Silicon carbon nitride (SiCN) cone arrays were synthesized on Si wafers using a microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition reactor with gas mixtures of CH4, SiH4, Ar, H-2 and N-2 as precursors. The SiCN cones have nanometer-sized tips and their roots vary from nanometers to micrometers in sizes. A lowest turn-on field of 0.6 V mu m(-1) as well as field emission current densities of 4.7 mA cm(-2) at an applied field of 2.8 V mu m(-1) was obtained from these SiCN cones. Moreover, the SiCN cone arrays exhibited rather stable emission current under constant applied voltage. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.