JPH1116519A - Electron beam apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electron beam apparatus and an image forming apparatus using a spacer with high stability that a coating thickness is not required to be extremely thin and a coating thickness is easily controlled. SOLUTION: An electron beam apparatus is composed by facing a first substrate forming an electron emitting element and a second substrate to which electrons discharged from the electron emitting element are irradiated through a spacer. The spacer has a plurality of conductive membranes 2 formed and electrically separated in the approximately right angle direction against an electric field generated in a space between the first and second substrates and a resistance membrane 3 with a specific resistance of 10<8> Ωcm or less that alternately connects the both ends of the conductive membrane being adjacent so that each conductive membrane is connected in series.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron beam apparatus and an image forming apparatus such as a display apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and more particularly to an electron beam apparatus in which an antistatic film is provided on a spacer and an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, two types of electron-emitting devices, a hot cathode type and a cold cathode type, are known. Among them, the cold cathode type electron-emitting devices include, for example, a surface conduction type electron-emitting device, a field emission type electron-emitting device (hereinafter referred to as FE type),
A metal / insulating layer / metal-type electron-emitting device (hereinafter referred to as MIM type) and the like are known.

As a surface conduction electron-emitting device, for example, MIElinson, Radio Eng. Electron Phys., 10, 1290,
(1965) and other examples described later.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which electron emission occurs when a current flows in a thin film having a small area formed on a substrate in parallel with the film surface. As the surface conduction electron-emitting device, an Au thin film [G. Dittmer: "Thin Solid Films", 9, 317 (1972)] is used in addition to the device using the SnO ₂ thin film by Elinson et al.
And those based on In ₂ O ₃ / SnO ₂ thin films [M. Hartwell a
nd CGFonstad: "IEEE Trans. ED Conf.", 519 (197
5)] and those using carbon thin films [Hisashi Araki et al .: Vacuum,
26, No. 1, 22 (1983)].

As a typical example of the device configuration of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, FIG. Hartw
1 shows a plan view of an element by ell et al. In FIG.
001 is a substrate, and 3004 is a conductive thin film made of a metal oxide formed by sputtering. Conductive thin film 3004
Is formed in an H-shaped planar shape as shown. An electron emission portion 3005 is formed by performing an energization process called energization forming described later on the conductive thin film 3004. The interval L in the figure is 0.5 to 1 [mm], W
Is set to 0.1 [mm]. For convenience of illustration, the electron emitting portion 3005 is shown in a rectangular shape at the center of the conductive thin film 3004, but this is a schematic one.
It does not faithfully represent the actual position and shape of the electron-emitting portion.

[0006] M. In the above-described surface conduction electron-emitting device including the device by Hartwell et al., The electron-emitting portion 30 is formed by subjecting the conductive thin film 3004 to an energization process called energization forming before electron emission.
05 was common. In other words, the energization forming means that a constant DC voltage or a DC voltage that increases at a very slow rate of, for example, about 1 V / min is applied to both ends of the conductive thin film 3004 to energize the conductive thin film 3004. Is locally destroyed, deformed, or altered to form an electron emitting portion 3005 in a state of high electrical resistance. Note that a crack is generated in a part of the conductive thin film 3004 that is locally broken, deformed, or altered. When an appropriate voltage is applied to the conductive thin film 3004 after the energization forming, electron emission is performed in the vicinity of the crack.

An example of the FE type is, for example, WPDyke
& W.W.Dolan, "Field emission", Advance in Electron
Physics, 8, 89 (1956) or CASpindt, "Phys
icalproperties of thin-film field emission cathode
s with molybdenium cones ", J. Appl. Phys., 47, 5248 (197
6) are known.

As a typical example of the FE type device configuration, FIG. A. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a device by Spindt et al. In the figure, reference numeral 3010 denotes a substrate;
Is an emitter wiring made of a conductive material, 3012 is an emitter cone, 3013 is an insulating layer, and 3014 is a gate electrode. This device comprises an emitter cone 3012 and a gate electrode 3
By applying an appropriate voltage during 014, field emission is caused from the tip of the emitter cone 3012.

As another element configuration of the FE type, FIG.
There is also an example in which the emitter and the gate electrode are arranged on the substrate almost in parallel with the substrate plane, instead of the laminated structure as shown in FIG.

As an example of the MIM type, for example,
CAMead, "Operation of tunnel-emission Devices, JA
ppl.Phys., 32, 646 (1961) and the like are known. FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view showing a typical example of the MIM type device configuration.
In the figure, 3020 is a substrate, 3021 is a lower electrode made of a metal, 3022 is a thin insulating layer having a thickness of about 100 Å, and 3023 is an upper electrode made of a metal having a thickness of about 80 to 300 Å. In the MIM type, electrons are emitted from the surface of the upper electrode 3023 by applying an appropriate voltage between the upper electrode 3023 and the lower electrode 3021.

The above-mentioned cold cathode type electron-emitting device can obtain electrons at a lower temperature than the hot cathode type electron-emitting device, and therefore does not require a heater for heating. Therefore, the structure is simpler than that of the hot cathode type electron-emitting device, and a fine device can be manufactured. Further, even when a large number of elements are arranged on a substrate at a high density, problems such as thermal melting of the substrate hardly occur. Also, unlike the hot cathode type electron-emitting device that operates by heating the heater, the response speed is slow,
In the case of the cold cathode type electron-emitting device, there is also an advantage that the response speed is high.

For this reason, research for applying the cold cathode type electron-emitting device has been actively conducted. For example, the surface conduction electron-emitting device has an advantage that a large number of devices can be formed over a large area because it has a particularly simple structure and is easy to manufacture among the cold cathode electron-emitting devices. Therefore, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-31332 by the present applicant, a method for arranging and driving a large number of elements has been studied.

With respect to applications of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, for example, image forming devices such as image display devices and image recording devices, and charged beam sources have been studied.

Particularly, as an application to an image display device, for example, US Pat. No. 5,066,883, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-257551, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-2813 by the present applicant.
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-107, an image display device using a combination of a surface conduction electron-emitting device and a phosphor that emits light when irradiated with an electron beam has been studied.
An image display device using a combination of a surface conduction electron-emitting device and a phosphor is expected to have better characteristics than other conventional image display devices. For example, compared to a liquid crystal display device that has become widespread in recent years, it can be said that it is superior in that it does not require a backlight because it is a self-luminous type and that it has a wide viewing angle.

A method of driving a large number of FE types is disclosed in, for example, US Pat.
No. 895. Further, as an example in which the FE type is applied to an image display device, for example, R.F. The flat panel display reported by Meyer et al. Is known [R.Me.
yer: "Recent Development on Micro-tips Display at
LETI ", Tech.Digest of 4th Int.Vacuum Microele-ctro
nics Conf., Nagahama, pp. 6-9 (1991)].

An example in which a number of MIM types are arranged and applied to an image display device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
No. 5,557,838.

Among the image forming apparatuses using the above-described electron-emitting devices, a flat display device having a small depth has been attracting attention as a replacement for a cathode-ray tube display device because of its space saving and light weight. .

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing an example of a display panel portion forming a flat-panel image display device, in which a part of the panel is cut away to show the internal structure.

In the figure, 3115 is a rear plate, 3116
Denotes a side wall, 3117 denotes a face plate, and a rear plate 3115, a side wall 3116, and a face plate 3
117 forms an envelope (airtight container) for maintaining the inside of the display panel in a vacuum.

A substrate 3111 is fixed to the rear plate 3115, and N × M cold cathode type electron-emitting devices 3112 are formed on the substrate 3111 (N, M).
M is a positive integer of 2 or more, and is appropriately set according to the target number of display pixels. ). Further, as shown in FIG. 21, the N × M cold cathode type electron-emitting devices 3112
The row wirings 3113 and the N column wirings 3114 are wired. The portion composed of the substrate 3111, the cold cathode type electron-emitting device 3112, the row direction wiring 3113, and the column direction wiring 3114 is called a multi electron beam source. In addition, the row direction wiring 3113 and the column direction wiring 3
An insulating layer (not shown) is formed between the two wirings at least at the crossing portions of 114, so that electrical insulation is maintained.

On the lower surface of the face plate 3117, a phosphor film 3118 made of a phosphor is formed, and phosphors (not shown) of three primary colors of red (R), green (G), and growth (B) are applied. Divided. A black body (not shown) is provided between the phosphors of the respective colors constituting the fluorescent film 3118, and a metal back 3119 made of Al or the like is formed on the surface of the fluorescent film 3118 on the rear plate 3115 side. ing.

Dx1 to Dxm, Dy1 to Dyn and Hv are electric connection terminals having an airtight structure provided for electrically connecting the display panel to an electric circuit (not shown). Dx1 to Dxm are electrically connected to the row direction wiring 3113 of the multi-electron beam source, Dy1 to Dyn are electrically connected to the column direction wiring 3114 of the multi-electron beam source, and Hv is electrically connected to the metal back 3119.

