Enhanced Field Emission from Well-Patterned Silicon Nanoporous Pillar Arrays

The silicon nanoporous pillar array (Si-NPA) is synthesized by using hydrothermal etching method, and the electron field emission properties are studied. The results show that Si-NPA has a low turn-on field of 1.48μm at the emission current of 0.1μA and its field emission is relatively stable. The field emission enhancement of Si-NPA is believed to originate from its unique morphology and structure. Our finding demonstrates that the Si-NPA is a promising candidate material for field emission applications.