Printable Large-Area FEDs

摘要

The world wants a bigger view - of computer data and of entertainment content. A lot of excitement has been generated by 40-in. and larger plasma-display panels (PDPs), even though the excitement is not generally sufficient to overcome the high purchase price. Is there any hope that large displays can be made affordable for mass markets? Despite all the work being undertaken on active-matrix LCDs (AMLCDs) and PDPs, it is becoming clear that a new technology is still required to produce 20-40-in.-diagonal displays that are affordable by the typical consumer. Field-emission displays (FEDs) have the potential to fill this gap, but their price must be reduced dramatically. FEDs that are available today, or that will be available in the near future, use gated microtip structures fabricated using semiconductor processes, and are thus locked into cost and size limitations that are similar to those affecting LCDs. Therefore, they are unlikely to exceed 20 in. on the diagonal.