The inside of the airtight container is 10 ^-6 Torr.
r, and as the display area of the image display device increases, means for preventing deformation or destruction of the rear plate 3115 and the face plate 3117 due to a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the airtight container is required. . Rear plate 3115 and face plate 31
The method of increasing the thickness of not only increases the weight of the image display device, but also causes image distortion and parallax when viewed from an oblique direction. On the other hand, in FIG. 21, a structural support (called a spacer or a rib) 312 made of a relatively thin glass plate and supporting the atmospheric pressure is used.
0 is provided. In this manner, the distance between the substrate 3111 on which the multi-beam electron source is formed and the face plate 3117 on which the fluorescent film 3118 is formed is usually kept at a sub-millimeter to several millimeters, and the inside of the airtight container is kept at a high vacuum as described above. ing.

In the image display apparatus using the display panel described above, when a voltage is applied to each of the cold cathode electron-emitting devices 3112 through the external terminals Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn, the cold cathode electron-emitting devices 3112 Electrons are emitted. At the same time, a high voltage of several hundred [V] to several [kV] is applied to the metal back 3119 through the external terminal Hv to accelerate the emitted electrons and cause them to collide with the inner surface of the face plate 3117. This allows
The phosphor of each color constituting the fluorescent film 3118 is excited and emits light, and an image is displayed.

[0025]

In the display panel of the image display device described above, the following problems may occur.

First, there is a possibility that spacer charging may be caused by a part of the electrons emitted from the vicinity of the spacer 3120 hitting the spacer 3120 or by ionization of the ion by the action of the emitted electrons to adhere to the spacer. is there. The electrons emitted from the cold-cathode electron-emitting devices 3112 due to the charging of the spacer are bent in their trajectories, reach a position different from the normal position on the phosphor, and an image near the spacer is distorted and displayed.

Second, in order to accelerate electrons emitted from the cold cathode type electron-emitting device 3112, a high voltage of several hundred V or more (ie, 1 kV / mm or more) is applied between the multi-beam electron source and the face plate 3117. High electric field) is applied,
There is concern about surface discharge on the surface of the spacer 3120. In particular, when the spacer is charged as described above, discharge may be induced.

In order to solve this problem, it has been proposed to remove a charge by causing a minute current to flow through the spacer (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 57-118355 and 61-124031). There, a high-resistance thin film is formed on the surface of an insulating spacer so that a minute current flows on the surface of the spacer. The antistatic film used here is tin oxide or a mixed crystal thin film of tin oxide and indium oxide or a metal film.

The semiconductor type thin film such as tin oxide used in the above proposal is sensitive to a gas such as oxygen so that it is applied to a gas sensor, so that its resistance value is easily changed in an atmosphere. In addition, since these materials or metal films have low specific resistance, it is necessary to form them in an island shape or to make them extremely thin in order to increase the resistance. That is, the conventional high-resistance film has drawbacks in that the reproducibility of film formation is difficult, and the resistance value is easily changed in a heat process such as frit sealing or baking in a display manufacturing process. In this case, since the charging is partially different,
A part of the trajectory of the beam in the direction along the spacer may be bent. Further, the resistance value also changes due to diffusion of impurities from the substrate. Such a resistance change does not occur uniformly in the entire conductive film, but may partially change in the conductive film or change in a direction. For example, a conductive film may be formed on blue sheet glass. That is, due to a high electric field of several hundred V or more applied between the multi-beam electron source and the face plate, the alkali component, particularly sodium, in the blue plate glass diffuses in the electric field, and the resistance value of the conductive film increases in the direction of the electric field. May have a distribution.

The present invention overcomes the above disadvantages of the conventional spacer, and does not require an extremely thin film thickness. The electron beam apparatus and the image forming apparatus using the spacer which is easy to control the film thickness and has high stability. A forming apparatus is provided.

[0031]

An electron beam apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
In an electron beam apparatus in which a first substrate on which an electron-emitting device is formed and a second substrate irradiated with electrons emitted from the electron-emitting device are opposed to each other via a spacer, the spacer is formed on an insulating surface. A plurality of conductive films electrically divided in a direction substantially perpendicular to a direction of an electric field generated in a space between the first and second substrates, and each of the conductive films is connected in series; And a resistance film having a specific resistance of 10 ⁸ Ωcm or less, which alternately connects both ends of adjacent conductive films as described above.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the first substrate on which the electron-emitting devices are formed and the second substrate on which the image forming member is formed are opposed to each other via a spacer, and the first and second substrates are formed. In an image forming apparatus in which electrons emitted from the electron-emitting devices are incident on the image forming member due to an electric field generated in a space between the substrates, the spacer is disposed on an insulating surface.
A plurality of conductive films formed by being electrically divided in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the electric field generated between the first and second substrates, and the respective conductive films are connected in series. Alternately connects both ends of adjacent conductive films, specific resistance is 10 ⁸ Ω
cm.

The electron beam apparatus of the present invention may have the following form. (1) The electron beam device has an acceleration electrode for accelerating electrons emitted from the electron-emitting device on the second substrate, and emits the electrons emitted from the electron-emitting device in response to an input signal to the image forming member. The image forming apparatus forms an image by irradiation.
In particular, an image display device in which the image forming member is a phosphor is provided. (2) The electron-emitting device is a cold-cathode electron-emitting device, particularly preferably a surface conduction electron-emitting device having a conductive film including an electron-emitting portion between a pair of electrodes. (3) The electron-emitting device forms a simple matrix arrangement of electron sources having a plurality of cold cathode type electron-emitting devices arranged in a matrix with a plurality of row-direction wirings and a plurality of column-direction wirings. (4) The electron-emitting device includes a plurality of rows of cold-cathode-type electron-emitting devices each having a plurality of cold-cathode-type electron-emitting devices arranged in parallel and connected at both ends (referred to as a row direction). A control electrode (also called a grid) arranged above the cold cathode type electron-emitting devices along a direction perpendicular to the direction (called a column direction).
Thereby, an electron source in a ladder arrangement for controlling electrons from the cold cathode type electron-emitting device is formed. (5) An electrode for controlling electrons emitted from the electron-emitting device is provided. (6) Further, according to the idea of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to an image forming apparatus suitable for display, and may be used as an alternative light source such as a light emitting diode of an optical printer including a photosensitive drum and a light emitting diode. Alternatively, the above-described image forming apparatus can be used. In this case, by appropriately selecting the above-mentioned m row-directional wirings and n column-directional wirings, the present invention can be applied not only to a linear light emitting source but also to a two-dimensional light emitting source. In this case, the image forming member is not limited to a substance that emits light directly, such as a phosphor used in the following embodiments, and a member that forms a latent image by electron charging can also be used.

Further, according to the concept of the present invention, the present invention is applicable to a case where a member to be irradiated with electrons emitted from an electron source is other than an image forming member such as a phosphor, as in an electron microscope. Is applicable. Therefore, the present invention can also take a form as a general electron beam apparatus that does not specify a member to be irradiated.

[0035]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention has an electrically divided conductive thin film on the surface, and each conductive thin film is connected by a resistive thin film having a higher resistance and a specific resistance of 10 ⁸ Ωcm or less. A spacer having an antistatic film is used. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a spacer used in the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes an insulating member to which antistatic treatment is applied; 2, an electrically divided antistatic conductive thin film formed on the surface of the insulating member 1; Is a resistance film connecting the divided antistatic films. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a method of connecting the antistatic conductive thin film and the resistive thin film, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a method of manufacturing a spacer used in the present invention.

As an electron beam device of the present invention, there is a flat display device using the above-mentioned spacer, and FIG. 4 shows a schematic structure thereof (the details will be described later). FIG.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the spacer.

As shown in FIG. 4, a substrate 1011 on which a plurality of cold cathode type electron-emitting devices 1012 are formed and a transparent face plate 1 on which a fluorescent film 1018 as a light emitting material is formed.
177 is a display device having a structure in which a conductive thin film is electrically opposed to a conductive thin film on a surface of an insulating member. High resistance, specific resistance 10 ⁸ Ω
It is a display device connected by a resistive thin film of not more than cm.

In the display device according to the present invention, one side of the spacer 1020 is electrically connected to wiring on the substrate 1011 on which the cold cathode type electron-emitting device is formed.
On the opposite side, electrons emitted from the cold-cathode electron-emitting device are emitted with a high energy by a light emitting material (fluorescent film 1018).
Electrode to collide with the metal (metal back 1019)
Is electrically connected to That is, a current obtained by substantially dividing the acceleration voltage by the resistance value of the antistatic film flows through the antistatic film formed on the surface of the spacer.

Therefore, the resistance value Rs of the spacer is set in a desirable range from the viewpoint of antistatic and power consumption. From the viewpoint of preventing static charge, the resistance film 1020c (hereinafter referred to as the low resistance film 10
In order to distinguish it from 20d, it is referred to as a high resistance film 1020c. )
The surface resistance (sheet resistance) Rs is preferably 10 ¹² Ω or less. In order to obtain a sufficient antistatic effect, the resistance is more preferably 10 ¹¹ Ω or less. The lower limit of the surface resistance depends on the voltage applied between the spacers shape and spacers, 10 ⁵
It is preferably Ω or more.

