Illumination effects on the characteristics of nanocrystalline silicon ballistic emitter as an active electrode in solutions

As reported previously, the nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) ballistic electron emitter shows some specific features: emission of high energy electrons with several eV in average, surface emission, small angle dispersion, operation in various medium, including vacuum, atmospheric-pressure gases, and solutions. When the emitter is driven in aqueous solutions without using any counter electrode, hydrogen is generated at the device surface. The present paper reports the effects of illumination on the activity of the nc-Si ballistic emitters in solutions. The experimental results of the operation in D
₂
O solutions are also presented.