Super High Brightness Cold Cathode Field Emitter for Flat Panel Display Applications

SKION has found the cesiated amorphous diamond/Si structure which demonstrated the 7-10 V/micron turn-on voltage on planar geometry. Negative electron affinity property of the diamond surface had been reported previously. However, this exceptional super-high brightness electron emission behavior is believed to be a new mechanism due to the composite structure of cesium, oxygen and carbon. The high turn-on voltage has been a major hurdle for the field emitter to be widely used in Flat Panel Display (FPD) market. Experts anticipate that the field emitter FPD will overwhelm today's Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) FPD market if the turn-on voltage gets down to less than 5 V/micron. SKION's new findings will provide a breakthrough in the FPD industry. This novel structure is believed to be formed due to the characteristics of SKION's unique patented ion beam technology; capable of controlling flux ratio of cesium/carbon and the energy of the carbon ion beam. Furthermore, SKION's ion beam technology is applicable over large areas. The behavior of super-high brightness electron emission will be investigated in this SBIR Phase I in collaboration with Dr. J. Cuomo at North Carolina State University. In Phase II, the prototype display will be demonstrated and commercialization strategy will be sought.