The behavior of the Fowler-Nordheim plot for ZnO-Cu virtual emitter arrays

Field emission arrays are attracting the attention of the scientific community due to their unique emission properties and potential technological applications. The present work deals with the Fowler-Nordheim (FN) plot behavior for virtual arrays composed of ZnO and Cu emitters with predefined geometrical properties. Electron emission is assumed to occur in these arrays based on fundamental electron tunneling with preserved emission characteristics in both semi-conducting and metallic emitters (i.e., degree of field penetration near the emitter surface, band bending effects and saturation of the conduction band current at high fields). The effect of the emitter's size distribution and the dependence of conduction band current saturation on emitter's diameter for ZnO emitters are taken into consideration. Results show that the FN plot characteristics are greatly influenced by the investigated parameters signifying the complicated nature of field emission from these arrays. The present work is believed to be of significance for interpretation of field emission data and can assist further development of field emission arrays for future applications.