Vacuum microtriode utilizing nanodiamond microtip emitters

This article reports a vacuum field emission microtriode utilizing nanodiamond as the emitting material. The device was fabricated by IC-compatible fabrication process involving a mold transfer technique coupled with nanodiamond chemical vapor deposition. Triode behavior was characterized, showing gate-controlled emission current modulation with high current density at low bias conditions. A high current density of ~150 mA/cm² is achievable at low operating gate and anode voltages. It was found the nanodiamond microtriode can be used as a buffer amplifier for high frequency applications. The realization of an efficient vacuum microtriode achieves a fundamental step for further development of vacuum integrated microelectronics.