Low Voltage, High Current Nanoscale Si Field Emission Arrays for Operation in Air

This phase II SBIR proposal is aimed at development of low-power field emission display devices. Flat panel display market is one of the fastest growing technology sectors. Despite its fundamental strengths, the role of field emission (FE) technology in the market place is marginal at best. This is in part due to the inability to operate efficiently at low power. Low-power operation requires a highly efficient cold cathode and phosphor films capable of producing suitable fluorescence at low electron energies. We address efficient cathode formation though geometric field enhancement using our nanoscale patterning expertise. The low-power phosphor films will be addressed through partnership with the display research group at the University of Texas at El Paso. Finally, we propose a novel multilayer emitter concept aimed at lateral field emission displays. The technology developed will also find military and air force applications through low-power, low-weight, temperature-insensitive, and rad-hard device characteristics.