New resistive layer structure for field emission display: Realization of putting lateral resistor to individual micro-tip

Abstract

A new resistive layer structure was realized in which an identical lateral resistor was put to an individual emitter. In a Mo-tip field emitter array (FEA) with the novel resistive layer structure, the electrons travel along a resistive path running from a cathode electrode to a tip through nearest- neighbor via holes of an insulating inter-dielectric film. By current-voltage measurement of the test pattern, the new resistive layer structure with a tip pitch of 6 mum showed the capacity to sustain about 140V in the case of a tip-to-gate short circuit. To study the field emission characteristics of the new structure, Mo-tip FEAs with a gate hole size of 1.2 mum were fabricated using a PH3-doped amorphous Si (a-Si:H) film as the resistive layer and a silicon oxide (SiOx) inter-dielectric film with 1.2-mum-diameter via holes. The new structure exhibited a lesser voltage drop than either a conventional mesh structure or an island structure, with the gate voltage of the former new structure being decreased by 35 V and 43 V, respectively, to achieve a current density of 10 nA/tip with respect to the latter two structures. By providing each tip with an identical lateral resistor, the new resistive layer structure offers advantages of both structural robustness and high emission efficiency.