Novel surface conduction electron emitter (SCE) nanogaps for field emission displays

Abstract

A novel nanometer scaled gap in palladium thin film strip was prepared by hydrogen absorption under high pressure conditions, and implemented in the fabrication of the surface conduction electron emitter (SCE) for flat panel display applications. The lattice constant increase in the Pd due to the phase transformation from the a-phase to the beta-phase after hydrogen absorption, a large compressive stress occurred to the Pd thin film. With a proper geometric arrangement of the Pd/Pt/Ti emitter electrode of the SCE structure, a single nanogap per SCE device was prepared. Finite element analysis was carried out to study the hydrostatic stress distribution in the thin film emitter structure after Pd hydrogenation, and thereby the optimized thickness of thin film electrodes of the emitter Was determined for the nanogap fabrication. The novel SCE emitter had an inclined protrusion structure on the cathode, which greatly enhance the local electrical field and improve electron beam focusing. The experimental measurement and theoretical analysis show that field emission properties of the novel SCE are superior to conventional SCE with the coplanar cathode.