Patent ID: 7187112

Claim:
A vacuum micro-device comprising: a support substrate; cathode electrodes and gate electrodes disposed on a surface of the support substrate to form a plurality of pairs of a cathode electrode and a gate electrode arrayed in a matrix format, wherein the respective cathode electrode and the gate electrode of each of the plurality of pairs have a first side surface and a second side surface, respectively, which oppose each other with a gap interposed therebetween along the surface of the support substrate; an emitter disposed on the first side surface to oppose the second side surface and configured to emit electrons, the emitter comprising a metal layer formed on the first side surface, and a plurality of granular or rod-shaped micro-bodies supported by the metal layer in a dispersed state, the micro-bodies consisting essentially of a material selected from the group consisting of fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphite, a material with a low work function, a material with a negative electron affinity, and a metal material; a surrounding member cooperating with the support substrate to form a vacuum discharge space that surrounds the plurality of pairs, the surrounding member comprising a transparent opposite substrate opposing the support substrate; an anode electrode disposed on the opposite substrate at a position opposing the plurality of pairs; a fluorescent layer disposed on the anode electrode, such that a portion of the fluorescent layer is caused to emit light when electrons emitted from the emitter are attracted by the anode electrode and reach the portion of the fluorescent layer; and a gate projection disposed on the second side surface to oppose the first side surface, the gate projection comprising a gate metal layer consisting essentially of the same material as that of the metal layer, and a plurality of gate micro-bodies supported in the gate metal layer in a dispersed state and consisting essentially of the same material as that of the micro-bodies.