Processing, property modulation and application of one-dimensional SiC nanostructure field emitters

Abstract

Semiconductor technology has achieved significant progress since the mid-twentieth century. However, traditional semiconductors nowadays have some limitations due to their low electron mobility and narrow band gap, so they cannot perfectly meet the requirements in the field of high-frequency, high-power, and high-temperature electronic devices, optoelectronic devices, and so on. The third-generation semiconductor materials, represented by silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN), and other wide-band semiconductor materials, have shown excellent properties. In particular, one-dimensional (1D) SiC nanostructures with good electron mobility, stability, and fabricability, are one of the most important candidates for next-generation field-emitting cathodes that can be used in displays, vacuum devices, etc. Therefore, in this paper, the field emission principles, factors affecting the field emission performance, and evaluation criteria of 1D SiC nanostructures are reviewed. The approaches to improve the field emission performance of 1D SiC nanostructures are summarized. The applications of field emitters in field emission displays, microwave vacuum devices, and electron microscopy are briefly demonstrated, and the current difficulties are analyzed. Finally, the current research status of SiC nanostructure field emitters is summarized and a future outlook is given.