An emission stable vertical air channel diode by a low-cost and IC compatible BOE etching process

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• Nanoscale air/vacuum channel devices offer potential for extreme environments, high speed, and low power consumption.
• Current limitations include achieving stable, large current emission at low voltages, hindering practical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and fabricate a novel vertical nanoscale air channel diode.
• To demonstrate stable, low-voltage, high-current emission for potential logic circuit applications.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a vertical structure with asymmetric emitters and a sub-100 nm air channel using BOE etching.
• Characterization of diode characteristics and emission stability under various voltage conditions.
• Measurement of device response time for high-frequency signal processing.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated typical diode characteristics controlled by channel length.
• Achieved stable emission currents up to several hundred microamps at voltages below 2 volts in air.
• Obtained a rise/fall time of 25 ns for a 1 MHz input signal, indicating high-speed capability.

Conclusions:

• The developed nanoscale air channel diode exhibits stable emission and low-voltage operation.
• The device is fabricated using a cost-effective, IC-compatible process, suggesting good manufacturing and integration potential.
• This stable emission diode can serve as a fundamental element for future nanoscale air/vacuum channel electronics and logic circuits.