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.