A gate-insulated vacuum channel transistor was fabricated using standard silicon semiconductor processing. Advantages of the vacuum tube and transistor are combined here by nanofabrication. A photoresist ashing technique enabled the nanogap separation of the emitter and the collector, thus allowing operation at less than 10 V. A cut-off frequency fT of 0.46 THz has been obtained. The nanoscale vacuum tubes can provide high frequency/power output while satisfying the metrics of lightness, cost, lifetime, and stability at harsh conditions, and the operation voltage can be decreased comparable to the modern semiconductor devices.

1.
W. F.
Brinkman
,
D. E.
Haggan
, and
W. W.
Troutman
,
IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits
32
,
1858
(
1997
).
2.
R. S.
Symons
,
IEEE Spectrum
35
,
52
(
1998
).
3.
E.
Barbour
,
IEEE Spectrum
35
,
24
(
1998
).
4.
A. A. G.
Driskill-Smith
,
D. G.
Hasko
, and
H.
Ahmed
,
Appl. Phys. Lett.
71
,
2845
2847
(
1997
).
5.
C. A.
Spindt
,
C. E.
Holland
,
A.
Rosengreen
, and
I.
Brodie
,
IEEE Trans. Electron Devices
38
,
2355
(
1991
).
6.
J.-H.
Park
,
H.-I.
Lee
,
H.-S.
Tae
,
J.-S.
Huh
, and
J.-H.
Lee
,
IEEE Trans. Electron Devices
44
,
1018
(
1997
).
7.
S.-S.
Park
,
D.-I.
Park
,
S.-H.
Hahm
,
J.-H.
Lee
,
H.-C.
Choi
, and
J.-H.
Lee
,
IEEE Trans. Electron Devices
46
,
1283
(
1999
).
8.
J.
Chung
,
M.-C.
Jeng
,
J. E.
Moon
,
A. T.
Wu
,
T. Y.
Chan
,
P. K.
Ko
, and
C. M.
Hu
,
IEEE Electron Device Lett.
9
,
186
(
1988
).
9.
A. A. G.
Driskill-Smith
,
D. G.
Hasko
, and
H.
Ahmed
,
Appl. Phys. Lett.
71
,
3159
(
1997
).
10.
I.
Brodie
,
IEEE Trans. Electron Devices
36
,
2641
(
1989
).
11.
T.
Utsumi
,
IEEE Trans. Electron Devices
38
,
2276
(
1991
).
12.
comsol Multiphysics, Version 3.3. Available: http://comsol.com.
13.
Z.
Xu
,
X. D.
Bai
, and
E. G.
Wang
,
Appl. Phys. Lett.
88
,
133107
(
2006
).
14.
S.
Kim
,
D. U.
Kim
, and
S. K.
Lee
,
Curr. Appl. Phys.
6
,
766
(
2006
).
15.
A.
Malesevic
,
R.
Kemps
,
A.
Vanhulsel
,
M. P.
Chowdhury
,
A.
Volodin
, and
C. V.
Haesendonck
,
J. Appl. Phys.
104
,
084301
(
2008
).
16.
C.-M.
Park
,
M.-S.
Lim
, and
M.-K.
Han
,
IEEE Electron Device Lett.
18
,
538
(
1997
).
You do not currently have access to this content.