JP2001325903A - Electron beam generator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electron beam generator preventing discharge in the vicinity of a structure. SOLUTION: Since a getter support 62 having a conductivity is kept in contact with a face plate 20 and a rear plate 24 and fixed to the rear plate 24 with a conductive adhesive agent 16, with the electron beam generator, concentration of electric field is alleviated to restrain discharge, and a fine image with high brightness and without discharge can be displayed if this electron beam generator is utilized for an image forming device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron beam generator, and is applied to, for example, an image forming apparatus such as a display device as an application thereof.

[0002]

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

As a surface conduction type emission device, for example,
M. I. Elinson, RadioEng. Elec
Tron Phys. , 10, 1290, (1965)
Also, other examples described later are known.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which an electron is emitted when a current flows in a small-area thin film formed on a substrate in parallel with the film surface.

As the surface conduction electron-emitting device, in addition to the device using the SnO ₂ thin film by Elinson et al.
u thin film [G. Dittmer: “Thin
Solid Films ", 9, 317 (1972)]
Or a thin film of In ₂ O ₃ / SnO ₂ [M. Hart
well and C.I. G. FIG. Fonstad: "IEEE
E Trans. ED Conf. ", 519 (197
5)] and those using a carbon thin film [Hisashi Araki et al .: Vacuum, Vol. 26, No. 1, 22 (1983)] and the like have been reported.

FIG. 24 shows a typical example of the element structure of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices. Hartwel
1 shows a plan view of an element according to the present invention. In FIG. 24, 3
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. By subjecting the conductive thin film 3004 to an energization process called energization forming described later, the
Is formed. The interval L in the figure is 0.5 to 1 [mm],
The width W is set to 0.1 [mm]. In addition, 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, and the position and shape of the actual electron emitting portion are faithfully represented. Not necessarily.

M. In the above-described surface conduction electron-emitting device including the device by Hartwell et al., The electron-emitting portion 3005
It was common to form

That is, the energization forming means that a constant DC voltage or, for example, 1
An electric current is applied by applying a direct current voltage which is boosted at a very slow rate of about [V / min] and energizes to locally destroy, deform or alter the conductive thin film 3004, and emit electrons in a state of being electrically high in resistance That is, a part 3005 is formed. 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, electrons are emitted in the vicinity of the crack.

As an example of the FE type, see, for example, P. D
yke & W. W. Dolan, "Field em
issue ", Advance in Elect
ron Physics, 8, 89 (1956) or C.I. A. Spindt, "Physical pr
operations of thin-film figure
ld emission cathodes with
molybdenum cones ", J. App.
l. Phys. , 47, 5248 (1976).

As a typical example of this FE type device configuration, FIG. A. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a device by Spindt et al. 25, reference numeral 3010 denotes a substrate; 3011, an emitter wiring made of a conductive material;
2 is an emitter cone, 3013 is an insulating layer, and 3014 is a gate electrode. In this element, a suitable voltage is applied between the emitter cone 3012 and the gate electrode 3014 to cause field emission from the tip of the emitter cone 3012.

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

As an example of the MIM type, for example,
C. A. Mead, “Operation of
unnel-emission Devices ”,
J. Appl. Phys. , 32, 646 (1961).
Etc. are known.

FIG. 26 shows a typical example of an MIM type element configuration.
Shown in FIG. 26 is a sectional view.
020, a substrate; 3021, a lower electrode made of metal;
Reference numeral 22 denotes a thin insulating layer having a thickness of about 100 [Å], and reference numeral 3023 denotes an upper electrode made of a metal having a thickness of about 80 to 300 [Å]. In the MIM type, the upper electrode 3023 and the lower electrode 30
21 by applying an appropriate voltage to the upper electrode 3.
The electron emission is caused from the surface of H.023.

The above-described cold cathode device can obtain electrons at a lower temperature than the hot cathode device, and thus does not require a heater for heating. Therefore, the structure is simpler than that of the hot cathode element, and a fine element can be produced. 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 element, which operates by heating the heater, the response speed is slow, and the cold cathode element has the advantage that the response speed is fast.

For this reason, research for applying the cold cathode device has been actively conducted.

For example, the surface conduction electron-emitting device has the 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 cold cathode devices. Therefore, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
As disclosed in JP-A-332-332, a method for arranging and driving a large number of elements has been studied.

As for the application of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, for example, an image forming apparatus such as an image display device and an image recording device, and an electron beam generating device such as a charged beam source 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. 4-28137 by the present applicant.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H11-107, an image display device using a combination of a surface conduction electron-emitting device and a phosphor that emits light by collision with electrons 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 is superior in that it is a self-luminous type and does not require a backlight and has a wide viewing angle.

