WO1996038854A1 - Lateral-emitter field-emission device with simplified anode and fabrication thereof - Google Patents
Lateral-emitter field-emission device with simplified anode and fabrication thereof Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO1996038854A1 WO1996038854A1 PCT/US1996/008254 US9608254W WO9638854A1 WO 1996038854 A1 WO1996038854 A1 WO 1996038854A1 US 9608254 W US9608254 W US 9608254W WO 9638854 A1 WO9638854 A1 WO 9638854A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- layer
- anode
- conductive
- emitter
- disposing
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
- H01J3/00—Details of electron-optical or ion-optical arrangements or of ion traps common to two or more basic types of discharge tubes or lamps
- H01J3/02—Electron guns
- H01J3/021—Electron guns using a field emission, photo emission, or secondary emission electron source
- H01J3/022—Electron guns using a field emission, photo emission, or secondary emission electron source with microengineered cathode, e.g. Spindt-type
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
- H01J63/00—Cathode-ray or electron-stream lamps
- H01J63/02—Details, e.g. electrode, gas filling, shape of vessel
- H01J63/04—Vessels provided with luminescent coatings; Selection of materials for the coatings
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
- H01J2201/00—Electrodes common to discharge tubes
- H01J2201/30—Cold cathodes
- H01J2201/304—Field emission cathodes
- H01J2201/30403—Field emission cathodes characterised by the emitter shape
- H01J2201/30423—Microengineered edge emitters
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
- H01J2209/00—Apparatus and processes for manufacture of discharge tubes
- H01J2209/38—Control of maintenance of pressure in the vessel
- H01J2209/385—Gettering
Definitions
- TECHNICAL FTELD This invention relates in general to integrated field-emission microelectronic devices and relates more particularly to lateral-emitter field-emission devices having a simplified anode construction especially adapted for use in field-emission displays and to simplified methods of fabricating such microelectronic devices.
- Field-emission displays are considered an attractive alternative and replacement for liquid-crystal displays, because of their lower manufacturing cost and lower complexity, lower power consumption, higher brightness, and improved range of viewing angles.
- Microelectronic field-emission devices more generally are also attractive alternatives to semiconductor devices for many applications, being capable of high performance and being capable of fabrication from a wide range of materials with less stringent controls of material purity, but with fabrication processes and equipment similar to those used for semiconductor fabrication.
- a review article on the general subject of vacuum microelectronics was published in 1992: Heinz H. Busta "Vacuum Microelectronics - 1992," in Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, Vol. 2, No. 2 (June 1992).
- control electrode is used herein to denote an electrode that is analogous in function to the control grid in a vacuum-tube triode. Such electrodes have also been called “gates” in the field- emission device related art literature.
- Ohmic contact is used herein to denote an electrical contact that is non-rectifying.
- Phosphor is used in this specification to mean a material characterized by cathodoluminescence.
- a conventional notation is used wherein the chemical formula for a host or matrix compound is given first, followed by a colon and the formula for an activator (an impurity that activates the host crystal to luminesce), as in ZnS: Mn, where zinc sulfide is the host and manganese is the activator.
- Microelectronic devices using field emission of electrons from cold-cathode emitters have been developed for various purposes to exploit their many advantages including high-speed switching, insensitivity to temperature variations and radiation, low power consumption, etc.
- Most of the microelectronic field-emission devices in the related art have had emitters which point orthogonally to the substrate, generally away from the substrate, but sometimes toward the substrate. Examples of this type of device are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,471 by Spindt et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,885 by Brodie, U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,990 by Pribat et al., U.S. Pat. Nos.
- the anode is typically a transparent faceplate parallel to the substrate and carrying a phosphor which produces the display's light output by cathodoluminescence.
- a few cold-cathode microelectronic devices have had field emitters oriented in a plane substantially parallel to their substrates, as for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,851 by Lambe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,177 by Lee et al., and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,233,263 and 5,308,439 by Cronin et al.
- lateral field emission and lateral cathode or “lateral emitter” of the latter two patents by Cronin et al. will be adopted herein to refer to a structure in which the field emitter tip or blade edge points in a lateral direction, i.e. substantially parallel to the substrate.
- anode is oriented substantially orthogonally to the substrate and to the emitter (as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,233,263 and
- lateral field-emission devices are used in a display cell with phosphor-coated anodes, a number of problems occur.
- the cathodoluminescence occurs only at a very narrow region at an edge of the anode facing the lateral emitter.
- the light emitted from the phosphor can be obscured by opaque electrodes or absorbed in the phosphor layer itself or in a faceplate.
- very high anode voltages must be used.
- the actual electron penetration into the phosphor is on the order of 1 nanometer.
