Can Nanotechnology revive Field Emission Display Technology?

Chenggang Xie cgxie@[Link] 1.31.2005

Outline
Basic of Field Emission Display Key Issues and components for FED Nanotechnology for field emission technology Depletion mode operation Summary

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C.G. Xie

What is an FED?
Cathode Ray Tube
VIEWING SCREEN

Field Emission Display

ELECTROMAGETIC DEFLECTION COILS

VIEWING SCREEN

CATHODE

FIELD EMISSION ARRAY

A CRT is a vacuum tube in which electrons from three hot cathodes are scanned across a multicolor viewing screen to create a picture.

An FED is a vacuum tube in which electrons from millions of tiny cathodes travel to a multicolor viewing screen to create a picture.

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C.G. Xie

The Business Case for FEDs

Superior performance:
Better than CRTs Less than 1/10th the thickness and weight Lower power and more rugged No non-linearities or color errors Better than LCDs Viewable from any angle with no change in brightness, contrast or color Usable from -40C to 85 C with no change in performance! Potentially lower power consumption than LCDs Wider operating temperature range Larger viewing angle Sunlight readability

Potentially lower manufacturing costs

Fewer processing steps than Active Matrix LCDs

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Milestones in development of Field Emission Display

Carbon Nanotube discovered

First Matrix address monochrome FED

Commercial Product

R&D

F-N theory

20s

1960

Spindt tip invented

1970

1990

First high voltage full color FED

Activities

2000

15.3 FED demonstrated

Although no product was Although no product was produced, key technologies produced, key technologies were developed to provide were developed to provide aa good foundation for next good foundation for next generation cathode. generation cathode.

2005

2010

First generation cathode: Microtip Second generation cathode: CNT &SE

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FEDs - Industry Status

At peak, TI, Motorola, Raytheon, Candescent, Micron, FED Corp., SIDT in the US; Pixtech in France, Samsung in Korea; Canon, Sony and Futaba in Japan investigated resources into the technology. The number of companies involved in FED development is down. Many companies keep low profile. Focus of cathode technology is switched from Microtip to carbon nanotube. Canon and Toshiba announced to invest $1.8 B in SED in DEC, 2004. Demonstrated 36 SED at CES 2005

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World Largest Field Emission Display

Prototype of a 15.3" full color FED capable of running video in real time
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Display System Requirements

Good color quality Wide operating temperature range Wide viewing angle Good viewability under bright ambient light conditions Lower power consumption Thin package profile and lower weight Competitive with AMLCDs and other FPD technologies

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C.G. Xie

Electron Devices - Common Issues

Electron emission depends on the work function of the emitter surface Electron transport is ballistic and requires a sealed vacuum package Uniformity of beam current density Cathode geometry, beam trajectories Electrode structures: diode, triode, tetrode, pentode, etc. Cathode contamination and emitter life degradation Effects of electron collectors like phosphors

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C.G. Xie

Basic Components of FED

Visual Quality
Uniformity Resolution Color purity

Cost & Manufactuability

Reliability
Lifetime HV stability

Back Plate Spacer

(Cathode)

Power Efficiency

Electronic Face Plate

(anode)

Vacuum
(Seal & Getter)

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Key Accomplishments in 90s

Demonstrate invisible spacers in large display panel. Vacuum seal technique for thin glass panels. High voltage drivers and electronics. Knowledge of issues like cathode current degradation and phosphors degradation. Techniques to achieve high voltage operation stability. Device structure and pixel design. Understanding requirements of manufacturing for low cost and high yield product 2D preferred and no precision fabrication Characterization techniques for FED.

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FED Spacer Technology

Materials Requirements Should withstand high voltages across small gaps Low secondary electron emission coefficients Capable of bleeding deposited charge Spacer Materials Mainly engineered ceramics Ceramics with special coatings Spacer Technology Issues Better understanding of the surface properties Electron-spacer materials interactions

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Spacer- contamination
White spacer is caused by Na contamination on spacer surface.

