Enhanced Field Emission Properties of Titanium Nitride Coated ZnO Nanowires

ZnO nanowire field emitters have great applications in vacuum microelectronic devices. Surface coating is an effective approach which can enhance field emission properties of field emitters. In this study, titanium nitride layer was coated on ZnO nanowires. The field emission properties were studied in situ using a nanoprobe technique. It is found that the TiN coating lowers the turn-on field and increase the emission current. We attribute the enhanced field emission to the decreased work function after coating.