title: Controlling the growth and field emission properties of silicide nanowire arrays by direct silicification of Ni foil.
abstract: Nickel silicide nanowire arrays have been achieved by the decomposition of SiH(4) on Ni foil at 650 °C. It is indicated that the nickel silicide nanowires consist of roots with diameter of about 100-200 nm and tips with diameter of about 10-50 nm. A Ni diffusion controlled mechanism is proposed to explain the formation of the nickel silicide nanowires. Field emission measurement shows that the turn-on field of the nickel silicide nanowire arrays is low, at about 3.7 V µm(-1), and the field enhancement factor is as high as 4280, so the arrays have promising applications as emitters.
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab of Silicon Materials and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhihong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Deren
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yang