- the light emission due to cathodoluminescence occurs along the edge of the phosphor facing the emitter element.
- other electron field-emission displays such as the Spindt type (described in the patent by Spindt et al. and in the review article by H. H. Busta cited herein above) typically emit light at a phosphor surface which is opposite the phosphor surface facing the observer.
- the device structure described herein has a lateral electron emitter situated a distance above the anode phosphor. With an appropriate applied bias, the emitted electrons spread out over the top surface of the phosphor and impinge over a wider area of the phosphor element than with other lateral electron field-emission device display elements. Hence, with this new structure, the light is emitted in direct view of the observer and is not attenuated by passing through the phosphor as is the case with prior art structures. Also, the light is generated over a larger portion of the cell area than in prior art structures. The prior art descriptions of lateral-emitter field-emission display elements do not show how to provide a bias voltage contact to the phosphor of such an anode element.
- the new structure described herein has a metal anode contact situated below the phosphor ("buried") and also may have means for connecting to that buried contact from the surface for applying electrical bias.
- lateral-emitter type of construction has the distinct advantages described above, those lateral-emitter field-emission devices heretofore available having the most precise control of inter-element dimensions and alignment have been somewhat expensive to fabricate because of the relatively large number of materials and process steps used. Those process steps have included steps using conformal layers of sacrificial materials needed to form spacers that define some of the dimensions.
- the present invention eliminates some of the materials and process steps needed for fabrication, thus reducing fabrication time and cost and also providing a simplified anode structure, while retaining the advantages of lateral cathode construction and inherently automatic alignment of the lateral cathode type of design. This simpler structure and simpler, less expensive fabrication are effective both for field-effect devices having phosphor anodes used for display elements and for field- effect devices without phosphor.
- the present invention solves several problems existing in the prior art.
- An important object of the invention is providing a display with improved light emission from each cell of the display.
- a related object is a field-emission device structure specially adapted for use in a display cell.
- Another related object is a field- emission display which allows light emitted from a phosphor to be aimed more directly toward the viewer of the display.
- Another related object is a field-emission display cell structure in which the light emission area occupies a larger portion of the cell area than in prior art devices of the lateral-emitter type.
- Another object of the invention is a metallization structure that allows the other features and advantages of an improved lateral-emitter field-emission display device to be realized.
- a particular object is an anode electrical contact structure that does not obscure any portion of a phosphor surface of a display cell.
- a related object is an anode contact that can act as a mirror to reflect emitted light toward the observer of the display.
- Another object is a display cell anode structure that provides improved performance with coulombic aging of the phosphor thereby being reduced or eliminated.
- Another particular object is a display cell simplified by having a control electrode configuration that may be made with a single metallization step.
- An overall object of the invention is an improved display which nevertheless retains all the known advantages of lateral-emitter field-emission devices, including the following: extremely fine cathode edges or tips; exact control of the cathode-to-anode distance (to reduce device operating voltage and to reduce device-to-device variability); exact control of the cathode-to-control-electrode distance (to control the control-electrode-to-cathode overlap, and thereby control the inter- electrode capacitances and more precisely control the required bias voltage); inherent alignment of the control-electrode and cathode structures; self-alignment of the anode structure to the control-electrode and cathode; and improved layout density.
- Another object of the invention related to retaining known advantages of lateral-emitter field- emission devices is the significant design flexibility provided by an integrated structure which reduces the number of interconnections between devices, thus reducing costs and increasing device reliability and performance.
- Another important object of the invention is a process using existing microelectronic fabrication techniques and apparatus for making integrated lateral-emitter field-emission display device cell structures with economical yield and with precise control and reproducibility of device dimensions and alignments.
- a major object of the invention is a simplified anode structure for lateral-emitter field-emission devices.
- Another major object of the invention is a fabrication process which eliminates some masks otherwise needed for fabrication of a self-aligned lateral-emitter field-emission device, thus reducing fabrication time and cost.
- a field-emission device is made with a lateral emitter substantially parallel to a substrate and with a simplified anode structure.
- the lateral-emitter field-emission device has a thin-film emitter cathode which has a thickness of not more than several hundred angstroms and has an emitting blade edge or tip having a small radius of curvature.
- the simplified anode device may also have one or more control electrodes. The anode's top surface is precisely spaced apart from the plane of the lateral emitter and receives electrons emitted by field emission from the blade edge or tip of the lateral-emitter cathode, when a suitable bias voltage is applied.
- the device may be configured as a diode, or as a triode, tetrode, etc. having one or more control electrodes positioned to allow control of current from the emitter to the anode by an electrical signal applied to the control electrode.
