A 3D integrated design for a compact THz wave generator

A field emission based THz device suitable for MEMS fabrication had been proposed at IVNC 2004. The interactions between the electrons and the terahertz waves in a vacuum electronic device based on field emission had been studied employing a 2D finite-difference time-domain particle-in-cell simulation. The simulation results showed that the efficiency of the design corresponding to a trimmed cathode is up to about 4% without employing any magnetic circuit. These exciting results were based on the 2D design, analysis and simulations. However, the real circuit of this design has to be realized in a vacuum chamber or a laboratory. Due to the wide need of compact THz sources, we have carried out a 3D integrated design of this THz wave generator suitable for both a MEMS fabrication and a vacuum seal. In this presentation, we will introduce this compact THz wave generator. Detail designs including trimmed field emission cathodes, high voltage insulations, input and output structures, and possible fabrication processes to realize this device will be presented.