Patent ID: 8044596

Claim:
An electron-emissive element, comprising: a matrix wiring including first and second wirings for defining a plurality of element areas in a matrix to which predetermined potentials are applied, respectively; switching circuits provided in each element area including switching elements connected to the matrix wiring; emitter array units stacked on the switching circuits in each element area and connected to the switching circuits, said emitter array units including a plurality of emitter arrays having a plurality of microchip emitters for emitting electrons and a gate electrode for extracting the electrons from the microtip emitters; and an emitter array drive circuit for driving the emitter array unit for each emitter array provided at the corresponding locations in each emitter array unit, wherein the switching elements are driven by the matrix wiring to select the emitter array units, and the emitter arrays in the selected emitter array units are selected by the emitter array drive circuit.