- a single control electrode is positioned in a plane above or below the emitter edge or tip and automatically aligned to that edge.
- the simplified devices are specially adapted for use in arrays, including field-emission display arrays.
- a novel fabrication process using process steps similar to those of semiconductor integrated circuit fabrication is used to produce the novel devices and their arrays.
- Various embodiments of the fabrication process allow the use of conductive or insulating substrates and allow fabrication of devices having various functions and complexity.
- the anode is simply fabricated, without the use of prior art processes which formed a spacer made by a conformal coating.
- an anode film is deposited; an insulator film is deposited over the anode film; an ultra-thin conductive emitter film is deposited over the insulator and patterned; a trench opening is etched through the emitter and insulator, stopping at the anode film, thus forming and automatically aligning an emitting edge of the emitter; and means are provided for applying an electrical bias to the emitter and anode, sufficient to cause field emission of electrons from the emitting edge of the emitter to the anode.
- the anode film may comprise a phosphor for a device specially adapted for use in a field-emission display.
- the fabrication process may also include steps to deposit additional insulator films and to deposit additional conductive films for control electrodes, which are automatically aligned with the emitter blade edge or tip.
- Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a portion of a preferred array embodiment of field- emission devices made in accordance with the invention.
- Fig. 2 shows a side elevation cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a single field-emission device made in accordance with the invention.
- Fig. 3 shows a side elevation cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment of a single field-emission device.
- Figs. 4a and 4b together show a flow diagram of an embodiment of a fabrication process performed in accordance with the invention.
- Figs. 5a and 5b together show a series of side elevation cross sectional views corresponding to results of the process steps of Figs. 4a and 4b.
- Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a portion of a preferred array embodiment of field- emission devices made in accordance with the invention.
- each field-emission device shares an anode with at least one other device, and each anode is shared by two or more devices.
- Some of the emitters in Fig. 1 are also shared by two devices. This sharing of elements between devices is not necessary for use or operation of the invention, but it is sometimes useful in designing and fabricating arrays with higher density (in terms of the number of devices per unit area).
- the basic features of devices made in accordance with the invention may be clearly understood by considering the single device of Fig. 2.
- Fig. 2 shows a side elevation cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a single field-emission device made in accordance with the invention.
- the field-emission device denoted generally by 10
- the field-emission device is made on a flat substrate 20.
- a layer of insulator 30 has a top major surface, which defines a reference plane 40 convenient for description of other elements.
- a layer of conductive material 50 may be used as a buried contact layer. It should be noted that conductive layer 50 may lie on the reference plane, as shown in Fig. 2, or may be made by depositing conductive layer 50 into recesses formed in insulator 30 and by planarizing the resulting surface. In the latter case the top surface of conductive layer 50 lies in reference plane 40.
- a layer of insulator 60 is made on the reference plane 40, covering conductive layer 50.
- a conductive layer parallel to plane 40 serves as an anode 70.
- the preferred fabrication process described herein below automatically places the top surface of anode 70 below the plane of lateral emitter 100.
- the anodes of adjacent devices are separated and insulated from each other by regions of an insulator 80.
- a small portion of the anode 70 of an adjacent device is shown to the left of insulator 80; that portion is not involved in the structure or operation of the single device of the present description.
- An insulating layer 90 of predetermined thickness is made parallel to the substrate.
- An ultra-thin conductive layer which forms an emitter layer 100 is also made parallel to the substrate and patterned, thus forming a lateral emitter.
- a conductive contact 120 may connect emitter layer 100 to buried contact layer 50. If the device is to have a control electrode 140 above emitter 100, then two additional layers are made: a layer of insulator 130 and a conductive layer patterned to form a control electrode 140.
- an opening 160 is provided by employing a directional etch. That opening extends through all the layers of conductors and/or insulators lying above the anode down to the top surface of anode 70.
- the process of etching opening 160 forms an blade edge or tip 110 where lateral-emitter thin film 100 terminates after the etch.
- the blade edge or tip 110 has a very small radius of curvature, limited by half the thickness of the ultra-thin lateral-emitter layer 100.
- Preferred thicknesses of lateral- emitter film 100 are less than about 300 angstroms, which limit the radius of curvature of lateral-emitter blade edge or tip to be less than about 150 angstroms.
- the radius of curvature is a significant factor in producing an electric field at tip 110 sufficient to cause cold-cathode field emission at a low applied bias voltage, and that the radius of curvature may be somewhat less than half of the film thickness.
- Another factor significant in determining the electric field effective in causing field emission is the (predetermined) thickness of insulator film 90.
- the degree of film thickness control in conventional semiconductor integrated processing is sufficient to control the thickness of insulator film 90 to the desired precision.
