Ion emission properties of indium nanowires grown on anodic aluminum oxide template

Indium (In) nanowires were synthesized on self-ordered hexagonal porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template by electrodepositing In2(SO4)3 in the pores of AAO template. In nanowires obtained are very straight and have uniform-diameter about 45 nm. The ion emission properties of In nanowires were investigated. The onset field of ion emission is observed at about 1.6 V/μm, which is much lower than that for a conventional liquid metal ion source (LMIS) consisting of a sharpened metal needle. The I-E curves follow nearly a linear relationship with a slope of about 6.0 μA/(V/μm), indicating a conventional ion emission phenomenon in LMIS. It is proposed that the unique geometry of nanowires may be the reason for their advantages in LMIS.