Re: flat CRT


bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Why doesn't someone make a CRT tube that is almost
flat like an LCD monitor? I know the electrons
would have a sharper angle to travel, but isn't it
possible?

I'm having a senior moment but I've seen a proto of such a thing (circa
1995) and can't remember the details. As I recall it used a (cold?)
cathode per pixel approach. So a search at the US Patent Office web
site might be helpful. I recall that there was research going on at
Princeton (I think) on the phosphors required for the solution and it
seemed the fundamental design concept was from a startup company in
france. This was under consideration as an alternative to LCDs in
laptop computers to give you an idea of it's mechanical properties. The
general idea was to marry the best properties of a CRT with those of a
LCD.

As I recall, the technical issues at that instant in time were
non-trivial but not impossible to overcome in time. Although I'm
overgeneralizing, it looked like a Beta vs VHS situation (where LCDs of
that era were the VHS). LCD quality and manufacturing advances were
improving at a rate that taking this technology to market a poor idea.
In retrospect the improvements in LCDs exceeded what was predicted at
that time.

Mike

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