Abstract
Large-area zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire arrays have important applications in flat-panel X-ray sources and detectors. Doping is an effective way to enhance the emission current by changing the nanowire conductivity and the lattice structure. In this paper, large-area indium-doped ZnO nanowire arrays were prepared on indium-tin-oxide-coated glass substrates by the thermal oxidation method. Doping with indium concentrations up to 1 at% was achieved by directly oxidizing the In-Zn alloy thin film. The growth process was subsequently explained using a self-catalytic vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism. The field emission measurements show that a high emission current of ~20 mA could be obtained from large-area In-doped sample with a 4.8 × 4.8 cm2 area. This high emission current was attributed to the high crystallinity and conductivity change induced by the indium dopants. Furthermore, the application of these In-doped ZnO nanowire arrays in a flat-panel X-ray source was realized and distinct X-ray imaging was demonstrated.
Highlights
Nanomaterials 2021, 11, 240. https://Larger area one-dimensional (1D) cold cathode arrays play an important role in panel light sources, flat-panel X-ray sources, and photodetectors [1,2,3,4]
A flat-panel X-ray source was fabricated using the zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire array with indium doping as the cathode, which achieved uniform emission and clear X-ray imaging of biological and non-biological samples
ZnO nanowire arrays with indium doping were prepared by the thermal oxidation technique, where the In was successfully doped into the nanowires at a content of approximately 1at%
Summary
Larger area one-dimensional (1D) cold cathode arrays play an important role in panel light sources, flat-panel X-ray sources, and photodetectors [1,2,3,4]. Ahmad et al have synthesized ZnO nanowires with In doping that exhibited a superior field emission performance [24] These previous results demonstrated that element doping can effectively improve the electrical properties of ZnO nanowires and thereby enhance their field emission properties. A flat-panel X-ray source was fabricated using the ZnO nanowire array with indium doping as the cathode, which achieved uniform emission and clear X-ray imaging of biological and non-biological samples. These results are of great significance to the application of large area indium doped ZnO nanowires in vacuum electronic devices
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