In previous papers [1-3], we reported that there is a ballistic electron transport channel in a nanocrystalline porous silicon (PS) diode. When the PS diode is operated in vacuum, energetic electrons are uniformly emitted through a thin-film top electrode. From technological viewpoints, this electron emitter has some important advantages over the conventional cold cathode. Also a low-temperature processing based on nanocrystalline porous polysilicon (PPS) films is available for fabricating large-area devices on glass substrates. As one promising application, a vacuum-type full-color ballistic electron surface-emitting display (BSD) has been prototyped on a glass substrate [4]. In addition, all solid-state light emitter has been fabricated by using ballistic electrons generated in the PS layer as direct excitation source of fluorescent films [5]. The present paper describes the ballistic transport and emission process in more detail, including the present status and potential of ballistic displays.
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