DIAMOND-BASED FIELD-EMISSION FLAT-PANEL DISPLAYS

The difficulties in fabricating active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCD), combined with the size limitations, low yields, very high cap ital investment, and consequent high production cost, have spurred dev elopment of alternative display technologies such as plasma display pa nels, electroluminescent displays, and field emission displays (FEDs). FED panels use color-emissive phosphors and thus are energy efficient and bright with saturated colors similar to a cathode ray tube, Six-i nch diagonal monochrome and color field emission display prototypes em ploying Spindt-type [1] field emitters have been demonstrated [2], but the production of large-area panels using this technology is problema tic because of the need to fabricate a high density of identical sharp tips. This approach suffers from some of the same cost and yield issu es as AMLCDs.