Fabrication and field-emission characteristics of TiN nanorods with a concave top surface

Well-ordered titanium nitride nanorods were fabricated by reactive ion etch using titanium oxide nanodots as the mask, which were prepared using the anodic aluminum oxide templation method. The TiN nanorods exhibited a concave top surface with a protruding edge. Due to the protruding top edge and a high aspect ratio, the TiN nanorods showed a low turn-on voltage of 1.6 V/mu m. The ellipsoidal cylinder model was used to evaluate the field-enhancement effect of the protruding edge, and an underestimation by similar to 26% was found as compared with the enhancement factor derived from the Fowler-Nordheim plot. (C) 2008 The Electrochemical Society.