Electron field emission from GaN nanorod films grown on Si substrates with native silicon oxides

GaN nanorod films have been grown on Si(001) substrates with native silicon oxides by radio-frequency plasma-enhanced molecular beam epitaxy. GaN nanorod films are made up of single-crystalline nanorods with a so-called (0001) fiber-like texture. Each nanorod is elongated along c axis in perpendicular to the substrate surface and has no preferential axis in film plane. Excellent electron field emission characteristics were observed for the fabricated GaN nanorod films with a field emission threshold as low as 1.25V∕μm at a current density of 0.1μA∕cm2 and a field emission current density as high as 2.5mA∕cm2 at an applied field of 2.5V∕μm. These excellent characteristics are attributed to the geometrical configuration of nanorods and their good crystalline quality as well as the low electron affinity of GaN.

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