Fabrication and emitter measurements for a nanoklystron: A novel THz micro-tube source

A novel monolithic micro-tube source for submillimeter-wave (300 GHz to 3 THz) power generation is being developed at JPL. The tube takes the form of a simple reflex klystron with dimensions in the micrometer range, fabricated monolithically in silicon using standard MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) fabrication techniques. While different types of cathodes are being considered, the effort has been focused so far on developing highly ordered arrays of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) working as cold field emitters. In this paper we report the progress and some preliminary results on the fabrication of monolithic nanoklystron cavities and CNT-based field emitters.