New Display Tech Revealed Technology innovation is not only
supposed to lead to a better mousetrap, it's also supposed to
lead to lower costs. That's precisely the idea behind a new
display technology that promises inexpensive high-definition
monitors. The SED (surface-conduction electron-emitter display)
is a concept that works on the same basic principle as a CRT. In
a CRT monitor, an electron gun at the back of a tube blasts
electrons at phosphors on the screen to create an image. Rather
than using an electron gun, an SED uses a film of individual
electron emitters coated on a glass plate and positioned a few
millimeters behind another glass plate coated with phosphor.
This design allows for many more pixels per square inch and for
large, flat panels that are less than 4 inches deep. Canon and
Toshiba have been jointly developing the technology for four
years. Little, however, was known about SEDs until now. "I can
say that they will be in the plasma screen size range," says
Scott Ramirez, vice president o