JPH11176317A - Display - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a field emission device comprising a substrate, plural electric conduction stripes deposited on the substrate, a cathode assembly containing a diamond continuous layer deposited on the plural electric conduction stripes and on the exposed substrate portion between the electric conduction stripes, and an anode assembly. SOLUTION: A field emission device comprises a silicon substrate 100 having perforations, first insulation layer 101 deposited on the silicon substrate 100, and first conduction layer 201 deposited on the first insulation layer 101. The first conduction layer 201 and the first insulation layer 101 have perforations coinciding with the perforations of the silicon. A grid assembly 401 further comprises second insulation layer deposited on the lower portion of the silicon substrate 100 having perforations coinciding with the perforations of the silicon substrate 100.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

REFERENCES This invention is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 12179-P05, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
7US "Cathode Assembly", U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 08 / 706,077 "High Density Lamp", and U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 08 / 699,119 "Backlight for Color Liquid Crystals".

[0002]

The present invention relates generally to field emission devices and, more particularly, to field emission displays.

[0003]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Certain diamond films, including nanocrystalline diamond granules and intergrain consisting of a mixture of sp2 and sp3 orbitals, are used in standard microelectronics such as patterning, etching, and photolithography. It has been discovered that after a mechanistic step involving a diamond film using the process, the electron emission is poor or does not emit any electrons. Prior technologies utilizing diamond thin films for electron emission in lamps and flat displays to achieve the desired lamp and display pixel structures require such microelectronic processes. As a result, there is a need for a method of fabricating a mechanism that does not require the use of a microelectronic process on such a diamond thin film and a mechanism for the mechanism.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a field emission device including an anode assembly and a cathode assembly, wherein the cathode assembly comprises a substrate, a plurality of electrically conductive stripes deposited on the substrate, a plurality of electrically conductive stripes. It is for the foregoing need by feeding the invention that it consist of a continuous layer of diamond appearing in the stripe and a substrate portion appearing between the plurality of electrically conductive stripes.

The field emission device further forms a perforation consistent with the silicon substrate together with the grid-like assembly forming the perforated silicon substrate, the first insulating layer appearing on the silicon substrate, and the first insulating layer. Including a first conductive stripe that appears on a first insulating layer.

[0006] The grid-like assembly further forms a second insulating layer appearing on the back of the silicon substrate that has undergone perforation consistent with the silicon substrate.

[0007] The diamond thin film does not need to undergo a post-microelectronics process which would be destructive to its electron emission effect.

[0008] Diamond thin films are provided by well known methods. The diamond thin film includes CVD diamond or non-crystalline diamond having sp2 and sp3 orbitals. Diamond films can appear electrically as diamond molecules on conductive substrates.

In the foregoing, it will be easier to understand the details of the invention that follows. The features and technical applications of the present invention have been described rather generally. Further features and applications of the invention are set forth in the claims of the invention.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In order to gain a general understanding of the present invention, numerous details, such as materials and dimensions, are set forth herein.
However, it will be apparent that the technique of the present invention has been obtained without such details. Otherwise, well-known circuits are implemented in block diagram form in order not to obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail. The details are not necessary to gain an overall understanding of the invention, and since it depends on the individual's skill in the relevant arts, in many respects details such as time considerations have been largely omitted. .

The drawings depicting parts do not need to show a scale, and similar parts are shown by reference through a number of perspectives.

Referring to FIG. A substrate 100 having a conductive layer (eg, metal) 101 deposited using well known methods for depositing a conductive layer on a substrate, sputtering, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), evaporation, etc., is depicted. The substrate is
It is made of glass and ceramics (fostellite and alumina) and other insulator materials. The conductive layer 101 is made of T
i, TiW, Cr, Mo, W, or a multilayer structure of these, or other types of conductive thin films.

Referring to FIG. Continuous diamond thin film 2
01 is applied to the conductive layer 101 through a shadow mask 202 fixed on the substrate in some well-known manner.
Has been deposited on top. The diamond thin film 201 includes nanocrystal and microcrystal materials, and includes sp2 and sp3 orbitals. For more information on diamond films,
No. 5,548,185, and also US Pat. No. 08, incorporated herein by reference.
/ 485,954.

Referring to FIG. Here, a grid 401 that forms a conductive material (such as a metal) as listed for the conductive layer 101 is depicted. The non-conductive material 402 is deposited at the intersection of the gagrid 401 using well known techniques. The non-conductive and insulating material is S
iOx, SiNy, silicon containing oxygen and nitrogen, or metal oxide. Shadow masks are used in such deposition processes.

