Quantum Tunneling in Carbon-Nanotube-Based Field Emission Display and Band-to-Band Tunneling

In today's competitive electronics market, consumer products are required to have SWaP features and considerations: size, weight, power and price. Although the traditional display technology has been replaced by the flat display technology, the CNT-based display products, due to several unique properties, are still considered to be the next-generation display technology to enable more creative applications in our daily life.   

This work uses a quantum mechanical model to explain the working principle of such CNT-based field emission display (FED). This model is modified by considering parameters such as the CNT diameter, tunneling probability, and electrical field. In the CNT-based band-to-band tunneling model, results show how the CNT diameter and applied electrical field affect the quantum tunneling probability. Numerical results can be used to improve the design and performance of applications.