Enhanced field emission of Al-doped ZnO nanowires grown on a flexible polyimide substrate with UV exposure

Abstract

High-density Al doped ZnO nanowires were synthesized on a polyimide substrate by hydrothermal synthesis. All synthesis and fabrication processes were lower than 100 °C. The PL intensity of Al doped ZnO nanowires is much stronger than ZnO nanowires. UV light reduced the field emission turn-on electric field of Al doped ZnO nanowires from 2.8 to 1.3 V μm⁻¹. When the UV light had been off for 55 minutes, field emission performance was still better than measured in the dark.