SRI International Inc, the Menlo Park-based commercial spin-out from Stanford Research Institute, has won one year’s financial backing from the California state Office of Competitive Technology, for further development of a new cold cathode technology for flat displays that could be used in high-definition television as well as computer applications. The Spindt field emission cathode array is seen as the basis of a new generation of vacuum tube electronics, particularly flat panel displays. The Spindt cathode, as applied to flat panels, enables an ultra-thin full colour display to be fabricated, something that is impossible with present display panel technologies – and they promise to have more features and be less expensive than liquid crystal diode, plasma or electroluminescent panels, according to SRI, which is working on the new technology with Commtech International Inc. The one-year $500,000 project aims to develop the cathode technology toward it’s ultimate potential as well as assist in the development of commercial applications which, in addition to HDTV, include superfast computers, RF Amplifiers, high speed integrated circuits, advanced telecommunications kit, and biosensors.
