A reliable method was presented for fabricating and assembling single nanowire-based field emitters of various crystal orientations. The atomic arrangement, emission brightness from each crystal plane, and field emission stability were characterized by using field ion microscopy and field emission microscopy. It was found that a <001>-oriented LaB6 nanowire emitter had the highest field emission symmetry while a <012>-oriented LaB6 nanowire had the lowest apical work function.

Nanostructured LaB6 Field Emitter with Lowest Apical Work Function. Zhang, H., Tang, J., Yuan, J., Ma, J., Shinya, N., Nakajima, K., Murakami, H., Ohkubo, T., Qin, L.C.: Nano Letters, 2010, 10[9], 3539-44