Kiyohide Ogasawara

High Efficiency Electron-Emission in Pt/SiOx/Si/Al Structure

A high efficiency electro-emission device (HEED) has been developed with a structure of Pt/SiOx /Si/Al on a thermally-oxidized Si substrate. The thicknesses of the SiOx and Si films were 400 nm and 5 µ m, respectively. Electron emission characteristics of the HEED are reported. It was found that the HEED has an electron-emission efficiency as high as 28% and a high brightness of 80 kcd/m2 using phosphor ZnS:Cu,Al. This high electron-emission efficiency was obtained in a range of applied voltage in which negative resistance occurred.

Development of an advanced high efficiency electro-emission device

In this article, we describe the improvement in cold emission characteristics of a device termed HEED (high efficiency electro-emission device) by optimizing the emission site structures. The advanced HEED consists of a bottom electrode, a Si layer, a SiOx layer, a top electrode, and a carbon layer. The electron emission properties were significantly improved by appropriately arranging emission sites of “dimplelike” forms with a diameter of 1 μm on the device surface. The applied voltage was significantly lowered to 20 V (1/5 of that in the previously reported HEED), and a high emission current density of 1.8 mA/cm2 was obtained at a applied voltage of 20 V with an electron emission efficiency of 1% under a pulse operation. The energy distribution measurement of emitted electrons showed that the device emits considerably high-energy electrons as compared with conventional field emitters. Using this emitter as an excitation source, a 4 in. prototype flat display panel has been fabricated with a vacuum spac...

Fabrication of active-matrix high-efficiency electron emission device and its application to high-sensitivity image sensing

Practical advantages of an advanced high-efficiency electron emission device (HEED) (low-voltage operation, relatively simple structure, and availability for large-area applications) are further confirmed by its compatibility with active-matrix drive configuration. The fabricated HEED array has been applied to a high-sensitivity image sensing tube with a target of high-gain avalanche rushing amorphous photoconductor (HARP). It is demonstrated that a prototype 256×192pixel active-matrix HEED array operates well as an effective probe for high-resolution image pickup in combination with a HARP target. The advanced HEED array is promising for development of next-generation image sensor with ultrahigh sensitivity and high definition.

Improved cold electron emission characteristics of electroluminescent porous silicon diodes

The property of electroluminescent porous silicon (PS) diodes as surface-emitting cold cathodes were investigated. The experimental PS diodes consist of thin Au films, PS, n+-type Si substrates, and ohmic back contacts. When a positive bias voltage VPS is applied to the Au electrode with respect to the substrate, electrons are uniformly emitted through the Au contact as well as photons. The cold electron emission characteristics are presented here in terms of the PS layer thickness dependence, effects of rapid thermal oxidation (RTO), and electroluminescence (EL) characteristics. It was demonstrated that both the decrease in the PS layer thickness (dPS) and the introduction of RTO treatment are useful for a significant improvement in the emission characteristics, and that the emission current and efficiency for a RTO-treated diode with dPS=3 μm reach 450 μA/cm2 and 0.2%, respectively, at VPS=27 V. It is also shown that in every case, the Fowler–Nordheim scheme holds in the bias voltage dependence of the e...

Characterization of an advanced high-efficiency electron emission device

As previously reported, the emission characteristics of metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) electron emission devices could be significantly improved by introducing microdimple structures into the emission sites. In this paper, we describe the characteristics of efficient cold electron emitters from a viewpoint of application to flat panel display (FPD). First, the forming operation for the device to activate the dynamic emission is discussed on a basis of the experimental analyses of the electrical properties and output electron energy spectra. Next it is demonstrated that the device has some desirable features as an excitation source of FPD: a high emission current density, a low operation voltage, emission uniformity, and stable emission with small angle dispersion. It is also shown from the result of lifetime evaluation that the device shows a half-life of 3000 h, and that the deteriorated emission can be recovered by the dc reactivation treatment.