- Devices made in accordance with the present invention may be operated at applied bias voltages of 10 to 50 volts or even less. In the preferred embodiment of
- anode 70 extends at least partially under lateral emitter 100. That is, anode 70 extends beyond the vertical plane through emitting edge 110 defined by the side wall of opening 160.
- conductive connections to the various electrodes of the device may be made in a conventional manner, and are therefore not shown in the drawings. These conductive connections may be made, for example, by vertical studs that lie outside the plane of the side elevation cross-section view of Fig. 2.
- a conductive stud may extend from emitter 100 and/or buried contact layer 50 to a surface conductive pad to which the emitter bias voltage may be applied.
- a similar conductive connection, electrically isolated from the emitter connection may be made to anode 70, for application of the anode bias voltage.
- conductive connections are needed to apply control signals to control electrode(s) 140 if the device is a triode or tetrode, etc. having such control electrodes.
- the arrangement just described may also be reversed, in the sense that the emitter connection may be made directly to a surface pad, and buried contact layer 50 may be used for anode contacts.
- the polarity of applied bias voltages must be such that the anode is positive with respect to the emitter.
- Various devices made on the same substrate need not have identical physical arrangements of conductive connections. Some devices may have buried anode contacts, while other devices on the same substrate may have buried emitter contacts.
- Such arrangements allow for compact and efficient circuit layout in circuits in which an emitter of one device is to be connected to an anode of another device. With such arrangements, dissimilar connections lying in the same plane and not intended to be connected may be kept electrically independent by being spaced laterally and/or by having intervening insulator material disposed between them, as is known in the art.
- Fig. 3 shows a side elevation cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment of a single field-emission device made in accordance with the invention.
- the lateral- emitter field-emission device of Fig. 3 is a diode device, without a control electrode.
- the anode 70 of Fig. 3 is shown with a separately identified phosphor film 75 to illustrate an alternative embodiment.
- the device of Fig. 3 also differs from Fig. 2 in that anode 70 does not extend beneath emitting blade edge or tip 110 of lateral emitter 100.
- opening 160 the sidewall of which defines the vertical plane containing emitting edge 110 of lateral emitter 100, extends beyond the horizontal extent of anode 70.
- the vertical extent of opening 160 is still determined by the fact that opening 160 extends vertically only to the top surface of anode 70 (which in this embodiment is the top surface of phosphor film 75).
- the minimum vertical extent of opening 160 in the device of Fig. 3 is the sum of the predetermined thickness of insulator layer 90 and the predetermined thickness of lateral emitter 100.
- the field- emission device may be made with a plurality of anodes 70 (not shown in the drawings).
- a useful example of such a structure has three anodes per emitter, with a different phosphor color of each anode.
- a particularly useful combination is a three- anode device with red, green, and blue phosphors for an RGB display. Operable and preferred materials for the various structural elements of the lateral-emitter field-effect device with simplified anode are described herein below in connection with an exposition of a novel and preferred fabrication process.
- a novel fabrication process using process steps similar to those used in semiconductor integrated circuit fabrication may be used to produce the devices and their arrays in accordance with the invention.
- Various embodiments of the fabrication process allow the use of conductive or insulating substrates and allow fabrication of devices having various functions and complexity.
- a notable feature of all the fabrication process embodiments described herein is that the anode is simply formed without the use of a spacer employed in some prior art processes. (In those prior art processes, a spacer was formed by a sacrificial conformal coating.)
- Figs. 4a and 4b together show a flow diagram of an embodiment of a fabrication process performed in accordance with the invention.
- Figs. 5a and 5b together show a series of side elevation cross sectional views corresponding to results of the process steps of Figs. 4a and 4b.
- Figs. 4a, 4b, 5a, and 5b in which the same or similar process steps and the device side elevation cross- sectional views of results corresponding to those steps are both denoted by the same step references SI, S2, ..., S18.
- SI, S2 ..., S18.
- a simple overall process outline for fabrication of a diode device is described first, followed by a description of the detailed process which is depicted in Figs. 4a and 4b and which is further illustrated by the corresponding results of Figs. 5a and 5b.
- Table I lists the process steps shown in Figs. 4a and 4b.
- an anode film 70 is deposited (S7); an insulator film 90 is deposited (S8) over the anode film; an ultra-thin conductive emitter film 100 is deposited (S12) over the insulator and patterned; a trench opening 160 is etched (SI 5) through the emitter and insulator, stopping at the anode film, thus forming and automatically aligning an emitting edge 110 of the emitter; and means are provided (S18) for applying an electrical bias to the emitter and anode, sufficient to cause field emission of electrons from the emitting edge 110 of the emitter 100 to the anode 70.
