AN ELECTRON BOMBARDED SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE

ELECTRON BOMBARDED SEMICONDUCTOR (EBS) GAIN DEVICES USING SILICON DIODES HAVE APPLICATIONS IN FREQUENCY AGILE, RADIO FREQUENCY (RF)/MICROWAVE POWER AMPLIFIERS, PHOTOMULTIPLIERS,IMAGING TUBES, AND HIGH SPEED SIGNAL PROCESSORS SUCH AS ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERTERS. HOWEVER, COMMERCIAL ACCEPTANCE OF THESE DEVICES HAS BEEN LIMITED IN THE PAST BECAUSE OF THE DIFFICULTIES IN PROCESSING THE SILICON DIODESFOR HIGH POWER AND HIGH TEMPERATURE OPERATION IN A VACUUM THAT HAS RESIDUAL IMPURITIES. IN ADDITION, THE RELATIVELY SHORT LIFE OF THE DIODES OPERATING UNDER THESE CONDITIONS LIMITS THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE EBS TO ONLY THOSE APPLICATIONS WHERE THE PERFORMANCE CANNOT BE DUPLICATED BY ANY OTHER MEANS. THIS PROJECT IS DEVELOPING EBS GAIN DEVICES THAT WILL USE NOVEL SYNTHETIC DIAMOND FILM DIODES THAT HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED. COMPARED WITH SILICON, SYNTHETIC DIAMOND FILM EBS GAIN DIODES ARE EASIER TO MANUFACTURE BECAUSE OF THEIR DIFFUSION IMMUNITY AND HAVE GREATLY IMPROVED OPERATING LIFE AND LINEARITY, HIGH POWER BANDWIDTH,AND LOWER NOISE. THE PHASE I EFFORT IS INVESTIGATING DIAMOND DIODE EBS GAIN, LIFETIME, AND PHOTOCATHODE COMPATIBILITY.