Photo-Induced Nonlinearities in Fowler-Nordheim Plots for Field Emission of SiC Nanowires

none5In this contribution the field emission by tunneling of electrons of 3C-SiC nanowires on Si substrate, grown by CVD method via Ni catalyst, has been investigated. Scanning electron images have quantified the low density of the nanowires over the sample surface. In order to exclude any contribution to the Field Emission phenomenon from the Si substrate, the field emission measurements have been performed before and after removing the SiC nanowires. The Field Emission experiments have been carried out in dark conditions and by shining the sample surface. The extracted Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) plots show that the Field Emission from nanowires is highly sensitive to illumination parameters. When using lighting, a partition in three regions of the F-N plot has been observed. In the low field region, the F-N plot is linear or metallic-like, then it follows a saturation-current region and finally the high field region is characterized by a sharp increase. Departure from the standard F-N theory, that is the influence of light and temperature on the Field Emission phenomenon, is well assessed for bulk semiconductor cathodes [1], but it has been rarely observed in single SiC nanowires [2]. To the authors’ knowledge, this contribution reports for the first time the strong deviation from F-N linear behavior for multiple SiC nanowires dispersed over planar substrate. Field Emission data from quantum-confined structures are both useful for the study of their fundamental physics, but also because of promising technological applications, such as electron sources, high-resolution electron beam instruments, and Field Emission displays. [1] G. N. Fursey, Field Emission in Vacuum Microelectronics (Kluwer Academic, New York, 2005) [2] M. Choueib , A. Ayari, P. Vincent, M. Bechelany, D. Cornu, and S. T. Purcell, "Strong deviations from Fowler-Nordheim behavior for field emission from individual SiC nanowires due to restricted bulk carrier generation", Physical Review B 79, 075421 (2009)noneStefania Carapezzi; Antonio Castaldini; Anna Cavallini; Giovanni Attolini; Giancarlo SalviatiStefania Carapezzi; Antonio Castaldini; Anna Cavallini; Giovanni Attolini; Giancarlo Salviat