A method of driving a large number of FE types is disclosed in, for example, US Pat. No. 4,904,8 filed by the present applicant.
No. 95. Further, as an example in which the FE type is applied to an image display device, for example, R.F. A flat panel display reported by Mayer et al. Is known [R. Me
yer: “Recent Development
Microtips Display at LET
I ", Tech. Digest of 4th In
t. Vacuum Microelectronics
Conf. , Nagahama, pp .; 6-9 (19
91)].

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 type display apparatus having a small depth is attracting attention as a replacement for a cathode ray tube type display apparatus because of its space saving and light weight. .

A flat display panel has been proposed in which an electron source substrate in which such electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix is accommodated in an airtight container.
Is maintained at a vacuum of about -6th power [Torr].

[0023]

However, the above-described display panel has the following problems. FIG. 27 is a schematic view of the above-described display panel viewed from the horizontal direction of the image display surface.

As described above, the inside of this airtight container is 10
Must be maintained at a vacuum of about -6th power of [Torr], and a means for maintaining the degree of vacuum is required.
Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 27 (a), a Ba evaporation type getter member 70 is disposed outside the image area together with a getter support 71, and after the vacuum container is sealed, Ba is scattered by high-frequency heating or the like to obtain the getter member. The degree of vacuum was maintained by forming a film.

In FIG. 27A, 1 is a rear plate also serving as an electron source substrate, 2 is an electron source area, 10 is a support frame, 20 is a face plate, 3 is a fluorescent film and a metal film called a metal back (for example, Al). ).

On the other hand, in order to accelerate the electrons emitted from the electron source, a high voltage (Va) of several hundred V to several kV or more is applied between the electron source region 2 and the image forming member 3. .

The luminance of the image forming apparatus largely depends on the Va voltage, and it is necessary to increase the Va voltage for the purpose of further increasing the luminance.

However, as the Va becomes higher, the above-mentioned getter member 70 and getter supporting member 71 outside the image area are used.
And the electric field around the edge of the getter member 70 and the getter support 71, or the interface between the getter support 71 and the rear plate 1 where the electric field tends to be concentrated has become a problem. .

For the purpose of supporting the atmospheric pressure, FIG.
A structural support (spacer 13) made of a relatively thin glass plate as shown in (b) is provided between the rear plate 1 and the face plate 20 together with the spacer fixing member 14 arranged outside the image area. There are cases.

Since the surface of the spacer is exposed to a high electric field, there has conventionally been a problem of discharge along the surface.

In order to solve this problem, it has been proposed to remove the charge by causing a minute current to flow through the spacer (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. Sho 57-118355 and Sho 6).
1-124031). In this case, a high-resistance thin film is formed on the surface of the insulating spacer so that a minute current flows on the surface of the spacer, thereby reducing the charge on the surface and improving the creeping withstand voltage.

However, even if this method was extended to the spacer fixing member, the discharge at the spacer fixing member was not completely eliminated.

This is because of the complexity of the shape of the spacer fixing member with respect to the plate-like spacer, (1) disturbance of the potential distribution, (2) shape effect (edge, projection), (3) spacer and spacer It is considered that the electric field concentration due to the fixing member connection portion is a cause.

Further, out of the four sides of the image area,
Even if the structure such as the getter support and the spacer support described above does not exist outside the image area, the distance between the support frame 10 and the image area is reduced for the purpose of miniaturization. In some cases, creeping discharge of the inner surface of the support frame 10 became a problem.

The above-described discharges occur suddenly during image display, disturbing the image, significantly deteriorating the electron source in the vicinity of the discharge location, and causing a problem that the subsequent display cannot be performed normally. .

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electron beam generator for preventing discharge near a structure.

[0037]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a first substrate having an electron-emitting device for emitting electrons is irradiated with electrons emitted from the electron-emitting device. An electron beam generating apparatus in which an airtight container is formed by facing a second substrate having a target, a structure connected to both the first substrate and the second substrate is provided.

It is preferable that the structure has conductivity.

The conductive structure is preferably a conductor.

It is preferable that the conductive structure has a conductive film formed on a surface thereof.

It is preferable that the conductive structure has a resistance value which is lower by one digit or more than the first substrate and the second substrate.

It is preferable that the structure is set at a constant potential.

It is preferable that the potential of the structure is a GND potential.

It is preferable that the structure is a getter support for supporting a getter for maintaining a degree of vacuum in the airtight container.

It is preferable that the structure is a spacer support for supporting a spacer for supporting atmospheric pressure in the airtight container.

It is preferable that the spacer is made of an insulating material having a thermal expansion coefficient substantially equal to that of the first substrate or the second substrate to be joined.

