Field emission display having porous silicon dioxide layer
First Claim
1. A method of fabricating a field emission display baseplate comprising:
- forming columns on a substrate;
forming a layer of silicon on the columns and the substrate;
etching the silicon layer to form a layer of porous silicon having a porosity of greater than 50%;
oxidizing the porous silicon layer to form a layer of porous silicon dioxide;
planarizing the silicon dioxide layer;
forming an extraction grid on the porous silicon dioxide layer;
etching openings through the porous silicon dioxide and the extraction grid; and
forming emitters in the openings in the porous silicon dioxide and the extraction grid.
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Abstract
A field emission display includes a substrate and a plurality of emitters formed on columns on the substrate. The display also includes a porous dielectric layer formed on the substrate and the columns. The porous dielectric layer has an opening formed about each of the emitters and has a thickness substantially equal to a height of the emitters above the substrate. The porous dielectric layer may be formed by oxidation of porous polycrystalline silicon. The display also includes an extraction grid formed substantially in a plane defined by respective tips of the plurality of emitters and having an opening surrounding each tip of a respective one of the emitters. The display further includes a cathodoluminescent-coated faceplate having a planar surface formed parallel to and near the plane of tips of the plurality of emitters. The porous dielectric layer results in columns having less capacitance compared to prior art displays. Accordingly, less electrical power is required to charge and discharge the columns in order to drive the emitters. As a result, the display is able to form luminous images while consuming reduced electrical power compared to prior art displays.
152 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method of fabricating a field emission display baseplate comprising:
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forming columns on a substrate;
forming a layer of silicon on the columns and the substrate;
etching the silicon layer to form a layer of porous silicon having a porosity of greater than 50%;
oxidizing the porous silicon layer to form a layer of porous silicon dioxide;
planarizing the silicon dioxide layer;
forming an extraction grid on the porous silicon dioxide layer;
etching openings through the porous silicon dioxide and the extraction grid; and
forming emitters in the openings in the porous silicon dioxide and the extraction grid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
forming emitter bodies by co-evaporating silicon monoxide and a metal; and
forming emitter tips by evaporating a material having a work function of less than four electron volts.
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16. The method of claim 1 wherein the act of etching the silicon layer to form a layer of porous polycrystalline silicon comprises anodizing a polycrystalline silicon layer to form a layer of porous polycrystalline silicon.
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17. The method of claim 16 wherein the act of oxidizing the porous polycrystalline silicon layer forms porous silicon dioxide layer having at least 22.5% voids.
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18. The method of claim 17 wherein the porous silicon dioxide layer has a dielectric constant of less than 3.
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19. The method of claim 16 wherein the act of etching the polycrystalline silicon layer forms a porous polycrystalline silicon layer having at least 75% voids and the act of oxidizing the porous polycrystalline silicon layer forms a porous silicon dioxide layer having at least 61.5% voids.
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20. The method of claim 19 wherein the porous silicon dioxide layer has a dielectric constant of less than 1.6.
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21. A method of claim 19 wherein the porous silicon dioxide layer has a dielectric constant of less than 1.6.
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22. A method of fabricating a field emission display baseplate comprising:
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forming conductors on a substrate;
forming a porous silicon dioxide layer to form a layer of porous silicon dioxide having a porosity of greater than 22.5% on the conductors and on the substrate, the porous silicon dioxide layer comprising columnar spacers of silicon dioxide with pores between the columnar spacers;
planarizing the silicon dioxide layer;
forming an extraction grid on the porous silicon dioxide layer;
etching openings through the silicon dioxide and the extraction grid; and
forming emitters in the openings in the porous silicon dioxide and the extraction grid. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
forming emitter bodies by co-evaporating silicon monoxide and a metal; and
forming emitter tips by evaporating a material having a work function of less than four electron volts.
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Specification