Fundamental electronic properties of materials for terahertz vacuum electron devices

In this paper theoretical and experimental study of the effects of surface roughness and metal film characteristics in the THz regime ohmic dissipation of the micro vacuum electron devices. A novel computer simulation tool was developed to self-consistent model and theoretical predictions were validated using a quasi-optical resonant cavity. Fabrication technique was used to create controlled, nanotextured surface and conductivity measurement of nanostructured sample was conducted using resonant cavity. The knowledge and computational tools obtained from this research will have wide-scale application in the development of high-frequency electronic devices and components. The authors will present the current research progress and results of this project.