GaAs-Carbon Nanotubes Nanocomposite: Synthesis and Field-emission Property

Abstract

Hybridization of semiconductor materials with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is a recent field of interest in which new nanodevice fabrication and applications are expected. In this work, nanowire type GaAs structures are synthesized on porous single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as templates using the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technique. The field emission properties of the as-synthesized products were investigated to suggest their potential applications as cold electron sources, as well. The SWCNT template was synthesized by the arc-discharge method. SWCNT samples were heat-treated at under an atmosphere to remove amorphous carbon. After heat treatment, GaAs was grown on the SWCNT template. The growth conditions of the GaAs in the MBE system were set by changing the growth temperatures from to . The morphology of the GaAs synthesized on the SWCNTs strongly depends on the substrate temperature. Namely, nano-crystalline beads of GaAs are formed on the CNTs under , while nanowire structures begin to form on the beads above . The crystal qualities of GaAs and SWCNT were examined by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectra. The field emission properties of the synthesized GaAs nanowires were also investigated and a low turn-on field of was achieved. But, the turn-on field was increased in the second and third measurements. It is thought that arsenic atoms were evaporated during the measurement of the field emission.