Abstract:
This method produces a field emitter material having a uniform electron emitting surface and a low turn-on voltage. Field emitter materials having uniform electron emitting surfaces as large as 1 square meter and turn-on voltages as low as 16V/.mu.m can be produced from films of electron emitting materials such as polycrystalline diamond, diamond-like carbon, graphite and amorphous carbon by the method of the present invention. The process involves conditioning the surface of a field emitter material by applying an electric field to the surface, preferably by scanning the surface of the field emitter material with an electrode maintained at a fixed distance of at least 3 .mu.m above the surface of the field emitter material and at a voltage of at least 500V. In order to enhance the uniformity of electron emission the step of conditioning can be preceeded by ion implanting carbon, nitrogen, argon, oxygen or hydrogen into the surface layers of the field emitter material.
Abstract:
In accordance with the invention, a microwave vacuum tube device, such as a traveling wave tube, is provided with an electron source comprising activated ultrafine diamonds. Applicants have discovered that ultrafine diamonds (5-1,000 nm diameter), when activated by heat treatment in a hydrogen plasma, become excellent room-temperature electron emitters capable of producing electron emission current density of at least 10 mA/cm.sup.2 at low electric fields of 10 V/micrometer. Sources using these diamonds provide electrons for microwave vacuum tubes at low voltage, low operating temperature and with fast turn-on characteristics. A multiple grid structure is described for providing high quality electron beams particularly useful for traveling wave tubes.
Abstract translation:根据本发明,诸如行波管的微波真空管装置设置有包括活化的超细金刚石的电子源。 申请人已经发现,当在氢等离子体中通过热处理活化时,超细金刚石(直径5-1000nm)成为能够在低电场下产生至少10mA / cm 2的电子发射电流密度的优异的室温电子发射体 10 V /千分尺。 使用这些钻石的源在低电压,低工作温度和快速开启特性的微波真空管中提供电子。 描述了用于提供对于行波管特别有用的高质量电子束的多栅格结构。
Abstract:
A matrix addressable flat panel display includes a flat cathode operable for emitting electrons to an anode when an electric field is produced across the surface of the flat cathode by two electrodes placed on each side of the flat cathode. The flat cathode may consist of a cermet or amorphic diamond or some other combination of a conducting material and an insulating material such as a low effective work function material. The electric field produced causes electrons to hop on the surface of the cathode at the conducting-insulating interfaces. An electric field produced between the anode and the cathode causes these electrons to bombard a phosphor layer on the anode.
Abstract:
A cold cathode device is provided comprising a wide-bandgap (>5 eV) material exhibiting negative electron affinities, low trap densities, and high carrier mobilities, a junction between a first region of the wide-bandgap material having n-type conductivity and a second region of the wide-bandgap material having p-type conductivity, and a conductive contact to forward bias the junction causing electrons to be emitted near the junction into an exterior region.
Abstract:
A field emitter structure, comprising: a base substrate; a field emitter element on the base substrate; a multilayer differentially etched dielectric stack circumscribingly surrounding the field emitter element on the base substrate; and a gate electrode overlying the multilayer differentially etched dielectric stack, and in circumscribing spaced relationship to the field emitter element. Also disclosed are electron source devices, comprising an electron emitter element including a material selected from the group consisting of leaky dielectric materials, and leaky insulator materials, as well as electron source devices, comprising an electron emitter element including an insulator material doped with a tunneling electron emission enhancingly effective amount of a dopant species, and thin film triode devices.
Abstract:
The present invention provides improved methods for making field emission devices by which one can pre-deposit and bond the diamond particles or islands on a flexible metal foil at a desirably high temperature (e.g., near 900.degree. C. or higher), and then subsequently attach the high-quality- emitter-coated conductor foil onto the glass substrate. In addition to maximizing the field emitter properties, these methods provide high-speed, low-cost manufacturing. Since the field emitters can be pre-deposited on the metal foil in the form of long continuous sheet wound as a roll, the cathode assembly can be made by a high-speed, automated bonding process without having to subject each of the emitter-coated glass substrates to plasma heat treatment in a vacuum chamber.
Abstract:
A vertical field emitter structure and field emission device such as a flat panel display utilizing such structure. Self-aligned gate and emitter fabrication is described, together with virtual column field emitter structures, comprising an emitter or gated emitter with conductive columns connecting the emitter to an underlying resistor or conductor structure formed by chemical or other modification of portions of an underlying layer. The display of the invention utilizes field emission structures with low turn-voltages and high accelerating voltages, thereby permitting high brightness, small pixel size, low manufacturing costs, uniform brightness, and high energy efficiency to be achieved.
Abstract:
A method is provided for fabricating a display cathode which includes forming a conductive line adjacent a face of a substrate. A region of amorphic diamond is formed adjacent a selected portion of the conductive line.
Abstract:
In accordance with the invention, a field emission device is made by disposing emitter material on an insulating substrate, applying masking particles to the emitter material, applying an insulating film and a gate conductor film over the masking particles and emitter material and removing the particles to reveal a random distribution of apertures to the emitter material. The result is a novel and economical field emission device having numerous randomly distributed emission apertures which can be used to make low cost flat panel displays.
Abstract:
A vertical field emitter structure and field emission device such as a flat panel display utilizing such structure. Self-aligned gate and emitter fabrication is described, together with virtual column field emitter structures, comprising an emitter or gated emitter with conductive columns connecting the emitter to an underlying resistor or conductor structure formed by chemical or other modification of portions of an underlying layer. The display of the invention utilizes field emission structures with low turn-voltages and high accelerating voltages, thereby permitting high brightness, small pixel size, low manufacturing costs, uniform brightness, and high energy efficiency to be achieved.