- the anode film 70 deposited in step S7 may comprise a phosphor film 75 for a device specially adapted for use in a field-emission display.
- the phosphor may be any cathodoluminescent material, and may be selected on the basis of its conductivity and/or the color of its luminescence. 51 Provide substrate
- S18 Provide means for applying suitable bias and signal voltage(s)
- a fabrication process for a triode, tetrode, etc. device may also include steps to deposit additional insulator films 130 and to deposit additional conductive films 140 for control electrodes, which have a control electrode edge 150 automatically aligned with the emitter blade edge or tip 110.
- these additional steps are included as "optional" steps, to be performed only if control electrodes are to be included in a particular device structure. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the detailed process of Figs. 4a and 4b, illustrated by the results of Figs. 5a and 5b, may be modified to fabricate simpler devices by omitting particular process steps as appropriate. Other variations in technique and in the order of process steps will also be apparent to one skilled in the art.
- a substrate 20 is provided (step SI), which may be a silicon wafer.
- An insulating layer 30 is deposited (step S2) on the substrate. This may be done, for example, by growing a film of silicon oxide approximately one micrometer thick on a silicon substrate.
- a pattern is defined on the insulator surface for depositing a conductive material.
- a pattern of recesses is defined and etched (step S3) into the surface of the insulator layer.
- metal is deposited in the recesses to form a buried contact layer 50, which is then planarized (step S5).
- the conductive material deposited in step S4 may be a metal such as aluminum, tungsten, titanium, etc., or may be a transparent conductor such as tin oxide, indium tin oxide etc.
- the substrate may be conductive and perform the function of a buried emitter contact.
- steps S2, S3, S4, and S5 may be omitted, although a step similar to step S2 may be required to insulate a control electrode if any from the substrate.
- An insulating layer 60 is deposited (step S6). This may be a chemical vapor deposition of silicon oxide to a thickness of about 0.1 to 2 micrometers, for example.
- a conductive layer is deposited (step S7) to a predetermined thickness and patterned to form an anode layer 70.
- the conductive anode layer 70 deposited in step S7 may be a metal film or another conductive film such as indium oxide or indium tin oxide (ITO).
- the conductive layer may be a conductive phosphor 75 or may be a composite layer comprising a conductive material with a thin film of phosphor 75 on its top surface.
- Suitable phosphors include zinc oxide(ZnO), zinc sulfide (ZnS) and many other compounds.
- Some other suitable phosphors are ZnO:Zn; Sn ⁇ 2:Eu; ZnGa O_i:Mn; La 2 O 2 S:Tb; Y 2 O2S:Eu; LaOB ⁇ Tb; ZnS:Zn+In 2 O3; ZnS:Cu,Al+In 2 O3; (ZnCd)S:Ag+In O3; and ZnS:Mn+In 2 O3.
- Still other suitable phosphor materials are described, for example, in the chapter by Takashi Hase et al.
- anode layer 70 may be patterned, that patterning may be done by subprocesses that are conventional in semiconductor fabrication practice, using lithography and etching to pattern the layer. In particular, anode layer 70 may be formed and patterned by a process analogous to steps S3, S4, and S5.
- Step S8 an insulating layer 90 is deposited to a precisely predetermined thickness.
- This predetermined thickness of insulating layer 90 is quite important in determining the emitter-to-anode closest distance, and thus in determining the electric field produced by a given applied bias voltage.
- Step S8 may comprise chemical vapor deposition of silicon oxide to a predetermined thickness in the range of 0.1 to 2 micrometers, for example.
- Steps S9 and S10 are performed if a control electrode layer 140 is needed below the emitter layer 100. (Such a control electrode layer is shown in Fig. 5a, but then omitted from Fig. 5b to illustrate the option without a lower control electrode layer.) If needed, a conductive control electrode layer 140 is deposited and patterned in step S9. In step S10 an insulating layer 130 of a predetermined thickness is deposited over conductive control electrode layer 140 to insulate it and to provide a flat insulating surface parallel to the substrate for the next step. Whether or not steps
- step Sll conductive contacts 120 are provided to the buried contact layer 50, by opening suitable contact holes and depositing conductive material in them (forming "studs") to make ohmic contact with buried contact layer 50.
- step S12 an ultra-thin emitter layer 100 is deposited and patterned.
- Preferred materials for conductive lateral-emitter layer 100 are titanium, tungsten, tantalum, molybdenum, or their alloys such as titanium-tungsten alloy.
- step S12 is controlled to form a film preferably of about 100 - 300 angstroms thickness in order to have an emitter blade edge or tip 110 in the final structure that has a radius of curvature preferably less than 150 angstroms and more preferably less than 50 angstroms.
