JP2000251686A - Manufacture of electron source, manufacturing device of the electron source, and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably manufacture electron emitting elements with uniform characteristics by changing the flow of gas to a substrate in the gas atmosphere, during the activation process of the electron emitting elements. SOLUTION: This manufacturing device of electron source comprises a diffusion gas source 112, a mass flow controller 113 for controlling the flow rate of the diffusion gas, a diffusion gas feed port 105, and a stop valve 114. The diffusion gas feed port 105 has a drive mechanism that is a second gas inlet port for changing the gas flow, and it is arranged within a vacuum vessel 103. A mixed gas, consisting of an organic material gas and a carrier gas, is introduced into the vacuum vessel 103 and supplied to an area including an electron emission part to activate the electron emission part. The resulting gas is evacuated through an evacuation port 117 by a vacuum pump 119. A diffusion gas consisting of an inert gas, such as nitrogen, is non-continuously blown against a desired electron emission part by a drive mechanism to diffuse the gas having etching effect that is generated by the activation, and the partial pressure is uniformized to suppress the dispersion of characteristic of electron emission elements.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing an electron source having an electron-emitting device applied to an image display device or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, two types of electron-emitting devices using a thermionic electron-emitting device and a cold-cathode electron-emitting device have been known. Field emission type, metal / insulating layer / metal type and surface conduction type electron emission devices are known as cold cathode electron emission devices.

The surface conduction type electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which electron emission occurs when a current flows through a small-area thin film formed on an insulating substrate in parallel with the film surface. As the surface conduction type electron-emitting device, the present applicant has made a number of proposals regarding a surface conduction type electron-emitting device having a novel structure and its application (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-2).
35255).

A surface conduction type electron-emitting device and an electron source using the same will be described below.

FIG. 4 shows a plan view and a cross-sectional view of the surface conduction type electron-emitting device 400. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 506 denotes a device electrode which is arranged at a predetermined interval for supplying a voltage to the conductive thin film 507, and 508 denotes an electron emitting portion.

The electron emitting portion 508 is generally formed by an energization process called forming. That is,
Forming means that a voltage is applied to both ends of the conductive thin film 507 and energized to locally break, deform or alter the conductive thin film 507 to change the structure, thereby causing the electron emitting portion 508 in an electrically high-resistance state to be formed. To form.

Further, the present applicant has noticed that the current flowing through the conductive thin film (hereinafter referred to as “device current”) and the current discharged into a vacuum (hereinafter referred to as “emission current”) significantly change. An activation step is proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-2).
35255).

FIG. 3 shows a configuration diagram of an electron source using the surface conduction type electron-emitting device 400. As shown in FIG. 401, 40
Reference numeral 2 denotes a wiring for supplying an electric signal to the surface conduction type electron-emitting device 400, and a wiring take-out portion at an end of the wiring is connected to an external drive circuit (not shown).

[0009]

However, the characteristics (device current and emission current) of the electron-emitting device that has been subjected to the activation step may have large variations. The present inventors have conducted intensive studies on the causes of variations in the characteristics of each electron-emitting device in an electron source in which a large number of surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices are arranged.
_When a gas having an etching effect on carbon such as ₂ O, O ₂ , and H ₂ is generated and the flow rate of the organic substance gas is low or the conductance of the exhaust gas is small, the gas having the etching effect is generated by the surface conduction type gas. It was found that the characteristics of the electron-emitting device were affected, and the distribution of the gas partial pressure having the etching effect affected the characteristic variation of the surface conduction type electron-emitting device.

As a result of further study, the flow of the organic substance gas with respect to the electron source substrate and the conductance of the exhaust of each surface conduction type electron-emitting device become constant, so that the partial pressure of the gas having the etching action is reduced. It was found to have a constant distribution.

Further, in an image display apparatus using an electron source in which a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices having the above-mentioned characteristic variations are arranged, brightness variations may occur and display quality may deteriorate. . In order to eliminate the luminance variation of the image display device as described above, it is conceivable to perform correction for each element at the time of driving, but for that purpose, it is necessary to provide a memory having correction information for each element. In an image display device having a large number of elements, the size of the correction device becomes large, and the cost is increased.

