Field Emission Characteristics of ZnO Nanowire and Its Application to Luminescent Tubes

摘要

Since the discovery of carbon nanotube (CNT) by Iijima in 1991[1], nanoscale one-dimensional (1D) materials have attracted much attention due to their potential applications in novel field emission devices [2-3]. Recently, many researches have shown that ZnO nanowires have great potential for field emission applications [4-6]. Due to the high mechanical stability, high aspect ratio, and negative electron affinity in various vacuum environments, it is also expected that an excellent field electron source from ZnO nanowire films could be achieved. In this study, we grow ZnO nanowires on stainless-steel with a thin layer of Au as catalyst by thermal evaporation in vacuum chamber. The ZnO nanowires films are employed as the cathode of the luminescent tube. The measure results of the ZnO nanowires and the characteristics of the luminescent tube are given in details.