FEASIBILITY OF VACUUM MICROELECTRONICS VOLTAGE COMPARATOR

Field-effect microtips are more coherent electron sources than hot fil aments, and are well suited for electron optics applications such as l ow-energy electron interference. We propose to use this physical pheno menon in an integrated vacuum voltage comparator whose structure is de rived from the classical Mollenstedt-type electron biprism. Our setup is separated into two independent parts, and acts both as a biprism an d as a deflector for the fringe pattern. The deflection, proportional to the voltage we want to measure, is known with high precision thanks to the fine structures of the pattern. We conclude that it is possibl e to fabricate a device with a precision of 25 meV, a response time of 110 ps and a very high input resistance.