It is preferable that the surface of the spacer is coated with a high-resistance film.

It is preferable that the sheet resistance of the high resistance film is 10 7 to 10 14 [Ω / □].

It is preferable that the high resistance film is made of at least one kind of metal element or nitride, oxide, carbide or boride containing carbon, silicon or germanium.

Preferably, the high resistance film is connected between the first substrate and the second substrate via a low resistance film.

It is preferable that the low resistance film has a sheet resistance lower by one digit or more than the high resistance film.

It is preferable that the electron-emitting device is a cold cathode device.

It is preferable that the electron-emitting device includes a conductive film including an electron-emitting portion between electrodes for emitting electrons.

It is preferable that the electron-emitting device is a surface conduction electron-emitting device.

It is preferable that an image is formed by irradiating the target with electrons emitted from the electron-emitting device in response to an input signal.

It is preferable that the target is made of a phosphor.

It is preferable that an applied voltage between the first substrate and the second substrate exceeds 3 [kV].

[0058]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the dimensions of the components described in this embodiment,
The materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them unless otherwise specified.

(First Embodiment) The configuration and manufacturing method of a display panel of an image display device as an image forming device which is an electron beam generator to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to specific examples.

First, the configuration of the entire display panel will be described, and then, the features of this embodiment will be described in detail.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the display panel used in the present embodiment, in which a part of the display panel is cut away to show the internal structure.

In FIG. 15, reference numeral 1015 denotes a rear plate including a substrate 1011 as a first substrate, 1016 denotes a side wall,
Reference numeral 017 denotes a face plate as a second substrate.
015 to 1017 form an airtight container for maintaining the inside of the display panel in a vacuum.

In assembling the airtight container, it is necessary to seal the joints of the members in order to maintain sufficient strength and airtightness. For example, frit glass is applied to the joints, and the members are bonded in the air or in a nitrogen atmosphere. In, 400-degree 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.

Since the inside of the hermetic container is maintained at a vacuum of about 10 −6 [Torr], the inside of the hermetic container is protected against atmospheric pressure in order to prevent destruction of the hermetic container due to atmospheric pressure or unexpected impact. A spacer 1020 is provided as a structure.

Next, an electron source substrate in which a plurality of electron-emitting devices which can be used in the image forming apparatus of the present invention are arranged on a substrate will be described. The electron source substrate used in the image forming apparatus of the present invention is formed by arranging a plurality of cold cathode devices on the substrate.

In the method of arranging the cold cathode elements, a ladder type arrangement in which the cold cathode elements are arranged in parallel and both ends of each element are connected by wiring (hereinafter, referred to as a ladder type arrangement electron source substrate).
Alternatively, a simple matrix arrangement in which the X-direction wiring and the Y-direction wiring of a pair of device electrodes of the cold cathode device are connected (hereinafter, referred to as a simple matrix arrangement)
Matrix-type electron source substrate).
Note that an image forming apparatus having a ladder-type arranged electron source substrate requires a control electrode (grid electrode) which is an electrode for controlling the flight of electrons from the electron-emitting devices.

The substrate 1011 is provided on the rear plate 1015.
Is fixed, but the cold cathode element 1 is provided on the substrate 1011.
N.times.M 012 are formed (N and M are positive integers of 2 or more and are appropriately set according to the target number of display pixels. For example, for the purpose of displaying a high-definition television. In the display device, N = 3000, M = 1000
It is desirable to set the above number. ). The N × M cold cathode elements are arranged in a simple matrix by M row-directional wirings 1013 and N column-directional wirings 1014. The part constituted by the substrate 1011, the cold cathode element 1012, the row wiring 1013, and the column wiring 1014 is called a multi electron beam source.

The material, shape and manufacturing method of the cold cathode device are not limited as long as the cold cathode device is a simple matrix wiring or a ladder-shaped electron source for the multi-electron beam source used in the image display device of the present invention.

Therefore, for example, a cold cathode device such as a surface conduction type emission device, an FE type, or an MIM type can be used.

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

FIG. 17 is a plan view of the multi-electron beam source used for the display panel of FIG. Substrate 101
1, a surface conduction electron-emitting device similar to that shown in FIG. 20, which will be described later, is arranged.
3 and the column direction wiring 1014 are arranged in a simple matrix. Row direction wiring 1013 and column direction wiring 1014
An insulating layer (not shown) is formed between the electrodes at the intersections of the two to maintain electrical insulation.

FIG. 18 shows a section taken along the line BB 'of FIG.

