High field performance of thin-wall spacers in a vacuum gap

This paper reports the electrical conduction and breakdown characteristics of thin-wall ceramic spacers for a field emission display (FED). These spacers bridge two thin-film electrodes, which represent the FED cathode and the phosphor anode in a FED. Techniques to set up a high aspect-ratio thin-wall spacer without glue were developed. An extra-low light detection 3D-imaging system using an intensified CCD camera was developed which was able to identify the location of low-level light activity in the stressed vacuum-gap, indicative of imminent device failure. Thin wall spacers made of various ceramics were investigated extensively. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) surface investigation showed that zirconia spacers exhibited a smoother surface morphology compared to all other materials studied; however, their breakdown voltages were rather low. The breakdown voltages of alumina spacers were severely limited by triple junction effects. At HV, breakdown at the edge of the thin-film electrode was observed. This edge breakdown can be used to explain the saturation of the breakdown voltage vs. vacuum gap spacing. The results of this work are highly encouraging in that an ~1000 μm tall spacer can support ~18 kV dc, at least 80% above the expected operational voltage of HV FED. The spacer breakdown voltage is expected to improve through surface treatment and elimination of the electrode edge-breakdown and triple junction effects