JP2001291471A - Manufacturing method for plasma display panel and manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem of the time management for an aging process though an adequate aging time for panels are dispersed caused by a dispersion in manufacture of the panels. SOLUTION: The end of the aging is controlled by measuring impurity gas component contained in discharge gas when aging by a gas composition analyzer, and the dispersion of the aging time caused by a dispersion between the panels is to be made adequate so that plasma display panels that are aged adequately can be manufactured in a short time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a plasma display panel. 2. Description of the Related Art A plasma display panel (hereinafter, referred to as a PDP) has attracted attention as a display device replacing a cathode ray tube, and is expected to be used for large displays such as high-definition televisions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The structure of a general AC type PDP is shown in FIG. A group of display electrodes 101 and display scan electrodes 102 that are opposed to each other are formed on a glass substrate 103. These electrodes include a transparent electrode and a bus electrode for preventing a voltage drop due to the electric resistance of the transparent electrode. These display electrodes 101 and display scan electrodes 102 are covered with a dielectric layer 104 and further covered with an MgO protective film 105.

On the other hand, a stripe-shaped address electrode 107 is formed on one glass substrate 106. The address electrode 107 is covered with a dielectric layer 108, and a rib 109 is formed adjacent to the address electrode 107. The rib 109 has a function of cutting off the influence on the adjacent cells at the time of the address discharge and preventing light crosstalk. Next, red, blue, and green phosphors 110 are separately applied to the respective ribs so as to cover the address electrodes 107.

[0004] The glass substrate 103 and the glass substrate 106 are combined while maintaining the display electrode gap, and the periphery is sealed with sealing glass. Thereafter, the inside of the panel is evacuated while heating through a discharge gas vent provided in the glass substrate (evacuation step), and after completion, a discharge gas mainly composed of an inert gas such as Ne is filled (gas filling step). The discharge gas vent is closed (sealing step).

[0005] In the panel manufactured in the above-described process, a large change in light emission characteristics or discharge characteristics with time appears in an initial stage of lighting. Therefore, it is necessary to stabilize the light emission characteristics or discharge characteristics by discharging the manufactured panel for a predetermined time. This step is called an aging step.

FIG. 12 schematically shows the structure of a general aging apparatus for manufacturing a PDP. The aging device discharges the discharge gas 113 into the inner space 112 of the panel manufactured in the above process.
And a drive circuit 114 for applying a discharge voltage. In the aging step, a voltage pulse is applied between the display electrode and the display scan electrode from the drive circuit 114 for a fixed time to stabilize the light emission characteristics or discharge characteristics.

[0007]

The large temporal change in the light emission characteristics or discharge characteristics at the initial stage of lighting is due to the residual impurity gas after exhaust in the panel and the surface condition of the MgO protective film functioning as a discharge cathode. It is believed to be due to. Of the impurity gas remaining in the panel, the impurity gas particularly remaining in the discharge space has a great influence on the discharge of the cell. In the aging step, the impurity gas is desorbed by the action of the discharge plasma, and further removed to a region where the action of the discharge plasma does not reach, thereby purifying the discharge space.

[0008] In the aging process, the surface of the MgO protective film exposed to the discharge plasma undergoes sputtering and rearrangement at the molecular level. Since the discharge characteristics change depending on the crystal orientation plane, crystal grain size, surface roughness and the like of the MgO protective film surface, it is necessary to continue aging until the change in the surface state of the MgO protective film converges.

The aging process is controlled by controlling time. That is, aging is performed for a predetermined time without changing the aging time for each panel.

However, the aging time required for each panel varies greatly due to variations in panel manufacturing. Variations in panel manufacturing include, for example, MgO
Variations in the surface state of the protective film, variations in the storage state after the formation of the MgO protective film, and the like are conceivable. Due to these variations, the amount of impurity gas inside the panel greatly varies, and as a result, the aging time required for the panel also varies. Become.

In the aging method of time management, the aging time needs to be adjusted to the aging time of a panel having a long time until the time-dependent change in the emission characteristics or discharge characteristics is stabilized. For this reason, in many panels, aging is excessively performed, and the manufacturing tact is extended. In addition, since the aging step involves deterioration of the phosphor, excessive aging is not preferable. In some cases, the aging step is terminated with insufficient aging time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has an object to provide a method for manufacturing a properly aged plasma display panel in a short time by optimizing aging time variations caused by panel-to-panel variations in an aging process. It is an object.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, a method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to the present invention comprises: discharging a plasma display panel having a front plate and a back plate sealed for a predetermined time; A method of manufacturing a plasma display panel having an aging step of stabilizing a light emission characteristic or a discharge characteristic of a display panel, wherein the aging step controls an aging end time based on data measured by a gas component analyzer. And

The aging step is characterized by performing a discharge while introducing and discharging a discharge gas to and from the plasma display panel, and measuring a component of the gas discharged during the discharge by a gas component analyzer.

In the aging step, a discharge gas is introduced into the plasma display panel, discharge is performed, and the discharge gas is discharged.
It is characterized by repeating a series of operations for analyzing a discharge gas component.