Spacer locat ed

8 .0 E-07 7 .0 E-07

Subpixe l curre nt ( A)

6 .0 E-07 5 .0 E-07 4 .0 E-07 3 .0 E-07 2 .0 E-07 1 .0 E-07

0.0E+00

No spacer area

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4 .0 E-0 3

6.0E-0 3

8.0E- 03 Time (s)

1 .0 E-02

1.2E-0 2

1 .4E -02

Spacer - Effect of Charging

Spacer location
The spacer surface is bombarded by high energy electrons (1k-3k eV). Those electrons create positive charges on the surface due to 2nd electron emission yield of >1. Additional potential produced by those positive charges will change electron trajectory. V=p/ Some positive charges may dissipate until next period. But most of them stay on surface because of rough surface, low conductivity. Positive charges on surface distort electron trajectory resulting in dark region

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High Voltage Operation Stability

Emitter damage due to uncontrolled emission current Undesirable vacuum levels: Electron impact ionization of the residual gases, followed by the ion bombardment damage of the emitters. Electron stimulated desorption from surfaces and device degradation resulting from the gas - emitter surface interactions. E-beam induced desorption of gas from phosphor and subsequent adsorption on tips. Emission from only few sites, leading to current run off Joule heating, melting of the emitter materials Dielectric breakdown between the cathode and anode Excessive leakage between cathode to anode electrical paths Particulate contamination and resulting damage

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Cathode Destruction due to Uncontrolled Emission

Before Arc Damage

After Arc Damage

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Field Emission Display Package Outline

Black Matrix

Phosphor Face Plate

Red Blue Green Red Blue

Vacuum Seal

Spacer

Field Emitter Cathode Array

Requires a hermetically sealed vacuum package Maintenance of high vacuum during the package life Spacers to reduce glass bowing

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Spacer

Green

Package Integration - Typical Process Flow

Vacuum Packaging Process Anode Fabrication Frame Assembly Spacer Attach Getter Placement Cathode Fabrication Electronics Packaging Package Test
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Vacuum Seal

Driver attach/ Board attach

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Module Assembly

Final Test

Vacuum Technology Issues

VACUUM AN D GETTERS ESD OF PHOSPHORS GASEOUS INTERACTIONS

VACUUM ISSUES

CATHODE-ANODE INTERACTIONS OUTGASSING AND GAS DESORPTION

ION BOMBARDMENT DAMAGE

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Maintaining a Good Vacuum

Getters are used to maintain a good vacuum in the package Major issues: Better understanding of the outgassing characteristics of FED materials Reduction of desorption from phosphors With increasing display size, gas flow through the narrow spacing between the anode and cathode becomes a major problem Distributed gettering will become important Vacuum levels in the 10-6 to 10-7 Torr range are required for long life Nanoparticles can significantly improve pumping rate of the getter

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Vacuum Technology Issues

Anode plate (glass, ITO, phosphor)

electron emission electron stimulated desorption tip atoms field desorption adsorption surface diffusion

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Typical Gases inside FED Panels

5
H2O

Ion Signal x10 (arb. units)

N2 CO

2
H2 OH O CH4 C CO2 O2

Most of the residual gases are typically H2O, O2, CO2, CO, H2, hydrocarbons like CH4, process residues, gases trapped inside sputtered layers With the metal and silicon emitters, it is the oxygenic gases we need to be concerned with.

-8

1
H

0 0 10 20 30 40 50

Mass (amu)

Residual gas contents of a typical FED package

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Cathode Degradation and lifetime model

Interaction of gases with the cathode resulting in modified tip surface work function Ion impact and sputter induced tip shape modification High field effects such as field desorption and dissociation Detail description of the model was published in IEEE Trans on Electron Device.

Life model
Basic Assumption Partial coverage;Ionized species more reactive; Self-clean capability

dI = a bI cVa I 2 Idt
1.0E-2

-dI/dt/I (1/hour)

1.0E-3

1.0E-4

dI/dt/I = -1.09x1010I 2 + 2.76x103I - 1.83x10-3 R2 = 0.9806

1.0E-5 0.0E+0 2.0E-7 4.0E-7 6.0E-7 8.0E-7 1.0E-6

Subpixel Current (A)

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FED Reliability - Fundamental Issues

Vacuum Technology Issues Outgassing of surfaces Electron stimulated desorption Vacuum seal integrity; Getter pumping Materials Cathode degradation, Phosphor degradation, Cathode-Phosphor interaction Charging of dielectrics and spacers Dielectric breakdown Design and Systems Engineering Electron beam spot size issues Beam focussing issues

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Display Visual Quality & Cathode Characteristics

Color Purity Uniformity Resolution Brightness Contrast & Gray Scale

Spot Size I-V Curve RC delay Variation

Device Engineering Device Engineering

Material Engineering

Understand the Issues: Spot Size, Spatial Distribution, RC delay and Current sensitivity
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How Can Nanotech help?