Incidentally, the multi-electron source having such a structure is as follows.
Row direction wiring 1013, column direction wiring 1
014, an inter-electrode insulating layer (not shown), a device electrode of a surface conduction electron-emitting device, and a conductive thin film are formed, and then power is supplied to each device via a row wiring 1013 and a column wiring 1014 to form an energization. (Described later) and an activation process (described later).

In this embodiment, the substrate 1011 of the multi-electron beam source is provided on the rear plate 1015 of the hermetic container.
Is fixed, but the substrate 1 of the multi-electron beam source is
When 011 has sufficient strength, the substrate 1 of the multi-electron beam source is used as a rear plate of an airtight container.
011 itself may be used.

On the lower surface of the face plate 1017, a fluorescent film 1018 as a fluorescent material as a target is formed. Since the present embodiment is a color display device, phosphors of three primary colors of red, green, and blue used in the field of CRT are separately applied to a portion of the fluorescent film 1018. As shown in FIG. 19, a black conductor 1010 is provided between the phosphors of each color. The purpose of providing the black conductor 1010 is to prevent the display color from shifting even if the electron beam irradiation position is slightly shifted, and to prevent the reflection of external light to prevent the display contrast from lowering. 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 rear plate 10 of the fluorescent film 1018
On the surface on the 15th side, a metal back 1019 known in the field of CRT is provided. The purpose of providing the metal back 1019 is to improve the light utilization rate by mirror-reflecting a part of the light emitted from the fluorescent film 1018, to protect the fluorescent film 1018 from the collision of negative ions, and to increase the electron beam acceleration voltage. To act as an electrode for applying
To act as a conductive path for the excited electrons. The metal back 1019 was formed by forming the fluorescent film 1018 on the face plate 1017, smoothing the surface of the fluorescent film 1018, and vacuum-depositing Al thereon.

FIG. 16 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 15, and the numbers of the respective parts correspond to those of FIG. Spacer 1
020, a high-resistance film 111 for preventing static electricity is formed on the surface of the insulating member 100;
017 (metal back 1019 etc.) and substrate 10
11 (row direction wiring 1013 or column direction wiring 1013)
14) a member having a low-resistance film 121 formed on the contact surface and the side surface of the spacer 1020 facing 14).
As many as the number necessary to achieve the above object and at the necessary intervals are provided, and they are fixed to the inside of the face plate 1017 and the surface of the substrate 1011.

Further, the high resistance film 111 is formed on the insulating member 10.
0, the film is formed on at least the surface of the airtight container that is exposed to the vacuum, and through the low resistance film 121 on the spacer 1020, the inside of the face plate 1017 (such as the metal back 1019) and the like. It is electrically connected to the surface (row direction wiring 1013 or column direction wiring 1014) of the substrate 1011. In the embodiment described here,
The shape of the spacer 1020 is a thin plate.
13 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 necessary to have conductivity enough to prevent the surface of the spacer 1020 from being charged.

Examples of the insulating member 100 of the spacer 1020 include quartz glass, glass with a reduced content of impurities such as Na, soda lime glass, and ceramic members such as alumina. The insulating member 10
It is preferable that 0 has a coefficient of thermal expansion close to that of the member forming the airtight container and the substrate 1011.

High resistance film 11 constituting spacer 1020
1, a current is obtained by dividing the acceleration voltage Va applied to the face plate 1017 (such as the metal back 1019) on the high potential side by the resistance value Rs of the high resistance film 111 serving as the antistatic film. Therefore, the resistance value Rs of the spacer 1020 is set to a desirable range in terms of antistatic and power consumption. The sheet resistance R / □ is 10 to 14 from the viewpoint of antistatic.
It is preferably equal to or less than the power [Ω / □]. In order to obtain a sufficient antistatic effect, it is more preferably 10 11 [Ω / □] or less. The lower limit of the sheet resistance depends on the shape of the spacer 1020 and the voltage applied between the spacers 1020, but is preferably 10 7 [Ω / □] or more.

The thickness t of the high resistance film 111 formed on the insulating member 100 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, a thin film of 10 [nm] or less is generally formed in an island shape, has an unstable resistance and poor reproducibility.

As described above, the current flows through the high-resistance film 111 formed on the spacer 1020,
Alternatively, the temperature of the entire display increases due to heat generation during operation. If the resistance temperature coefficient of the high resistance film 111 is a large negative value, the resistance value decreases when the temperature rises, the current flowing through the spacer 1020 increases, and the temperature further rises. 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 temperature coefficient of resistance of the high resistance film 111 is −
Desirably less than 1%.

As a material of the high resistance film 111 having the antistatic property, for example, a metal oxide can be used.
Among metal oxides, oxides of chromium, nickel, and copper are preferred materials. It is considered that the reason for this is that these oxides have a relatively low secondary electron emission efficiency and are difficult to be charged even when electrons emitted from the cold cathode element 1012 hit the spacer 1020.

