Electron emission device and electron emission display using the same

Abstract

An electron emission device includes a substrate, first electrodes formed on the substrate, electron emission regions electrically connected to the first electrodes, and second electrodes placed over the first electrodes such that the second electrodes are insulated from the first electrodes. The second electrodes have openings to expose the electron emission regions. A third electrode is placed over the second electrodes such that the third electrode is insulated from the second electrodes. The third electrode has openings communicating with the openings of the second electrodes. Each of the electron emission regions and the second electrodes simultaneously satisfy the following conditions:

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the aspects, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a partial exploded perspective view of an electron emission display according to an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of an electron emission display shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial amplified plan view of the electron emission device according to an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial amplified plan view of an electron emission device illustrating a variant of a focusing electrode.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates the trajectories of the electron beams emitted from the center of an electron emission region of an electron emission display according to an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates the trajectories of the electron beams emitted from the edge of an electron emission region of an electron emission display according to an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating the widths of main and sub electron beams measured when the ratio of a width of an electron emission region to a width of an opening of a gate electrode of an electron emission display is varied according to an aspect of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electron emission device comprising: a substrate;first electrodes formed on the substrate;electron emission regions electrically connected to the first electrodes;second electrodes placed over the first electrodes such that the second electrodes are insulated from the first electrodes, the second electrodes having openings to expose the electron emission regions; anda third electrode placed over the second electrodes such that the third electrode is insulated from the second electrodes, the third electrode having openings communicating with the openings of the second electrodes;wherein each of the electron emission regions and the second electrodes simultaneously satisfy the following conditions: D2/D1≦0.579   (1),andD2≧1 μ  (2)

2. The electron emission device of claim 1, wherein D1 and D2 are measured in the direction of the width of any one of the first and the second electrodes.

3. The electron emission device of claim 2, wherein the electron emission regions and the openings of the second electrodes are serially arranged in the direction of the length of the first electrodes, and D1 and D2 are measured in the direction of the width of the first electrodes.

4. The electron emission device of claim 2, wherein the electron emission regions and the openings of the second electrodes are formed in the shape of a circle.

5. The electron emission device of claim 1, wherein each of the electron emission regions is formed as any one of an electron emission layer formed entirely of an electron emission material and an electron emission layer having an electron emission material formed on a surface thereof.

6. The electron emission device of claim 5, wherein the electron emission region comprises at least one of carbon nanotube, graphite, graphite nanofiber, diamond, diamond-like carbon, fullerene C60, and silicon nanowire.

7. The electron emission device of claim 3, wherein the third electrode has one of the openings at each crossed area of the first and the second electrodes.

8. The electron emission device of claim 1, wherein any one of the first and the second electrodes is a scan electrode, and the other of the first and the second electrodes is a data electrode, while the third electrode is a focusing electrode.

9. An electron emission display comprising: first and second substrates facing each other with a predetermined distance;first electrodes formed on the first substrate;electron emission regions electrically connected to the first electrodes;second electrodes placed over the first electrodes such that the second electrodes are insulated from the first electrodes, the second electrodes having openings to expose the electron emission regions;a third electrode placed over the second electrodes such that the third electrode is insulated from the second electrodes, the third electrode having openings communicating with the openings of the second electrodes;phosphor layers formed on a surface of the second substrate; anda fourth electrode placed on a surface of the phosphor layers;wherein the electron emission regions and the second electrodes simultaneously satisfy the following conditions: D2/D1≦0.579   (1),andD2≧1 μ  (2)

10. The electron emission display of claim 9, wherein the electron emission regions and the openings of the second electrodes are serially arranged in the direction of the length of the first electrodes, and D1 and D2 are measured in the direction of the width of the first electrodes.

11. The electron emission display of claim 9, wherein the electron emission regions and the openings of the second electrodes are formed in the shape of a circle.

12. The electron emission display of claim 9, wherein the phosphor layers comprise red, green and blue phosphor layers alternately arranged in a first direction on the second substrate, and D1 and D2 are measured perpendicular to the first direction on the second substrate.

13. The electron emission display of claim 12, wherein the electron emission regions and the openings of the second electrodes are serially arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction on the second substrate.

14. The electron emission display of claim 9, wherein the electron emission region is formed as any one of an electron emission layer formed entirely of an electron emission material and an electron emission layer having an electron emission material formed on the surface thereof.

15. The electron emission display of claim 13, wherein the third electrode has one of the openings at each crossed area of the first and the second electrodes.

16. The electron emission display of claim 9, wherein any one of the first and the second electrodes is a scan electrode, and the other of the first and second electrodes is a data electrode, while the third electrode is a focusing electrode, and the fourth electrode is an anode electrode.

17. The electron emission device of claim 1, wherein the first, second, and third electrodes form a step structure.

18. The electron emission display of claim 9, wherein the first, second, and third electrodes form a step structure.

19. An electron emission structure, comprising: a first electrode;an electron emission region to emit an electron stream and formed on the first electrode; anda second electrode formed perpendicularly to the first electrode, wherein the second electrode further comprises a hole sized and positioned to correspond to the electrode emission region so that a main electron beam and a sub electron beam of the electron stream emitted from the electron emission region have substantially equal width at a predetermined distance from the electron emission region.

20. The structure of claim 19, wherein a width of the hole of the second electrode and a width of the electron emission region satisfies the following conditions: D2/D1≦0.579   (1),andD2≧1 μ  (2)