PEDESTAL EDGE EMITTER AND NON-LINEAR CURRENT LIMITERS FOR FIELD EMITTER DISPLAYS AND OTHER ELECTRON SOURCE APPLICATIONS

摘要

A microelectronic field emitter device (50) comprising a substrate (78), a conductive pedestal (64) on said substrate, and an edge emitter electrode on said pedestal, wherein the edge emitter electrode comprises an emitter cap layer (66) having an edge (68). The invention also contemplates a current limiter for a microelectronic field emitter device, which comprises a semi-insulating material selected from the group consisting of SiO, SiO+Cr (0 to 50 wt.%), SiO2 + Cr (0 to 50 wt.%), SiO + Nb, Al2O3 and SixOyNz sandwiched between an electron injector and a hole injector. Another aspect of the invention relates to a microelectronic field emitter device comprising a substrate (240), an emitter conductor (242) on such substrate, and a current limiter stack (244) formed on said substrate, such stack having a top (246) and at least one edge (248, 250), a resistive strap (266) on top of the stack, extending over the edge in electrical contact with the emitter conductor; and an emitter electrode on the current limiter stack over the resistive strap.