Patent ID: 6045425
Filing Date: 2000-04-04
Classification: H01J

Abstract:
A method of manufacturing an array of field emission tips, comprising the steps of:depositing and patterning a layer of cathode material over a substrate to form a set of cathode structures;depositing a layer of insulator material and a layer of lift-off material, where the lift-off material is capable of being selectively etched with respect to the insulator material;patterning the layers of insulator material and lift-off material to define a set of apertures wherever field emission tips are to be formed;depositing tip material in the apertures and on top of the patterned layer of lift-off material, the tip material deposited in the apertures forming a set of field emission tips, the deposited tip material also forming islands of tip material on top of the patterned layer of lift-off material; andremoving the patterned layer of lift-off material using a wet chemical etchant that selectively etches the lift-off material, the removing step also removing the islands of tip material by removing the patterned layer of lift-off material on which the islands of tip material were formed, wherein the removing step does not remove the field emission tips;further including, subsequent to the removing step:depositing and planarizing a layer of fill material to fill the apertures in which the tips were formed; anddepositing and patterning a gate layer so as to form a set of gate structures.