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%

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Summary

Introduction

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

Experimental
Morphology and Structure Characterization
Growth Mechanism
Field Emission Properties
Electric Characteristics of Single Indium Doped ZnO Nanowire
Application in Flat-Panel X-ray Source
Conclusions

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