Field Emission Displays (FEDs) and Surface‐Conduction Electron‐Emitter Displays (SEDs)

An electron emission display is a flat panel analog of the traditional cathode ray tube. Electron emission displays consist of dense x–y matrices of sharp submicrometer tips that liberate electrons at room temperature when exposed to high electric fields. Each tip has a corresponding red, green, or blue phosphor adjacent to it, and it is this that forms the pixels and consequent image. Electron emission displays combine the deep-black and high dynamic range of thermionic emission cathode ray tubes with the packaging, operation, and fabrication benefits of flat panel display technologies. This chapter provides a review of the research and commercial activities carried out in the field of electron emission displays, with particular reference to field emission displays, over the past 50 or so years while also describing the relatively recent work on surface-conduction electron-emitter displays, which exploit the performance enhancements of the more common vertical field emitter and combine them with facile planar fabrication. Keywords: displays; field emission; surface conduction; cold cathode; electron emission; carbon nanotubes; electric field; field emitter arrays; transfer mold; vacuum nanoelectronics