Observation of field emission from GeSn nanoparticles epitaxially grown on silicon nanopillar arrays

TL;DR

This study demonstrates stable field emission from GeSn nanoparticles grown on silicon nanopillars, revealing potential for electronic applications and showing how oxidation affects emission performance.

Contribution

It is the first to report stable field emission from GeSn nanoparticles epitaxially grown on silicon nanopillars and explores methods to enhance emission by controlling oxidation.

Findings

Stable field emission observed from GeSn nanoparticles.

Oxidation layer affects emission stability and can be broken by electrical stress.

GeSn/p-Si junctions exhibit rectifying behavior.

Abstract

We apply molecular beam epitaxy to grow GeSn-nanoparticles on top of Si-nanopillars patterned onto p-type Si wafers. We use X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to confirm a metallic behavior of the nanoparticle surface due to partial Sn segregation as well as the presence of a superficial Ge oxide. We report the observation of stable field emission current from the GeSn-nanoparticles. We prove that field emission can be enhanced by preventing GeSn nanoparticles oxidation or by breaking the oxide layer through electrical stress. Finally, we show that GeSn/p-Si junctions have a rectifying behavior.