In addition to metal oxides, carbon is a preferable material having a low secondary electron emission efficiency. In particular, since amorphous carbon has high resistance, it is easy to control the resistance of the spacer 1020 to a desired value.

As another material of the high-resistance film 111 having the antistatic property, the nitride of aluminum and a transition metal alloy can adjust the composition of the transition metal to provide a wide range of resistance from a good conductor to an insulator. It is a suitable material because it can be controlled. Further, it is a stable material with little change in resistance value in a manufacturing process of a display device described later. Further, 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.

The alloy nitride film is formed on the insulating member 100 by thin film forming means such as sputtering, reactive sputtering in a nitrogen gas atmosphere, electron beam evaporation, ion plating, and ion assisted evaporation. The metal oxide film can be formed by the same thin film formation method, but in this case, oxygen gas is used instead of nitrogen gas. In addition, a metal oxide film can be formed by a CVD method or an alkoxide coating method. Carbon film deposition, sputtering, CVD, plasma CVD
In the case where amorphous carbon is produced by the method, hydrogen is contained in an atmosphere during film formation, or a hydrocarbon gas is used as a film formation gas.

Other materials for the high resistance film 111 include:
Nitride, oxide, with carbon, silicon, germanium
Carbides, borides and the like can also be used.

Low resistance film 12 constituting spacer 1020
1 is a high-potential-side face plate 1
017 (metal back 1019, etc.) and the substrate 1011 (wirings 1013, 1014, etc.) on the low potential side are provided for electrical connection. In the following, the name of an intermediate electrode layer (intermediate layer) is also used. . The intermediate electrode layer (intermediate layer) has a plurality of functions listed below.

(1) The high resistance film 111 is electrically connected to the face plate 1017 and the substrate 1011.

As described above, the high-resistance film 111 is provided for the purpose of preventing charging on the surface of the spacer 1020.
017 (metal back 1019 etc.) and substrate 1011
(Wirings 1013, 1014, etc.) directly or abutting material 10
When the connection is made via the connection 41, a large contact resistance is generated at the interface of the connection portion, and there is a possibility that the charge generated on the surface of the spacer 1020 cannot be quickly removed. In order to avoid this, a low-resistance intermediate layer is provided which is in contact with the contact surface or side surface of the spacer 1020 which is in contact with the face plate 1017, the substrate 1011 and the contact member 1041.

(2) The potential distribution of the high resistance film 111 is made uniform.

Electrons emitted from the cold cathode device 1012 form electron orbits in accordance with the potential distribution formed between the face plate 1017 and the substrate 1011. Spacer 1
In order to prevent the electron orbit from being disturbed near 020, it is necessary to control the potential distribution of the high-resistance film 111 over the entire region. Face plate 1 with high resistance film 111
017 (metal back 1019 etc.) and substrate 1011
(Wirings 1013, 1014, etc.) directly or abutting material 10
When the connection is made via the connection 41, the connection resistance may be uneven due to the contact resistance at the connection portion interface, and the potential distribution of the high-resistance film 111 may deviate from a desired value. In order to avoid this, the spacer 1020 is
By providing a low-resistance intermediate layer in the entire length region of the spacer end portion (contact surface or side surface portion) in contact with the substrate 7 and the substrate 1011 and applying a desired potential to this intermediate layer portion, The potential can be controlled.

(3) Control the trajectory of the emitted electrons.

Electrons emitted from the cold cathode element 1012 form electron orbits in accordance with the potential distribution formed between the face plate 1017 and the substrate 1011. Spacer 1
Regarding the electrons emitted from the cold cathode element 1012 near 020, restrictions (such as changes in the wiring and the element position) associated with the installation of the spacer 1020 may occur. In such a case, in order to form an image without distortion or unevenness,
By controlling the trajectory of the emitted electrons, the face plate 10
It is necessary to irradiate a desired position on 17 with electrons. By providing a low-resistance intermediate layer on the side surface of the surface in contact with the face plate 1017 and the substrate 1011, the potential distribution in the vicinity of the spacer 1020 has desired characteristics, and the trajectory of emitted electrons is controlled.

For the low-resistance film 121, a material having a sheet resistance value (at least one digit or more) sufficiently lower than that of the high-resistance film 111 may be selected, and Ni, Cr, Au, Mo,
Metals or alloys such as W, Pt, Ti, Al, Cu, and Pd; printed conductors composed of metals such as Pd, Ag, Au, RuO ₂ , and Pd—Ag; It is appropriately selected from a transparent conductor such as ₂ O ₃ —SnO ₂ and a semiconductor material such as polysilicon.

Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dy
n and Hv are electric connection terminals having an airtight structure provided for electrically connecting the display panel and an electric circuit (not shown). Dx1 to Dxm are electrically connected to the row wiring 1013 of the multi-electron beam source, Dy1 to Dyn are electrically connected to the column wiring 1014 of the multi-electron beam source, and Hv is electrically connected to the metal back 1019 of the face plate.

In order to evacuate the inside of the hermetic container, after the hermetic container is assembled, an exhaust pipe (not shown) and a vacuum pump are connected, and the inside of the hermetic container is raised to the power of 10 −7 [T
orr]. Thereafter, the exhaust pipe is sealed, but a getter film (not shown) is formed at a predetermined position in the airtight container immediately before or after the sealing in order to maintain the degree of vacuum in the airtight container.

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 raised to the power of 10.sup.-5 or more by the adsorbing action of the getter film. The degree of vacuum is maintained at 10 −7 [Torr].

In the image display apparatus using the above-described display panel, when a voltage is applied to each cold cathode element 1012 through terminals Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn outside the container, electrons are emitted from each cold cathode element 1012. At the same time, a high voltage exceeding 3 [kV] is applied to the metal back 1019 through the external terminal Hv to accelerate the emitted electrons to collide with the inner surface of the face plate 1017. As a result, the phosphor of each color forming the fluorescent film 1018 is excited and emits light, and an image is displayed.

Normally, the voltage applied to 1012 to the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention, which is a cold cathode device, is 12 to 16
[V], metal back 1019 and cold cathode element 101
2 is about 0.1 [mm] to 8 [mm], and the voltage between the metal back 1019 and the cold cathode element 1012 is 3 [mm].
It is about [kV] to about 10 [kV].

The basic configuration 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 embodiment will be described. The material, shape, and manufacturing method of the cold cathode device are not limited as long as the multi-electron beam source used for the image display device of the present invention is an electron source in which cold cathode devices are arranged in a simple matrix. Therefore, for example, a surface conduction type emission element, an FE type, or M
A cold cathode device such as an IM type can be used.

However, in a situation where a display device having a large display screen and an inexpensive display device is required, among these cold cathode devices, a surface conduction type emission device is particularly preferable.

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. In addition, the present inventors, among the surface conduction type emission element,
It has been found that an electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion formed from a fine particle film has 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 Emission Device) The typical configuration of a surface conduction electron-emitting device in which an electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film is a flat type or a vertical type. Kinds are given. Here, only the planar type used for the fabrication will be actually described.

(Flat-Type Surface-Conduction-Type Emission Device) The device configuration and manufacturing method of a flat-type surface-conduction-type emission device will be described. FIG. 20A is a plan view for explaining a configuration of a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device, and FIG. 20B is a cross-sectional view thereof. In the figure, 1101 is a substrate, 1102 and 1103 are device electrodes, 1104 is a conductive thin film, 1105
Are electron-emitting portions formed by an energization forming process;
Reference numeral 113 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 element 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. .

The electrodes 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 electrodes can be formed by other methods (for example, printing techniques). It can be formed even if it is formed.

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 hundred [Å] to several hundred [μm].
Among them, several [μ] are preferable for application to display devices.
m] to several tens [μm]. As for the thickness d of the device electrode, an appropriate numerical value is usually selected from the range of several hundred [Å] to several [μm].

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).
Refers to. 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 [Å] to several thousand [Å].
Among them, those having a range of 10 [Å] to 200 [Å] are preferable. Further, the thickness of the fine particle film is appropriately set in consideration of various conditions described below. That is,
Conditions necessary for good electrical connection with the device electrode 1102 or 1103, conditions necessary for good energization forming described later, and necessary for setting the electrical resistance of the fine particle film itself to an appropriate value described later. Conditions, etc.
Specifically, it is set within a range of several [Å] to several thousand [Å], and among them, 10 [Å] to 500 is preferable.
It is between [Å].

Examples of materials that can be used to form the fine particle film include Pd, Pt, Ru, Ag, and Pd.
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 , CeB ₆ ,
Borides such as YB ₄ , GdB ₄ , etc., Ti
Carbides such as C, ZrC, HfC, TaC, SiC, WC, etc., nitrides such as TiN, ZrN, HfN, etc., semiconductors such as Si, Ge, etc., and carbon And the like, and are appropriately selected from these.

As described above, the conductive thin film 1104 is formed of a fine particle film.
It was set so as to be included in the range of 10 3 to 10 7 [Ω / □].

Note that 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. 20,
Although the substrate, the device electrode, and the conductive thin film are stacked in this order from the bottom, in some cases, the substrate, the conductive thin film, and the device electrode may be stacked in this order from the bottom.

