Comparison of the electronic structures of AIN nanotips grown on p- and n-type Si substrates

At and N K-edge x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), scanning photoelectron microscopy (SPEM) and x-ray emission measurements were performed on AIN nanotips grown on p- and n-type Si substrates (p-AIN and n-AIN). Features and intensities in the Al and N K-edge XANES spectra of these AIN nanotips overall are similar. In contrast, the intensities of the valence-band SPEM spectra of p-AIN are apparently larger than those of n-AIN, which indicates that the valence-band density of states of p-AIN exceeds that of n-AIN. This result may be related to the observed enhancement of field-emission intensity of AIN nanotips grown on the p-type Si substrate.