Abstract: A FED is provided comprising: an emitter located on a cathode; a pixel located on an anode positioned to receive electrons from the emitter; and a getter located on the anode. According to another aspect of the invention, a method of making an FED is provided comprising: depositing getter material over a tip on a cathode; assembling the cathode with an anode, wherein the getter is between the tip and the anode; and activating the getter, whereby the activation causes the getter to be deposited on the anode.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for modulating a conductive element in an FED device from a first level to a second level in which the charge on the display is conserved. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises an analog modulating circuit, a switching circuit, and a switch. The analog modulating circuit receives a feedback signal responsive to an actual row-column voltage difference and a target signal responsive to a desired row-column voltage difference and generates an output signal responsive to the feedback signal and the target signal. The switching circuit generates a switching signal responsive to the feedback signal, the target signal, and a bias signal. The switch connects a reference voltage to the output generated by the analog modulating circuit in response to the switching signal.

Abstract: A front-loading and front-discharging, exclusively gravity-feed display device for upright articles includes an exclusively gravity-feed track of a U-shaped design in plan, a U-shaped cross-section open at the top thereof, and a generally uniform article-supporting longitudinal incline extending downwardly along the length of the track. In a preferred embodiment, the track defines a loading or supply end, and a dispensing or delivery end, the loading and dispensing ends being in generally the same vertical plane. A U-shaped bight track section is spaced from the same vertical plane. An upper track section functionally connects the loading end and the bight track section, and a lower track section functionally connects the bight track section and the dispensing end. The upper, bight and lower track sections cooperatively and successively define a downwardly-extending article-supporting incline along the entire U-shaped length of the track.

Abstract: According to the present invention, there is provided a method for forming an emitter grid in a substrate of a field emission display. In one embodiment of the invention, the method includes the step of forming an emitter in a trench in the substrate, the trench having a dimension which is substantially the same as a desired dimension of the emitter grid, disposing a dielectric layer on the substrate, and disposing a grid material layer on the dielectric layer. The field emission display is then planarized to expose a portion of the dielectric which contacts the emitter.

Abstract: Aligned gate structures for field emitter display devices are formed by overlaying a substrate, having at least one emitter tip thereon, successively with an insulating layer, a conductive layer, and a photoresist layer. The photoresist layer is then exposed to create fixed and unfixed regions. The unfixed regions are developed and etched to remove the conductive layer under the unfixed regions. The insulating layer is then etched to expose the emitter tips and the photoresist layer removed.

Abstract: A flat panel display, such as a Field Emission Display ("FED"), is disclosed having a current control circuit. Input into the display, initially, is an analog signal having an amplitude. In one embodiment, the current control circuit includes a converter for converting the analog input signal to a sawtooth signal having a height and width. Then, the level of the sawtooth signal is compared to a voltage level to establish a pulse width of an emitter current. The emitter current is thus controlled by a pulse width modulation approach. In another embodiment, the current control circuit traps a column voltage on a parasitic capacitance. The trapped voltage then controls the gate of a transistor to control current flow from the emitter set to ground.

Abstract: A wet chemical process is provided for treating an emitter formed on a substrate of a field emission display, the process comprises applying a solution including hydrogen to the emitter. In one embodiment of the invention, the steps of applying a solution comprises applying a solution of hydrofluoric acid to the emitter.

Abstract: A matrix addressable display includes a delay locked loop formed from a delay chain formed from several variable delay blocks and a comparator. The delay locked loop receives a horizontal sync portion of an image signal and propagates the horizontal sync through the chain of delay blocks. The output of the last delay block drives the comparator that also receives an undelayed horizontal sync component. The comparator compares the undelayed horizontal sync to the delayed horizontal sync component and produces an error signal corresponding to the phase difference. The error signal is input to each of the delay blocks. In response to the error signal, the delay of the respective delay blocks increases or decreases to reduce the phase difference between the undelayed horizontal sync component and the delayed sync component. In addition to driving the delay chain, the horizontal sync component also walks a "1" through a row driver to sequentially activate rows of the array.

Abstract: Laser-assisted chemical vapor deposition is used to form spacers at desired locations in a field emission display. The spacers can be designed with different shapes to provide increased strength and also to be formed differently depending on the their location on the display.

Abstract: A process is provided for strengthening a backplate of a field emission display. In one embodiment, the process comprises, disposing a plurality of attachments on a surface of the backplate, disposing a strengthening member along the surface of the backplate, and attaching the strengthening member to the attachments. In another embodiment, a field emission display is provided having a backplate comprising, a plurality of attachments on a surface of the backplate, and a strengthening member disposed along the surface of the backplate, wherein the strengthening member is connected to the attachments.

