LAUSR

A three-dimensional quantum-mechanical method is used for modeling quantum tunneling and photon-assisted field emission processes in vertical and lateral vacuum nanotriodes. The electron transport through the devices is computed using a transfer-matrix technique. The possibility of using vacuum nanotriodes in current rectification is investigated at low voltages in a quasi-static and a high-frequency analyses. The obtained results show that a great enhancement in the rectification properties is achievable when a DC bias is applied between the gate and the collector. By comparing the results of the vertical and the lateral-type devices, it is shown that the former is superior in current rectification, while the latter provides higher values of current density. Furthermore, the high-frequency analysis shows that incident radiation results in photon-assisted current emission. It also demonstrates that the vacuum nanotriode can be much more efficient than the vacuum nanodiode in rectifying high-frequency signals.