High resistance film 1020 formed on insulating material
The thickness t of c is preferably in the range of 10 nm to 1 μm. Although it depends on the surface energy of the material, the adhesion to the substrate, and the substrate temperature, thin films of 10 nm or less are generally formed in islands,
Resistance is unstable and poor reproducibility. On the other hand, when the film thickness t is 1 μm or more, the film stress increases and the risk of film peeling increases,
In addition, productivity is poor because the deposition time is long. Therefore, the film thickness is desirably 50 to 500 nm.

The surface resistance Rs is ρ / t, and R
From the preferred range of s and t, the specific resistance ρ of the antistatic film is 0.1
~ 10 ⁸ Ωcm is preferred. Further, in order to realize a more preferable range of the surface resistance and the film thickness, ρ is 10 ² to 10 ⁶ Ωcm.
Good to be.

As described above, the temperature of the spacer rises when a current flows through the high resistance film 1020c formed thereon or when the entire display generates heat during operation. If the resistance temperature coefficient of the antistatic film is a large negative value, the resistance value decreases when the temperature increases, the current flowing through the spacer increases, and the temperature further increases. And the current continues to increase until the power supply limit is exceeded. The value of the temperature coefficient of resistance at which such a runaway of current occurs is empirically a negative value and the absolute value is 1% or more. That is, the resistance temperature coefficient of the antistatic film is desirably less than -1%.

As the material of the antistatic film, any general conductive metal can be used for the divided conductive thin film. The point is that the resistance value should be sufficiently low. On the other hand, the high resistance film connecting these divided conductive thin films is preferably a metal oxide or a metal nitride. In particular, when electrons emitted from the electron-emitting device hit the spacer,
It is desirable that the high resistance film itself is difficult to be charged. In that sense, if it is a metal oxide, chromium, nickel,
Copper oxide is a preferred material. The reason is that these oxides have a relatively low secondary electron emission efficiency, and are considered to be hard to be charged even when electrons emitted from the electron emission element hit the spacer. In the case of a metal nitride, a nitride of aluminum and a transition metal is desirable.
By adjusting the composition of the transition metal, the resistance of the nitride of aluminum and the transition metal alloy can be controlled in a wide range from a good conductor to an insulator. Further, it is a stable material that has a small change in resistance value in a display device manufacturing process described later. In addition, the material has a temperature coefficient of resistance of less than -1% and is practically easy to use. Examples of the transition metal element include Ti, Cr, and Ta.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the antistatic film used in the present invention comprises a conductive thin film divided into several parts on the surface of the spacer and a high-resistance film connecting them. An insulating member such as glass is exposed from between the conductive thin films. For this reason, electric charges easily accumulate in this exposed portion due to electrons from the electron-emitting device. Therefore, it is preferable to reduce the exposed portion as much as possible, and it is desirable that the area of the exposed portion be 10% or less of the area of the conductive thin film.

The high resistance film for connecting the conductive thin films is disposed on the side surface of the spacer as shown in FIG. 1, connects the conductive thin films to each other, and is insulated from the other resistance films. The patterning can be performed by forming a conductive thin film and a high-resistance film and then trimming with a laser to obtain a desired patterning, or by a conventional photolithography process.

The conductive thin film and the high-resistance film (metal oxide film, metal nitride film, etc.) are formed by sputtering, reactive sputtering (in a nitrogen gas atmosphere), electron beam evaporation, ion plating, ion assisted evaporation, CVD It is formed on the insulating member by a thin film forming means such as a method and an alkoxide coating method.

The antistatic film of the spacer used in the present invention is
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a plurality of conductive thin films formed by being electrically divided in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of an electric field generated in the space between the substrates and each conductive film are connected in series. And a high-resistance film having a specific resistance of 10 ⁸ Ωcm or less, which alternately connects both ends of adjacent conductive thin films.

The conductive thin film is formed by being electrically divided in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the electric field because the potential in the horizontal direction (direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the high-voltage electric field) is applied to the spacer. The purpose of using a conductive thin film to improve the equipotential is to alternately connect both ends of adjacent conductive thin films with a high-resistance film by applying a vertical (high-voltage electric field) electric field to the high-resistance film. This is for maintaining an equal electric field by dividing.

By using a spacer having such an antistatic film, the resistance distribution of the spacer is hardly affected by a change in resistance of the conductive film (depending on time or process), and stable electric field control becomes possible. The orbit also stabilizes. Further, if the potentials at the height from the rear plate on both sides of the spacer are the same, there is little difference in the charge removal on both sides of the spacer. Further, since the conductive thin film is less dependent on the material, the range of choice of the material is widened.

The shape of the spacer is not limited to a plate shape, but may be an "L" shape, a "+" shape, a "" shape, or the like.

In FIG. 4, the high-resistance film is formed of the spacer Y.
Although it is provided on the side surface in the direction, a high resistance film may be formed on a part of the side surface in the X direction (side surface on the wide area side) of the spacer, and a conductive thin film may be connected at this part.

Here, the conductive thin films are divided so as to be parallel to each other, but when the electric field in the space is not uniform, the conductive thin films are electrically divided in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the electric field. As described above, the division may be performed according to the electric field distribution.

The antistatic film used in the present invention is suitably used for preventing the spacer from being charged in a flat display device.
The present invention is not limited to this, and can be used as an antistatic film in other applications.

Next, the structure and manufacturing method of a display panel of an image display device to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to specific examples.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the display panel used in the embodiment, in which a part of the panel is cut away to show the internal structure.

In the figure, 1015 is a rear plate, 1016
Is a side wall, 1017 is a face plate, and 1015
An airtight container for maintaining the inside of the display panel at a vacuum is formed by 1017 to 1017. In assembling the airtight container, sealing is performed to maintain sufficient strength and airtightness at the joints of the members. For example, frit glass is applied to the joints, and in the air or a nitrogen atmosphere, 400 to 100 degrees Celsius. Sealing was achieved by baking at 500 degrees for 10 minutes or more. A method of evacuating the inside of the airtight container to a vacuum will be described later. Further, the inside of the airtight container is 10 ⁻⁶ [T
orr], a spacer 1020 is provided as an anti-atmospheric structure for the purpose of preventing the hermetic container from being broken by the atmospheric pressure or an unexpected impact.

The rear plate 1015 has a substrate 1011
Are fixed on the substrate, and N × M cold cathode type electron-emitting devices 1012 are formed on the substrate (N and M are positive integers of 2 or more, and correspond to the target number of display pixels. For example, in a display device for displaying high-definition television, N = 3000 and M = 10
It is desirable to set the number to 00 or more. ). N ×
The M cold cathode type electron-emitting devices are provided with M row-directional wirings 10.
Simple matrix wiring is performed by 13 and N column-directional wirings 1014. The portion constituted by 1011 to 1014 is called a multi-electron beam source.

The multi-electron beam source used in the image display device according to the present invention is not limited as long as it is an electron source in which cold cathode type electron-emitting devices are arranged in a simple matrix wiring. . Therefore, for example, a surface conduction electron-emitting device, FE type, or MIM
A cold cathode type electron-emitting device such as a mold can be used.

Next, a structure of a multi-electron beam source in which surface conduction electron-emitting devices (described later) as cold cathode electron-emitting devices are arranged on a substrate and arranged in a simple matrix wiring will be described.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the multi-electron beam source used for the display panel of FIG. Substrate 1011
On the upper side, surface conduction type electron-emitting devices similar to those shown in FIG. 8 described later are arranged.
003 and the column-directional wiring electrodes 1004 are wired in a simple matrix. An insulating layer (not shown) is formed between the row-directional wiring electrodes 1003 and the column-directional wiring electrodes 1004 where they intersect, so that electrical insulation is maintained.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along the line BB ′ of FIG.
Shown in

Incidentally, the multi-electron source having such a structure is as follows.
After the row direction wiring electrode 1003, the column direction wiring electrode 1004, the interelectrode insulating layer (not shown), the device electrode of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the conductive thin film are formed on the substrate in advance, the row direction wiring electrode 1003, Column direction wiring electrode 10
The device was manufactured by supplying power to each element via an element 04 and performing an energization forming process (described below) and an energization activation process (described below).

In the present embodiment, the substrate 1011 of the multi-electron beam source is fixed to the rear plate 1015 of the airtight container.
When the substrate 1 has a sufficient strength, the substrate 101 of the multi-electron beam source is used as a rear plate of the hermetic container.
1 itself may be used.

A fluorescent film 1018 is formed on the lower surface of the face plate 1017. Since the present embodiment is a color display device, a CR film
Phosphors of three primary colors of red, green, and blue used in the field of T are separately applied. The phosphor of each color is, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3A, a black conductor 1010 is provided between stripes of the phosphor, which are separately applied in stripes. The purpose of providing the black conductor 1010 is to prevent the display color from being shifted even if there is a slight shift in the electron beam irradiation position, and to prevent the reflection of external light to prevent a decrease in display contrast. And preventing charge-up of the fluorescent film by the electron beam. Although graphite is used as a main component for the black conductor 1010, any other material may be used as long as it is suitable for the above purpose.

The method of applying the three primary color phosphors is not limited to the stripe arrangement shown in FIG. 7A, but may be, for example, a delta arrangement as shown in FIG. Other arrangements may be used.

When a monochrome display panel is manufactured, a monochromatic phosphor material may be used for the phosphor film 1018, and a black conductive material may not be necessarily used.