Abstract: Photoetchable glass is used to form spacer elements for large area field emission displays. Frit dots are placed onto a substrate. A sheet of photo etchable glass is exposed to UV light using a mask such that the UV light exposes the etchable areas and does not expose the areas which will form the spacers. The etchable glass is then heat treated to crystallize the UV exposed areas and to tailor the coefficient of thermal expansion. Next the glass is adhered to the frit coated substrate and the UV exposed areas etched away leaving spacers adhered to frit dots.

Abstract: A light transfer apparatus for transferring an image from a relatively small projection surface to a relatively large display surface. The light transfer apparatus includes modules having a display surface, a light input surface and a connection surface. A plurality of modules are arranged so that their respective display surface combine to form the display screen. The modules are connected to a frame by snapping each module onto a support bar which is connected to the frame. Optical fibers, which terminate on the surface of each module and extend from the light input surface of each module, are positioned in a pigtail frame to form the projection surface. An image projected on the projection surface is viewed in magnified form on the display screen. The modular assembly design allows individual modules to be removed and replaced in the display screen without affecting any modules in addition to the replaced module.

Abstract: An anode of a flat panel display besides having a glass substrate, a patterned black grille on the substrate, a conductive layer covering the grille and the substrate, and a phosphor layer covering, also has one or more additional transparent layers that reduce the reflectance of the flat panel display from 14% down to 1%-4%. These additional layers are placed between the black matrix grille and the substrate, and between the conductive layer and phosphor layer. The two additional layers are selected and designed to reduce the reflectance that occurs at these respective interfaces.

Abstract: The lower surface of a photolithographic mask contains recesses sized and adapted to receive upwardly-projecting features so that, when the mask is placed in position over the to-be-exposed and etched surface, the lower surface of the mask is in direct contact with or very closely adjacent (e.g., not more than about 5 or 6 microns above) the top of the resist layer. In the disclosed practice, the mask is quartz, the lower surface of the mask is pressed into contact with the resist before the resist is exposed, and the device being formed is a field emission device.

Abstract: An electroluminescent device includes first and second layers (6, 12) of light emitting semiconductive conjugated polymers with an electrode arrangement (4, 8, 10, 14) for injecting charge carriers into both light emissive layers to cause light to be emitted therefrom. The first and second light emitting layers are in viewing overlap, and the electrode arrangement includes two sets of electrodes (4, 8, 10, 12) which can be operated independently. The first light emissive layer is arranged to emit radiation of a first wavelength when excited and the second light emissive layer is arranged to emit radiation of a second wavelength when excited. The electroluminescent device can thus be operated to cause either radiation of the first wavelength or radiation of the second wavelength or both to be emitted and viewed.

Abstract: A serial to parallel conversion circuit uses a dynamic shift register in a phase locked loop for an index to access a parallel holding register. The composite input signal includes serial data to be sampled and a synchronizing signal at an integer factor of the sampling serial data rate. The phase locked loop generates a control signal for sampling the serial data at a multiple of the synchronizing frequency by incorporating a delay between a variable frequency oscillator output and a phase comparator input. The delay element in one embodiment includes a shift register with a walking-one pattern that overflows to the phase comparator. The walking-one pattern is used to identify which position of the holding register should store the next sample of the input signal. The shift register is self-initialized by a logic combination of all shift register outputs. Power dissipation by the serial to parallel conversion circuit is minimal because only one 7-transistor shift register cell draws current at a time.

Abstract: A substrate is placed on a charging surface, to which a first voltage is applied. Etch-resistant dry particles are placed in a cup in a nozzle to which a second voltage, less than the first voltage, is applied. A carrier gas is directed through the nozzle, which projects the dry particles out of the nozzle toward the substrate. The particles pick up a charge from the potential applied to the nozzle and are electrostatically attracted to the substrate. The particles adhere to the substrate, where they form an etch mask. The substrate is etched and the particles are removed. Emitter tips for a field emission display may be formed in the substrate.

Abstract: A field emission display includes a discrete storage capacitor coupled between a column line and a reference potential. The display also includes a discharge circuit coupled between a transmission line tap and the storage capacitor. The discharge circuit receives an image signal from the transmission line and transfers charge from the transmission line to the storage capacitor. In one embodiment, the discharge circuit includes a pair of opposed zener diodes. In response to a brief negative-going input pulse on the transmission line, the capacitor is discharged through the diodes. Then, the diodes recover and capacitor and column line are isolated from the tap. A selected line of an extraction grid is then activated to extract electrons from an emitter set coupled to the column line. The voltage differential between the extraction grid and the emitter set extracts electrons from the emitter set that are replaced by the capacitor.