Charging and reliability effects associated with FED spacers

Abstract

A low cost scalable spacer technology is required for the commercial development of medium and high voltage FED products. Various techniques can be used to shape glass into high aspect ratio spacers. In this paper, we will describe and interpret the short term effects associated with charging under electron bombardment, as well as the long term reliability effects such as flashover and image degradation, under 5 V / micron anode fields.

Technological Overview

“…The charging problem can be tackled by several techniques, e.g., controlled conductivity of the pillars to prevent charge buildup [12] or control of pillar geometry and secondary electron emission coefficients [13][14][15]. In a practical system, the secondary electron emission will never be exactly 1 for 1, so it becomes necessary to make the pillars slightly conductive to allow excess charge to flow away.…”