Further, in order to increase the flow rate of the organic substance gas and increase the conductance of the exhaust gas, the size of the apparatus is increased, and a vacuum pump having a large exhaust volume is required, which increases the cost.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. It is an object of the present invention to stably manufacture an electron-emitting device of an electron source processed in a gas atmosphere so as to have uniform characteristics. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for manufacturing an electron source, which are enabled.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, in a method of manufacturing an electron source according to the present invention, a plurality of electrons are contained in a gas atmosphere in which a gas containing an organic substance is introduced and exhausted. Place an electron source with the emission element on the substrate,
In the method for manufacturing an electron source having an activation step of forming a deposit containing carbon in the electron source, a flow of a gas to the substrate in the gas atmosphere is changed in the activation step.

An electron source in which a plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged on a substrate is placed in a gas atmosphere in which a gas containing an organic substance is introduced and exhausted, and a deposit containing carbon is formed on the electron source. In the method for manufacturing an electron source having an activation step, in the activation step, a gas exhaust conductance in the gas atmosphere is changed.

In the activation step, it is preferable that a pulse voltage is repeatedly applied to each of the plurality of electron-emitting devices.

The apparatus for manufacturing an electron source has an inlet and an outlet for a gas containing an organic substance, accommodates an electron source in which a plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged on a substrate, and receives an introduced gas. In a manufacturing apparatus for an electron source, comprising an accommodating means capable of activating a deposit containing carbon into an electron source by utilizing the method, means for changing a gas flow in the accommodating means with respect to the electron source. It is characterized by having.

It has an inlet and an outlet for a gas containing an organic substance, accommodates an electron source in which a plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged on a substrate, and deposits carbon-containing deposits using the introduced gas. An apparatus for manufacturing an electron source including an accommodating unit capable of being activated and formed on an electron source is characterized by including a unit for changing an exhaust conductance of gas from an exhaust port of the accommodating unit.

It has an inlet and an outlet for a gas containing an organic substance, accommodates an electron source having a plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged on a substrate, and deposits carbon-containing deposits using the introduced gas. In the electron source manufacturing apparatus provided with an accommodating means capable of being activated in the electron source, the gas inlet may change a blowing direction or a position of the gas blown to the electron source. It is characterized by.

It is preferable that the area of the gas blowing region at the gas inlet is smaller than the area of the region of the substrate on which the electron-emitting devices are formed.

The means for changing the exhaust conductance is preferably a flow control means connected to the exhaust port.

Preferably, the means for changing the flow of gas to the electron source is a second gas inlet provided in the housing means separately from the inlet.

It is also preferable that the second gas inlet is capable of changing the amount or direction of gas blow to the electron source.

The gas blown from the second gas inlet is preferably composed of nitrogen, an inert gas, or a mixed gas of nitrogen and an inert gas.

Preferably, the means for changing the gas flow to the electron source is a moving means for moving the electron source in the storage container.

It is also preferable that the storage container is a container that is hermetically bonded to a substrate of the electron source or a support holding the substrate and covers at least a region where the electron-emitting devices are arranged.

In the image display device, an electron source manufactured based on the above-described method for manufacturing an electron source, and an image display for displaying an image by irradiating electrons emitted from the electron source. And a member.

Therefore, according to the present invention, by changing the gas flow to the substrate of the electron source and the conductance of the exhaust gas in each surface conduction type electron-emitting device, the gas flow and the conductance of the exhaust gas are not made constant. ,
Since the distribution of the etching gas generated by the activation is diffused without making the distribution constant, and the distribution of the partial pressure can be made relatively uniform, a stable activation process is performed, and the Variations in characteristics can be suppressed.

