Can Nanotechnology revive Field Emission Display Technology?
Transcription
Can Nanotechnology revive Field Emission Display Technology?
Can Nanotechnology revive Field Emission Display Technology? Chenggang Xie [email protected] 1.31.2005 Outline Basic of Field Emission Display Key Issues and components for FED Nanotechnology for field emission technology Depletion mode operation Summary 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie What is an FED? Cathode Ray Tube VIEWING SCREEN Field Emission Display VIEWING SCREEN ELECTROMAGETIC DEFLECTION COILS CATHODE A CRT is a vacuum tube in which electrons from three hot cathodes are scanned across a multicolor viewing screen to create a picture. 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie FIELD EMISSION ARRAY An FED is a vacuum tube in which electrons from millions of tiny cathodes travel to a multicolor viewing screen to create a picture. The Business Case for FEDs Superior performance: – Better than CRTs – Less than 1/10th the thickness and weight – Lower power and more rugged – No non-linearities or color errors – Better than LCDs – Viewable from any angle with no change in brightness, contrast or color – Usable from -40°C to 85 °C with no change in performance! – Potentially lower power consumption than LCDs – Wider operating temperature range – Larger viewing angle – Sunlight readability Potentially lower manufacturing costs – Fewer processing steps than Active Matrix LCDs 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie 20s 1960 1970 1990 15.3” FED demonstrated Carbon Nanotube discovered First high voltage full color FED Spindt tip invented R&D F-N theory Activities Commercial Product First Matrix address monochrome FED Milestones in development of Field Emission Display 2000 Althoughno noproduct productwas was Although produced,key keytechnologies technologies produced, weredeveloped developedtotoprovide provideaa were goodfoundation foundationfor fornext next good generationcathode. cathode. generation 2005 2010 First generation cathode: Microtip Second generation cathode: CNT &SE 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie FEDs - Industry Status At peak, TI, Motorola, Raytheon, Candescent, Micron, FED Corp., SIDT in the US; Pixtech in France, Samsung in Korea; Canon, Sony and Futaba in Japan investigated resources into the technology. The number of companies involved in FED development is down. Many companies keep low profile. Focus of cathode technology is switched from Microtip to carbon nanotube. Canon and Toshiba announced to invest $1.8 B in SED in DEC, 2004. Demonstrated 36 “ SED at CES 2005 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie World Largest Field Emission Display Prototype of a 15.3" full color FED capable of running video in real time 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Display System Requirements Good color quality Wide operating temperature range Wide viewing angle Good viewability under bright ambient light conditions Lower power consumption Thin package profile and lower weight Competitive with AMLCDs and other FPD technologies 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Electron Devices - Common Issues Electron emission depends on the work function Φ of the emitter surface Electron transport is ballistic and requires a sealed vacuum package Uniformity of beam current density Cathode geometry, beam trajectories Electrode structures: diode, triode, tetrode, pentode, etc. Cathode contamination and emitter life degradation Effects of electron collectors like phosphors 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Basic Components of FED Cost & Manufactuability Visual Quality Uniformity Resolution Color purity Reliability Lifetime HV stability Back Plate Spacer (Cathode) Electronic Vacuum (Seal & Getter) 1.31.2005 Face Plate C.G. Xie (anode) Power Efficiency Key Accomplishments in 90s Demonstrate invisible spacers in large display panel. Vacuum seal technique for thin glass panels. High voltage drivers and electronics. Knowledge of issues like cathode current degradation and phosphors degradation. Techniques to achieve high voltage operation stability. Device structure and pixel design. Understanding requirements of manufacturing for low cost and high yield product – 2D preferred and no precision fabrication Characterization techniques for FED. 