Oriented silicon carbide nanowires: Synthesis and field emission properties

Oriented SiC nanowires were prepared by reacting aligned carbon nanotubes with SiO at 1400 °C for 2 h. The orientation, diameter, and length of the oriented SiC nanowires were similar to those of the original aligned carbon nanotubes, suggesting that the carbon nanotubes acted as a template to confine the reaction. The field emission properties of the well-oriented nanowires were measured. Field emission current densities of 10 μA/cm² were observed at applied fields of 0.7-1.5 V/μm, and current densities of 10 mA/cm² were realized at applied fields as low as 2.5-3.5 V/μm. The results represent the lowest field ever reported for any field-emitting materials at technologically-useful current densities.