25.01.2013 Views

Developments in Ceramic Materials Research

Developments in Ceramic Materials Research

Developments in Ceramic Materials Research

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

Field Emission Display on <strong>Ceramic</strong> 257<br />

Figure 10. Field emission current maps from 20×20 pixels. (a) Data collected from a ceramic substrate<br />

with average current 10.2 µA, and standard deviation 5.57 µA; (b) Data collected from a silicon<br />

substrate with average current 10.8 µA, and standard deviation 7.1 µA.<br />

The micro field emitters are vacuum microelectronics devices. Their performances are<br />

very sensible to the surround<strong>in</strong>g environment. Any gases absorption and desorption to the tips<br />

surface would <strong>in</strong>fluence their field emission behaviour. In particular the tips without surface<br />

clean<strong>in</strong>g treatment could demonstrate very noisy field emission because resistive heat<strong>in</strong>g to<br />

the tip by the emission current causes temperature rise, therefore contam<strong>in</strong>ants and gas<br />

molecules tend to desorb from the surface, caus<strong>in</strong>g the work function changes on the field<br />

emission sites. In the electrical characteristic study, variation of emission current was<br />

associated with image brightness variations on the phosphor screen. It was also revealed on<br />

the pressure read<strong>in</strong>g from an ion gauge, which was located further away from the emission<br />

site. Pressure bursts from the <strong>in</strong>itial base pressure of 5×10 -10 mbar without fir<strong>in</strong>g the field<br />

emitter guns, to 2×10 -6 mbar when electrons heavily bombard on the phosphor screen were<br />

observed. This suggested a far worse vacuum condition <strong>in</strong> the narrow space between the<br />

phosphor screen and the emitter cathode back plane. Plasma can be triggered easily under this<br />

condition due to the large quantity of gas molecules released from the phosphor under the<br />

<strong>in</strong>tensive electron bombardment. Figure 11 shows an image of plasma struck on the phosphor<br />

screen when an emission current imp<strong>in</strong>ged the phosphor caus<strong>in</strong>g a pressure rise <strong>in</strong> the local<br />

area. Micro field emitter destruction was <strong>in</strong>evitable under this condition. A SEM image<br />

show<strong>in</strong>g a destructive microstructure from a field emitter array on a ceramic sample after a<br />

characteristic study is shown <strong>in</strong> Figure 12. Melted molybdenum surface, deformed gate<br />

apertures and evaporated cone tips are visible. Phosphor particles land<strong>in</strong>g on a field emitter is<br />

the evidence of a plasma discharge event.<br />

b

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!