• Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Semiconductor for You
  • Home
  • Semiconductor News
  • Technology
    • Automotive
    • Consumer Electronics
    • IoT
    • Lighting
    • Power Management
    • Wireless
    • Personal Electronics
    • Hardware & Software
    • Research
    • Medical Electronics
    • Embedded Design
    • Aerospace & Defence
    • Artificial Intelligence
  • DIY Projects
  • Market
  • Industries
    • Renesas Electronics
  • Knowledge Base
  • Events
  • Tools
    • Resistor Color Code Calculator
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Semiconductor News
  • Technology
    • Automotive
    • Consumer Electronics
    • IoT
    • Lighting
    • Power Management
    • Wireless
    • Personal Electronics
    • Hardware & Software
    • Research
    • Medical Electronics
    • Embedded Design
    • Aerospace & Defence
    • Artificial Intelligence
  • DIY Projects
  • Market
  • Industries
    • Renesas Electronics
  • Knowledge Base
  • Events
  • Tools
    • Resistor Color Code Calculator
No Result
View All Result
Semiconductor for You
No Result
View All Result
Home Semiconductor News

Vacuum channel transistor combines best of semiconductors and vacuum tubes

Semiconductor For You by Semiconductor For You
April 7, 2017
in Semiconductor News
0

vacuum tubes were the basic components of early electronic devices, by the 1970s they were almost entirely replaced by semiconductor transistors. But in the past few years, researchers have been developing “nanoscale vacuum channel transistors” (NVCTs) that combine the best of vacuum tubes and modern semiconductors into a single device.

Vacuum channel
                                                               Vacuum channel

Compared to conventional transistors, NVCTs are faster and more resistant to high temperatures and radiation. These advantages make NVCTs ideal candidates for applications such as radiation-tolerant deep space communications, high-frequency devices, and THz electronics. They are also candidates for extending Moore’s law—which states that the number of transistors on a computer chip doubles approximately every two years—which is expected to soon hit a roadblock due to the physical limitations of shrinking semiconductor transistors.

On the other hand, traditional vacuum tubes have certain disadvantages compared to semiconductor transistors, which caused them to become obsolete. Notably, vacuum tubes are very large and consume a lot of energy.

With the new NVCTs, size is no longer an issue because the new devices are produced using modern semiconductor fabrication techniques, and so can be made as small as a few nanometers across. Whereas traditional vacuum tubes look like light bulbs, NVCTs look more like typical semiconductor transistors and can only be seen under a scanning electron microscope.

To address the more pressing issue of energy consumption, in a new study researchers Jin-Woo Han, Dong-Il Moon, and M. Meyyappan at the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, have designed a silicon-based NVCT with an improved gate structure that reduces the drive voltage from tens of volts to less than five volts, resulting in a lower energy consumption. Their work is published in a recent issue of Nano Letters.

In an NVCT, the gate is the component that receives the drive voltage and, based on this voltage, it controls the flow of electrons between two electrodes. In contrast, in the old vacuum tubes, electrons were released by heating the emitter of the device. Because the electrons traveled through a vacuum (the vacuum gap), they moved at very high speeds, which led to the fast operation.

In NVCTs, there is not actually a vacuum, but instead the electrons travel across a space filled with an inert gas such as helium at atmospheric pressure. Since the distance between electrodes is so small (as little as 50 nm), the probability of an electron colliding with a gas molecule is very low, and so the electrons move just as quickly through this “quasi-vacuum” as they do in an actual vacuum. Even with some collisions occurring, the gas molecules are not ionized due to the lower operating voltage.

Perhaps the greatest advantage of the new vacuum transistors is their ability to tolerate high temperatures and ionizing radiation, which makes them promising candidates for the harsh environments often experienced by military and space applications. In the new study, the researchers experimentally demonstrated that the NVCTs continue to operate at the same level of performance at temperatures of up to 200 °C, whereas conventional transistors would cease to function at this temperature. Tests also showed that the new NVCTs are robust against gamma and proton radiation.

In the future, the researchers plan to further improve the performance of this “new old” technology

 

Content Protection by DMCA.com
Tags: semiconductortransistor
Semiconductor For You

Semiconductor For You

Browse by Category

  • Aerospace and Defence
  • Articles
  • Automotive
  • Consumer-Electronics
  • Hardware & Software
  • Interview
  • IoT
  • Knowledge Base
  • Lighting
  • Market
  • personal-electronics
  • Power Management
  • Research
  • Semiconductor Events
  • Semiconductor News
  • Technology
  • Wireless
Semiconductor for You

Semiconductor For You is a resource hub for electronics engineers and industrialist. With its blend of
technology features, news and new product information, Semiconductor For You keeps designers and
managers up to date with the fastest moving industry in the world.

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Aerospace and Defence
  • Articles
  • Automotive
  • Consumer-Electronics
  • Hardware & Software
  • Interview
  • IoT
  • Knowledge Base
  • Lighting
  • Market
  • personal-electronics
  • Power Management
  • Research
  • Semiconductor Events
  • Semiconductor News
  • Technology
  • Wireless

Recent News

SEGGER’s Ozone now available for macOS on the M1/M2 (ARM-core) by popular demand

SEGGER’s Ozone now available for macOS on the M1/M2 (ARM-core) by popular demand

March 28, 2023
Infineon AIROC™ CYW20829 Bluetooth LE SoC ready with latest Bluetooth 5.4 specification

Infineon AIROC™ CYW20829 Bluetooth LE SoC ready with latest Bluetooth 5.4 specification

March 24, 2023
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2022 Semiconductor For You

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Semiconductor News
  • Technology
    • IoT
    • Wireless
    • Power Management
    • Automotive
    • Hardware & Software
  • Market
  • Knowledge Base
  • Tools
    • Resistor Color Code Calculator

© 2022 Semiconductor For You

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT