Processing of materials for uniform field emission
US5857882A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 27, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jan 12, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 27, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J2201/30457
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
This method produces a field emitter material having a uniform electron emitting surface and a low turn-on voltage. Field emitter materials having uniform electron emitting surfaces as large as 1 square meter and turn-on voltages as low as 16V/.mu.m can be produced from films of electron emitting materials such as polycrystalline diamond, diamond-like carbon, graphite and amorphous carbon by the method of the present invention. The process involves conditioning the surface of a field emitter material by applying an electric field to the surface, preferably by scanning the surface of the field emitter material with an electrode maintained at a fixed distance of at least 3 .mu.m above the surface of the field emitter material and at a voltage of at least 500V. In order to enhance the uniformity of electron emission the step of conditioning can be preceeded by ion implanting carbon, nitrogen, argon, oxygen or hydrogen into the surface layers of the field emitter material.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.