Referring to FIG. Here, grid 401
Are shown supported by columns 501, and the production of intersecting cathode sections and grids is depicted. The pillar 501 is made of ceramic or glass, and is mechanically adhered to the conductive layer 101. Similarly, grid 401 is mechanically adhered to pillar 501. FIG. 3 depicts a possible arrangement of the pillar 501, the substrate 100 and the cathode (diamond) layer 201.

Referring to FIG. Here, crossed lamps are depicted in an arrangement consistent with the present invention. 6, the anode 600 is bonded to the structure depicted in FIG.

The anode 600 is formed by one of the well-known anode structures. For example, the anode 600 includes a glass substrate 602 on which an insulating material 603 is deposited. Then, an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer 604 is deposited on the non-conductive layer 603. Phosphor 6
05 uses a shadow mask (not shown) to match its size to the diamond layer 201,
It is deposited on the ITO layer 604. When a voltage of 5 KV is applied, an optional 500 Å aluminum layer 606 is used to cover the phosphor layer 605.

Insulator layer 603 comprises one of the insulators listed above for insulator 402. ITO is 5-
It has a sheet resistance of 20 ohms / cm.

The anode 600 is separated from the grid 401 by the same column as that of the column 501 made of ceramic or glass.
01.

The lamp of FIG. 6 is activated by applying a ground potential and by drawing electrons from the diamond layer 201 by applying a DC, AC, and pulsed voltage signal using the voltage source 610 and the grid 401. You. Electrons are extracted from the diamond layer 201,
It passes through the holes of the grid 401 toward the phosphor layer 605 and accelerates. A DC constant voltage is applied between ITO 604 and ground or a cathode.

Simulations show that electron emission under optimum conditions is performed in a case where the dimension of the opening of the grid 401 is on the same order of magnitude as the distance between the grid 401 and the cathode layer 201. A number of grid technologies are available, including perforated silicon, perforated metal, and grid openings from 1 to 1000
Used for micron conductive materials.

The anode voltage with respect to the cathode voltage (V) is 5
This produces a signal on the order of 50 kilovolts.

A very bright lamp such as that shown in FIG.
It is obtained when the density of the radiation field is low, in order to enlarge the electron beam emitted from. This appears as uniform illumination of the anode 600.

Referring to FIG. Here, an alternative anode embodiment is depicted. Such alternative anodic embodiments are described in US Pat. No. 08 / 699,119, cited above.
CD). Electrons from the cathode layer 201 (not depicted) strike the phosphor layer 700 and excite red and green phosphors 711 and 712 deposited between the black matrix coatings 710. These red, green and blue (not pictured) phosphors
The corresponding photons are emitted toward the corresponding liquid crystal sub-pixels 701-703. I won't go into further detail here, but in the references,
No. 08 / 699,119.

Referring to FIG. Here, a further alternative anode embodiment is depicted which is utilized in the field emission lamp of the present invention. The figure shows a portion of the anode assembly, one sub-pixel 81 illuminated by photons generated by a phosphor 82. The light (photons) emitted from the phosphor 82 is ITO
The focal points of lenses 86 and 87 may be used separately or in combination to concentrate the radiation to sub-pixel 81, for dispersion in all directions through 83 or substrate 84. The phosphor 82 has black matrix portions 88 and 8
9 is deposited.

Referring to FIG. It depicts a diagram of the use of a lamp arranged in accordance with this invention in a flat display, billboard, or other type of matrix display. Each of the lamps 1001-1006 is arranged in accordance with the lamp having the anode, the cathode, and the grid illustrated in FIG. In FIG. 10, the anode is shown as A, the cathode as C, and the grid as G.

Each anode is connected to a 10 kilovolt voltage source, while the grid of lamps 1001-1004 is controlled by driver 1011 by lamps 1002 and 1004.
The grid of No. 5 is the lamp 10 by the driver 1007.
The grids 03 and 1006 are connected by a driver 1008, the cathodes of the lamps 1001 to 1003 are connected by a driver 1009, and the lamps 1004 to 1006 are connected by a driver 1010. To activate a particular lamp, such as lamp 1001, a corresponding negative pulse is applied from driver 1009 to lamp 1010.
01, while a positive pulse is sent from driver 1011 to the grid of lamp 1001. This causes electrons to be emitted from the cathode of the lamp 1001 to its anode. The lower part of FIG. 10 illustrates how such pulses are adjusted to selectively create an image from a particular lamp to a pixel.

