Description:
Market Opportunity
While electron emission devices have been heavily explored in the past, the maximum modulation frequency of these devices is limited. Optical modulation of emission offers the highest modulation speeds. Optical approaches, however, are highly inefficient, particularly when utilizing nanostructured tips. Furthermore, these devices have stringent requirements for optimal performance and are challenging to implement, especially for devices with an array of emission tips. Realization of low-power and high-speed electron emission arrays would be potentially transformative for a variety of fields such as microscopy, medical, defense and many other applications.
USC Solution
USC researchers have developed emission devices with ultrafast and highly efficient control over electron emission using integrated photonics. This technology uses optical cavities to tune electron emission for precise control over photon absorption, enabling microscale electron emitters to be efficiently modulated by an optical signal. These emitters can be designed with very fast response times and low power consumption, and can be fabricated with standard microfabrication techniques. By enabling simple on-chip integration, this technology opens up the space for ultrafast, optically modulated electron beams in microscale devices.
Value Proposition
- Highly efficient electron emission
- Fast response times
- Compatible with standard fabrication processes
- Compact form factor
Applications
- Electron microscopy
- Electron lithography
- Space propulsion
Publications
Efficient and ultrafast optical modulation of on-chip thermionic emission using resonant cavity coupled electron emitters, J. Vac. Sci. Technol, 2016
Other
- Experimentally validated
- Available for exclusive and non-exclusive license