Diminish the screen effect in field emission via patterned and selective edge growth of ZnO nanorod arrays

Abstract

The authors report on the field emission from controlled selective grown zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod arrays by hydrothermal reaction. With the combined effect from a ZnO seed layer and a passivation layer for nanorod growth, ZnO nanorods could only grow on the edge of a $4\mu \text{m}$ diameter circle. The ZnO nanorods hollow arrays present excellent electron emission characteristics duo to its typical morphology which can significantly diminish the screen effect. By calculating the electrostatic field distribution, it was found that the electrostatic field of the ZnO nanorods hollow arrays is significantly higher than that of the solid arrays.