A metal back 1019 known in the field of CRT is provided on the surface of the fluorescent film 1018 on the rear plate side.
Is provided. The purpose of providing the metal back 1019 is
A part of the light emitted from the fluorescent film 1018 is specularly reflected to improve the light utilization rate, or the fluorescent film
The protective film 18 serves as an electrode for applying an electron beam acceleration voltage, and serves as a conductive path for excited electrons of the fluorescent film 1018. The metal back 1019 was formed by forming the fluorescent film 1018 on the face plate substrate 1017, smoothing the surface of the fluorescent film, and vacuum-depositing Al thereon. Note that when a fluorescent material for low voltage is used for the fluorescent film 1018, the metal back 1019 is not used.

Although not used in the present embodiment, the gap between the face plate substrate 1017 and the fluorescent film 1018 is used for applying an acceleration voltage and improving the conductivity of the fluorescent film.
For example, a transparent electrode made of ITO may be provided.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 4, and the numbers of the respective parts correspond to those of FIG. Spacer 102
Numeral 0 denotes a conductive thin film 1020b and a high-resistance film 1020c formed on the surface of the insulating member 1020a for the purpose of preventing electrification, and the inside of the face plate 1017 (metal back 1019 and the like) and the surface of the substrate 1011 (row direction wiring). 1
013 or the column-directional wiring 1014) is made of a member in which a low-resistance film 1020d is formed on the contact surface of the spacer facing the column-directional wiring 1014), and is arranged in a necessary number and at a necessary interval to achieve the above object. Then, it is fixed to the inside of the face plate and the surface of the substrate 1011 by a bonding material 1040.

The high-resistance film 1020c is formed on at least the surface of the insulating member 1020a that is exposed to vacuum in the hermetic container.
Through the low resistance film 1020d and the bonding material 1040 on the inside of the face plate 1017 (the metal back 1).
019 etc.) and the surface of the substrate 1011 (the row direction wiring 101).
3 or the column direction wiring 1014).
In the embodiment described here, the shape of the spacer 1020 is a thin plate, is arranged in parallel with the row wiring 1013, and is electrically connected to the row wiring 1013.

As the spacer 1020, the substrate 1011
Has insulating properties enough to withstand high voltage applied between the upper row direction wiring 1013 and column direction wiring 1014 and the metal back 1019 on the inner surface of the face plate 1017;
In addition, it is required that the spacer 1020 has conductivity enough to prevent the surface of the spacer 1020 from being charged. In this regard,
As described above.

The insulating member 1020a of the spacer 1020
Examples thereof include quartz glass, glass having a reduced content of impurities such as Na, soda lime glass, and ceramic members such as alumina. The insulating member 102
It is preferable that Oa has a coefficient of thermal expansion close to that of the member forming the airtight container and the substrate 1011.

As described above, the surface resistance of the high resistance film 1020c is 10 ⁵ [Ω / cm] in consideration of maintaining the antistatic effect and suppressing the power consumption due to the leak current.
[□] to 10 ¹² [Ω / □], and the various materials described above are used as the material.

The conductive thin film 1020b and the low-resistance film 1020d may be selected to have sufficiently lower resistance than the high-resistance film 1020c, and may be selected from Ni, Cr, Au, Mo, W, Pt, and T.
Metals or alloys such as i, Al, Cu, Pd, and Pd, Ag, A
It is appropriately selected from a printed conductor composed of a metal such as u, RuO ₂ , Pd-Ag, or a metal oxide and glass, or a transparent conductor such as In ₂ O ₃ —SnO ₂ and a semiconductor material such as polysilicon. .

The bonding material 1040 is required to have conductivity so that the spacer 1020 is electrically connected to the row wiring 1013 and the metal back 1019.
That is, frit glass to which a conductive adhesive, metal particles, or a conductive filler is added is preferable.

Dx1 to Dxm, Dy1 to Dyn, and Hv are electric connection terminals having an airtight structure provided for electrically connecting the display panel to an electric circuit (not shown). Dx1 to Dxm are the row wirings 10 of the multi-electron beam source.
13, Dy1 to Dyn are column direction wirings 1014 of the multi-electron beam source, and Hv is the metal back 1 of the face plate.
019 electrically.

To evacuate the inside of the hermetic container, after assembling the hermetic container, an exhaust pipe (not shown) and a vacuum pump are connected, and the inside of the hermetic container is evacuated to a degree of vacuum of about 10 ^-7 [Torr]. Exhaust until After that, the exhaust pipe is sealed,
In order to maintain the degree of vacuum in the airtight container, a getter film (not shown) is formed at a predetermined position in the airtight container immediately before or after sealing. The getter film is, for example, a film formed by heating and depositing a getter material containing Ba as a main component by a heater or high-frequency heating, and the inside of the hermetic container is 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ or 1 × by the adsorption action of the getter film.
The degree of vacuum is maintained at 10 ^-7 [Torr].

In the image display apparatus using the display panel described above, when a voltage is applied to each of the cold cathode electron-emitting devices 1012 through the external terminals Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn, the cold cathode electron-emitting devices 1012 Electrons are emitted. At the same time, a high voltage of several hundred [V] to several [kV] is applied to the metal back 1019 through the external terminal Hv to accelerate the emitted electrons and collide with the inner surface of the face plate 1017. This allows
The phosphor of each color forming the fluorescent film 1018 is excited to emit light, and an image is displayed.

Normally, the voltage applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device 1012, which is a cold cathode electron-emitting device, is 12 to 16
[V], the distance d between the metal back 1019 and the cold cathode type electron-emitting device 1012 is from 0.1 [mm] to 8 [m].
m], and the voltage between the metal back 1019 and the cold cathode type electron-emitting device 1012 is 0.1 [kV] to 10 [kV].
It is about.

The basic structure and manufacturing method of the display panel according to the embodiment of the present invention and the outline of the image display device have been described above.

Next, a method of manufacturing the multi-electron beam source used for the display panel of the above embodiment will be described. The multi-electron beam source used in the image display device according to the present invention is not limited as long as it is an electron source in which cold-cathode electron-emitting devices are arranged in a simple matrix wiring. Therefore, for example, a cold cathode electron-emitting device such as a surface conduction electron-emitting device, an FE type, or an MIM type can be used.

However, in a situation where a display device having a large display screen and an inexpensive display device is required, a surface conduction type electron-emitting device is particularly preferable among these cold cathode type electron-emitting devices. That is, in the FE type, since the relative position and shape of the emitter cone and the gate electrode greatly affect the electron emission characteristics, extremely high-precision manufacturing technology is required, but this achieves a large area and a reduction in manufacturing cost. Is a disadvantageous factor. In the case of the MIM type, it is necessary to make the thicknesses of the insulating layer and the upper electrode thin and uniform, which is also a disadvantageous factor in achieving a large area and a reduction in manufacturing cost. On the other hand, since the surface conduction electron-emitting device has a relatively simple manufacturing method, it is easy to increase the area and reduce the manufacturing cost. The inventors have found that among the surface conduction electron-emitting devices, those in which the electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film have particularly excellent electron-emitting characteristics and can be easily manufactured. Therefore, it can be said that it is most suitable for use in a multi-electron beam source of a high-luminance, large-screen image display device. Therefore, in the display panel of the above embodiment, a surface conduction electron-emitting device in which the electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film is used. Therefore, the basic configuration, manufacturing method, and characteristics of a suitable surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described first, and then the structure of a multi-electron beam source in which many devices are arranged in a simple matrix will be described. [Suitable device configuration and manufacturing method of surface conduction electron-emitting device] The surface-conduction electron-emitting device in which the electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film has two typical types, a flat type and a vertical type. Is raised. (Flat-Type Surface-Conduction-Type Electron-Emitting Device) First, the device configuration and manufacturing method of a flat-type surface-conduction-type electron-emitting device will be described.

FIG. 8A is a plan view for explaining the structure of a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device, and FIG. 8B is a sectional view thereof. In the figure, 1101 is a substrate, 1102 and 11
03, a device electrode; 1104, a conductive thin film; 1105, an electron-emitting portion formed by an energization forming process;
Reference numeral 3 denotes a thin film formed by the activation process.

As the substrate 1101, for example, various glass substrates such as quartz glass and blue plate glass, various ceramics substrates such as alumina, or an insulating layer made of, for example, SiO ₂ is formed on the various substrates described above. A laminated substrate or the like can be used.

The device electrodes 1102 and 1103 provided on the substrate 1101 so as to be parallel to the substrate surface are formed of a conductive material. For example, N
i, Cr, Au, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Cu, Pd,
A material such as Ag or the like, an alloy of these metals, a metal oxide such as In ₂ O ₃ —SnO ₂ , or a semiconductor such as polysilicon may be appropriately selected and used. . An electrode can be easily formed by using a combination of a film forming technique such as vacuum evaporation and a patterning technique such as photolithography and etching. However, the electrode can be formed by other methods (for example, printing technique). I can't wait.

The shapes of the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are appropriately designed according to the application purpose of the electron-emitting device.
Generally, the electrode interval L is usually designed by selecting an appropriate numerical value from the range of several hundreds of angstroms to several hundreds of μm. Range. Also, the thickness d of the device electrode is usually from several hundred angstroms to several μm.
An appropriate numerical value is selected from the range.