- step S13 patterning of lateral emitter 100 is done so that lateral emitter 100 extends over at least a portion of anode 70.
- An insulator 130 is deposited (step S13) over the emitter layer. Again this may be a chemical vapor deposition of silicon oxide to a thickness of about
- this insulator layer 130 should be made the same thickness as the insulator layer 130 deposited in step S10. If a control electrode 140 is to be incorporated, a conductive material is deposited and patterned (step SI 4) to form the upper control electrode layer 140.
- control electrode 140 may be deposited in a recess pattern and planarized, as in the case of the buried contact layer 50.
- the conductive films deposited and patterned in steps S4, S9 (if performed), S12, and S14 (if performed) are all deposited in at least partial alignment with respect to the anode film 70 deposited and patterned in step S7.
- step S15 an opening is provided through all the layers lying over anode 70, down to the top surface of anode layer 70.
- This opening is patterned to intersect at least some portions of emitter layer 50 (and of control electrode layers 140 if any), to define emitting edge 110 of emitter layer 100 (and to define edge 150 of control electrode layer 140 if any).
- This step is performed by using conventional directional etching processes such as reactive ion etching sometimes called "trench etching" in the semiconductor fabrication literature.
- step S15 is performed while leaving at least a portion of insulator 90 remaining and covering at least a portion of anode 70.
- step S16 contact holes are opened to emitter, control electrode, and anode if needed.
- step S17 Metal contacts are deposited where needed in step S17.
- this part of the process (steps S16 and S17) may be performed after step S13 or S14 but before S15. It that case, the sequence of process steps would be as follows: S13, S14 (if used), SI 6, SI 7, and then S15. It should be noted that for some display applications (such as so-called "heads-up" displays), it is desirable to form the device structure using substantially transparent materials for all the films. With the operable and preferred thicknesses of the films in the present invention, such transparent films may be made if desired.
- step S18 means are provided for applying suitable electrical bias voltages, and (for devices incorporating control electrodes) suitable signal voltages.
- Such means may include, for example, contact pads selectively provided at the device top surface to make electrical contact, and optionally may include wire bonds, means for tape automated bonding, flip-chip or C4 bonding, etc.
- conventional power supplies and signal sources must be provided to supply the appropriate bias voltages and control signals. These will include providing sufficient voltage amplitude of the correct polarity (anode positive) to cause cold-cathode field emission of electron current from emitter edge 110 to anode 70.
- a passivation layer may be applied to the device top surface, except where there are conductive contact studs and/or contact pads needed to make electrical contacts. This completes the description of the detailed process illustrated in Figs. 4a, 4b, 5a and 5b.
- auxiliary opening connected to the opening provided in step S15, but not as deep as that opening (i.e. not extending as deeply as the level of anode layer 70).
- This auxiliary opening may be made at a portion of the cavity spaced away from the emitter edge area.
- the opening for the main cavity and the connected auxiliary opening are both filled temporarily with a sacrificial organic material, such as parylene, and then planarized.
- An inorganic insulator is deposited, extending over the entire device surface including over the sacrificial material, to enclose the cavity.
- a hole is made in the inorganic insulator by reactive ion etching only over the auxiliary opening.
- the sacrificial organic material is removed from within the cavity by a plasma etch, such as an oxygen plasma etch, which operates through the hole.
- the atmosphere surrounding the device is then removed to evacuate the cavity. If an inert gas filler is desired, then that gas is introduced at the desired pressure. Then the hole and auxiliary opening are immediately filled by sputter-depositing an inorganic material to plug the hole.
- the hole-plugging step may consist of two or more substeps: viz. depositing a quantity of getter material, and then depositing an inorganic insulator to complete the plug.
- the plug of inorganic insulator seals the cavity and retains either the vacuum or any inert gas introduced.
- the gettering material if used, is chosen to getter any undesired gases, such as oxygen or gases containing sulfur, for example.
- Some suitable getter materials are Ca, Ba, Ti, alloys of Th, etc. or other conventional getter materials known in the art of vacuum tube construction. This process for retaining vacuum or gas atmospheres is not illustrated in Figs. 4a, 4b, 5a, and 5b.
- integrated arrays of field- emission devices such as the array of Fig. 1, may be made by simultaneously performing each step of the fabrication process described herein for a multiplicity of field-emission devices on the same substrate, while providing various interconnections among them.
