Electrochemically deposited zinc oxide arrays for field emission

Abstract

Periodic zinc oxide rod arrays were fabricated on patterned templates by electrochemical deposition and were employed as field emitters. The morphology and crystal structure of the zinc oxide array were examined by scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction, respectively. The dependence of the field emission current density J and the applied electric field E presented a two-stage slope behavior in ln(J∕E2)−1∕E plot according to Fowler-Nordheim equation. The mechanism of the electron emission is attributed to the defects in the electrochemically deposited zinc oxide rods.

One-Dimensional and Two-Dimensional ZnO Nanostructured Materials on a Plastic Substrate and Their Field Emission Properties

“…[1][2][3][4][5] It would therefore be of great practical interest to develop a lower temperature technique to synthesize ZnO nanostructures on lower cost substrates such as plastics for large-area applications. To date, only a few efforts have been made to characterize the FE properties of ZnO nanostructures obtained by low-temperature methods, [6][7][8][9][10] including the ZnO nanowire arrays synthesized by employing templates. 6,7 Although ZnO nanowires have also been grown successfully without templates by using an electrochemical technique, 8,[11][12][13] only one study has reported the FE properties of the electrodeposited material (with a high turn-on field).…”

“…To date, only a few efforts have been made to characterize the FE properties of ZnO nanostructures obtained by low-temperature methods, [6][7][8][9][10] including the ZnO nanowire arrays synthesized by employing templates. 6,7 Although ZnO nanowires have also been grown successfully without templates by using an electrochemical technique, 8,[11][12][13] only one study has reported the FE properties of the electrodeposited material (with a high turn-on field). 8 In the present work, we demonstrate the successful growth of two different ZnO nanostructures, nanopillars (1D) and nanowalls (2D), on a plastic substrate by using electrodeposition at low temperature (70°C) without templates.…”

Strategies to Improve Field Emission Performance of Nanostructural ZnO

“…Figure 2c shows a periodical ZnO nanorod array, which was created by electrochemical deposition using a patterned template. 15 Further, Fig. 2d exhibits ZnO nanotubes formed by hydrothermal decomposition.…”

“…The fabrication conditions, crystal structures, and the growth mechanism of these ZnO nanostructures can be found elsewhere. 7,[14][15][16] The SEM images in Fig. 2 present some typical morphologies fabricated for FE study.…”

“…In this paper, we shall present some strategies on improving the field enhancement performances of 1-D nanostructural ZnO based primarily on our theoretical and experimental investigations. 7,[14][15][16][17] THEORETICAL Field emission is a quantum mechanical effect with electrons tunneling into vacuum by overcoming the surface potential barrier under an intense electric field. For a planar emitter, the potential energy near the surface is described as 18…”