"IC-Processed Hot-Filament Vacuum Microdevices,"
Kirt R. Williams and Richard S. Muller,
International Electron Devices Meeting
December, 1992, San Francisco, California, pp. 387-390.


IC-Processed Hot-Filament Vacuum Microdevices

Abstract

Micromachined vacuum devices that employ a hot tungsten filament
as a source of electromagnetic radiation 
and thermionically emitted electrons
have been fabricated. 
These hot-filament devices have been characterized
for use as "microlamps," vacuum diodes, and triodes. 
Coplanar filaments are used for the cathodes and anodes in the diodes,
and also for the grids in the triodes.
The filaments are typically 200 um long
and are suspended over a cavity in the silicon substrate.
The devices tested were operated in
a pumped vacuum chamber.