It is desirable that the aging be terminated when the intensity of the gas component to be discharged falls below a predetermined value.

Alternatively, it is desirable to end aging when the change in the intensity of the discharged gas component is saturated.

The gas component analysis is desirably performed by a mass spectrometer.

Alternatively, it is desirable to perform emission spectrum analysis.

The gas component analyzed by gas component analysis is C
Desirably, it is one of O ₂ , H ₂ O, N ₂ , O ₂ , H ₂ , and CO.

Further, the plasma display panel in which the front plate and the back plate are sealed is discharged for a predetermined time, and the aging step controls the aging end time based on a change in the emission spectrum during the discharge. .

The plasma display panel in which the front plate and the back plate are sealed is discharged for a predetermined time, and the aging step controls the aging end time based on a change in light emission luminance during the discharge. .

The plasma display panel in which the front plate and the rear plate are sealed is discharged for a predetermined time, and the aging step controls the aging end time based on a change in the discharge characteristics.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of an aging device for a PDP according to the present invention.

The aging device is provided in the inner space 2 of the panel 1.
Pipes 4a and 4b for flowing the discharge gas 3 through the chamber, valves 5a and 5b for adjusting the discharge gas pressure in the internal space of the panel 1, a drive circuit 6 for applying a discharge voltage, and a mass analyzer 7. .

The back plate 8 on which the address electrodes, the dielectric layer, the ribs, and the phosphors are formed has one or more discharge gas inlets 9 and one or more discharge gas outlets 1 apart from the display area.
0 are provided, and these include glass tubes 11a, 11
b is attached. The glass tubes 11a and 11b are connected to pipes 4a and 4b for flowing discharge gas. The pipe 4 b on the discharge gas discharge side is connected to the chamber of the mass spectrometer 7. The mass analyzer 7 includes a chamber 12, a quadrupole mass analyzer 13, and a controller 14 for controlling a drive circuit based on the analysis result. Furthermore, chamber part 1
2 is connected to the pump 15 through the pipe 4c. After the connection, the interior space 2 of the panel 1 is evacuated through the pump 15 and then the discharge gas 3 is introduced from the discharge gas introduction side pipe 4a. Thereafter, the discharge gas continues to flow at a predetermined flow rate while maintaining a predetermined pressure. Adjust the valves 5a and 5b.

In the present embodiment, dried He, Ne, Ar, Xe or a mixed inert gas thereof is used as the discharge gas flowing through the internal space, and the discharge gas pressure is 13.3 k.
The pressure was set to about 101 kPa (100 to 760 Torr) from Pa.

After adjusting the gas pressure, a voltage pulse is applied between the display electrodes and the display scan electrodes formed on the front panel 16 using the drive circuit 6 to generate a discharge inside the panel 1.

The discharge gas 3 introduced into the panel and the impurity gas desorbed into the panel 1 by the discharge are introduced into the chamber 12 evacuated by the pump 15. Panel 1 with the quadrupole mass spectrometer 13 in the chamber
An impurity gas component desorbed inside is detected. The impurity gas in the panel 1 is desorbed into the internal space 2 by discharge and is discharged to the outside of the panel 1 together with the discharge gas 3.
The internal impurity content decreases with time. At the same time, the impurity gas component detected by the quadrupole mass analyzer 13 also decreases with time. Here, when the variation in the intensity of the impurity gas detected by the quadrupole mass analyzer 13 is saturated, the application of the voltage pulse between the display electrode and the display scan electrode is stopped, and the discharge inside the panel 1 is terminated. Let it.

Since the temporal change of the light emission characteristic or discharge characteristic at the initial stage of lighting is mainly caused by the impurity gas in the panel, it is necessary to obtain in advance the impurity gas intensity at which the light emission characteristic or discharge characteristic is stabilized. If the impurity gas intensity threshold value for terminating the discharge is set, there is no problem if the discharge is terminated when the impurity gas intensity threshold value falls below a predetermined value.

In this aging step, panel 1 may be heated in order to promote the desorption of the impurity gas.

Further, in this embodiment, the discharge gas inlet and the discharge gas outlet are respectively provided, but the same discharge gas inlet and outlet may be used.

The impurity gas to be detected is selected so as to prevent the discharge of the panel, and CO ₂ , H ₂ O, N ₂ , O ₂ ,
It is desirable to select H ₂ and CO. Further, it is more desirable to carry out the treatment by a combination of two or more of these.

In this embodiment, the aging is performed while introducing and discharging the discharge gas to and from the panel. However, the aging end time can be controlled by repeating a series of operations of discharge gas introduction, discharge, discharge gas discharge, and discharge gas analysis. can do.

Although a quadrupole mass spectrometer was used for gas component analysis, there is no problem if other gas analysis methods such as emission spectrum measurement are used.

After the aging is completed, a discharge gas mainly composed of an inert gas such as Ne is filled (gas filling step), and the discharge gas inlet and discharge gas outlet are closed (sealing step).

