The document compares vacuum tubes, MOSFETs, and a proposed nano vacuum tube. Vacuum tubes are bulky and fragile but provide high power and performance, while MOSFETs are cheaper, more reliable, and have a longer lifetime but face scaling limitations. The nano vacuum tube aims to combine advantages of both by using a CMOS fabrication process with a vacuum ambient and nanoscale cathode-anode separation, potentially offering high power and performance while being cheap with a long lifetime and radiation hardness.

1. Pros and Cons of vacuum tube and MOSFET
Vacuum Tube MOSFET Nano Vacuum Tube
+ High power + Cheap + CMOS process
+ High performance + Reliable + Cheap
+ Radiation hard + Long lifetime + Long lifetime
- Bulky, Fragile + Range of applications + High power
- Expensive - End of scaling + High performance
- Short Lifetime - Low breakdown + Range of applications
- Power consumption + Radiation hard
Vacuum ambient
<50nm
Cathode Anode
<5nm
Back gate
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2. Preliminary Nano Vacuum Tube Structure
MOSFET
G
D
S
150 nm
Vacuum field-emission transistor 25
Collector current, Ic (A)
Collector current, Ic (µ A)
-6
20 10
E
15 SS=4.2V/dec
C -8
10
10
-10
5 10
G
0 VT=8.8V -12
10
-4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Gate voltage, Vg (V)
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