[0029]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The surface conduction type electron-emitting device 400 is composed of Pd,
Pt, Ru, Ag, Au, Ti, In, Cu, Cr, F
metals such as e, Zn, Sn, Ta, W, Pb, PdO, S
nO _Two, In_TwoO_Three, PbO, Sb_TwoO_ThreeOxide conductive such as
Body, HfB_Two, ZrB_Two. LaB₆, CeB₆, YB_Four, G
dB_FourBorides such as TiC, ZrC, HfC, TaC,
Carbides such as SiC and WC, TiN, ZrN, HfN
Any of nitrides, semiconductors such as Si and Ge, and carbon
Conductive thin film 507 made of a material of
Ni, Cr, A connected and arranged at opposing positions
Metals such as u, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Al, Cu, Pd
Or alloy and Pd, Ag, Au, RuO_Two, Pd-A
g or other metal or metal oxide and glass
Body, In_TwoO_Three-SnO_TwoAnd transparent conductors such as
Element electrode 50 that can be appropriately selected from semiconductor materials such as capacitors
Consists of six.

The element electrode interval L, the element electrode length W, the shape of the conductive thin film 507, and the like are determined in consideration of the applied form and the like.
Designed. The device electrode interval L is preferably several hundred nm.
To several hundred μm, more preferably several μm to several tens μm.

The length W of the device electrode can be in the range of several μm to several hundred μm in consideration of the resistance value of the electrode and the electron emission characteristics. The film thickness of the device electrode 506 can be in the range of several tens nm to several μm.

The thickness of the conductive thin film 507 depends on the device electrode 50.
It is determined as appropriate in consideration of the step coverage to 6, the resistance value between the device electrodes, and the above-described forming conditions, but is usually preferably in the range of several times 0.1 nm to several hundred nm. More preferably 1 nm to 50 nm
Should be within the range. As for the resistance value, Rs is preferably a value of 10 ² to 10 ⁷ Ω / □. Note that Rs is
The resistance value R of a thin film having a thickness t, a width W, and a length 1 is represented by R =
This is the amount that appears when Rs (l / W) is set.

The conductive thin film 507 and the device electrode 506 are formed by coating and baking, vacuum deposition, sputtering, chemical vapor deposition and other film forming techniques, photolithography and other patterning techniques, and etching and lift-off and other processing. It can also be produced by a method of processing into a desired shape by a technique or a printing method.

In short, any method can be used as long as the element electrode 506 and the conductive thin film 507 can be formed in a desired shape. The electron-emitting portion 508 is formed by the above-described forming and an activation step described later.

The surface conduction type electron-emitting device 400 thus manufactured has the following three features. That is, first, the emission current of the present device increases sharply when an element voltage higher than a certain voltage (threshold voltage) is applied, while the emission current is hardly detected below the threshold voltage. That is, it is a non-linear element having a clear threshold voltage for the emission current. This enables simple matrix driving.

Second, the emission current increases monotonically with the device voltage applied to the device, and the emission current can be controlled by the device voltage.

Third, the amount of charge trapped in the anode electrode depends on the time for applying the device voltage, and the amount of charge trapped in the anode electrode can be controlled by the time for applying the device voltage. That is, it has optimal characteristics as an image display device.

The surface conduction type electron-emitting device 400 has been described above.
Is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 4, and the conductive thin film and the device electrode may be formed in this order on the rear plate. The device electrode 506 and the conductive thin film 507 are electrically connected to each other, Any structure may be used as long as the electron emission portion 508 is formed in a part of the thin film 507.

Next, an electron source composed of a surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described with reference to FIG. The electron source includes a plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices 400 arranged in a line and wiring for supplying an electric signal to the surface-conduction electron-emitting devices 400. As an example of the wiring, two wirings (upper wiring 402, lower wiring; this is called a simple matrix wiring) which are orthogonal to each other can be used, and the element electrode 506 of the surface conduction electron-emitting device 400 is connected to the upper wiring 402. Thereafter, it is directly electrically connected to the lower wiring 401 through the wiring pad 404.

Further, at the intersection of the upper wiring 402 and the lower wiring 401, an interlayer insulating film 403 for electrical insulation is arranged. For example, the upper wiring 402, the lower wiring 401, and the wiring pad 404 are formed by a printing method such as a screen printing method and an offset printing method.

The conductive paste used is Ag, Au, P
t, Pb, Cu, Ni, etc., singly or arbitrarily combined metals.
It is formed by firing at a temperature of not less than ° C. Similarly, the interlayer insulating film can be formed by printing and baking a glass paste. For example, the upper wiring 402 side is a row direction,
Assuming that the lower wiring 401 side is the column direction, an end of the upper wiring 402 is electrically connected to a scanning driving unit (not shown) for scanning a row according to an input signal. It is electrically connected to modulation driving means (not shown) for modulating according to a signal.

