The Fowler-Nordheim plot behavior and mechanism of field electron emission from ZnO tetrapod structures.

Al-Tabbakh, Ahmed A; More, Mahendra A; Joag, Dilip S; Mulla, Imtiaz S; Pillai, Vijayamohanan K · ACS Nano · 2010

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Field emission measurements of current-voltage characteristics are reported for tetrapod structures of ZnO. The nonlinear Fowler-Nordheim (FN) plot is analyzed according to a model of calculation based on saturation of conduction band current and predominance of valence band current at high-field values. The simulated FN plot exhibits similar features to those observed experimentally. The model of calculation suggests that the slope variation of the FN plot, in the high-field and low-field regions, does not depend on the magnitude of saturation. Instead, it is a characteristic of the energy band structure and voltage-to-barrier-field conversion factor of the emitting material.