US Patent 7198966 - Manufacture of uniform CNT electron emitters

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7198966.html

Last week a patent to Nano-Proprietary issued for removing excess nanotubes from a substrate using scotch tape. Similarly, this patent from Canon uses voltage pulses to remove excess nanotubes to create uniform electron emission regions from the nanotubes. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for producing an electron-emitting device, comprising the steps of: (A) disposing a cathode electrode having a plurality of carbon fibers on a surface of a substrate; (B) providing an electrode opposite the cathode electrode; and (C) applying repeatedly a pulse voltage between the cathode electrode and the electrode opposite the cathode electrode within a depressurized atmosphere such that a potential of the electrode opposite the cathode electrode is higher than a potential of the cathode electrode, thereby partially removing the plurality of carbon fibers.