Hereinafter, the activation step according to the present invention will be described in detail. The activation step is a step of applying a voltage to each electron-emitting device in an atmosphere in which an organic substance exists. By this step, carbon and / or a carbon compound is deposited on the electron-emitting portion formed by the forming, and the amount of emitted electrons is greatly increased.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of an apparatus for manufacturing an electron source according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes an electron source substrate on which an electron source is arranged, and reference numeral 102 denotes a support for fixing the electron source substrate 101. Vacuum container 103 as a housing means for covering a region including the electron emission portion excluding the extraction wiring portion
Is provided with an introduction port 104 and an exhaust port 117.

An organic substance gas source 107 is provided at the inlet.
Controller 109 for controlling the supply amount of the organic material gas and the mass flow controller 110 for controlling the supply amount of the carrier gas and the carrier gas, and the stop valve 111 provided between the inlet port 104 and the mixed gas pipe thereof. The means for introducing the mixed gas is connected.

The exhaust port 117 is connected to a vacuum pump 119 and an exhaust unit including a conductance valve 118 disposed between the vacuum pump 119 and the exhaust port 117 for adjusting an exhaust amount. Further, the extraction wiring is connected to the external drive circuit 116 via the wiring 115, and has means for applying a voltage to the extraction wiring.

A mass flow controller 113 for controlling the flow rate of the diffusion gas source 112 and the diffusion gas, and a means for changing the flow of the gas disposed in the vacuum vessel 103, and a second gas introduction port A diffusion gas supply port 105 having a certain operating mechanism and a stop valve 114 disposed between the mass flow controller 113 and the diffusion gas supply port 105 are provided for diffusing gas generated by activation.

The arrows indicated by broken lines in FIG. 1 schematically show the gas flows.

The support 102 supports the electron source substrate 101,
It has a mechanism for mechanically fixing with a vacuum chucking mechanism or a fixing jig or the like. Also,
A heater (not shown) is provided inside the support 102, and can heat the electron source substrate as needed.

The vacuum container 103 is a vacuum container made of glass or stainless steel, and preferably has a small amount of gas released from the container. In addition, a seal member (not shown) such as an O-ring is disposed at a joint between the vacuum vessel and the electron source substrate, so that airtightness in the vacuum vessel can be maintained.

As the organic substance gas, an organic substance used for activating the electron-emitting device or a gas obtained by diluting the organic substance with nitrogen, helium, argon or the like is used. here,
Organic substances used for activating the electron-emitting device include alkanes, alkenes, aliphatic hydrocarbons of alkynes, aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, amines, nitriles, phenol, carvone, can be mentioned organic acids such as sulfonic acid or the like, specifically, methane, ethane, C _n H _{2n + 2} represented by saturated hydrocarbons such as propane, ethylene, such as C _n H _2n such as ethylene and propylene Unsaturated hydrocarbon represented by the composition formula, benzene, toluene, methanol, ethanol, acetaldehyde, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, ethylamine, phenol, benzonitrile, acetonitrile and the like can be used.

Here, when the organic substance is a gas, the organic substance gas can be used as it is. When the organic substance is a liquid or a solid, there is a method in which the evaporated or sublimated organic substance is mixed with a diluent gas and supplied.

As the carrier gas, nitrogen and / or an inert gas such as argon or helium is used.

The flow rates of the organic substance gas and the carrier gas are respectively controlled by the mass flow controller, and a desired flow rate and mixing ratio can be realized. As described above, the mixed gas of the organic substance gas and the carrier gas is introduced into the vacuum vessel 103, supplied to the region including the electron emission section, and exhausted by the vacuum pump 119 through the exhaust port 117.

As the diffusion gas, nitrogen and / or an inert gas such as argon or helium or a mixed gas thereof is used in the same manner as the carrier gas, and the diffusion gas is blown to a desired electron-emitting portion by an operating mechanism. It has become.