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie FED Spacer Technology Materials Requirements Should withstand high voltages across small gaps Low secondary electron emission coefficients Capable of bleeding deposited charge Spacer Materials Mainly engineered ceramics Ceramics with special coatings Spacer Technology Issues Better understanding of the surface properties Electron-spacer materials interactions 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Spacer- contamination White spacer is caused by Na contamination on spacer surface. Spacer locat ed 8 .0 E-07 Subpixe l curre nt ( A) 7 .0 E-07 No spacer area 6 .0 E-07 5 .0 E-07 4 .0 E-07 3 .0 E-07 2 .0 E-07 1 .0 E-07 0.0E+00 1.31.2005 4 .0 E-0 3 C.G. Xie 6.0E-0 3 8.0E- 03 Time (s) 1 .0 E-02 1.2E-0 2 1 .4E -02 Spacer - Effect of Charging ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ ⊕ Spacer location The spacer surface is bombarded by high energy electrons (1k-3k eV). Those electrons create positive charges on the surface due to 2nd electron emission yield of >1. Additional potential produced by those positive charges will change electron trajectory. ∆V=ΓρΙp/ε 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Some positive charges may dissipate until next period. But most of them stay on surface because of rough surface, low conductivity. Positive charges on surface distort electron trajectory resulting in “dark” region High Voltage Operation Stability Emitter damage due to uncontrolled emission current Undesirable vacuum levels: Electron impact ionization of the residual gases, followed by the ion bombardment damage of the emitters. Electron stimulated desorption from surfaces and device degradation resulting from the gas - emitter surface interactions. E-beam induced desorption of gas from phosphor and subsequent adsorption on tips. Emission from only few sites, leading to current run off Joule heating, melting of the emitter materials Dielectric breakdown between the cathode and anode Excessive leakage between cathode to anode electrical paths Particulate contamination and resulting damage 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Cathode Destruction due to Uncontrolled Emission Before Arc Damage 1.31.2005 After Arc Damage C.G. Xie Field Emission Display Package Outline Red Blue Green Red Field Emitter Cathode Array Requires a hermetically sealed vacuum package Maintenance of high vacuum during the package life Spacers to reduce glass bowing 1.31.2005 Vacuum Seal Phosphor Face Plate C.G. Xie Blue Green Spacer Spacer Black Matrix Package Integration - Typical Process Flow Vacuum Packaging Process Anode Fabrication Frame Assembly Spacer Attach Getter Placement Vacuum Seal Cathode Fabrication Electronics Packaging Package Test 1.31.2005 Driver attach/ Board attach C.G. Xie Module Assembly Final Test Vacuum Technology Issues VACUUM AN D GETTERS ESD OF PHOSPHORS GASEOUS INTERACTIONS VACUUM ISSUES ION BOMBARDMENT DAMAGE CATHODE-ANODE INTERACTIONS OUTGASSING AND GAS DESORPTION 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Maintaining a Good Vacuum Getters are used to maintain a good vacuum in the package Major issues: Better understanding of the outgassing characteristics of FED materials Reduction of desorption from phosphors With increasing display size, gas flow through the narrow spacing between the anode and cathode becomes a major problem Distributed gettering will become important Vacuum levels in the 10-6 to 10-7 Torr range are required for long life Nanoparticles can significantly improve pumping rate of the getter 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Vacuum Technology Issues Anode plate (glass, ITO, phosphor) electron emission electron stimulated desorption adsorption surface diffusion tip atoms 1.31.2005 field desorption C.G. Xie Typical Gases inside FED Panels 5 Most of the residual gases are typically H2O, O2, CO2, CO, H2, hydrocarbons like CH4, process residues, gases trapped inside sputtered layers With the metal and silicon emitters, it is the oxygenic gases we need to be concerned with. 4 3 N2 CO -8 Ion Signal x10 (arb. units) H2O 2 H2 OH 1 O CH4 H CO2 O2 C 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 Mass (amu) Residual gas contents of a typical FED package 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Cathode Degradation and lifetime model Life model Interaction of gases with the cathode resulting in modified tip surface work function Φ Ion impact and sputter induced tip shape modification High field effects such as field desorption and dissociation Detail description of the model was published in IEEE Trans on Electron Device. Basic Assumption Partial coverage;Ionized species more reactive; Self-clean capability dI = a − bI − cVa I 2 Idt -dI/dt/I (1/hour) 1.0E-2 1.0E-3 1.0E-4 dI/dt/I = -1.09x1010I 2 + 2.76x103I - 1.83x10-3 R2 = 0.9806 1.0E-5 0.0E+0 2.0E-7 4.0E-7 6.0E-7 8.0E-7 1.0E-6 Subpixel Current (A) 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie FED Reliability - Fundamental Issues Vacuum Technology Issues Outgassing of surfaces Electron stimulated desorption Vacuum seal integrity; Getter pumping Materials Cathode degradation, Phosphor degradation, Cathode-Phosphor interaction Charging of dielectrics and spacers Dielectric breakdown Design and Systems Engineering Electron beam spot size issues Beam focussing issues 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Display Visual Quality & Cathode Characteristics Color Purity Resolution Brightness Contrast & Gray Scale Uniformity Spot Size I-V Curve RC delay Variation Material Engineering DeviceEngineering Engineering Device Understand the Issues: Spot Size, Spatial Distribution, RC delay and Current sensitivity 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie How Can Nanotech help? Nano material may be a good material for gettering material. Nanoparticle phosphor can improve the efficiency. Nano material is a new generation of field emission cathode. Basic Component of FED Visual Quality Back Plate Reliability Lifetime HV stability Spacer (Cathode) Vacuum (Seal & Getter) 1.31.2005 Cost & Manufactuability Uniformity Resolution Color purity C.G. Xie Electronic Face Plate (anode) Power Efficiency Surface Conduction Cathode - Nanoparticle Surface emission display from Canon is based on surface conduction emission from nanoparticle films. Ink-jet deposit a droplet of PdO to form a 10 nm thick, 100 µm size film Create ~ 10 nm rupture on the PdO film Field emission occurs when a voltage is applied across the gap Advantages Simple device structure - Low manufacturing costs Screen printing - suitable for large panel fabrication Substrate PdO Electrode Electrode Canon's Surface Conduction Emitter 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie E. Yamaguchi, et al, SID Digest, p. 52, (1997) Canon SCE - Emission Characteristics Anode current is about 0.2-0.5% of the total emitted current. Low emission efficiency, comparable to Spindt FEAs. 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie E. Yamaguchi, et al, SID Digest, p. 52, (1997) Canon SCE - Emission Physics Anode Ie Va Vf If Electron tunneling through a barrier (like a double quantum well structure) Electron scattering on the right edge Some of these scattered electrons get towards the anode 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie E. Yamaguchi, et al, SID Digest, p. 52, (1997) Why is Carbon Nanotube a promising candidate for FED? They are very sharp! 2 um long and 10 Å wide! 2000:1 Aspect ratio. The electric field at the tip which pulls out electrons is ~ 2000 times greater than the parallel plate field! Basic material: Carbon. Unlimited resource. Key Issues a traditional field emitter; follows FN plot. ⌧Sensitive to surface conduction, geometry and environment. ⌧Spotty emission Uncontrolled growth. No device structure yet. Lifetime? Low voltage operation, <5-10 volts. 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Basics of Field Emission Key obstacle Emission current is very sensitive to work function and electric field EV -e2/2x ∆Φ Φ -eFX Φeff e- EF C urre nt De n sit y ov e r e m is s io n are a ( A /cm 2) 1.00E+12 FERMI ELECTRON SEA Metal Vacuum 0 J= αE 2 Φt 2 ( y ) exp(( − B Xc X0 XF 3 2 Φ ν ( y ) ) [ A / cm 2 ] E α , B = const .; y = 3.79 x10 1.31.2005 1.00E+08 1.00E+06 Work f unc tion dec reas e 1.00E+04 1.00E+02 1.00E+00 E = electric field at surface; Φ = work function −4 1.00E+10 E : image correction Φ C.G. Xie 1.00E+07 1.00E+08 1.00E+09 Ele ctr ic Fie ld (V/cm ) Work f unc tion=6 eV Work f unction=5.5 eV W ork func tion= 5 eV Work f unc tion=4.5 eV Work f unction=4 eV W ork func tion=3.5 eV Work f unc tion=3 eV Work f unction=2.5 eV Cross-section of nanotube device 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Emission Uniformity - Major Issue Fowler-Nordheim plot The I-V curve is consistent with electron tunneling. The curve produces a straight line on a Fowler-Nordheim plot. Uniformity I/V2 (A/V2) CNTs face the same challenges of other traditional FE like microtips. -13 10 10-14 10-15 Stability Approach to achieve uniform emission 10-16 -4 4 10 More emission sites to make each pixel the same statistically. New device structure. New driving scheme. C.G. Xie -4 6 10 1/V (V-1) ballast structure 1.31.2005 -4 5 10 -4 7 10 Current Saturation- may help Current