Form 9.B Project Summary

Chron:

971124

Proposal

Number:

26.02-9986

Project Title:

A CVD Diamond Coated Silicon-Based

Cold Cathode For Space-Based Power

Tubes

Technical Abstract (Limit 200 words)

A silicon based Spindt-type field emission cathode

exploiting electron emission properties of Chemical

Vapor Deposited (CVD) diamond will be developed.

This cold cathode will be capable of producing high

current densities at low applied electric fields and

will dramatically improve the performance of

microwave power tubes and other electron devices

for commercial and military applications. A

proprietary process is employed for selective

diamond deposition on emitter tips of silicon based

field emission arrays produced by state of the art

semiconductor manufacturing technologies. This

process which produces coverage of diamond

crystallites on emitter tips with no coverage of the

gate has been developed by General Vacuum, Inc.

and successfully demonstrated on Mo based

Spindt-type arrays provided by NASA LeRC. Due

to the Negative Electron Affinity (NEA) nature of

diamond, high electron emission will be achieved at

very low applied fields. Because power in satellites

can cost up to $1,000,000 per watt, very significant

savings can be achieved with the new diamond/Si

cold cathode since no heater is necessary to obtain

the desired current densities and input power is

orders of magnitude lower than state of the art.

Phase I will demonstrate feasibility of reproducing

this process on silicon-based field emission arrays.

Potential Commercial Applications (Limit 200 words)

Diamond-coated silicon-based Spindt cathodes may

be incorporated into high power amplifiers for

Doppler radar systems, satellite communication

systems, and field emission cathodes for flat panel

displays. These arrays will be a highly efficient

source of electrons, at high power, for commercial

communication systems and next-generation field

emission displays. The manufacturing technique is

easily incorporated into existing silicon-based

semiconductor manufacturing processes, and will

allow rapid incorporation of thin-film diamond to

enhance existing devices. The efficiency and yield

of these arrays will also allow the design of new

devices which had previously been limited by

conventional thermionic or cold cathodes.

Name and Address of Principal Investigator (Name,

Organization Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip)

Hsiung Chen

General Vacuum, Inc.

190A Alpha Park

Cleveland , OH 44143

Name and Address of Offeror (Firm Name, Mail Address,

City/State/Zip)

Gerald Mearini

General Vacuum, Inc.

190A Alpha Park

Cleveland , OH 44143