Catalyst-seeded synthesis and field emission properties of flowerlike Si-doped AlN nanoneedle array.

Flowerlike Si-doped AlN nanoneedle array is grown from cobalt particles seeded on Si substrate by evaporating AlCl4 and SiCl4 in NH3 atmosphere. The nanoneedles are several microns in length, and their base and tip diameters are in the range of 50–150 and 5–30 nm, respectively. Field emission (FE) measurements show that the Si-doped AlN nanoneedle array has a low turn-on field (∼1.8 V/μm) and a high field enhancement factor (∼3271), indicating that it is a promising candidate for FE applications. In addition, this catalyst-seeded and Si-doped method may facilitate the development of efficient AlN nanostructure FE devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]