Abstract
Flat panel display (FPD) technologies have emerged with smaller depth, size, and power than the cathode ray tube technology that now dominates the display market. Liquid crystal displays in general and active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCD), in particular, are the FPD technology of choice. The AMLCD technology is well established has undergone dramatic improvements in the past few years, a trend which is likely to continue. In recent years some potential or want-to- be ('wanabe') alternate technologies, such as field emission displays (FED), high gain emissive displays and vacuum fluorescent displays (VFD), have received substantial investments. For example, the VFD knowledge level has reached technology status as segmented displays in automotive and instrumentation applications. Much work has been done to improve FED technology status, resulting in many attempts to build production quality prototypes. However, no FED has actually gone into production. The question still remains: how close to production are these nascent technologies? This paper will examine how fast field emission displays are progressing towards technology status, which is defined as a display technology that is incorporated in products accepted by the market. This paper will provide a status update of where FED companies are and where they may be heading. Current development programs, recent demonstrations, and possible future product offerings will be discussed.