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 [Å] to several hundred [Å] 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 thickness of 500 [Å] or less, but 300 [Å] or less. 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. Also, in the plan view (a), the thin film 11
13 shows a device in which a part of the device 13 is removed.

The basic structure of the preferred element has been described above. In the embodiment, the following element is 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 [Å], and the electrode interval L was 2 [μm]. Pd or PdO is used as the main material of the fine particle film, the thickness of the fine particle film is about 100 [Å], and the width W is 100
[Μm].

Next, a method of manufacturing a suitable flat surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. (A) to (d) of FIG.
Is a cross-sectional view for explaining the manufacturing process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the notation of each member is the same as that in FIG.

1) First, as shown in FIG. 21A, device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are formed on a substrate 1101.

In forming the device electrodes 1102 and 1103, the substrate 1101 is sufficiently washed beforehand with a detergent, pure water and an organic solvent.
2, 1103 materials are deposited (for example, a vacuum film forming technique such as a vapor deposition method or a sputtering method may be used). Thereafter, the deposited electrode material is patterned by using a photolithography / etching technique, and a pair of device electrodes 1102 and 1102 shown in FIG.
Form 1103.

2) Next, as shown in FIG.
A conductive thin film 1104 is formed.

In forming the conductive thin film 1104, first, an organic metal solution is applied to the substrate shown in FIG. 21A, dried, heated and baked to form a fine particle film.
It is patterned into a predetermined shape by photolithography and etching. Here, the organic metal solution is a solution of an organic metal compound containing, as a main element, a material of fine particles used for a conductive thin film (specifically, in this embodiment, Pd was used as a main element. In the embodiment, a dipping method is used as a coating method, but other methods such as a spinner method and a spray method may be used.)

Further, the conductive thin film 11 made of a fine particle film
As a method for forming the film 04, a method other than the method of applying the organometallic solution used in the present embodiment, for example, a vacuum evaporation method, a sputtering method, or a chemical vapor deposition method may be used.

3) Next, as shown in FIG.
From the power supply 1110 for forming, the device electrodes 1102 and 1
An appropriate voltage is applied during the period 103, and an energization forming process is performed to form the electron-emitting portion 1105.

[0129] 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, thereby changing the structure to 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. 22 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 pulse-like voltage is preferable. In the case of the present 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. In addition, a monitor pulse Pm for monitoring the formation state of the electron emitting portion 1105 is inserted at an appropriate interval between the triangular wave pulses, and the current flowing at that time is measured by an ammeter 11.
11 was measured.

In this embodiment, for example, in a vacuum atmosphere of about 10 to the fifth power [torr], for example, the pulse width T1 is 1 [msec], the pulse interval T2 is 10 [msec], and the peak value Vpf is The voltage was increased by 0.1 [V] for each pulse. Then, the monitor pulse Pm was inserted once every five pulses of the triangular wave were applied. The voltage Vpm of the monitor pulse Pm is set to 0.1 [V] so as not to adversely affect the forming process. Then, when the electric resistance between the element electrodes 1102 and 1103 becomes 1 × 10 6 [Ω], that is, when the monitor pulse Pm is applied, the ammeter 11
The current measured at 11 is 1 × 10 -7 [A]
At the following stage, 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 changed. In such a case, it is desirable to appropriately change the energization conditions accordingly.

4) Next, as shown in FIG. 21D, an appropriate voltage is applied between the element electrodes 1102 and 1103 from the activating power supply 1112, and the energizing activation process is performed to obtain the electron emission characteristic. Make improvements.

The energization activation process is a process of energizing the electron emitting portion 1105 formed by the energization forming process under appropriate conditions and depositing carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity thereof (in the figure). Shows a deposit made of carbon or a carbon compound as a member 1113.) 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 minus the fourth power to 1
By applying a voltage pulse periodically in a vacuum atmosphere within the range of 0 to the fifth power [torr], carbon or a carbon compound originating from an organic compound existing in the vacuum atmosphere is deposited. The deposit 1113 is any one of single crystal graphite, polycrystal graphite, and amorphous carbon or a mixture thereof, and has a thickness of 500
[Å] or less, more preferably 300 [Å] or less.

FIG. 23A shows an example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from the activation power supply 1112 in order to describe the energization method in more detail. In the present embodiment, the energization activation process is performed by periodically applying a rectangular wave having a constant voltage, but specifically, the voltage Vac of the rectangular wave is
[V], pulse width T3 is 1 [msec], pulse interval T
4 was set to 10 [msec]. 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. 21 (d) for capturing the emission current Ie emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device is connected to a DC high voltage power supply 1115 and an ammeter 1116 (note that FIG. 21D). , 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 ). During the application of the voltage 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 11
12 is controlled. An example of the emission current Ie measured by the ammeter 1116 is shown in FIG. 23B. When the pulse voltage is started to be applied from the activation power supply 1112, the emission current Ie increases with the passage of time, but eventually saturates. And hardly increase. 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 should be changed accordingly. Is desirable.