Nano material may be a good material for gettering material. Nanoparticle phosphor can improve the efficiency. Nano material is a new generation of field emission cathode.

Basic Component of FED

Visual Quality
Uniformity Resolution Color purity

Cost & Manufactuability

Reliability
Lifetime HV stability

Back Plate Spacer

(Cathode)

Electronic Face Plate

(anode)

Power Efficiency

Vacuum
(Seal & Getter)

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C.G. Xie

Surface Conduction Cathode - Nanoparticle

Surface emission display from Canon is based on surface conduction emission from nanoparticle films. Ink-jet deposit a droplet of PdO to form a 10 nm thick, 100 m size film Create ~ 10 nm rupture on the PdO film Field emission occurs when a voltage is applied across the gap Advantages Simple device structure - Low manufacturing costs Screen printing - suitable for large panel fabrication

Substrate

PdO
Electrode Electrode

Canon's Surface Conduction Emitter

E. Yamaguchi, et al, SID Digest, p. 52, (1997)

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C.G. Xie

Canon SCE - Emission Characteristics

Anode current is about 0.2-0.5% of the total emitted current. Low emission efficiency, comparable to Spindt FEAs.

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E. Yamaguchi, et al, SID Digest, p. 52, (1997)

Canon SCE - Emission Physics

Ie Va Anode

Vf

If

Electron tunneling through a barrier (like a double quantum well structure) Electron scattering on the right edge Some of these scattered electrons get towards the anode

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E. Yamaguchi, et al, SID Digest, p. 52, (1997)

Why is Carbon Nanotube a promising candidate for FED?

They are very sharp! 2 um long and 10 wide! 2000:1 Aspect ratio. The electric field at the tip which pulls out electrons is ~ 2000 times greater than the parallel plate field! Basic material: Carbon. Unlimited resource. Key Issues a traditional field emitter; follows FN plot. Sensitive to surface conduction, geometry and environment. Spotty emission Uncontrolled growth. No device structure yet. Lifetime? Low voltage operation, <5-10 volts.
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Basics of Field Emission

Key obstacle Emission current is very sensitive to work function and electric field
1.00E+12
C urre nt De n sit y ov e r e m is s io n are a ( A /cm 2)

EV -e2/2x eff EF -eFX

e-

FERMI ELECTRON SEA

1.00E+10

Metal
0 Xc

Vacuum
X0 XF

1.00E+08

1.00E+06

Work f unc tion dec reas e

1.00E+04

J=

E 2
t 2 ( y )

exp(( B

( y ) ) [ A / cm 2 ] E E : image correction
C.G. Xie

3 2

1.00E+02

1.00E+00 1.00E+07 1.00E+08 Ele ctr ic Fie ld (V/cm ) 1.00E+09

E = electric field at surface; = work function

, B = const .; y = 3.79 x10

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Work f unc tion=6 eV

Work f unction=5.5 eV Work f unction=4 eV Work f unction=2.5 eV

W ork func tion= 5 eV W ork func tion=3.5 eV

Work f unc tion=4.5 eV Work f unc tion=3 eV

Cross-section of nanotube device

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Emission Uniformity - Major Issue

The I-V curve is consistent with electron tunneling. The curve produces a straight line on a Fowler-Nordheim plot. CNTs face the same challenges of other traditional FE like microtips.
Uniformity Stability
I/V2 (A/V2)

Fowler-Nordheim plot

10

-13

10-14 10-15 10-16 -4 4 10

Approach to achieve uniform emission

ballast structure More emission sites to make each pixel the same statistically. New device structure.
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5 10

-4

6 10

-4

7 10

-4

1/V (V-1)

New driving scheme.

