Patent ID: 8089206

Claim:
A field emission cathode, comprising: a substrate; and a plurality of electron-emitting areas apart from each other and arranged on the substrate, each of the electron-emitting areas comprising: a cathode comprising a cathode conductive substrate and a cathode carbon nanotube assembly, the cathode carbon nanotube assembly comprising a plurality of first tapered tips, wherein each of the plurality of first tapered tips comprises a plurality of first carbon nanotubes; and a gate electrode positioned to lie in a common plane with the cathode, the gate electrode comprising a gate conductive substrate and a gate carbon nanotube assembly, the gate carbon nanotube assembly comprising a plurality of second tapered tips, wherein each of the plurality of second tapered tips comprises a plurality of second carbon nanotubes, the gate carbon nanotube assembly and the cathode carbon nanotube assembly are directed towards each other.