UV Illumination and Au Nanoparticles Enhanced ZnO Nanorods Field Electron Emission Device

In this study, ZnO and gold-adsorbed ZnO (Au-ZnO) nanorods (NRs) are successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method. The result of scanning electron microscopy verifies that high-density ZnO NRs are successfully grown on the substrate. The NRs are mostly perpendicular to the substrate surface. The J-E curves in the dark and under UV indicate that the turn-on field values of the ZnO and Au-ZnO NRs are 6.85 and 5.85 V/μm and 4.85 and 4.14 V/μm, respectively. The F-N plot in the dark and under UV demonstrates that the field enhancement factors of the ZnO and Au-ZnO NRs are approximately 700, 1896 and 1796, 4109, respectively. The performance of ZnO NR field emission (FE) is improved by adsorbed Au. The results show that the FE properties remain stable and that the manufactured device features excellent characteristics.