Lanthanum boride (LaB(x)) thin films with various thicknesses were deposited on ZnO nanowire arrays by electron beam evaporation. Field emission characteristics of ZnO nanowires show close dependence on LaB(x) coating thickness. The turn-on field increases with increasing LaB(x) coating thickness from 10 nm to 50 nm. The observed phenomena were explained by a model that the tunneling at ZnO/LaB(x) interface dominates the emission process.
Keywords: Coating; Field emission; Interface; Tunneling.
Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.