Semiconductor-Free Field-Emission Nanoelectronics: Application in Air-Channel Transistors

We introduce a nano-scale, metal-based, field emission air channel transistor. Comparative analysis of tungsten, gold, and platinum based devices is presented. Devices are fabricated with electron beam lithography, achieving channel lengths less than 35 nm. With this small channel length, vacuum-like carrier transport is possible in air under room temperature and pressure. Source and drain electrodes have planar, symmetric, and tapered-sharp geometry. Due to this, devices operate in bi-direction with voltages <2 V and current in nA range. The presented work enables a technology where metal-based switchable nanoelectronics can be created on any dielectric surface with low energy requirements.