Modeling operational modes of a bipolar vacuum microelectronic device

Abstract

Vacuum microelectronic devices (VMDs) designed for bipolar charge operation hold great promise for applications in radiation-intensive and high-temperature environments. This novel class of devices was first realized in a microelectromechanical platform leveraging integrated carbon nanotube field emitters and an addressable pentode structure for controlling electron-impact dynamics in Ar ambients. That proof of concept demands the development of basic numerical models to aid device optimization. We address this need in the form of a two-fluid model of carrier transport dynamics in a bipolar VMD (BVMD). The fluid model captures the behavior of operational modes demonstrated in previously reported devices. Moreover, this approach promises insight into potentially unforeseen pressure and frequency dependences of the BVMD platform.