Yet another product example of how old can make new is updating the old cathode ray tube (CRT), otherwise known as the television. Motorola has introduced new technology which will be licensed soon for commercial applications in the video electronics market. The technology is called “nano emissive display,” (NED) flat screen technology. The innovation lies in the use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) grown using an organic paste on common silicon oxide (glass) substrates. The CNTs, when sandwiched in an electric field, produce electron beams. The electron beams are then “fired” at a phosphor screen much like traditional CRT technology, but without the need for directing the beam, or rastering for each pixel to fluoresce since the screen is only a few millimeters from the surface of the CNTs. The advantage of this method is that existing LCD fabrication plants can be modified and adapted to produce the new displays which are thinner, faster, and lower cost than most large LCD panel technologies.
