Abstract:
The present invention pertains to electronics, especially vacuum microelectronics, and can be used in the manufacture of deep-level apparatus and vacuum integrated circuits and flat cathodoluminescent displays. The inventive technology includes the formation of film resistive sites on the dielectric surface of the base, after which the conductive film of the cathodic electrode is applied onto the surface of said film resistive sites, while an inverted mask fitted with openings is provided on the surface of the cathodic electrode. Said conductive film of the cathodic electrode passes through the mask, while transmitters coinciding with above-mentioned openings in the dielectric film and the control electrode on the exposed resistive sites are formed on the exposed resistive sites according to self-combined methods. The inventive method includes the possibility for the transmitter surface to be covered with a material capable of stabilizing their emission current, as well as the formation of an oxide at the edge of the openings in the control electrode, resulting in an increased percentage of acceptable deep-level structures, as well as in the emission current from their surface being homogeneous.
Abstract:
A field emitter device includes a column conductor, an insulator, and a resistor structure for advantageously limiting current in a field emitter array. A wide column conductor is deposited on an insulating substrate. An insulator is laid over the column conductor. A high resistance layer is placed on the insulator and is physically isolated from the column conductor. The high resistance material may be chromium oxide or 10 to 50 wt.% Cr+SiO. A group of microtip electron emitters is placed over the high resistance layer. A low resistance strap interconnects the column conductor with the high resistance layer to connect in an electrical series circuit the column conductor, the high resistance layer, and the group of electron emitters. One or more layers of insulator and a gate electrode, all with cavities for the electron emitters, are laid over the high resistance material. One or more layers of insulator and a gate electrode, all with cavities for the electron emitters, are laid over the high resistance material. One layer of insulator is selected from a group of materials including SiC, SiO, and Si3N4. An anode plate is attached with intermediate space between the anode plate and the microtip electron emitters being evacuated.
Abstract:
A semiconductor device for use in field emission displays includes a substrate (30) formed from a semiconductor material, glass, soda lime, or plastic. A first layer of a conductive material (28) is formed on the substrate. A second resistive layer of microcrystalline silicon (32) is formed on the first layer. This layer has characteristics that do not fluctuate in response to conditions that vary during the operation of the field emission display, particularly the varying light intensity from the emitted electrons or from the ambient. One or more cold-cathode emitters (34) are formed on the second layer.
Abstract:
An imaging apparatus (100) for providing an image from a display (106) to an observer (101), comprising: a display (106) generating an optical output, an imaging surface member (109) constructed and arranged for viewing by said observer, and a scanning mirror/lens assembly (102) optically interposed between the display and the imaging surface member, and constructed and arranged to motively repetitively scan the display, generate a scanned image, and transmit the scanned image to the imaging surface member, for viewing of the scanned image. Various field emitter display designs and subassemblies are described, which may be usefully employed in such imaging apparatus.
Abstract:
A field emitter array magnetic sensor (FEAMS) device, comprising: an anode; a base plate member having on a first side thereof a plurality of gated field emitter elements thereon, in spaced proximal relationship to the anode. The plurality of gated field emitter elements and the anode structure are arranged so that each of the gated field emitter elements is in electron emitting relationship to varying electron impingement sites depending on intensity of the magnetic field on the gated field emitter element. The device includes structure for sensing the locations of the anode structure electron impingement sites receiving electrons from the plurality of gated field emitter elements, and determining the strength and orientation of the magnetic field. Also disclosed are various anode configurations which may be usefully employed in the FEAMS device of the invention.
Abstract:
A matrix field-emission cathode (5) comprises a monocrystalline silicon substrate (7) on which are arranged epitaxially grown pointed silicon emitters (1) which also act as a ballast resistor connected in series. In an advantageous embodiment of the proposed cathode, for a radius of curvature (r) at the emitter tip not exceeding 10 nm, the ratio of the height (h) of the emitter to the radius (r) is not less than 1000, while the ratio of (h) to the diameter (D) at the emitter base is not less than 1. The angle alpha at the emitter tip does not exceed 30 DEG . The specific resistance of the emitter material is chosen so as to ensure that the resistance of each emitter will be comparable with the resistance between the cathode and the opposing electrode. The proposed cathode is used in an electronic device for displaying information which also has an anode (3) in the form of a strip (11) of phosphorescent material (10) and a conducting layer (9) whose projection onto the cathode (5) is perpendicular to the conducting paths (6) on the cathode; the anode itself acts as the control electrode.
Abstract:
A vertical field emitter structure (116) and field emission device such as a flat panel display (123) utilizing such structure. Self-aligned gate and emitter fabrication is described, together with virtual column field emitter structures (321), comprising an emitter or gated emitter (328) with conductive columns connecting the emitter to an underlying resistor or conductor structure (325) formed by chemical or other modification of portions of an underlying layer. The display of the invention utilizes field emission structures with low turn-on voltages and high accelerating voltages, thereby permitting high brightness, small pixel size, low manufacturing costs, uniform brightness, and high energy efficiency to be achieved.