A representative hardware environment for the practice of this invention is consistent with the accompanying patents having a central processing unit (CPU) 910, such as an older microprocessor and a number of interconnected units through a system bus 912. Data processing system 91
FIG. 9 depicting three exemplary hardware arrangements. The system 913 includes a disk unit 920 and a bus 9
Interface 940 for connecting a tape drive 940 to the keyboard 12 and a keyboard 924
2, a mouse 926 and / or a touch screen device (not shown) to the bus 912, a communication adapter 934 for connecting the system 913 to a data processing network, and a connection adapter for connecting the bus 912 to a display device 938. Random access memory (RA) to connect to surrounding devices, such as other user interface devices such as display adapter 936
M) 914, read only memory (ROM) 91
6, and input / output adapter (I /
O) 918.

A display 938 displays the image,
7 embodies a display of a lamp as shown in FIG. Display 938 is a flat panel display or a billboard display. The data processing system depicted in FIG. 9 utilizes the display technology described herein with respect to FIGS. 11-22, which illustrate a method and structure for manufacturing a matrix display panel.

Referring to FIG. Shown here is a substrate 1101 on which a conductive thin film (eg, metal) 1102 has been deposited using well-known techniques such as sputtering and deposition to deposit such a metal thin film. A substrate made of ceramic or glass has a metal thin film thickness of 0.5-
1.5 microns, while being 1-5 millimeters thick.

Referring to FIG. Photoresist 1201
Is spin-coated on the metal thin film 1102.
In FIG. 13 below, a mask (not shown) has been used to pattern the photoresist 1102 into parallel stripes. In FIG. 14, an etching process is used to etch portions of the metal layer 1102 between the shaped stripes. In FIG. 15, the photoresist has been removed, leaving the metal stripe 1102. The width between each metal stripe is about 100 microns and the distance is 10-20 microns.

FIG. 16 illustrates the process of selective diamond grain nucleation on the cathode stripe 1102. Cathode and metal stripe 11 forming substrate 1101
02 is Al (NO3) 3, Mg (NO3) 2, La
Organic alcohol solvent (such as isopropyl alcohol and methanol) 1602 containing an electrolytic salt such as (NO3) 3
Installed in a water tank 1601 filled with. The anode 1603 is made of nickel, stainless steel or platinum. Nano-sized diamond particles (powder) are mixed in a solvent 1602. By applying a negative voltage on the cathode using a power supply 1605 and observing with a voltmeter 1604, the diamond particles are
02, thereby selectively growing diamond crystals.

The result of this process is that the metal stripe 110
FIG. 17 depicts the nano-sized diamond particles 1702 deposited in FIG.

Next, the cathode assembly illustrated in FIG. It is connected to a vacuum chamber for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of diamond using known techniques. The process of diamond nucleation is basically performed by forming the diamond particles 1 forming the continuous diamond layer 1801.
701 (FIG. 18). The result of this process is that the area indicated by the dashed circle 1802 is the metal stripe 1102
This is due to the fact that it has a much higher resistance than the diamond layer above. This effectively reduces or limits the communication between the metal stripes 1102.

Referring to FIG. Shown here is a grid 2000 manufactured independently from a cathode using a typical semiconductor manufacturing process. First, a silicon substrate 2003 perforated using a known method is
It has been deposited using known techniques on oxide or some other type of non-conductor 2002. Then the conductive layer 20
01 has been deposited on layer 2002. Further, another non-conductive material 2004 is deposited under the silicon layer 2003. Generally, the width of perforations 2005 is approximately equal to the height of such perforations.

Referring to FIG. Here, a matrix display 2201 in which the anode described above is mechanically connected to the grid 2000 and the cathode described in FIG.
Is drawn. The height parameter h is anywhere from 0 to some positive number depending on whether the grid 2000 is desired to lie on top of the diamond layer 1801. Display 2201 is manufactured in a manner similar to that described with respect to FIG.

Grid 2000 comprises layers 2101 and 210
The grid 2100 is basically the same except that 2 has been added (FIG. 21). Layer 2101 comprises a further metal layer, whereas layer 2102 comprises a non-conductive material. The grid 2100 connected to the cathode and the anode in FIG. 22 has the quadrupole structure of the display 2201.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, various changes, such as substitutions and substitutions, can be easily made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

For a more complete understanding of the invention and its advantages, reference is made to the following description in conjunction with the corresponding figures.

FIG. 1. Substrate coated with conductive layer

FIG. 2 Deposition of a diamond layer on a conductive layer

FIG. 3 shows the cathode structure of a lamp according to the invention as seen from above

FIG. 4 Grid

FIG. 5 shows a grid and cathode assembly consistent with the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a lamp arrangement according to the invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative anode embodiment consistent with the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates another alternative anode embodiment consistent with the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows a data processing system having an arrangement consistent with the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows a matrix display forming a lamp.

