Micro vacuum pump for maintaining high degree of vacuum and apparatus including the same

A CRT, comprising:

• a vacuum airtight space;
• an electron gun having a field emission type cold cathode within said vacuum airtight space;
• a means for generating a gas ion from a residual gas molecule located within said vacuum airtight space, said means including plural protrusions surrounded by a gate electrode layer and an electric source for providing a positive potential to the plural protrusions, the positive potential being sufficiently positive relative to a gate electrode potential to positively ionize gases in a vicinity of the protrusions, free electrons from the gases, and cause the protrusions to adsorb the freed electrons;
• and
• a multi-stage electron lens system,
• said multi-stage electron lens system having electrodes to catch and collect said gas ion,
• wherein a negative voltage potential with respect to an emitter electrode of said electron gun is supplied to a gate electrode of said electron gun and to one of said electrodes of said multi-stage electron lens system.

A combination flat panel display and micro vacuum pump device, the device comprising:

• a vacuum chamber;
• an image display assembly contained within said vacuum chamber;
• and
• a micro vacuum pump assembly contained within said vacuum chamber adjacent to said image display assembly, said micro vacuum pump assembly designed to execute pump action by ionizing a gas and including
• a first conductive substrate,
• an insulator layer on said first conductive substrate,
• a gate electrode on said insulator layer,
• a second conductive substrate spaced apart from said first conductive substrate and opposing said gate electrode,
• a plurality of protrusions electrically connected to said first conductive substrate and exposed to said second conductive substrate through corresponding holes in said gate electrode and said insulator layer, said protrusions arranged for generating a positive gas ion from a gas molecule located within a space adjacent said protrusions, said protrusions being connected to an electric source providing a positive potential to said protrusions to cause ion dissociation of gases for the creation of positively charged gas ions, the freeing of electrons from the gases, and the capture of the freed electrons by said protrusions,
• said second conductive substrate for adsorbing a gas ion generated by an electric field established between said gate electrode and said plurality of protrusions, said second conductive substrate being connected to an electric source providing a negative potential to said second conductive substrate, the negative potential selected to be lower than the positive potential of said protrusions and to attract and absorb the positively charged gas ions on a surface of said second conductive substrate,
• said electric field ionizing a residual gas molecule within said vacuum chamber when the combination device is in a vacuum pumping mode.