High Performance Nano-scale Vacuum Triode Amplifier

Micro-vacuum-tube electronics utilizing CVD diamond micro-tip emitters (patented) as the cold cathode, a CVD diamond micro-patterned grid or self aligned gate, and a CVD diamond anode will be developed. Each device will be 3 microns square and will befabricated in an array having 10 million devices in 1 cm^2. The very small vacuum tubes will have plate currents of 100 micro-amps at grid voltages of a few volts. Individual micro-triodes could be connected together using modern semiconductormetalization methods to form extremely radiation tolerant high temperature processors. Or the micro-triode array can be ganged together to form an extremely high power RF amplifier which has plate current of 1,000 amps/cm^2 and plate voltages in thekilovolt range. Grid voltages on the order of tens of volts will control the current emission and potentially produce megawatts of power from a 1 cm^2 device. During Phase I, the CVD diamond micro-tip emitter arrays were fabricated, tested in thelaboratory, and demonstrated to produce the current densities stated above. The Phase II program will design, fabricate, package, test, and deliver CVD diamond micro-triodes capable of 100 watts at x-band with air cooling only.