Effect of spacers located in a FED on electronic field and electron trajectory

Spacers located in the vacuum space of a field emission display (FED) device will affect the electric field and the electron movement, causing secondary electron emission (SEE) and charging effects (CE). The negative effects are compared for different emission structures by simulating the trajectories in three representative cathode models. For the existing spacers, the electric field distribution is simulated with the finite element method and the trajectories are computed with the Runge-Kutta method. The effect of the spacers on the trajectories is analyzed using the results. The results indicate that SEE and CE can not be avoided if spacers are included in the micro-triode or micro-tetrode structures. However, the flat panel structure avoids the negative effects.