Radiation Resistant CNT Transistors

Current silicon (Si) semiconductors are unsuitable for high radiation environments found in space or nuclear facilities. An alternative approach exists with vacuum tubes, where a gate electrode encourages electron emission across a vacuum gap between an emitter (source) and collector (drain). Traditionally, these were high voltage applications with low reliability, using a filament to heat the tube for thermionic emission. However, the vacuum gap contains no material for radiation to interfere with the switching process, rendering vacuum tubes inherently radiation resistant. Mainstream proposes a cold cathode field emission transistor, a modern, nanometer-scale replacement for vacuum tubes. Mainstream's unique ability to pattern and grow carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as emission transistors is uniquely suited for preventing radiation interaction problems. Approved for Public Release |21-MDA-10789 (21 Apr 21)