Nanoscale Vacuum Channel Transistor

Abstract

Vacuum tubes that sparked the electronics era had given way to semiconductor transistors. Despite their faster operation and better immunity to noise and radiation compared to the transistors, the vacuum device technology became extinct due to the high power consumption, integration difficulties, and short lifetime of the vacuum tubes. We combine the best of vacuum tubes and modern silicon nanofabrication technology here. The surround gate nanoscale vacuum channel transistor consists of sharp source and drain electrodes separated by sub-50 nm vacuum channel with a source to gate distance of 10 nm. This transistor performs at a low voltage (<5 V) and provides a high drive current (>3 microamperes). The nanoscale vacuum channel transistor can be a possible alternative to semiconductor transistors beyond Moore's law.