Modern Electronics (was Re: List charter mods & headcount...

From: der Mouse <mouse_at_Rodents.Montreal.QC.CA>
Date: Tue Jun 22 22:08:32 2004

>>> (I suspect) much of a valve's rad-hardening is due to sheer size,
>> It is.
> I am not convinced. I remember reading that the tiny field-emission
> vavles etched into a silicon chip (which, BTW, are smaller than the
> mean free path of an electron in air at stmospheric pressure so they
> don't need to be evacuated) are considerably more radiation hard than
> conventional transistors on the same chip.

Without knowing how the size of the miniature valve compares to the
size of the conventional transistor you're comparing it to, this does
not speak to the question of whether rad-hardening is due to size.

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Received on Tue Jun 22 2004 - 22:08:32 BST