A fine particle film is used for the conductive thin film 1104. The fine particle film mentioned here is a film containing many fine particles as a constituent element (including an island-shaped aggregate).
I mean If you examine the microparticle film microscopically, usually
A structure in which the individual fine particles are spaced apart, a structure in which the fine particles are adjacent to each other, or a structure in which the fine particles overlap each other is observed.

The particle size of the fine particles used in the fine particle film is in the range of several Angstroms to several thousand Angstroms, and preferably in the range of 10 Angstroms to 200 Angstroms. Further, the thickness of the fine particle film is appropriately set in consideration of various conditions described below. That is, the device electrode 11
02, or 1103, conditions necessary for satisfactorily performing energization forming described later, conditions necessary for setting the electric resistance of the fine particle film itself to an appropriate value described later. , And so on. In particular,
The setting is made in the range of several Angstroms to several thousand Angstroms, and a preferable value is between 10 Angstroms and 500 Angstroms.

Materials that can be used to form the fine particle film include, for example, Pd, Pt, Ru, Ag,
Au, Ti, In, Cu, Cr, Fe, Zn, Sn, T
a, W, Pb, and other metals, PdO, S
Oxides such as nO ₂ , In ₂ O ₃ , PbO, Sb ₂ O ₃ , etc .; HfB ₂ , ZrB ₂ , LaB ₆ , C
Borides such as eB ₆ , YB ₄ , GdB ₄ , etc., TiC, ZrC, HfC, TaC, SiC, WC,
And other carbides, TiN, ZrN, Hf
Nitrides such as N, etc., semiconductors such as Si, Ge, etc., carbon, and the like are listed, and are appropriately selected from these.

As described above, the conductive thin film 1104 is formed of a fine particle film.
It was set to be included from 10 ³ to a range of 10 ⁷ ohms / sq].

The conductive thin film 1104 and the device electrode 11
Since it is desirable that the wires 02 and 1103 be electrically connected well, they have a structure in which a part of each overlaps with the other. In the example of FIG. 8, the overlapping is performed in the order of the substrate, the element electrode, and the conductive thin film from the bottom, but in some cases, the substrate, the conductive thin film, and the element electrode are stacked in the order of the bottom. I can't wait.

The electron-emitting portion 1105 is a crack-like portion formed in a part of the conductive thin film 1104, and has an electrically higher resistance than the surrounding conductive thin film. The crack is formed by performing a later-described energization forming process on the conductive thin film 1104. Fine particles having a particle size of several Angstroms to several hundred Angstroms may be arranged in the crack. Since it is difficult to accurately and accurately show the actual position and shape of the electron-emitting portion, they are schematically shown in FIG.

The thin film 1113 is a thin film made of carbon or a carbon compound, and covers the electron emitting portion 1105 and its vicinity. The thin film 1113 is formed by performing an energization activation process described later after the energization forming process.

The thin film 1113 is made of any one of single crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, and amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and has a film thickness of 500 Å or less, but 300 Å or less. Is more preferred.

Since it is difficult to accurately show the actual position and shape of the thin film 1113, it is schematically shown in FIG.

The basic structure of the preferred elements has been described above. In the examples, the following elements were used.

That is, blue glass was used for the substrate 1101, and Ni thin films were used for the device electrodes 1102 and 1103. The thickness d of the device electrode was 1000 [angstrom], and the electrode interval L was 2 [μm].

Pd or P as the main material of the fine particle film
Using dO, the thickness of the fine particle film was about 100 [angstrom], and the width W was 100 [μm].

Next, a description will be given of a method of manufacturing a preferred flat surface conduction electron-emitting device. 9 (a) to 9 (e)
Is a cross-sectional view for explaining a manufacturing process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the notation of each member is the same as in FIG. 1) First, as shown in FIG. 9A, device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are formed on a substrate 1101.

Before forming, the substrate 1
After sufficiently washing 101 with a detergent, pure water and an organic solvent,
The material for the device electrode is deposited (as a deposition method,
For example, a vacuum film forming technique such as an evaporation method or a sputtering method may be used. ). Thereafter, the deposited electrode material is patterned using a photolithography / etching technique, and a pair of device electrodes 1102 and 1102 shown in FIG.
03 is formed. 2) Next, as shown in FIG.
04 is formed.

In forming, first, the device electrode 11 is formed.
An organic metal solution is applied to the substrate of FIG. 9A on which 02 and 1103 are formed, dried, heated and baked to form a fine particle film, and then patterned into a predetermined shape by photolithography and etching. Here, the organometallic solution is a solution of an organometallic compound whose main element is a material of fine particles used for the conductive thin film. Specifically, in this example, Pd was used as a main element. In the embodiment, the dipping method is used as a coating method, but other methods such as a spinner method and a spray method may be used.

As a method for forming a conductive thin film made of a fine particle film, a method other than the method of applying an organometallic solution used in this embodiment, for example, a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method,
Alternatively, a chemical vapor deposition method or the like may be used. 3) Next, as shown in FIG. 9C, an appropriate voltage is applied between the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 from the forming power supply 1110, and the energization forming process is performed to form the electron emission portions 1105.

The energization forming treatment is to energize the conductive thin film 1104 made of a fine particle film and to appropriately break, deform, or alter a part of the conductive thin film 1104 to change into a structure suitable for emitting electrons. This is the process that causes A portion of the conductive thin film made of a fine particle film that has been changed to a structure suitable for emitting electrons (that is, the electron emitting portion 110
In 5), an appropriate crack is formed in the thin film.
Note that the electrical resistance measured between the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 is significantly increased after the formation of the electron emission portions 1105 as compared to before the formation.

FIG. 10 shows an example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from the forming power supply 1110 in order to explain the energization method in more detail. When forming a conductive thin film made of a fine particle film, a pulsed voltage is preferable. In the case of this embodiment, a triangular wave pulse having a pulse width T1 is continuously generated at a pulse interval T2 as shown in FIG. Was applied. At that time, the peak value Vpf of the triangular wave pulse was sequentially increased. Also, monitor pulses Pm for monitoring the state of formation of the electron-emitting portion 1105 are inserted at appropriate intervals between the triangular-wave pulses, and the current flowing at that time is measured by the ammeter 1.
It was measured at 111.

In this embodiment, for example, 10 ⁻⁵ [t
orr], for example, the pulse width T1 is 1 [millisecond], the pulse interval T2 is 10 [millisecond], and the peak value Vpf is 0.1 [V] for each pulse.
The pressure was increased. Then, the monitor pulse Pm was inserted at a rate of one every time five triangular waves were applied. The monitor pulse voltage Vpm was set to 0.1 [V] so as not to adversely affect the forming process. The electric resistance between the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 is 1
When the current reaches × 10 ⁻⁶ [Ohm], that is, when the monitor pulse is applied, the current measured by the ammeter 1111 is 1 × 1.
At the stage when the value became 0 ^-7 [A] or less, the energization related to the forming process was terminated.

The above method is a preferable method for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present embodiment. For example, the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device such as the material and thickness of the fine particle film or the element electrode interval L is determined. If it is changed, it is desirable to appropriately change the energization conditions accordingly. 4) Next, as shown in FIG.
Appropriate voltage is applied from 112 to the device electrodes 1102 and 1103, and the activation process is performed to improve the electron emission characteristics.

The energization activation process is a process of energizing the electron-emitting portion 1105 formed by the energization forming process under appropriate conditions to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity thereof (FIG. 9). In (d), a deposit made of carbon or a carbon compound is deposited on the member 11.
13 is schematically shown. ). Note that by performing the energization activation process, the emission current at the same applied voltage can be typically increased by 100 times or more as compared with before the energization activation process.

Specifically, 10 ^-4 to 10 ^-5 [tor
r], a voltage pulse is periodically applied in a vacuum atmosphere to deposit carbon or a carbon compound originating from an organic compound existing in the vacuum atmosphere.
The deposit 1113 is any one of single-crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, and amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and has a thickness of 500 Å or less, more preferably 300 Å or less.

FIG. 11A shows an example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from the activation power supply 1112 in order to explain the energization method in more detail. In the present embodiment, the energization activation process is performed by periodically applying a rectangular wave of a constant voltage. Specifically, the voltage Vac of the rectangular wave is 14 [V], and the pulse width T3 is 1 [mm]. Second] and the pulse interval T4 is 10 [milliseconds]. Note that the above-described energization conditions are preferable conditions for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present embodiment, and when the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is changed, it is desirable to appropriately change the conditions accordingly. .

An anode electrode 1114 shown in FIG. 9D is for capturing an emission current Ie emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and is connected to a DC high-voltage power supply 1115 and an ammeter 1116 (FIG. 9D). The substrate 1101
When the activation process is performed after the display panel is incorporated into the display panel, the phosphor screen of the display panel is connected to the anode electrode 1114.
Used as ).

While the voltage is applied from the activation power supply 1112, the emission current Ie is measured by the ammeter 1116 to monitor the progress of the energization activation process, and the activation power supply 1112 is monitored.
Control the operation of. An example of the emission current Ie measured by the ammeter 1116 is shown in FIG.
When the application of the pulse voltage starts from 12, the emission current Ie increases with the passage of time, but eventually saturates and hardly increases. As described above, when the emission current Ie is substantially saturated, the application of the voltage from the activation power supply 1112 is stopped, and the energization activation process ends.

