Electrical properties and field emission characteristics of ITO nanorod thin films synthesized by electron beam physical vapor deposition

One-dimensional nanostructures, especially those with high aspect ratios, are suitable materials for fabricating field emitters. Indium tin oxide (ITO) nanorod thin films were successfully synthesized on GaAs substrates using electron beam physical vapor deposition. Subsequently, the morphologies and crystal structures of the samples were analyzed in detail. Characterizations showed that the nanorods were 30.06–49.20 nm in diameter with highly crystalline cubic indium oxide structures. The electrical properties, field emission characteristics, and stability of the samples were measured, exhibiting the conductivity of a semiconductor. The field emission threshold electric field of the samples was about 5.72 V/µm when the current density was 0.01 mA/cm², and the maximum current density was 0.937 mA/cm² when the electric field was 14.19 V/µm. The fluctuation of field emission electric current was less than 7%, implying that a stable current density was emitted. That is, good field emission characteristics were obtained in the ITO nanorod thin film samples. Finally, the growth mechanism of the samples was analyzed in brief based on the vapor–liquid-solid (VLS) synthesis.