Thus, the diffusion gas is sprayed discontinuously onto each electron-emitting portion to diffuse the gas generated by the activation. Similarly to the mixed gas, the diffusion gas is exhausted by the vacuum pump 119 through the exhaust port 117.
The supply amount of the mixed gas, the supply amount of the diffusion gas, the exhaust amount of the vacuum pump 119, and the conductance valve 1.
By means of 18, the pressure in the vacuum vessel can be set to a desired value.

The activation step is performed by applying a desired voltage from the external drive circuit 116 to the electron-emitting portion via the wiring 115 after the pressure in the vacuum vessel 103 reaches a desired value.

Here, as an example of the method of diffusing the gas generated by the activation, an example is shown in which the diffusion gas supply port 105 having an operating mechanism (a swing mechanism) is provided. As shown, the gas generated by the activation may be diffused by a method of operating the inlet 201.

[0060]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to embodiments.

(Embodiment 1) A first embodiment of an electron source manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention will be described. The electron source substrate used in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 240 mm × 320 mm soda glass was used as the electron source substrate.

First, Pt is formed on soda glass by RF sputtering, then a resist is applied, the resist is placed at a desired position by photolithography, and the resist is placed by reactive ion etching. The element electrode 506 was formed by removing the unnecessary Pt portions. Here, the device electrode shape was 70 nm in film thickness, electrode interval L = 10 μm, and electrode length W = 300 μm.

Next, an organic palladium solution is applied,
A heat treatment was performed at 0 ° C. for 10 minutes to form a 200 μm × 100 μm fine particle film containing palladium as a main component at a desired position by using the same technology as that for the device electrode.
07. The conductive thin films 507 were arranged at intervals of 1.2 mm.

Next, 210 lower wirings 401 and wiring pads 404 were formed at desired positions by printing and baking an Ag paste so as to have a width of 300 μm and a thickness of 8 μm. Thereafter, an interlayer insulating layer 403 was formed by printing and baking a glass paste to form a 20 μm thick, 500 μm × 700 μm size at the intersection of the lower wiring 401 and the upper wiring 402.

Next, 150 upper wirings 402 are formed with a width of 500
Using an Ag paste, a 10 μm thick and 10 μm thick plate was printed and fired to form a desired position, thereby producing an electron source substrate 101.

Next, forming and activating steps were performed using the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. First, the electron source substrate 1
01 was fixed on a support 102. Then, a vacuum container 103 made of stainless steel was placed on the electron source substrate 101 via a silicone rubber seal member (not shown). Here, the area where the conductive thin film 507 is formed is 180 m.
The range was mx 252 mm.

The vacuum pump 119 (scroll pump) was operated, and the inside of the vacuum vessel 103 was evacuated. When the pressure in the vacuum vessel reaches 1 Pa, the external drive circuit 11
6, the lower wiring 401 and the upper wiring 40 via the wiring 115.
2 was applied, and a voltage was applied between the device electrodes 506 of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 400 to form the conductive thin film 507, thereby forming the electron-emitting portions 508.

Next, the stop valves 111 and 114 were opened, and a mixed gas of an organic substance gas and a carrier gas and a diffusion gas were introduced into the vacuum vessel 103. Here, 1% ethylene mixed nitrogen gas was used as the organic substance gas, and nitrogen gas was used as the carrier gas and the diffusion gas.

The organic substance gas is 40 sccm, the carrier gas is 400 sccm, and the diffusion gas is 100 sccm.
m, each mass flow controller 10
9, 110 and 113 were controlled.

Next, the pressure inside the vacuum vessel 103 was adjusted to 5000 Pa by adjusting the conductance valve 118. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the diffusion gas supply port 105 reciprocates in an angle range of θ1 in a direction parallel to the electron source substrate 101 for 10 seconds, and moves an angle range of θ2 in a direction perpendicular to the electron source substrate 101 to 120 degrees. Reciprocated in seconds.

Next, a voltage was applied to the electron-emitting portion 508 using the external drive circuit 116 to perform an activation step.
As for the voltage, the 210 lower wires 401 are connected to GND via an ammeter (not shown), the 150 upper wires 402 are divided into 15 blocks of 10 blocks, and the activation process is sequentially performed for each block. The voltage was 17 V, the pulse width was 1 msec, and the frequency was 100 H for 10 lines in each block.
A rectangular wave of z was scanned and applied to each upper wiring 402. Here, the time for performing the activation step of each block was set to 60 minutes.

