Japanese,Taiwanese , and Korean R&D into
carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as field emitters
has energized the faltering interest in FED
technology. Now ISE Electronics Corp. (Ise
, Mie , Japan) has produced the first commercial
product using carbon-nanotube field-emission
technology.
The product is a 1-pixel 20-mm-diameter cylindrical
lighting element intended to replace existing
externally similar thermionic (CRT-type)
lighting elements used in outdoor displays
and other high-brightness appplications.
The nanotube lighting element replaces the
thermionic cathode of the CRT lighting element
with a field-emission cathode made of CNTs
- fine tubes with diameters ranging from
less than 1 nm to over 100 nm that are grown
with carbon atoms. ISE's CNTs range from
0.5 to 50 nm.
As in a CRT device , the electronics pass
through a control grip and strike a phosphor
screen that produces visible light. The device
is power-efficient because the cold cathode
does not need to be heated as a thermionic
cathode does , and the luminance exceeds
50,000 cd/áu.
ISE's CNT FED module is exciting not only
because it is the first commericial implemenation
of CNT technology , but because it could
pave the way for new generations of FED products.
From Information DISPLAY December 2000
Written by Ken Werner
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Silver Award