Low voltage electron source with self aligned gate apertures, and luminous display using the electron source

An emission electron source comprising:

• a cathode electrode disposed on a substrate, the cathode electrode for providing a source of electrons;
• an emitter layer disposed over said cathode electrode and formed from a composition of a non-porous embedding material and one or a plurality of nano-structures embedded therein, the embedding material having a surface above which portions of the nano-structures protrude to emit electrons;
• an insulator disposed over the emitter layer, the insulator having one or a plurality of apertures, each exposing at least the ends of the nano-structures in the emitter layer;
• and
• a gate electrode disposed over the insulator and having one or a plurality of apertures, wherein each aperture exposes a single nano-structure and is concentrically self-aligned with the end of the nano-structure, the gate electrode being operative to control the emission of electrons through the apertures from the exposed nano-structures;
• wherein the nano-structures comprise a nonconductive core and a conductive shell.

A display comprising:

• an electron source that includes:
• a cathode electrode disposed on a substrate, the cathode electrode for providing a source of electrons;
• an emitter layer disposed over said cathode electrode and formed from a composition of an embedding material and one or a plurality of nano-structures embedded therein, the embedding material having a surface over which portions of the nano-structures protrude to emit electrons;
• an insulator disposed over the emitter layer, the insulator having one or a plurality of apertures, each exposing at least the ends of the nano-structures in the emitter layer;
• and
• a gate electrode disposed over the insulator and having one or a plurality of apertures, wherein each aperture exposes a single nano-structure and is concentrically self-aligned with the end of the nano-structure, the gate electrode being operative to control the emission of electrons through the apertures from the exposed nano-structures;
• and
• an anode plate including a transparent anode electrode disposed over a glass substrate and a phosphor screen disposed over the anode electrode, the anode plate being positioned opposite to said electron source with a vacuum gap disposed therebetween;
• wherein electrons are emitted from said nano-structures by applying a voltage between said cathode and gate electrodes, and are made incident on said phosphor screen to make luminous said phosphor screen.