The device current of each of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 400 at the end of activation was measured by the ammeter (not shown). As a result, the average of the device current was 2.1 mA, and the standard deviation was 0.12 mA. When the diffusion gas was not used, the average of the device current was 2.3 mA and the standard deviation was 0.38 mA, which indicates that the variation was suppressed.

(Embodiment 2) The same electron source substrate 101 as in Embodiment 1 was used.

Next, forming and activating steps were performed using the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. First, the electron source substrate 1
01 was fixed on a support 102. Then, a vacuum container 103 made of stainless steel was placed on the electron source substrate 101 via a silicone rubber seal member (not shown).

The vacuum pump 119 is operated, and the vacuum container 1
03 was evacuated. When the pressure in the vacuum chamber reaches 1 Pa, a desired voltage is applied to the lower wiring 401 and the upper wiring 402 from the external drive circuit 116 via the wiring 115, and the device electrodes of the surface conduction type electron-emitting devices 400 are formed. 5
The conductive thin film 507 was formed by applying a voltage during the period 06 to form an electron-emitting portion 508.

Next, a mixed gas of an organic substance gas and a carrier gas was introduced into the vacuum vessel 103. Here, 1% ethylene mixed nitrogen gas was used as the organic substance gas, and nitrogen gas was used as the carrier gas. The organic substance gas is 40 seconds.
ccm, the carrier gas is 400 sccm,
Each mass flow controller was controlled.

Next, the pressure inside the vacuum vessel 103 was adjusted to 5000 Pa by adjusting a conductance valve disposed between the exhaust port 117 and a vacuum pump (not shown). FIG. 6 shows the arrangement relationship between the electron source substrate 101, the activation region 701 where the plurality of electron-emitting devices 400 are arranged, and the inlet 702 (the inlet 201 in FIG. 2).

Here, the sizes of the electron source substrate 101 are Sy = 240 mm × Sx = 320 mm, the activation area 701 is Dy = 180 mm × 252 mm,
02 has an area smaller than the activation region 701, ie, ly = 19.
0 mm × lx = 190 mm. Also, the inlet 702
Is 10 mm / sec by the moving means in the X direction shown in FIG.
The gas was reciprocated by moving 80 mm at the speed of c to supply gas to a region 9 mm larger on both sides in the X direction of the activation region.

Next, in the same manner as in the first embodiment, a voltage was applied to the electron-emitting portion 508 using the external drive circuit 116 to perform an activation step. The voltage is 210 lower wires 40
1 is connected to GND via an ammeter (not shown),
The upper wiring 402 is divided into 15 blocks of 10 blocks each, and an activation process is sequentially performed for each block. The voltage of 17 V and the pulse width of 1 are applied to 10 lines in each block.
A rectangular wave having a frequency of 100 Hz was scanned for msec and applied to each upper wiring 402. Here, the time for performing the activation step of each block was set to 60 minutes.

The device current of each surface conduction electron-emitting device 400 at the end of activation was measured by the ammeter (not shown). As a result, the average of the device current was 2.3 mA, and the standard deviation was 0.14 mA. Ly = 190m at the inlet
Assuming that m × lx = 270 mm and the inlet was not operated, the average of the device current was 2.1 mA and the standard deviation was 0.
32 mA, which indicates that the variation is suppressed as compared with this.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a third embodiment. In the figure, the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

In the third embodiment, the size of the vacuum vessel 103 is set so that the entirety of the electron source substrate 101 can be accommodated therein, and the electron source substrate 101 is activated by a moving means (not shown). It is moved in parallel inside the vacuum vessel 103 (for example, in the direction of arrow D1 in the figure).

In this case, the diffusion gas supply port 105
Source substrate 10 without supplying diffusion gas from
1 can be diffused, and the electron-emitting device 400 with less variation can be obtained.

Incidentally, the electron source substrate 1 obtained in each of the embodiments was used.
An image display device can be configured by combining an image display member that displays an image by irradiating electrons emitted from each of the electron-emitting devices 400 with 01.

[0085]

According to the present invention described above, a gas that affects the characteristics of a plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged on the substrate of the electron source can be diffused, and the uniformity of the electron-emitting devices can be improved. .

