Field emission display

A field emission display (FED) is a flat panel display technology that uses large-area field electron emission sources to provide electrons that strike colored phosphor to produce a color image. In a general sense, an FED consists of a matrix of cathode ray tubes, each tube producing a single sub-pixel, grouped in threes to form red-green-blue (RGB) pixels. FEDs combine the advantages of CRTs, namely their high contrast levels and very fast response times, with the packaging advantages of LCD and other flat panel technologies. They also offer the possibility of requiring less power, about half that of an LCD system.

Sony was the major proponent of the FED design and put considerable research and development effort into the system during the 2000s. Sony's FED efforts started winding down in 2009 as LCD became the dominant flat panel technology. In January 2010, AU Optronics announced that it acquired essential FED assets from Sony and intends to continue development of the technology. As of 2016^[update], no large-scale commercial FED production has been undertaken.

FEDs are closely related to another developing display technology, the surface-conduction electron-emitter display, or SED, differing primarily in details of the electron emission system.

FED display operates like a conventional cathode ray tube (CRT) with an electron gun that uses high voltage (10 kV) to accelerate electrons which in turn excite the phosphors, but instead of a single electron gun, an FED display contains a grid of individual nanoscopic electron guns.

An FED screen is constructed by laying down a series of metal stripes onto a glass plate to form a series of cathode lines. Photolithography is used to lay down a series of rows of switching gates at right angles to the cathode lines, forming an addressable grid. At the intersection of each row and column a small patch of emitters are deposited, typically using methods developed from inkjet printers. The metal grid is laid on top of the switching gates to complete the gun structure.

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