Synthesis and field emission properties of GaN nanowires

Gallium nitride (GaN) nanowires grown on nickel-coated n-type Si (1 0 0) substrates have been synthesized using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and the field emission properties of GaN nanowires have been studied. The results show that (1) the grown GaN nanowires, which have diameters in the range of 50–100 nm and lengths of several micrometers, are uniformly distributed on Si substrates. The characteristics of the grown GaN nanowires have been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and through these investigations it was found that the GaN nanowires are of a good crystalline quality (2) When the emission current density is 100 μA/cm2, the necessary electric field is an open electric field of around 9.1 V/μm (at room temperature). The field enhancement factor is ∼730. The field emission properties of GaN nanowires films are related both to the surface roughness and the density of the nanowires in the film.