ZnO Nanowire Cold Cathode and Its Application in X-ray Sources

Abstract Due to its excellent field emission properties stable chemical properties and ease of low-cost large-ar ea preparation zinc oxide nanowire has important applications in large-area cold cathode electron source devices.Many works on the field emission mechanism performance modulation and electron source device applications of ZnO nanowire cold cathodes have been reported in the past decades.To further advance the practical applications of ZnO nanowire cold cathodes it is necessary to summarize the current status and challenges of their development.In this paper we review the progress of ZnO nanowire cold cathode in aspects of field emission property gate structure design and fabrication and the X-ray source application from the point of view of the performance requirements of large-area cold cathode electron source.Finally a perspective on future research trends and challenges is given.Key words ZnO nanowire cold cathode flat panel electron source flat panel X-ray source 1