TY - JOUR
T1 - Fabrication and characterization of well-aligned and ultra-sharp silicon nanotip array
AU - Wu, Chi Chang
AU - Ou, Keng Liang
AU - Tseng, Ching Li
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Well-defined, uniform, and large-area nanoscaled tips are of great interest for scanning probe microscopy and high-efficiency field emission. An ultra-sharp nanotip causes higher electrical field and, hence, improves the emission current. In this paper, a large-area and well-aligned ultra-sharp nanotip arrays by reactive ion etching and oxidation techniques are fabricated. The apex of nanotips can be further sharpened to reach 3-nm radius by subsequent oxidation and etching process. A schematic model to explain the formation of nanotip array is proposed. When increasing the etching time, the photoresist on top of the nanotip is also consumed, and the exposed silicon substrate is etched away to form the nanotip. At the end, the photoresist is consumed completely and a nanotip with pyramid-like shape is developed. The field emission property was measured, and the turn-on field and work function of the ultra-sharp nanotip was about 5.37 V/μm and 4.59 eV, respectively. A nanotip with an oxide layer capped on the sidewall is also fabricated in this paper. Comparing to the uncapped nanotip, the oxide-capped sample exhibits stable and excellent field emission property against environmental disturbance.
AB - Well-defined, uniform, and large-area nanoscaled tips are of great interest for scanning probe microscopy and high-efficiency field emission. An ultra-sharp nanotip causes higher electrical field and, hence, improves the emission current. In this paper, a large-area and well-aligned ultra-sharp nanotip arrays by reactive ion etching and oxidation techniques are fabricated. The apex of nanotips can be further sharpened to reach 3-nm radius by subsequent oxidation and etching process. A schematic model to explain the formation of nanotip array is proposed. When increasing the etching time, the photoresist on top of the nanotip is also consumed, and the exposed silicon substrate is etched away to form the nanotip. At the end, the photoresist is consumed completely and a nanotip with pyramid-like shape is developed. The field emission property was measured, and the turn-on field and work function of the ultra-sharp nanotip was about 5.37 V/μm and 4.59 eV, respectively. A nanotip with an oxide layer capped on the sidewall is also fabricated in this paper. Comparing to the uncapped nanotip, the oxide-capped sample exhibits stable and excellent field emission property against environmental disturbance.
KW - Field emission
KW - Fowler-nordheim
KW - Oxidecapped
KW - Silicon nanotip
KW - Well-aligned
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84863299223&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1186/1556-276X-7-120
DO - 10.1186/1556-276X-7-120
M3 - Article
C2 - 22330967
AN - SCOPUS:84863299223
SN - 1931-7573
VL - 7
JO - Nanoscale Research Letters
JF - Nanoscale Research Letters
M1 - 120
ER -