- An integrated array of field-emission devices made in accordance with the present invention has each device made as described herein, and the devices are arranged as cells containing at least one emitter and at least one anode per cell. The cells are arranged along rows and columns, with the anodes interconnected along the columns for example, and the emitters interconnected along the rows.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP96916907A EP0829093A4 (en) | 1995-06-02 | 1996-05-31 | Lateral-emitter field-emission device with simplified anode and fabrication thereof |
JP8536743A JPH11510639A (en) | 1995-06-02 | 1996-05-31 | Side emitter field emission device with simplified anode and method of making same |
AU59628/96A AU5962896A (en) | 1995-06-02 | 1996-05-31 | Lateral-emitter field-emission device with simplified anode and fabrication thereof |
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US08/458,137 US5811929A (en) | 1995-06-02 | 1995-06-02 | Lateral-emitter field-emission device with simplified anode |
US08/458,137 | 1995-06-02 | ||
US08459033 US5618216C1 (en) | 1995-06-02 | 1995-06-02 | Fabrication process for lateral-emitter field-emission device with simplified anode |
US08/459,033 | 1995-06-02 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO1996038854A1 true WO1996038854A1 (en) | 1996-12-05 |
Family
ID=27038874
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US1996/008254 WO1996038854A1 (en) | 1995-06-02 | 1996-05-31 | Lateral-emitter field-emission device with simplified anode and fabrication thereof |
Country Status (7)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0829093A4 (en) |
JP (1) | JPH11510639A (en) |
KR (1) | KR19990022217A (en) |
CN (1) | CN1186568A (en) |
AU (1) | AU5962896A (en) |
CA (1) | CA2221378A1 (en) |
WO (1) | WO1996038854A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
RU2655143C2 (en) * | 2013-07-16 | 2018-05-23 | Акцо Нобель Коатингс Интернэшнл Б.В. | Intumescent composition |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN103021759B (en) * | 2013-01-06 | 2016-05-04 | 电子科技大学 | A kind of field emission electron source of constant current transmitting |
Citations (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4827177A (en) * | 1986-09-08 | 1989-05-02 | The General Electric Company, P.L.C. | Field emission vacuum devices |
US4904895A (en) * | 1987-05-06 | 1990-02-27 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Electron emission device |
US5144191A (en) * | 1991-06-12 | 1992-09-01 | Mcnc | Horizontal microelectronic field emission devices |
US5173634A (en) * | 1990-11-30 | 1992-12-22 | Motorola, Inc. | Current regulated field-emission device |
US5192240A (en) * | 1990-02-22 | 1993-03-09 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Method of manufacturing a microelectronic vacuum device |
US5233263A (en) * | 1991-06-27 | 1993-08-03 | International Business Machines Corporation | Lateral field emission devices |
US5266155A (en) * | 1990-06-08 | 1993-11-30 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy | Method for making a symmetrical layered thin film edge field-emitter-array |
US5386172A (en) * | 1991-05-13 | 1995-01-31 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Multiple electrode field electron emission device and method of manufacture |
Family Cites Families (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5214347A (en) * | 1990-06-08 | 1993-05-25 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy | Layered thin-edged field-emitter device |
US5493177A (en) * | 1990-12-03 | 1996-02-20 | The Regents Of The University Of California | Sealed micromachined vacuum and gas filled devices |
KR950003648B1 (en) * | 1992-11-13 | 1995-04-17 | 삼성전관 주식회사 | Fild emission device and manufacturing method thereof |
JPH08510588A (en) * | 1993-01-19 | 1996-11-05 | ダニロビッチ カルポフ,レオニド | Field emission device |
AU5727496A (en) * | 1995-05-08 | 1996-11-29 | Advanced Vision Technologies, Inc. | Field emission display cell structure and fabrication proces s |
-
1996
- 1996-05-31 JP JP8536743A patent/JPH11510639A/en active Pending
- 1996-05-31 CN CN96194391A patent/CN1186568A/en active Pending
- 1996-05-31 AU AU59628/96A patent/AU5962896A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1996-05-31 CA CA002221378A patent/CA2221378A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 1996-05-31 EP EP96916907A patent/EP0829093A4/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1996-05-31 WO PCT/US1996/008254 patent/WO1996038854A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1996-05-31 KR KR1019970708696A patent/KR19990022217A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
Patent Citations (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4827177A (en) * | 1986-09-08 | 1989-05-02 | The General Electric Company, P.L.C. | Field emission vacuum devices |
US4904895A (en) * | 1987-05-06 | 1990-02-27 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Electron emission device |
US5192240A (en) * | 1990-02-22 | 1993-03-09 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Method of manufacturing a microelectronic vacuum device |
US5266155A (en) * | 1990-06-08 | 1993-11-30 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy | Method for making a symmetrical layered thin film edge field-emitter-array |
