Method for manufacturing field emitter arrays

A method for manufacturing field emitter arrays, comprising the steps of;

• forming a n.sup.+ -layer in a polycrystalline or amorphous silicon layer deposited on an insulating substrate;
• making an oxide layer disk pattern on said silicon layer;
• etching said silicon layer isotropically using said oxide layer disk pattern as a mask;
• forming a silicon oxide layer on the upper part of said silicon layer by means of the first oxidation thereof, which results in cone-shaped field emitter tips;
• making hollows for insulating pixels from neighboring ones;
• depositing a silicon nitride layer with a predetermined thickness on said silicon oxide layer;
• removing said silicon nitride layer except that of the side-wall parts around said field emitter tips;
• forming a gate insulating layer by means of the second oxidation;
• removing said silicon nitride layer of said sidewall parts around said tips;
• making contact window by removing the parts of said silicon oxide layer for cathode contact with an external driving circuit;
• depositing gate metal on said gate insulating layers to form gate electrode and cathode contact simultaneously;
• etching away said oxide layers around said field emitter tips and said metal deposited thereon;
• and,
• patterning gate electrode and cathode contact by removing unnecessary parts of said gate metal.