1. Reduced work function and improved field emission stability of ZrC nanowires upon surface oxidation.
- Author
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Chiu, Ta-Wei, Tang, Jie, Tang, Shuai, Hayami, Wataru, Yuan, Jinshi, and Qin, Lu-Chang
- Subjects
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FIELD emission , *ELECTRON work function , *CURRENT fluctuations , *NANOWIRES , *ZIRCONIUM carbide , *DENSITY functional theory - Abstract
The field-emission characteristics of zirconium carbide (ZrC) nanowire with an oxidized surface are studied. When the ZrC nanowire is processed to introduce an oxidized surface, its field-emission performance is improved significantly, exhibiting a high field-emission current and enhanced emission current stability with a fluctuation of 1.7% in a vacuum of 6 × 10−8 Pa. Furthermore, a reduced turn-on voltage of the ZrC nanowire after oxidation was observed in the field-emission measurement, which is attributed to a reduction of the work function of the ZrC nanowire after oxidation treatment. Density functional theory calculations have also been performed to validate the mechanisms responsible for the improvement of field-emission stability and reduction in the work function of the ZrC nanowire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
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