C.G. Xie

Current Saturation- may help

10 10 10 10 10 10
-2

Current saturation is observed:

In MWNTs by Saito et al.; Collins and Zettl; Bonard et al., Xu and Brandes IN MWNTs and SWNTs, and individual SWNTs.

-4

Current (A)

-6

-8

-10

-12

* a single SWNT
1500 2000 2500 3000

Voltage (V)

Saturation could be the greatest thing for FED. May help fix uniformity problem if we know how to implement it. Some kind of current limiting function is needed to compensate for non-uniform emission from CNT

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Stability of SWNT field emission in Gas Ambients

UHV
4 2

Gas Exposure

UHV

10-6 torr

Current (A)

0 4 2 0 4 2 0 4 2 0

10-7 torr

Ok with H2 and Ar. Some degradation under H2O. Serious degradation under O2. More study under display environment is needed.

HO
2

10-7 torr

Ar

10-7 torr

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Curves on same emitter

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Time (hours)
C.G. Xie

10.477 s

10.978 s

11.979 s

12.746 s

13.247 s

13.480 s

14.248 s

14.678 s

field emission from adsorbate on top Thermionic emission from wall

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Nanotube Deposition Techniques Key Issues: nanotubes must be sticking up!! Nanotubes have high surface energy and they like to stick to the substrate Nanotubes must be bound down strongly and reliably just one loose nanotube can cause arcing Sparsely distributed to avoid field screening
as far apart as they are tall

Low Temperature Deposition

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Ideal gated field emitter

Ideal but not practical

Carbon Nanotube
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What is the device structure best suited for CNT?

Planar Spindt Above Gate SCE Diode
Cathode Gate Emission surface Phosphor

Back Gate

Geometry Precision fabrication Pixel Cap Emissive efficiency

3D Critical High 99%

2.5D Less critical

2D Not critical Low Less than 1%

1D

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C.G. Xie

Basic Device Requirement

Diode is the simplest but switching voltage is too high. Basic Requirements
No needs for alignment between gate and cathode
self-aligned structure Gate and cathode on the same layer.

Low pixel capacitance-a must for large display

no overlap between gate and cathode

Low switching voltage Emission Controllability

New Driving Scheme - depletion mode operation

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C.G. Xie

Depletion Mode Operation

Detail discussion was published in IEEE Trans on Nanotechnology, vol.3 no.3, Sept. 2004, pp404 Contrary to the conventional driving scheme, in depletion mode, the gate is used to turn off emission not to turn on emission.
Electrons emit under anode field require low field emission material More stable, avoid edge emission. Better uniformity Work with planar structure Small beam spread Less critical requirement for emission layer alignment to the gate.

Disadvantages
Need highly selective deposition of emissive material New Concept in field emission display.

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Anode field

140 m

355 m 200 m

A-A
1.0E-03

A-A

Current Density (A/mm^2)

Vg decreases

Conventional scheme

1.0E-06

20 m 100 m

1.0E-09

Depletion mode

Anode voltage produce

1.0E-12 0 2 4 6 8 10

x distance (micron)
Vg=-5 volts Vg=-1 volts Vg=30 volts Vg=5 volts Vg=10 volts

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Vg=20 volts

C.G. Vg=50 volts Xie

The electric field on emission surface generated by applied anode voltage must be strong enough to extract electrons. Anode voltage=3-6kV, gap=1mm; required operating electric field=36V/um. Carbon nanotube performance matches the requirement. High electric field at center and low at edge. Avoid edge emission and achieve stable high voltage operation. Since lateral field is very small under emission conditions, beam spread is small, similar to that from diode.
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Summary
Investment in 90s established valuable infrastructure for next generation field emission display technology. Many challenging issues, such as spacer visibility, high voltage operation stability, vacuum sealing, pixel layout and drivers, which was little known to us in 90s, now are better understood. Know more about manufacturing issue of field emission display and requirements of field emission cathode. Nanotechnology can have great impact on phosphor material, gettering material and specially emission material. Carbon nanotube has great potential to revive field emission display technology but difficult engineering challenges are still ahead.
New device structure Process to produce uniform emissive material.

1.31.2005

C.G. Xie