Amorphous Diamond Flat Panel Displays: Final Report of ER-LTR CRADA project with211 SI Diamond Technology

摘要

The objective of this project was to determine why diamond-based films are211u001eunusually efficient electron emitters (field emission cathodes) at room 211u001etemperature. Efficient cathodes based on diamond are being developed by SI 211u001eDiamond Technology (SIDT) as components for bright, sunlight-readable, flat panel 211u001edisplays. When the project started, it was known that only a small fraction of 211u001ethe cathode area is active in electron emission and that the emission sites 211u001ethemselves are sub-micron in size. The critical challenge of this project was to 211u001edevelop new microcharacterization methods capable of examining known emission 211u001esites. The research team used a combination of cathode emission imaging 211u001e(developed at SIDT), micro-Raman spectroscopy (LBNL), and electron microscopy and 211u001espectroscopy (National Center for Electron Microscopy, LBNL) to examine the 211u001eproperties of known emission sites. The most significant accomplishment of the 211u001eproject was the development at LBNL of a very high resolution scanning probe 211u001ethat, for the first time, measured simultaneously the topography and electrical 211u001echaracteristics of single emission sites. The increased understanding of the 211u001eemission mechanism helped SIDT to develop a new cathode material, 'nano-diamond' 211u001ewhich they have incorporated into their Field Emission Picture Element (FEPix) 211u001eproduct. SIDT is developing large-format flat panel displays based on these 211u001epicture elements that will be brighter and more efficient than existing outdoor 211u001edisplays such as Jumbotrons. The energy saving that will be realized if field 211u001eemission displays are introduced commercially is in line with the energy 211u001econservation mission of DOE. The unique characterization tools developed in this 211u001eproject (particularly the new scanning microscopy method) are being used in 211u001eongoing BES-funded basic research.