Large and stable field-emission current from heavily Si-doped AlN grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

We report on the electron field emission (FE) from heavily Si-doped AlN grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. We found that, as the Si-dopant density increases, the threshold electric field decreases and, consequently, the FE current from AlN increases drastically. We show that heavily Si-doped (2.5×1020 cm−3) AlN has a threshold electric field of 34 V/μm, a maximum FE current density of 4.8 mA/cm2, and stable FE current (fluctuation: 3%).