One of the awards announced at the Nano 50 Awards Dinner at the November 9-10 NASA Tech Briefs National Nano Engineering Conference in Boston will go to Motorola for their new display technology which they have termed Nano Emissive Display Technology (NED). Nanotech Briefs awards, which recognize the top 50 technologies, products, and innovators that have significantly impacted – or are expected to impact – the state of the art in nanotechnology.

A 5 inch NED prototype was displayed in May 2005 by Motorola’s applied research arm, Motorola Labs. A proprietary method of growing Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) directly on glass was used. Motorola Labs believe their NED technology can be scaled to produce large flat panel displays of superior quality, longer lifetime, greater energy efficiency and significantly lower cost compared to current display offerings.

Motorola quote Barry Young, VP and CFO of DisplaySearch, as reporting a detailed cost model analysis conducted by his firm estimating the manufactured cost for a 40-inch NED panel be under $400.”

NED Prototype Characteristics reported by Motorola;

• Full color 5 inch video section of a 1280 x 720, 16:9, 42-inch HDTV,
• High brightness,
• Bright, vivid colors produced using standard CRT TV phosphors,
• One-eighth inch thickness,
• Low cost display drive electronics (similar to LCD, much lower than Plasma),
• Fast response time,
• Wide viewing angle,
• Wide operation temperature,
• Excellent scalability,

Technology

As mentioned, Motorola’s proprietary process involves growing Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) directly on glass. Motorola uses an unidentified catalyst is used to ensure the nanotubes (nano-scale hollow tubes of carbon) grow perpendicular to the glass substrate. The NED display uses clusters of carbon nanotubes behind each pixel. When excited the nanotubes emit electrons much like the electron gun of a CRT but on a much smaller scale. The electron emissions create the phosphor coated anode of the display. The voltage to excite the nanotubes is only 5-10 volts compared to a typical 5,000 volts for LCDs.

Motorola is not looking to further the technology itself but, rather align itself with established display manufacturers to develop commercially available solutions. One would expect that the more equipment invested for LCD and plasma displays that can be used for the new NED technology the sooner and more likely chances of commercial success are.

Technology Competition

In September 2005, Texas-based Applied Nanotech has recently demonstrated a 25 inch, CNT technology, proof of concept display. It is also seeking established display manufacturers to further the technologies commercialization.

Further Reading

A review of the current technologies for Rollable displays for mobile devices.

Ptek’s review of Toshiba and Canon’s new SED technology displays.

Nano-Hype: The Truth Behind the Nanotechnology Buzz

Tiny Machines: The Feynman Lecture on Nanotechnology

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