The above-mentioned energization conditions are preferable conditions for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present embodiment, and when the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is changed, the conditions are appropriately changed accordingly. It is desirable.

As described above, the flat surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 9E was manufactured. (Vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device) Next, another typical configuration of a surface conduction electron-emitting device in which an electron-emitting portion or its periphery is formed of a fine particle film, that is, a vertical surface-conduction electron-emitting device. The configuration of the element will be described.

FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the basic structure of a vertical type. In FIG.
202 and 1203 are device electrodes, 1206 is a step forming member, 1204 is a conductive thin film using a fine particle film, 1205
Are electron-emitting portions formed by an energization forming process;
213 is a thin film formed by the activation process.

The difference between the vertical type and the flat type described above is that one element electrode 1202 is provided on the step forming member 1206, and the conductive thin film 1204 covers the side surface of the step forming member 1206. On the point. Therefore,
The element electrode interval L in the planar type shown in FIG. 8 is set as the step height Ls of the step forming member 1206 in the vertical type. Note that for the substrate 1201, the element electrodes 1202 and 1203, and the conductive thin film 1204 using a fine particle film, the materials listed in the description of the planar type can be used in the same manner. Further, for the step forming member 1206, an electrically insulating material such as SiO ₂ can be used.

Next, a method of manufacturing a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. FIGS. 13A to 13F are cross-sectional views for explaining the manufacturing process, and the notation of each member is the same as that in FIG. 1) First, as shown in FIG.
An element electrode 1203 is formed thereover. 2) Next, as shown in FIG. 13B, an insulating layer for forming a step forming member is laminated. The insulating layer may be formed by stacking, for example, SiO ₂ by a sputtering method, but another film forming method such as a vacuum evaporation method or a printing method may be used. 3) Next, as shown in FIG. 13C, an element electrode 1202 is formed on the insulating layer. 4) Next, as shown in FIG. 13D, a part of the insulating layer is removed using, for example, an etching method, and the device electrode 1 is removed.
Expose 203. 5) Next, as shown in FIG. 13E, a conductive thin film 1204 using a fine particle film is formed. For the formation, as in the case of the flat type, a film forming technique such as a coating method may be used. 6) Next, similarly to the case of the planar type, the energization forming process is performed to form an electron emission portion (the same process as the planar type energization forming process described with reference to FIG. 9C may be performed). .). 7) Next, as in the case of the planar type, the energization activation process is performed to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity of the electron emission portion (the planar type energization activation process described with reference to FIG. 9D). The same processing as described above may be performed.)

As described above, the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 13F was manufactured. (Characteristics of Surface Conduction Electron-Emitting Device Used in Display Device) The device configuration and manufacturing method of the planar and vertical surface-conduction electron-emitting devices have been described above. Next, the characteristics of the device used in the display device will be described. State.

FIG. 14 shows typical examples of (emission current Ie) versus (device applied voltage Vf) characteristics and (device current If) versus (device applied voltage Vf) characteristics of the device used in the display device. . Note that the emission current Ie is significantly smaller than the element current If, and it is difficult to show the same current on the same scale.
Since these characteristics are changed by changing design parameters such as the size and shape of the element, the two graphs are shown in arbitrary units. The element used for the display device has the following three characteristics regarding the emission current Ie.

First, a certain voltage (this is referred to as a threshold voltage Vth
When a voltage of the above magnitude is applied to the element, the emission current Ie sharply increases. On the other hand, at a voltage lower than the threshold voltage Vth, the emission current Ie is hardly detected.

That is, the non-linear element has a clear threshold voltage Vth with respect to the emission current Ie.

Secondly, since the emission current Ie changes depending on the voltage Vf applied to the element, the emission current Ie varies with the voltage Vf.
The magnitude of e can be controlled.

Third, since the response speed of the current Ie emitted from the device is faster than the voltage Vf applied to the device, the amount of charge of the electrons emitted from the device depends on the length of time during which the voltage Vf is applied. Can control.

Because of the characteristics described above, the surface conduction electron-emitting device can be suitably used for a display device. For example, in a display device in which a large number of elements are provided corresponding to pixels of a display screen, if the first characteristic is used, display can be performed by sequentially scanning the display screen.

That is, a voltage equal to or higher than the threshold voltage Vth is appropriately applied to the element under driving according to the desired light emission luminance, and a voltage lower than the threshold voltage Vth is applied to the element in the non-selected state. By sequentially switching the elements to be driven, the display screen can be sequentially scanned and displayed.

Further, since the emission luminance can be controlled by using the second characteristic or the third characteristic, gradation display can be performed. (Structure of a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of devices are arranged in a simple matrix) Next, a structure of a multi-electron beam source in which the above-described surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged on a substrate and arranged in a simple matrix will be described.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the multi-electron beam source used for the display panel of FIG. On the substrate, surface conduction electron-emitting devices similar to those shown in FIG. 8 are arranged.
3 and the column-direction wiring electrodes 1004 are wired in a simple matrix. An insulating layer (not shown) is formed between the row-directional wiring electrodes 1003 and the column-directional wiring electrodes 1004 where they intersect, so that electrical insulation is maintained.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along the line BB ′ in FIG.
Shown in

Incidentally, the multi-electron source having such a structure is as follows.
After the row direction wiring electrode 1003, the column direction wiring electrode 1004, the interelectrode insulating layer (not shown), the device electrode of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the conductive thin film are formed on the substrate in advance, the row direction wiring electrode 1003, Column direction wiring electrode 10
The device was manufactured by supplying current to each element via the element 04 and performing an energization forming process and an energization activation process. (Driving Circuit Configuration and Driving Method of Image Forming Apparatus) FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a drive circuit for performing television display based on a C-system television signal. In the figure, a display panel 1701 corresponds to the above-described display panel, and is manufactured and operates as described above.
The scanning circuit 1702 scans a display line, and the control circuit 1703 generates a signal to be input to the scanning circuit. The shift register 1704 shifts data for each line, and the line memory 1705 stores the shift register 1704.
Is input to the modulation signal generator 1707. The synchronization signal separation circuit 1706 separates the synchronization signal from the NTSC signal.

Hereinafter, the function of each unit of the apparatus shown in FIG. 17 will be described in detail.

First, the display panel 1701 includes terminals Dx1 to Dxm and terminals Dy1 to Dyn, and a high voltage terminal Hv.
Connected to an external electric circuit via this house,
The terminals Dx1 to Dxm are connected to a multi-electron beam source provided in the display panel 1701, that is, a cold cathode type electron-emitting device wired in a matrix of m rows and n columns.
A scanning signal for sequentially driving each row (n elements) is applied. On the other hand, to the terminals Dy1 to Dyn, a modulation signal for controlling the output electron beams of the n elements for one row selected by the scanning signal is applied. The high voltage terminal Hv is connected to the DC voltage source Va by, for example, 5 kV.
This is an accelerating voltage for applying sufficient energy to the electron beam output from the multi-electron beam source to excite the phosphor.

Next, the scanning circuit 1702 will be described. This circuit has m switching elements inside (in the figure,
S1 to Sm), each switching element selects either the output voltage of the DC voltage source Vx or 0 [V] (ground level), and switches the display panel 1701. It is electrically connected to terminals Dx1 to Dxm. Each of the switching elements S1 to Sm is provided with a control signal Tsc output from the control circuit 1703.
It works based on an, but in fact, for example, FE
It can be easily configured by combining switching elements such as T. The DC voltage source Vx outputs a constant voltage so that the driving voltage applied to the unscanned element is equal to or lower than the electron emission threshold voltage Vth based on the characteristics of the electron emission element illustrated in FIG. Is set to

The control circuit 1703 has a function of coordinating the operation of each unit so that an appropriate display is performed based on an image signal input from the outside. Based on a synchronization signal Tsync sent from a synchronization signal separation circuit 1706, which will be described next, each control unit generates Tscan, Tsft, and Tmry control signals. The synchronizing signal separating circuit 1706 is a circuit for separating a synchronizing signal component and a luminance signal component from an NTSC system television signal input from the outside. As is well known, a frequency separating (filter) circuit is used. It can be easily configured. The synchronization signal separated by the synchronization signal separation circuit 1706 is composed of a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal as is well known, but is shown here as a Tsync signal for convenience of explanation. On the other hand, a luminance signal component of an image separated from the television signal is referred to as a DATA signal for convenience, and this signal is input to a shift register 1704.

A shift register 1704 is for serially / parallel-converting the DATA signal input serially in time series for each line of an image, and is based on a control signal Tsft sent from the control circuit 1703. Works. That is, the control signal Tsft can be rephrased as a shift clock of the shift register 1704. The data for one line of the image that has been subjected to the serial / parallel conversion (corresponding to the drive data for n electron-emitting devices) is output from the shift register 1704 as n signals Id1 to Idn.

A line memory 1705 is a storage device for storing data for one line of an image for a necessary time only, and stores the contents of Id1 to Idn as appropriate according to a control signal Tmry sent from a control circuit 1703. The stored contents are output as I'd1 to I'dn and input to the modulation signal generator 1707.

