Enhanced field emission from ZnO nanotetrapods on a carbon nanofiber buffered Ag film by screen printing

Field emission properties of screen-printed ZnO nanotetrapods on a carbon nanofiber buffered Ag electrode were studied. The turn-on electric field (at a current of 0.1 mu A/cm(2)) and maximum emission current are 0.6 V/mu m and 2.8 mA/cm(2) (at a field of 2.2 V/mu m), which were significantly improved compared to the control device made of ZnO nanotetrapods on Ag directly without a carbon nanofiber buffer. The improved field emission is due to the better contact (both mechanical and electrical) formed with a carbon nanofiber buffer.