Vacuum field transistor with upside-down MOSFET structure

Abstract

In this work, new field emission device, with which can replace MOS transistor and vacuum tube in certain application, was proposed. The state-of-the-art in solid-state electronics allows high frequency operation, low power consumption, low cost, and high fabrication yield. However, there are certain applications where solid-state devices are impractical or inconvenient. Therefore one potential solution is the same vacuum technology that was abandoned nearly 50 years ago. There are extreme applications that render traditional solid-state devices useless due to their inherent sensitivity to harsh environments (temperature, radiation, etc.). For example, the sensing electronics in nuclear and fusion reactors are subjected to high levels of radiation. Electronics in space are also inherently subjected to high levels of radiation. This radiation can generate charge carriers in the bulk of solid-state devices. This can cause transient artifacts in the operation of the device (soft errors) and, in some cases, permanent damage (hard errors). And, conventional solid-state devices, the flow of current is conducted within semiconductors, so the moving velocity of carriers, such as electron or hole, are affected by the crystal lattices or impurities therein. However, unlike conventional solid-state devices such as MOSFET and BJT that use a single crystalline active channel, proposed device utilizes a vacuum channel. Namely, vacuum field transistor (VFT) proposed here is a device of a new concept that electrons emitted from the source by the applied gate-to-source electric field move through the vacuum channel and enter into the drain. Thus, it is impossible to induce carrier generation through radiation. Therefore, proposed device is relatively immune to radiation damage, making them suitable for the aforementioned high radiation environments. And proposed device is inherently tolerant to high temperatures. Similar to proposed vacuum device’s inherent immunity to...