Well-aligned SiC nanoneedle arrays for excellent field emitters

Well-aligned SiC nanowire arrays are successfully synthesized on carbon cloth by a facile chemical vapor deposition without using any templates. Such nanowire arrays acting as cold electron emitters exhibit excellent field emission performance with very low turn-on and threshold voltages of 1.3 V μm−1 and 2.2 V μm−1, respectively, and high field enhancement factor (∼3667). The superior field emission properties are mainly attributed to well aligned and tapered morphology of SiC and the enhanced electrons transport in the nanowires due to the good electric contact with the carbon fabric substrate where they grow.

► Well-aligned SiC nanoneedle arrays were synthesized by simple heating method without using any templates.
► The well-aligned SiC nanoneedle arrays exhibited excellent FE properties.
► The reason for the enhanced FE properties was proposed.