Low voltage cathodoluminescent screens are fabricated with electrically conducting additives that provide for efficient charge drain under slow electron exposure. ZnO base electrically conducting additives with particle sizes of between 0.1 and 1 μm in quantities of 15—20 wt. % are currently used. The use of nanocrystalline electrically conducting additives (grain size within 50 nm) reduced the requirement to their content in the cathodoluminescent screens from 20 % to 5 % without compromising the electrical conductivity of the screens. Reduction of the nonluminescent component content in the screen increased cathodoluminescence brightness by 30%. We discuss the optimum conditions for the fabrication of nanocrystalline electrically conducting additives and the effect of doping impurity on the electrical conductivity of the additives, and present comparative data on the brightness of screens fabricated with nanocrystalline and standard electrically conducting additives.

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