A stable under-gate triode CNT field emitter fabricated via screen printing

Abstract

A screen printed, under-gate triode with carbon nanotube field emitters is demonstrated. The geometry of the device allows it to be matrix addressable. Fabrication methods including CVD deposition of dielectric and/or nanotubes, wet etching, and photolithography are eliminated by the use of screen printing, effectively lowering the cost of manufacture of the device. Through the use of a charge dissipation layer the emission current is greatly enhanced, and instabilities which plagued previous under-gate devices are eliminated. When a square pulse of 30 µs is applied at a rate of 120 Hz emission currents of > 4 µA/cm 2 are achieved for gate voltages of < 300 V without any ungated emission. This structure is a prime candidate to be used in a field emission backlight unit (BLU) for an LCD due to its reduced cost of manufacture, stable operation, and local delivery of pulsed light.