Vacuum Microelectronics Program

The genesis of the Vacuum Microelectronics Program was the invention 30 years ago of the Spindt Cold Cathode — an array of microfabricated conductive tips (usually molybdenum), integrated with a base and gate electrode, capable of producing high-current electron beams in vacuum by field emission. From this technology come bright, colorful, low-power, thin displays without the viewing angle limitations of liquid crystals. The technology is suited for laptop and regular computers, normal and high-definition television, as well as applications in which the use of high-temperature electron and ion sources are unsuitable.

Directed by the technology's namesake, Dr. Charles "Capp" Spindt, the current research and development areas of the Vacuum Microelectronics Program staff include high-power microwave sources, pulsed-power devices, cathodes for spacecraft, X-ray tubes, microthrusters for satellites, and compact ion sources.