Numerical evaluation of RF gas ionization effects in micro-and nano-scale devices

Micro- and nano-scale gaps are likely to occur in miniaturized and high frequency devices. Large electric fields (~10s V/μm) may result in such gaps even for relatively small voltages commonly found in existing electronics. These strong fields can potentially induce gas discharge, which may lead to performance degradation or even device failure. Gas discharge is due to generation and movement of charged species as a result of impact ionization, secondary electron emission, and field emission phenomena. In this paper, the importance of field emission in gas discharge in small gaps for both DC and RF regimes is investigated by using a numerical-based comparison technique.