Electrical Conduction And Field Emission Of A Single-Crystalline Gdb44si2 Nanowire

The electronic transport and field emission properties of a single-crystalline GdB(44)Si(2)nanowire are studied. The atomic structure and elemental composition of the GdB(44)S(i2)nanowire are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) using atomic imaging, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and electron energy-loss spectroscopic (EELS) mapping. The electrical conductivity of the single GdB(44)Si(2)nanowire is in the range of 46.8-60.1 S m(-1). Thein situTEM field emission measurement reveals that it has a low work function of 2.4 eV. To realize a converged electron emission, a field evaporation pretreatment was used to clean the emission surface and to make a sharpened tip. The field emission probe measurement results show that the electron emission from the sharp GdB(44)Si(2)nanowire is converged to a single field emission spot and it has a work function of 2.6 eV which is in agreement with thein situTEM measurement. The stability of field emission current is also very good with a fluctuation of 1.4% in 20 min. With a low work function and stable emission current, the GdB(44)Si(2)nanowire shows great promise for field emission applications.