Abstract
A fully integrated on-chip vacuum microtriode using carbon nanotubes as field emitters was constructed laterally on a silicon surface using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) design and fabrication principles. Each electrode in the triode was made of a hinged polycrystalline silicon panel that could be rotated and locked into an upright position. The device was operated at a current density as high as 16 A/cm 2. Although the transconductance was measured only at 1.3 μS, the dc output power delivered at the anode was almost 40× more than the power lost at the grid electrode. The technique combines high-performance nano-materials with mature solid-state fabrication technology to produce miniaturized power-amplifying vacuum devices in an on-chip form, which could potentially offer a route of integrating vacuum and solid-state electronics and open up new applications for "old-fashioned" vacuum tubes.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1478-1483 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices |
Volume | 49 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 2002 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering