Field emission from well-aligned zinc oxide nanowires grown at low temperature

Field electron emission from vertically well-aligned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires, which were grown by the vapor deposition method at a low temperature of $\text{550\hspace{0.05em}°}\mathrm{C},$ was investigated. The high-purity ZnO nanowires showed a single crystalline wurtzite structure. The turn-on voltage for the ZnO nanowires was found to be about 6.0 V/μm at current density of $\text{0.1\hspace{0.17em}μ}{\mathrm{A/cm}}^2.$ The emission current density from the ZnO nanowires reached $\text{1\hspace{0.17em}}{\mathrm{mA/cm}}^2$ at a bias field of 11.0 V/μm, which could give sufficient brightness as a field emitter in a flat panel display. Therefore, the well-aligned ZnO nanowires grown at such low temperature can promise the application of a glass-sealed flat panel display in a near future.