Field emission characteristics of transition metal nitrides

Nitrides of transition metals such as Nb, Zr, Ti etc. are very hard and electrically conductive like a metal. Their melting points are very high. Their work functions have been reported to be very low, typically less than 4 eV, which is much less than the work functions of W and Mo. These are desirable features for field emitters. Here field emission characteristics of transition metal nitrides were examined. The nitrides were fabricated by heating the raw metals in ammonia gas. Among the nitrides examined, the NbN emitters gave the most stable field emission current.