Field emission of silicon nanowires

Field emission of single crystal silicon nanowires of 100nm in diameter grown at 480°C from silane using Au as catalyst has been investigated. An emission current density of 1mA∕cm2 over a 0.2cm2 area was obtained at an electric field of 3.4V∕μm with a turn-on field of 2V∕μm at 0.01mA∕cm2. The annealing of the as-grown samples at 550°C in vacuum has drastically improved the field emission performance. The low growth and annealing temperatures make the process applicable to glass substrates.