The ZM1040 is a large Nixie tube produced by various European manufacturers, with this particular unit made by Valvo. Tesla, a Czechoslovakian manufacturer, produced a version of the ZM1040 that featured a square anode grid, setting it apart from the one shown here. To enhance contrast and filter out blue light emitted by the included mercury vapor, the tube is covered with a red filter. A variant without this filter was also available under the designation ZM1042.

When the Nixie tube was introduced in the 1950s, it faced a significant drawback: its driving circuitry required transistors with relatively high breakdown voltages capable of handling the elevated operating voltages. At the time, such transistors were not widely available. This limitation created a demand for an alternative display technology that could operate with low-voltage, low-current logic circuitry. The solution was the Pixie tube, initially designated as the Z550M and later renamed the ZM1050.