Demonstration of a silicon gated field emitter array based low frequency Colpitts oscillator at 400 °C
Abstract
Silicon gated field emitter arrays have been used as a vacuum transistor to demonstrate a 152 kHz Colpitts oscillator. The transfer and output characteristics of the 1000 × 1000 silicon arrays were measured using a collector placed ≈ 1 mm away with a gate voltage up to 40 V and a collector voltage up to 200 V. The data were used to establish an LTspice transistor model based on a field emission tip model and a collector current model that fit the characteristics. Then, the LTspice model was used to design a low frequency Colpitts oscillator. Furthermore, experiments were carried out to successfully demonstrate the oscillation. Oscillation frequency was 152 kHz with a peak to peak voltage of 25 V for a tip to ground series resistance value of 10 kΩ at 50 V on the gate and 210 V on the collector. Further, the oscillator was also tested at 50, 100, 200, 300, and 400 °C. It was observed that frequency shifts for each temperature which is due to the change in the overall capacitance of the test setup. This type of device could be used as a temperature sensor in harsh environments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 27, 2023
- Source ID
- 10.1116/6.0002272
Entities
People
- Akintunde I. Akinwande
- Girish Rughoobur
- Jim Browning
- Mason Cannon
- Nedeljko Karaulac
- Ranajoy Bhattacharya
- Robert Hay
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Boise State University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology