Patent 7336026 was granted and assigned to NGK Insulators on February, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An electron emitter has an emitter made of a dielectric material and an upper electrode and a lower electrode for being supplied with a drive voltage for emitting electrons. The upper electrode is disposed on an upper surface of the emitter, and the lower electrode is disposed on a lower surface of the emitter. The upper electrode has a plurality of through regions through which the emitter is exposed. Each of the through regions of the upper electrode has a peripheral portion having a surface facing the emitter and spaced from the emitter.