these SiNTs are highly crystalline and the wall thicknesses can be controlled by the spaces of the annular nanochannel. Field emission characterization showed that the turn-on field and threshold field for the SiNT arrays are about 5.1 V/mu m and 7.3 V/mu m, respectively. These results represent one of the lowest fields ever reported for Si field emission materials at technologically useful current densities. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.