The modulation signal generator 1707 controls the electron-emitting device 10 according to each of the image data I'd1 to I'dn.
12 is a signal source for appropriately driving and modulating each of the output signals of the display panel 17 through terminals Dy1 to Dyn.
01 is applied to the electron-emitting device 1012.

As described with reference to FIG. 14, the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention has the following basic characteristics with respect to the emission current Ie. That is, electron emission has a clear threshold voltage Vth (8 [V] in a surface conduction electron-emitting device of an embodiment described later), and electron emission occurs only when a voltage equal to or higher than the threshold Vth is applied. For a voltage equal to or higher than the electron emission threshold Vth, the emission current Ie also changes according to the change in the voltage as shown in the graph of FIG. From this, when applying a pulsed voltage to this element,
For example, when a voltage lower than the electron emission threshold Vth is applied, electron emission does not occur. However, when a voltage higher than the electron emission threshold Vth is applied, an electron beam is output from the surface conduction electron-emitting device. At this time, the intensity of the output electron beam can be controlled by changing the pulse peak value Vm. In addition, it is possible to control the total amount of charges of the output electron beam by changing the pulse width Pw.

Accordingly, as a method of modulating the electron-emitting device in accordance with the input signal, a voltage modulation method, a pulse width modulation method, or the like can be employed. When performing the voltage modulation method, a circuit of the voltage modulation method that generates a voltage pulse of a fixed length and modulates the peak value of the pulse appropriately according to input data is used as the modulation signal generator 1707. be able to.

When the pulse width modulation method is performed, the modulation signal generator 1707 generates a voltage pulse having a constant peak value and modulates the width of the voltage pulse appropriately according to input data. A pulse width modulation circuit can be used.

The shift register 1704 and the line memory 1
Reference numeral 705 may be a digital signal type or an analog signal type. That is, the serial /
This is because parallel conversion and storage may be performed at a predetermined speed.

When the digital signal type is used, it is necessary to convert the output signal DATA of the synchronization signal separation circuit 1706 into a digital signal.
An A / D converter may be provided at the output unit 6. In this connection, the circuit used for the modulation signal generator differs slightly depending on whether the output signal of the line memory 115 is a digital signal or an analog signal. That is, in the case of the voltage modulation method using a digital signal, for example, a D / A conversion circuit is used as the modulation signal generator 1707, and an amplification circuit and the like are added as necessary.

In the case of the pulse width modulation method, the modulation signal generator 1707 includes, for example, a high-speed oscillator, a counter for counting the number of waves output from the oscillator, and a comparison between the output value of the counter and the output value of the memory. A circuit in which a comparator (comparator) is combined is used. If necessary, an amplifier for amplifying the pulse width modulated signal output from the comparator to the drive voltage of the electron-emitting device can be added.

In the case of the voltage modulation method using an analog signal, an amplification circuit using, for example, an operational amplifier can be used as the modulation signal generator 1707, and a shift level circuit and the like can be added as necessary. In the case of the pulse width modulation method, for example, a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO)
And, if necessary, an amplifier for amplifying the voltage up to the drive voltage of the electron-emitting device can be added.

In the image display apparatus to which the present invention can be applied, which has such a configuration, by applying a voltage to each of the electron-emitting devices via the terminals Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn outside the container, the electron-emitting device can emit electrons. Occurs. Metal back 1019 or transparent electrode (not shown) via high voltage terminal Hv
To apply a high voltage to accelerate the electron beam. The accelerated electrons collide with the fluorescent film 1018 and emit light to form an image.

The configuration of the image display apparatus described here is an example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied, and various modifications can be made based on the concept of the present invention. The input signal is described in the NTSC system. However, the input signal is not limited to the NTSC system, but may be a PAL or SECAM system or a TV signal (MUSE system or other high-definition TV) system including a larger number of scanning lines. Can also be adopted.

[0145]

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following examples.

In each of the embodiments described below, as the multi-electron beam source, N × M (N = 307) of the above-described type having an electron emission portion in the conductive fine particle film between the electrodes is used.
A multi-electron beam source was used in which the surface conduction electron-emitting devices (2, M = 1024) were matrix-wired (see FIGS. 4 and 15) by M row-directional wirings and N column-directional wirings. (Example 1) A first spacer used in this example was manufactured as follows. Spacer size is 40mm x 4mm x
0.2 mm, using blue plate glass as the insulating substrate,
This is sufficiently washed with a detergent, pure water and an organic solvent (FIG. 3A).

First, any conductive thin film may be used as long as it has conductivity. In this embodiment, Pt is used. By using electron beam evaporation, both sides (40 mm × 4 mm) of the spacer were evaporated until the film thickness became 500 nm (FIG. 3B). At this time, the surface on which the high-resistance film was formed was covered with a jig, and the film was formed so that Pt did not flow around.

Next, the side surface (4 mm × 0.2 mm surface)
Then, a high resistance film is formed. SiO ₂ -Cr was used for the high resistance film. A spacer on which Pt was formed was set in a sputtering apparatus so that a lateral side surface (4 mm × 0.2 mm) could be formed. Under an Ar pressure of 0.6 Pa, a high frequency power of 20 W is applied to the metal Cr target, and at the same time, a high frequency power of 500 W is applied to the target SiO ₂ to obtain a film thickness of 500 μm.
A mixed film of Cr and SiO ₂ was formed to a thickness of nm. This mixed film has a volume ratio of 45 vol% Cr and 5 vol% SiO _2.
The composition ratio is 5 vol% and the specific resistance is 1.5 × 10 ³ Ωcm. Thereafter, a film was formed on the opposite side surface in the same manner.

The spacer on which the four surfaces were formed was patterned by using a laser. Laser is YAG
U laser (wavelength: second harmonic 535nm, output 40m)
W, using a 50 micron slit).

As shown in FIGS. 3D and 3E, the pattern is divided into nine so that the divided films become parallel, and the electrical connection is made from a conductive film → a high resistance film → a conductive film → a high resistance. Membrane →…
The laser was scanned so that The conductive thin film on both ends connected to the face plate and the rear plate is 40 mm x
0.225 mm, 40 mm of the middle conductive thin film
The width is smaller than 0.45 mm.

This is to keep the potential of the face plate and the rear plate described later as horizontal as possible at the spacer connection portion. The width of the portion removed by the laser is about 50 μm, and the ratio of the exposed area of the base glass on the surface on which the conductive thin film is formed is about 10% with respect to the area of the metal surface.

The resistance of one spacer manufactured as described above was about 1.5 × 10 ⁸ Ω. Next, this as-deposited spacer was annealed at 500 ° C. for 1 hour in the air. Spacer resistance after annealing is about 2 × 10 ⁹ Ω
Met. Here, the spacer resistance is a resistance value of the entire spacer.

Next, the display panel shown in FIG. 4 was manufactured using the formed spacer. Hereinafter, this will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. First, a substrate 1011 on which a row direction wiring electrode 1013, a column direction wiring electrode 1014, an interelectrode insulating layer (not shown), an element electrode of a surface conduction electron-emitting device and a conductive thin film are formed in advance, is placed on a rear plate. 10
It was fixed to 15.

Next, the surface of the insulating member 1020a made of soda lime glass, which is exposed in the airtight container,
A conductive thin film 1020b and a high-resistance film 1020 to be described later
c, and a spacer 1020 (4 mm in height, 200 μm in thickness, 40 mm in length) having a low-resistance film 1020 d formed on the contact surface is arranged on the row-direction wiring 1013 of the substrate 1011 at equal intervals in the row-direction wiring. It was fixed parallel to 1013.

Thereafter, a face plate 1017 having a fluorescent film 1018 and a metal back 1019 on its inner surface is disposed via a side wall 1016 4 mm above the substrate 1011, and the rear plate 1015 and the face plate 101
7. The joints of the side wall 1016 and the spacer 1020 were fixed. The joint between the substrate 1011 and the rear plate 1015, the joint between the rear plate 1015 and the side wall 1016, and the joint between the face plate 1017 and the side wall 1016 are coated with frit glass (not shown).
Sealing was performed by baking for 10 minutes or more at 500 to 500 ° C.

The spacer 1020 is provided on the substrate 1011.
A conductive frit glass (not shown) in which a conductive material such as a conductive filler or metal is mixed on the row direction wiring 1013 (line width 300 [μm]) on the side and on the metal back 1019 surface on the face plate 1017 side. Placed through,
400 ° C to 500 ° C in air at the same time as sealing the airtight container
By baking for 10 minutes or more, bonding and electrical connection were also performed.

In this embodiment, the fluorescent film 101 is used.
8 adopts a stripe shape in which each color phosphor (R, G, B) extends in the column direction (Y direction) as shown in FIG. 7, and a black conductor 1010 is used for each color phosphor (R, G, B). ), A phosphor film arranged so as to separate each pixel in the Y direction is used, and the spacer 1020 is provided in a black conductor 1010 region (line width 300) parallel to the row direction (X direction). [μ
m]) via a metal back 1019.
When performing the above-described sealing, the phosphors of each color and the substrate 10
11 must be associated with each element arranged on the rear plate 1015 and the face plate 10
17 and the spacer 1020 were sufficiently aligned.