Development of a super-high-sensitivity image sensor using 640×480 pixel active-matrix high-efficiency electron emission device

An extremely high-sensitivity image sensor has been developed with a combination of an active-matrix high-efficiency electron emission device (HEED) array and a high-gain avalanche rushing amorphous photoconductor (HARP) target. Following the description of the requirements for the use of the electron emitter as an image-sensing probe, the characteristics of a fabricated 640×480 pixel active-matrix HEED image sensor with a HARP target are presented by image-pickup experiments under a dark condition. The emission current density of the experimental HEED under an active-matrix drive was 4 A/cm2 corresponding to a practical level. A clear image observed in the prototype compact camera demonstrates that the surface-emitting HEED is useful for image sensing based on HARP with high sensitivity and sufficient definition.

Operation of electroluminescent porous silicon diodes as surface-emitting cold cathodes

Abstract Cold electron emission properties of porous silicon (PS) electroluminescent diodes have been investigated as a function of the top metal electrode thickness, surface work function, and the thickness of PS layer. It is shown that the best thicknesses for Pt and Au electrodes are 50∼80 A. The emission is enhanced by introducing an Al–Mg alloy electrode with a relatively low work function. Although the emission efficiency and the threshold voltage show definite dependencies on the thickness of PS layer, the Fowler–Nordheim plots show a linear behavior in every case. The maximum emission current density and efficiency obtained in this study are 10 μA cm −2 and 10 −3 , respectively.

2∕3in. ultrahigh-sensitivity image sensor with active-matrix high-efficiency electron emission device

A 640×480pixel image sensor has been developed for low light imaging with a practical resolution. This image sensor combined an active-matrix high-efficiency electron emission device (HEED) with a high-gain avalanche rushing amorphous photoconductor (HARP) target. To meet the requirement for a scaling of the imaging size, we developed a 2∕3in. image sensor based on an active-matrix HEED with 13.75×13.75μm2pixels. The highly emissive property of 3.8μA∕pixel was comparable to that obtained previously from a 1in. device. The possible effect of the pixel size scaling on the image-pickup sensitivity was compensated by a significant increase in the emission current density. The technological potential of the HEED-HARP image sensing has been further enhanced toward practical use.

Enhanced output current density of an active-matrix high-efficiency electron emission device array with 13.75μmpixels

An active-matrix array of high-efficiency electron emission device (HEED) with a sufficient output density has been developed for the use as imaging probe in a high-gain avalanche rushing amorphous photoconductor target. Previously, it was demonstrated that a prototyped image sensor with 20×20μm2pixels could pick up a high definition image with an ultrahigh sensitivity under low-light-level condition. Based on it, an efficient active-matrix HEED with 13.75×13.75μm2pixels is fabricated for pursuing higher sensitivity and resolution. The improvement in the device isolation method enables to enlarge the relative emitting area, and then the emission current density per pixel reaches 3.6A∕cm2 that is about four times of that obtained from the previous one. The active-matrix HEED array with small pixels is available for application to the compact ultrahigh-sensitivity image sensor without affecting on the image definition.An active-matrix array of high-efficiency electron emission device (HEED) with a sufficient output density has been developed for the use as imaging probe in a high-gain avalanche rushing amorphous photoconductor target. Previously, it was demonstrated that a prototyped image sensor with 20×20μm2pixels could pick up a high definition image with an ultrahigh sensitivity under low-light-level condition. Based on it, an efficient active-matrix HEED with 13.75×13.75μm2pixels is fabricated for pursuing higher sensitivity and resolution. The improvement in the device isolation method enables to enlarge the relative emitting area, and then the emission current density per pixel reaches 3.6A∕cm2 that is about four times of that obtained from the previous one. The active-matrix HEED array with small pixels is available for application to the compact ultrahigh-sensitivity image sensor without affecting on the image definition.

Development of a high-resolution active-matrix electron emitter array for application to high-sensitivity image sensing

An active-matrix planar-type cold electron emitter array for application to high-sensitivity image sensors have been developed. A 640times480 pixel active-matrix HEED (high-efficiency electron emission device) with 20times20 mum pixels was fabricated, and the emission current density of 1 A/cm2 has been obtained at an applied voltage of 23 V. Further studies toward the next generation image sensor with a high sensitivity are in progress