Flat panel display with getter in auxiliary chamber

Abstract

An apparatus for removing contaminants from a display device using an auxiliary chamber, and a method for attaching the auxiliary chamber to the display device. In one embodiment, an auxiliary chamber is adapted to be coupled to a surface of a display device. The auxiliary chamber is adapted to be coupled to the surface of the display device such that contaminants within the display device can travel from the display device into the auxiliary chamber. The auxiliary chamber further includes a getter which is disposed therein. The getter is adapted to capture the contaminants once the contaminants travel from the display device into the auxiliary chamber. In so doing, the present invention eliminates the need for getter material to be placed within the active area of the display device. As a result, the present invention increases the usable amount of space available within the display device. This extra space can then be utilized by features such as, for example, additional field emitters.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.