The research focuses on the synthesis of holmium doped silicon nanowires. Large-area silicon nanowires on Au-coated silicon substrates were prepared with silicon and holmium chloride as sources. The formation mechanism of silicon nanowires could be explained by a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth process with metal catalysts. Variation of the experimental parameters, such as pressure, temperature, carrier gas, and the ratio of silicon and holmium chloride sources led to the finding of the optimal growth conditions. The carrier gases were found to influence significantly the diameter of the silicon nanowires. The transmission electron microscope image shows a typical silicon nanowire with coaxial nanostructures with a silicon nanowire core inside and an outer amorphous oxide sheath. For field emission properties, the excellent turn-on field and β value of the nanowires were attributed to the high density of silicon nanowires. In the I-V measurements, consistent values of resistivity were obtained.

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