A review of recent results on diamond vacuum lateral field emission device operation in radiation environments

This paper describes the electrical characteristics of lateral field emission vacuum microelectronic devices comprised of nanodiamond in two terminal (diode) and three terminal (transistor) cathode–gate–anode configuration and their resistance to failure in severe radiation conditions that would shut down conventional solid state electronics. This is the first published data on radiation tolerance of three terminal diamond vacuum lateral field emission devices. No changes in device structure or electrical behavior were observed after exposure to high levels of X-ray or neutron radiation.

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► Electronic devices of diamond emitters demonstrate exceptional radiation hardness.
► Very high dosage of X-Ray and neutrons cause no changes in behavior of diodes or transistors.
► Vacuum electron transport not susceptible to carrier mobility degradation.
► Diamond devices can be fabricated and packaged as monolithic ‘chips’, treated as if silicon integrated circuits.