Electrical requirements for FED internal support structure

One of the challenges of developing high voltage FED technology is eliminating distortion of the image near internal support structures or spacers. For the past several years Candescent has demonstrated FEDs with internal spacer structures which are invisible to the user. This achievement began with a thorough understanding of the physics underlying the problem combined with experimental techniques for quantifying it. This paper describes a model and measurements of one of the causes of spacer visibility, charging of the spacer surface by impingement of electrons Rutherford scattered from the faceplate