FIG. 11-15: Process of forming a cathode stripe on a substrate

FIG. 16: Electrodeposition process of selective diamond particle deposition on cathode stripe

FIG. 17 shows a cathode stripe on which diamond particles have been deposited after the process of FIG.

FIG. 18 shows the deposition of a diamond thin film and the diamond particles of FIG. 17 on a cathode stripe.

FIG. 19 is a connection to a particular pixel in the display of FIG. 22;

FIG. 20: Grid used in a triode display

FIG. 21: Grid used in quadrupole display

FIG. 22 shows a tripolar display consistent with the present invention.

FIG. 23: Perforations through a grid structure

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI H01J 29/04 H01J 29/04 31/12 31/12 C 63/06 63/06 (72) Inventor Christo Bozkov Hillsboro, Oregon United States of America City Northwest 185th Street 2375-401 (72) Inventor Richard Fink United States Hawkshead, Austin, Texas 3909 (72) Inventor Narin Kumar United States Buckingham Road, Austin, Texas 11812 (72) Inventor Alexei Tikhonsky United States Melrose Cove 6205-D, Austin, Texas (72) Inventor Zvi Yaniv United States Long Court, Austin, Texas 5810

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. A field emission device comprising: an anode assembly and a cathode assembly; wherein the cathode assembly is formed from: a plurality of electrically conductive stripes deposited on the substrate; A continuous layer of diamond deposited on portions of the substrate that are exposed on the conductive stripes and between the plurality of conductive stripes. 2. The field emission device according to claim 1, further comprising a grid assembly comprising: a silicon substrate having a perforation; a first insulating layer deposited on the silicon substrate; and a second insulating layer deposited on the first insulating layer. One conductive layer, where the first insulating layer and the first conductive layer, have a perforation that matches the perforation of the silicon substrate. 3. The field emission device according to claim 2, wherein the second insulating layer deposited under the silicon substrate comprises a grid assembly having a perforation that matches the perforation of the silicon substrate. 4. A field emission device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the width of each perforation is approximately the sum of the heights of the perforations. 5. The field emission device of claim 3, including a second conductive layer deposited on the second insulating layer. 6. The field emission device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the field emission device has a perforation of a grid corresponding to the positions of the electrically conductive stripes deposited on the substrate. 7. A display comprising a plurality of field emission lamps comprising: an anode assembly comprising: a cathode assembly comprising: an electrically conductive layer deposited on a substrate; a diamond layer deposited on an electrically conductive layer. A circuit that is individually connected to each of the multiple field emission lamps. 8. The display of claim 7, further comprising a grid assembly comprising: a perforated silicon substrate; a first insulating layer deposited on the substrate; a first insulating layer deposited on the first insulating layer. The conductive layer, where the first and first conductive layers have a perforation that matches the perforation of the silicon substrate. 9. The display as recited in claim 8, including a grid assembly comprising a second insulating layer deposited on a lower portion of the silicon substrate having a perforation consistent with the perforation of the silicon substrate. 10. The display as claimed in claim 9, wherein the perforation width of each grid is approximately the sum of the perforation heights. 11. The display according to claim 9, further comprising a second conductive layer deposited on the second insulating layer. 12. A data processing system comprising: a processor; an input device; a memory device; a display; an input device; a memory device; a device; an anode assembly; a cathode assembly comprising: a substrate; an electrically conductive layer deposited on the substrate; Diamond layer deposited on conductive layer. 13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a grid assembly comprising: a perforated silicon substrate; a first insulating layer deposited on a silicon substrate; a first conductive layer deposited on a first insulating layer. The first insulating layer and the first conductive layer individually have a perforation that matches the perforation of the silicon substrate. 14. The system as recited in claim 13, further comprising a grid assembly comprising a second insulating layer deposited below the silicon substrate and having a perforation that matches the perforation of the silicon substrate. 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the perforation width of each grid is approximately the sum of the perforation heights. 16. The system of claim 14, further comprising a second conductive layer deposited on the second insulating layer. 17. The system as recited in claim 13, wherein the display is an LCD and the anode assembly, grid assembly, and cathode assembly serve as a backlight for the LCD. 18. A display, comprising: a display formed from a plurality of individually operable field emission lamps.
14. The system as recited in claim 13, comprising an anode assembly, a grid assembly, and a cathode assembly serving as a field emission lamp. This application is 1
United States provisional patent application no. 60/029, 922.