The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 07, 1999
Filed:
Nov. 19, 1996
Garrett W Hall, Boise, ID (US);
Micron Technology, Inc., , US;
Abstract
A field emission display includes a discrete storage capacitor coupled between a row line and a reference potential. The display also includes a discharge circuit coupled between a transmission line tap and the storage capacitor. The discharge circuit receives a pulsed image signal from the transmission line and transfers charge from the transmission line to the storage capacitor. In one embodiment, the discharge circuit includes a pair of opposed zener diodes. In response to a brief negative-going input pulse on the transmission line, the capacitor is discharged through the diodes. Then, the diodes recover and capacitor and row line are isolated from the tap. A selected line of an extraction grid is activated to cause an emitter set coupled to the row line to emit electrons. The emitted electrons are replaced by electrons from the capacitor. The capacitor has sufficient capacitance to supply electrons over an expected refresh interval of the row line. Therefore, the voltage of the capacitor remains substantially constant over the refresh interval. Because the capacitor can be charged quickly, the input pulse can be short relative to the refresh interval.