Preparation of vertically-aligned nickel nanowires with anodic aluminum oxide templates and their application as field emitters

In this study, well-ordered and vertically-aligned nickel nanowires (NiNWs) with a controllable length were grown inside the nanopores of anodic alumina oxide templates (AAOTs) using a simple electrochemical deposition (ECD) method. The electron field emission characteristics of the prepared NiNWs within AAOTs with two pore diameters (100 and 200 nm) and length in the range of 2.7–22 μm were measured and discussed. The turn-on field/the enhancement factor of 8.5 and 7-μm-long NiNWs prepared within 100 and 200 pore diameter AAOTs, respectively, were about 3.46 V/μm/17,621 and 4.8 V/μm/5001, respectively, according to I–V measurements.