saturation is observed: -2 10 In MWNTs by Saito et al.; Collins and Zettl; Bonard et al., Xu and Brandes IN MWNTs and SWNTs, and individual SWNTs. Current (A) -4 10 -6 10 -8 10 10 -10 10 -12 * a single SWNT 1500 2000 2500 3000 Voltage (V) 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Saturation could be the greatest thing for FED. May help fix uniformity problem if we know how to implement it. Some kind of current limiting function is needed to compensate for non-uniform emission from CNT Stability of SWNT field emission in Gas Ambients UHV Gas Exposure UHV 10-6 torr 4 H 2 Current (µA) 2 0 10-7 torr 4 HO 2 2 0 10-7 torr 4 Ar 2 0 10-7 torr 4 O 2 2 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Curves on same emitter 1.31.2005 Time (hours) C.G. Xie Ok with H2 and Ar. Some degradation under H2O. Serious degradation under O2. More study under display environment is needed. 10.477 s 10.978 s 11.979 s 13.247 s 13.480 s 14.248 s 12.746 s 14.678 s field emission from adsorbate on top Thermionic emission from wall 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Nanotube Deposition Techniques Key Issues: nanotubes must be “sticking up”!! Nanotubes have high surface energy and they like to stick to the substrate Nanotubes must be bound down strongly and reliably ⌧ just one loose nanotube can cause arcing Sparsely distributed to avoid field screening as far apart as they are tall Low Temperature Deposition 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Ideal gated field emitter Ideal but not practical Carbon Nanotube 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie What is the device structure best suited for CNT? Planar Spindt Above Gate Cathode Gate Emission surface Phosphor SCE Diode Back Gate Geometry 3D Precision fabrication Critical Pixel Cap High Emissive efficiency 99% 1.31.2005 2.5D “1D” 2D Less critical Not critical Low Less than 1% C.G. Xie Basic Device Requirement Diode is the simplest but switching voltage is too high. Basic Requirements No needs for alignment between gate and cathode ⌧ self-aligned structure ⌧ Gate and cathode on the same layer. Low pixel capacitance-a must for large display ⌧ no overlap between gate and cathode Low switching voltage Emission Controllability New Driving Scheme - depletion mode operation 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Depletion Mode Operation Detail discussion was published in IEEE Trans on Nanotechnology, vol.3 no.3, Sept. 2004, pp404 Contrary to the conventional driving scheme, in depletion mode, the gate is used to turn off emission not to turn on emission. Electrons emit under anode field – require low field emission material More stable, avoid edge emission. Better uniformity Work with planar structure Small beam spread Less critical requirement for emission layer alignment to the gate. Disadvantages Need highly selective deposition of emissive material New Concept in field emission display. 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Anode field 355 µm 200 µm 140 µm A-A’ A-A’ 20 µm 100 µm Current Density (A/mm^2) 1.0E-03 Conventional scheme Vg decreases 1.0E-06 Depletion mode 1.0E-09 1.0E-12 0 2 4 6 8 10 x distance (micron) 1.31.2005 Vg=-5 volts Vg=-1 volts Vg=20 volts Vg=30 volts Vg=5 volts C.G. Vg=50 Xie volts Vg=10 volts Anode voltage produce The electric field on emission surface generated by applied anode voltage must be strong enough to extract electrons. Anode voltage=3-6kV, gap=1mm; required operating electric field=36V/um. Carbon nanotube performance matches the requirement. High electric field at center and low at edge. Avoid edge emission and achieve stable high voltage operation. Since lateral field is very small under emission conditions, beam spread is small, similar to that from diode. 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie Summary Investment in 90s established valuable infrastructure for next generation field emission display technology. Many challenging issues, such as spacer visibility, high voltage operation stability, vacuum sealing, pixel layout and drivers, which was little known to us in 90s, now are better understood. Know more about manufacturing issue of field emission display and requirements of field emission cathode. Nanotechnology can have great impact on phosphor material, gettering material and specially emission material. Carbon nanotube has great potential to revive field emission display technology but difficult engineering challenges are still ahead. New device structure Process to produce uniform emissive material. 1.31.2005 C.G. Xie