Therefore, by using this electron source in an image display device, it is possible to display a high-quality image.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for manufacturing an electron source according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for manufacturing an electron source according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an electron source used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view and a sectional view of a surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a diffusion gas supply port of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of an inlet of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for manufacturing an electron source according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Electron source substrate 102 Support 103 Vacuum container 104 Inlet 105 Diffusion gas supply port 107 Organic substance gas source 108 Carrier gas source 109 Mass flow controller 110 Mass flow controller 111 Stop valve 112 Diffusion gas source 113 Mass flow controller 114 Stop valve 115 Wiring 116 External Drive Circuit 117 Exhaust Port 118 Conductance Valve 119 Vacuum Pump 201 Inlet 400 Electron Emitting Element 401 Lower Wiring 402 Upper Wiring 403 Interlayer Insulating Film 404 Wiring Pad 506 Device Electrode 507 Conductive Thin Film 508 Electron Emitting Part 701 Activation Area 702 Introduction mouth

Claims (14)

[Claims] An electron source having a plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged on a substrate in a gas atmosphere in which a gas containing an organic substance is introduced and exhausted, and a deposit containing carbon is used as the electron source. A method of manufacturing an electron source having an activation step of forming, wherein, in the activation step, a flow of gas to a substrate in the gas atmosphere is changed. 2. An electron source in which a plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged on a substrate in a gas atmosphere in which a gas containing an organic substance is introduced and exhausted, and a deposit containing carbon is used as the electron source. A method of manufacturing an electron source having an activation step of forming, wherein in the activation step, a gas exhaust conductance in the gas atmosphere is changed. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the activating step, a pulse voltage is repeatedly applied to each of the plurality of electron-emitting devices. 4. A deposition device having an inlet and an outlet for a gas containing an organic substance, accommodating an electron source having a plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged on a substrate, and containing carbon using the introduced gas. An apparatus for manufacturing an electron source, comprising: an accommodating unit capable of activating an object to form an object in an electron source, comprising: a unit for changing a gas flow to the electron source in the accommodating unit. Source manufacturing equipment. 5. A deposition having an inlet and an outlet for a gas containing an organic substance, accommodating an electron source having a plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged on a substrate, and containing carbon using the introduced gas. An electron source manufacturing apparatus having an accommodating means capable of activating an object to form an object in an electron source, comprising: means for changing an exhaust conductance of gas from an exhaust port of the accommodating means. Manufacturing equipment. 6. An electron source having an inlet and an outlet for a gas containing an organic substance, accommodating an electron source having a plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged on a substrate, and depositing carbon using the introduced gas. In a manufacturing apparatus for an electron source, comprising an accommodating means capable of activating an object to form an object, the gas introduction port can change a blowing direction or a position of a gas blown to the electron source. An apparatus for manufacturing an electron source. 7. The electron source according to claim 6, wherein the area of the gas blowing region at the gas inlet is smaller than the area of the substrate on which the electron-emitting devices are formed. apparatus. 8. The means for changing the exhaust conductance includes:
The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the apparatus is a flow control unit connected to the exhaust port. 9. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the means for changing the flow of gas to the electron source is a second gas inlet provided in the storage means separately from the inlet. Equipment for manufacturing electron sources. 10. The apparatus for manufacturing an electron source according to claim 9, wherein the second gas inlet is capable of changing a blowing amount or a direction of a gas to the electron source. 11. The electron source according to claim 9, wherein the gas blown out from the second gas inlet comprises nitrogen, an inert gas, or a mixed gas of nitrogen and an inert gas. Manufacturing equipment. 12. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the means for changing the gas flow to the electron source is a moving means for moving the electron source in the container. 13. The container according to claim 1, wherein the storage container is a container that is hermetically bonded to a substrate of the electron source or a support that holds the substrate, and covers at least a region where the electron-emitting devices are arranged. 13. An apparatus for manufacturing an electron source according to any one of 4 to 12. 14. An electron source manufactured according to the method for manufacturing an electron source according to claim 1, and an image is displayed by irradiating the electron emitted from the electron source. And an image display member.