The discharge gas used for gas filling and the discharge gas used for aging may be different.

By using this embodiment, the impurity gas remaining inside the panel can be removed outside the panel, and the aging time can be shortened. In addition, since the aging is terminated by measuring the intensity of the impurity gas for stabilizing the light emission characteristics or the discharge characteristics, the variation in the aging time caused by the variation between the panels can be optimized, and the aging can be properly performed.

[0039]

According to the present invention, the impurity gas remaining inside the panel of the plasma display panel is reduced,
In addition, it is possible to provide a method for optimizing the aging time variation due to the variation between panels in the aging process and manufacturing a properly aged plasma display panel in a short time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an aging apparatus for producing a PDP according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a PDP panel.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a configuration of a conventional aging apparatus for manufacturing a PDP.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Panel 2 Internal space 3 Discharge gas 4a, 4b, 4c Pipe 5a, 5b Valve 6 Drive circuit 7 Mass spectrometer 8 Back plate 9 Discharge gas inlet 10 Discharge gas outlet 11a, 11b Glass tube 12 Chamber 13 Quadrupole type Weight analyzer 14 Control unit 15 Pump 16 Front panel 101 Display electrode 102 Display scan electrode 103 Glass substrate 104 Dielectric layer 105 MgO protective layer 106 Glass substrate 107 Address electrode 108 Dielectric layer 109 Rib 110 Phosphor 111 Panel 112 Internal space 113 Discharge gas 114 drive circuit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hideaki Yasui 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Osaka Pref. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroyoshi Tanaka 1006 Odaka Kadoma Kadoma, Osaka Pref. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 5C012 AA09 BD02 BD03 BD04 BE01 5C040 GJ01 GJ04 GJ10 JA24 JA31 LA17 MA10 MA16 MA19 MA23

Claims (23)

[Claims] A method for manufacturing a plasma display panel having an aging step of performing discharge for a predetermined time on a plasma display panel in which a front plate and a back plate are sealed, and stabilizing the emission characteristics or discharge characteristics of the plasma display panel. Wherein the aging step controls an aging end time based on data measured by a gas component analyzer. 2. A method of performing discharge while introducing and discharging a discharge gas into and from a plasma display panel in which a front plate and a back plate are sealed, and measuring a component of the gas discharged during the discharge with a gas component analyzer. The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a series of operations of introducing a discharge gas, discharging, discharging the discharge gas, and analyzing a discharge gas component is repeated to the plasma display panel in which the front plate and the rear plate are sealed. A manufacturing method of the plasma display panel according to the above. 4. The method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the aging is terminated when the intensity of the gas component to be discharged becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the aging is terminated when the amount of change in the intensity of the discharged gas component is saturated.
4. The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to any one of items 1 to 3. 6. The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the gas component analysis is performed by a mass analyzer. 7. The method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the gas component analysis is performed by emission spectrum analysis. 8. The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein gas components analyzed by gas component analysis are components not contained in the discharge gas. 9. The gas component analyzed by gas component analysis is CO ₂
The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein: 10. The gas component analyzed by gas component analysis is H ₂
The method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein O is O. 11. The gas component analyzed by gas component analysis is N ₂
The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein: 12. The gas component to be analyzed by gas component analysis is O ₂
The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein: 13. The gas component analyzed by gas component analysis is H ₂
The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein: 14. The gas component to be analyzed by gas component analysis is CO
The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein: 15. A method for manufacturing a plasma display panel having an aging step of discharging a plasma display panel in which a front panel and a rear panel are sealed for a predetermined time to stabilize the emission characteristics or discharge characteristics of the plasma display panel. A method of manufacturing a plasma display panel, wherein the aging step controls an aging end time based on a change in an emission spectrum during discharge. 16. A method of manufacturing a plasma display panel having an aging step of performing discharge for a predetermined time on a plasma display panel in which a front plate and a back plate are sealed, and stabilizing light emission characteristics or discharge characteristics of the plasma display panel. A method of manufacturing a plasma display panel, wherein the aging step controls an aging end time based on a change in light emission luminance during discharge. 17. A method for manufacturing a plasma display panel having an aging step of performing discharge for a predetermined time on a plasma display panel in which a front plate and a back plate are sealed, and stabilizing light emission characteristics or discharge characteristics of the plasma display panel. Wherein the aging step controls the aging end time based on a change in the discharge characteristics of the panel. 18. An aging apparatus for manufacturing a plasma display panel for realizing the manufacturing method according to claim 1. 19. An aging apparatus for manufacturing a plasma display panel, comprising a mass analyzer on a discharge gas discharge side. 20. An aging apparatus for manufacturing a plasma display panel, comprising an emission spectrum analyzer on a discharge gas discharge side. 21. An aging apparatus for manufacturing a plasma display panel, comprising an emission spectrum analyzer on the front side of the panel. 22. An aging apparatus for manufacturing a plasma display panel, comprising a luminance meter on the front side of the panel. 23. An aging apparatus for manufacturing a plasma display panel, comprising an evaluator for evaluating discharge characteristics.