The inside of the airtight container completed as described above is evacuated by a vacuum pump through an exhaust pipe (not shown), and after reaching a sufficient degree of vacuum, the airtight container is discharged through terminals Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn outside the container. Direction wiring electrode 1013 and column direction wiring electrode 10
A multi-electron beam source was manufactured by supplying power to each element via the device 14 and performing the above-described energization forming process and energization activation process.

Next, at a degree of vacuum of about 10 ⁻⁶ [Torr], an exhaust pipe (not shown) was heated and welded by a gas burner to seal the envelope (airtight container).

Finally, getter processing was performed to maintain the degree of vacuum after sealing.

In the image display device using the display panel as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 completed as described above, each cold cathode type electron-emitting device (surface conduction type electron-emitting device) 1012 has a container. By applying a scanning signal and a modulation signal from signal generation means (not shown) through the external terminals Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn, electrons are emitted, and a high voltage is applied to the metal back 1019 through the high voltage terminal Hv. The emitted electron beam is accelerated, and the fluorescent film 1018 is accelerated.
An image was displayed by causing electrons to collide with each other to excite and emit phosphors of each color (R, G, B in FIG. 7). The applied voltage Va to the high voltage terminal Hv is 3 [kV] to 10 [k].
V], and the applied voltage Vf between the wirings 1013 and 1014 was 14 [V]. At this time, a two-dimensional array of light-emitting spots including light-emitting spots generated by electrons emitted from the cold-cathode electron-emitting devices 1012 near the spacers 1020 is formed at two-dimensional intervals, and is stable and clear over time. A color image with good color reproducibility could be displayed. This indicates that even when the spacer 1020 was provided, no electric field disturbance affecting the electron trajectory occurred. (Example 2) The Al ₂ O ₃ -Cr film to a high-resistance film similar spacer can be produced as in Example 1 be used. Fabrication method is SiO
Similar to _2- Cr, sputtering in Ar was used. By setting the composition ratio to 75 vol% for Al ₂ O ₃ and 25 vol% for Cr, a spacer resistance of 2 × 10 ⁹ Ω (value after annealing treatment) was obtained.

When the above spacers were incorporated into a display panel in the same manner as in Example 1, and an image was displayed on an image display device manufactured by the same manufacturing method, two-dimensionally spaced light emitting spot arrays were formed. Clear and stable color images with good color reproducibility were obtained over time. (Embodiment 3) A case where a mixture of a metal and a nitride is used for a high resistance film will be described below.

The method of fabricating the spacers was the same as in Example 1, except that Pt was used for the conductive thin film and Cr-Al-N was used for the high-resistance film. A spacer on which Pt was formed was set in a sputtering apparatus so that a lateral side surface (4 mm × 0.2 mm) could be formed. A Cr—Al alloy nitride film was formed by simultaneously sputtering high frequency Cr and Al targets.
The sputtering gas is a mixed gas of Ar: N ₂ of 7: 3 and the total pressure is 4 mTorr. The high-frequency power applied to the Cr and Al targets was adjusted to obtain a high-resistance film with a specific resistance of 3 × 10 ³ Ωcm and a Cr content of about 20 vol%. Thereafter, a film was formed on the opposite side surface in the same manner. The patterning is the same as in the first embodiment.

The spacer resistance of the spacer manufactured as described above was about 3 × 10 ⁸ Ω.

Next, this as-deposited spacer was placed in air at 5
Annealing treatment was performed at 00 ° C. for 1 hour. The spacer resistance after the annealing was about 4 × 10 ⁹ Ω.

The above spacers were incorporated into a display panel in the same manner as in Example 1, and an image was displayed on an image display device manufactured by the same manufacturing method. As a result, two-dimensionally spaced light emitting spot arrays were formed. Clear and stable color images with good color reproducibility were obtained over time. (Comparative Example) As a comparative example, the side surface of the spacer (4 mm ×
An example in which an image display device is manufactured using a high-resistance film uniformly formed on a (0.2 mm surface) will be described. Blue glass is used as the glass substrate, and SiO ₂ −
A film was formed directly on a blue glass substrate using Cr. The spacer was set in the sputtering apparatus so that the side surface (4 mm × 0.2 mm) could be formed into a film. At an Ar pressure of 0.6 Pa, a high-frequency power of 12 W is applied to the metal Cr target, and simultaneously a high-frequency power of 500 W is applied to the target SiO ₂ , and a mixed film of Cr and SiO ₂ until the film thickness becomes 500 nm. Was formed. The specific resistance of this mixed film is 2 × 10 ⁵ Ωcm
35% by volume of Cr and 65% by volume of SiO ₂
ol%. Thereafter, a film was formed on the opposite side surface in the same manner. Spacer resistance is about 1 × 10 ⁹
Ω.

The spacer thus produced was arranged and connected to a display panel in the same manner as in Example 4, to produce an image display device. When a voltage was applied to each terminal and an image was displayed, immediately after the display, a two-dimensional light-emitting spot was formed, but with the passage of time, some spots adjacent to one side of the spacer were slightly sucked into the spacer side. The situation was partially seen. This is probably because the diffusion of the alkali component from the blue plate glass changed the resistance of a part of the high-resistance film, and the electric field in the vicinity of the spacer was disturbed.

[0168]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The electric field near the spacer was controlled by dividing the conductive film and controlling the resistance distribution on the spacer surface with the structure. In other words, the potential in the direction horizontal to the spacer (perpendicular to the high-voltage electric field) improves the equipotential by using a conductive thin film,
The vertical electric field (high-voltage electric field direction) is a resistive film (high resistance film)
, The isoelectric field was maintained. Therefore, the resistance distribution of the spacer is hardly affected by a change in resistance of the conductive film (depending on time or process), stable electric field control is possible, and the electron beam orbit is stabilized. Further, since the electric potential at the height from the rear plate on both surfaces of the spacer can be made the same, a difference can be hardly generated in the charge elimination on both surfaces of the spacer. Further, since the conductive film is less dependent on the material, the range of material selection is widened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of one configuration example of a spacer used in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection between an antistatic conductive thin film and a high-resistance thin film.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a method of manufacturing a spacer used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a part of a display panel is cut away.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA ′ of the display panel according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a spacer of the image display device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating a phosphor array of a face plate of the display panel.

FIG. 8A is a plan view of a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device used in an example, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view thereof.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a manufacturing process of the flat surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 10 is a waveform diagram of an applied voltage in the energization forming process.

11A is a diagram showing an applied voltage waveform at the time of energization activation processing, and FIG. 11B is a diagram showing a change in emission current Ie.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device used in an example.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing a manufacturing process of the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 14 is a graph showing typical characteristics of a surface conduction electron-emitting device used in Examples.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a substrate of the multi-electron beam source used in the example.

FIG. 16 is a partial cross-sectional view of the substrate of the multi-electron beam source used in the example.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a drive circuit of an image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a plan view showing an example of a conventional surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a conventional FE-type electron-emitting device.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional MIM type electron-emitting device.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view in which a part of a display panel of the image display device is cut away.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Insulating member 2 Antistatic conductive thin film 3 High resistance film 1011 Substrate 1012 Cold cathode type electron-emitting device 1013 Row direction wiring electrode 1014 Column direction wiring electrode 1015 Rear plate 1016 Side wall 1017 Face plate 1018 Fluorescent film 1019 Metal back 1020 Spacer 1020a Insulating member 1020b High resistance film 1020c Conductive film

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An electron beam apparatus comprising: a first substrate on which an electron-emitting device is formed; and a second substrate to which electrons emitted from the electron-emitting device are irradiated. A plurality of conductive films formed on an insulating surface by being electrically divided in a direction substantially perpendicular to a direction of an electric field generated in a space between the first and second substrates; An electron beam apparatus comprising: a spacer having a resistive film having a specific resistance of 10 ⁸ Ωcm or less, which alternately connects both ends of adjacent conductive films so that conductive films are connected in series. 2. The electron beam apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of conductive films and the resistance film are formed in different planes. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the total area of the plurality of conductive films is
The ratio of the total area of the region separating each conductive film is 1
The electron beam apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electron beam apparatus is equal to or less than a percentage. 4. The electron beam apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conductive films are parallel to each other. 5. The electron beam apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resistance film is a mixture of a metal and an oxide or a mixture of a metal and a nitride. 6. The electron beam apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said electron-emitting device is a cold cathode type electron-emitting device. 7. The electron beam apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said cold cathode type electron-emitting device is a surface conduction type electron-emitting device. 8. A first substrate on which an electron-emitting device is formed and a second substrate on which an image forming member is formed are opposed to each other via a spacer, and are formed in a space between the first and second substrates. In the image forming apparatus in which electrons emitted from the electron-emitting devices are incident on the image forming member due to the applied electric field, the direction of the electric field generated between the first and second substrates is on an insulating surface. A plurality of conductive films formed by being electrically divided in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conductive film, and alternately connecting both ends of adjacent conductive films so that the conductive films are connected in series. An image forming apparatus comprising: a spacer having a resistance film having a resistance of 10 ⁸ Ωcm or less.