Review of field emission display potential as a future (leap-frog) flat panel technology

Flat panel display (FPD) technologies have emerged with smaller depth, size, and power than the cathode ray tube (CRT) technology that now dominates the direct view display market. Liquid crystal displays (LCD) in general and active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCD), in particular, are presently the FPD technology of choice. However, the FPD and CRT markets are dominated by Asian manufacturers. Any startup FPD technology, regardless of its advantages, will encounter much difficulty to displace such entrenched, mature, and dominating display technologies. However, increasing demand for FPDs may require entirely new technologies designed to serve the same end markets. Such a new entry could leapfrog the AMLCD in FPD market share as the overall market grows. During the past few years much activity has occurred in several new FPD technologies, including field emission display (FED), that promises many advantages over AMLCD. Some observers consider the FED entry as having leapfrog potential and major investments are being made to further it's advancement. This paper examines the past, present, and future of the nascent FED technology to assess its successes as well as to support or refute the claim the FED will leapfrog AMLCD and/or establish its own niche within the overall display market. Also, past projected claims by FED manufacturers about future targeted markets and product availability are reviewed. This data is compared with what is currently available from other FPD technologies, including the recent work on high gain emissive displays (HGED) and vacuum fluorescent displays (VFD).