US5173634A (en) * | 1990-11-30 | 1992-12-22 | Motorola, Inc. | Current regulated field-emission device |
US5386172A (en) * | 1991-05-13 | 1995-01-31 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Multiple electrode field electron emission device and method of manufacture |
US5144191A (en) * | 1991-06-12 | 1992-09-01 | Mcnc | Horizontal microelectronic field emission devices |
US5233263A (en) * | 1991-06-27 | 1993-08-03 | International Business Machines Corporation | Lateral field emission devices |
US5308439A (en) * | 1991-06-27 | 1994-05-03 | International Business Machines Corporation | Laternal field emmission devices and methods of fabrication |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
---|
See also references of EP0829093A4 * |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
RU2655143C2 (en) * | 2013-07-16 | 2018-05-23 | Акцо Нобель Коатингс Интернэшнл Б.В. | Intumescent composition |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
CN1186568A (en) | 1998-07-01 |
CA2221378A1 (en) | 1996-12-05 |
EP0829093A1 (en) | 1998-03-18 |
AU5962896A (en) | 1996-12-18 |
EP0829093A4 (en) | 1998-06-17 |
JPH11510639A (en) | 1999-09-14 |
KR19990022217A (en) | 1999-03-25 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US5618216A (en) | Fabrication process for lateral-emitter field-emission device with simplified anode | |
US5644188A (en) | Field emission display cell structure | |
US5666019A (en) | High-frequency field-emission device | |
US5445550A (en) | Lateral field emitter device and method of manufacturing same | |
US5644190A (en) | Direct electron injection field-emission display device | |
US5647998A (en) | Fabrication process for laminar composite lateral field-emission cathode | |
US5345141A (en) | Single substrate, vacuum fluorescent display | |
US5616061A (en) | Fabrication process for direct electron injection field-emission display device | |
US5703380A (en) | Laminar composite lateral field-emission cathode | |
US5630741A (en) | Fabrication process for a field emission display cell structure | |
US5872421A (en) | Surface electron display device with electron sink | |
US5628663A (en) | Fabrication process for high-frequency field-emission device | |
US5811929A (en) | Lateral-emitter field-emission device with simplified anode | |
WO1996036061A1 (en) | Field emission display cell structure and fabrication process | |
US5714837A (en) | Vertical field emission devices and methods of fabrication with applications to flat panel displays | |
WO1996038854A1 (en) | Lateral-emitter field-emission device with simplified anode and fabrication thereof | |
US5669802A (en) | Fabrication process for dual carrier display device | |
WO1997002586A1 (en) | Direct electron injection field-emission display device and fabrication process | |
US6015324A (en) | Fabrication process for surface electron display device with electron sink | |
WO1996042113A1 (en) | Laminar composite lateral field-emission cathode and fabrication process | |
WO1997009733A1 (en) | High-frequency field-emission device and fabrication process | |
JP2003505843A (en) | Insulated gate electron field emission device and manufacturing process thereof | |
EP0985222A1 (en) | Structure and fabrication of electron-emitting device having specially configured focus coating | |
KR20000069815A (en) | Surface electron display device and fabrication process |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
WWE | Wipo information: entry into national phase |
Ref document number: 96194391.2 Country of ref document: CN |
|
AK | Designated states |
Kind code of ref document: A1 Designated state(s): AU BR CA CN HU JP KP KR MX NO NZ PL RU SG TR UA VN AM AZ BY KG KZ MD RU TJ TM |
|
AL | Designated countries for regional patents |
Kind code of ref document: A1 Designated state(s): AT BE CH DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LU MC NL PT SE |
|
DFPE | Request for preliminary examination filed prior to expiration of 19th month from priority date (pct application filed before 20040101) | ||
121 | Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application | ||
ENP | Entry into the national phase |
Ref document number: 2221378 Country of ref document: CA Ref document number: 2221378 Country of ref document: CA Kind code of ref document: A |
|
WWE | Wipo information: entry into national phase |
Ref document number: 1996916907 Country of ref document: EP |
|
ENP | Entry into the national phase |
Ref document number: 1996 536743 Country of ref document: JP Kind code of ref document: A |
|
WWE | Wipo information: entry into national phase |
Ref document number: 1019970708696 Country of ref document: KR |
|
WWP | Wipo information: published in national office |
Ref document number: 1996916907 Country of ref document: EP |
|
WWP | Wipo information: published in national office |
Ref document number: 1019970708696 Country of ref document: KR |
|
WWW | Wipo information: withdrawn in national office |
Ref document number: 1996916907 Country of ref document: EP |
|
WWR | Wipo information: refused in national office |
Ref document number: 1019970708696 Country of ref document: KR |