As described above, the plane type surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 21E was manufactured.

Hereinafter, specific features of the present embodiment according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a panel showing a characteristic portion of the first embodiment, and shows a configuration when viewed from above a face plate. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the getter support indicated by reference numeral II-II in FIG. FIG.
Is a view in which the face plate is removed for convenience. FIG. 3 is a partially broken perspective view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

The rear plate 2 shown in FIGS.
A substrate 32 on which a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices 40 arranged in a matrix are provided is fixed to 4. The surface conduction electron-emitting device 40 is connected by a row-direction wiring 31 and a column-direction wiring 33. The face plate 20 and the rear plate 24 are air-tightly joined using the support frame 10,
Forming an airtight container. The face plate 20 includes a phosphor 22 and a metal back 23 for applying an electron acceleration voltage Va.
And so on. An area between the metal back 23 and the rear plate 24 facing the metal back 23 is defined as an image area 12. A spacer 13 is inserted between the face plate 20 and the rear plate 24 as an atmospheric pressure support member on the row wiring 31. Various films may be formed on the surface of the spacer 13. In the present embodiment, a high resistance film is formed on the spacer 13 for the purpose of preventing electrification, and electrical connection is made to the contact surface and the side surface of the spacer 13 facing the metal back 23 and the row wiring 31. A low-resistance film is formed to improve the quality.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a getter member 70 and a getter support 62 (hereinafter referred to as a getter support 62) as a structure which is a conductor for supporting the getter member 70 are provided on a portion outside the image area 12. ) Is formed. The getter support 62 is fixed to the rear plate 24 by the conductive adhesive 16. The getter support 62
May be fixed to the face plate 20. The getter support 62 includes the rear plate 24 and the face plate 2.
It is preferable that the resistance is lower by one digit or more than zero.

The getter member 70 is made of a material containing Ba as a main component, and is formed by heating and vapor-depositing with a heater or high-frequency heating to form a film. Due to the adsorbing action of the getter film thus formed, the degree of vacuum in the hermetic container is maintained at 10 −5 or 10 −7 [Torr] or higher.

In the present embodiment, the getter support 62 is made of a conductor. However, as a method of similarly providing conductivity, a conductive film 61 is formed on the surface of a getter support 71 as shown in FIG. The structure may be formed. Also in this case, it is preferable that the resistance of the conductive film 61 be lower than that of the rear plate 24 and the face plate 20 by one digit or more.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the spacer 1
Numeral 3 is arranged only inside the image area 12, and is fixed on the row direction wiring 31 by an adhesive. The fixing position may be on a black matrix. In the present embodiment, such a fixing method is employed, but a configuration in which both ends of the spacer 13 are fixed by the spacer fixing member 14 as shown in FIG. 13 may be employed.

The getter support 62 which is a feature of the present invention will be described below. In the present embodiment, the getter support is a getter support 62 which is a conductor. As shown in FIG. 1, a getter member 70 is formed at an intermediate position of the getter support 62 in the panel thickness direction. The height of the getter support 62 is the face plate 2
It is almost the same height as the gap between 0 and the rear plate 24. The getter support 62 contacts the face plate 20 and the rear plate 24, and the conductive adhesive 1
6, it is fixed to the rear plate 24. In addition,
The getter support 62 does not necessarily have to have an atmospheric pressure resistant structure.

Here, the reason why the getter support 62 is set to the above-described configuration will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing equipotential lines near a rectangular parallelepiped structure 50 as a structure disposed outside the image area. For example, when the material of the face plate 20, the rear plate 24, and the structure 50 is made of soda lime glass and the support frame 10 is made of non-alkali glass, the potential at the point A is changed due to the difference in electric conductivity.
The electron acceleration voltage Va is substantially equal to the metal back 23, and the structure 50 has a vacuum gap between the face plate 20 and the potential thereof.
Is considered to be substantially equal to the GND potential which is the potential of the row direction wiring 31 of FIG.

In the case where the structure 50 does not contact the face plate 20 and the rear plate 24 as shown in FIG. 6A, the equipotential lines are as shown in FIG.
, The electric field at the edge portion becomes strong.

Therefore, the structure 50 is mounted on the face plate 2.
0 and the rear plate 24 as shown in FIG. 6B, the electron accelerating voltage Va is reduced along the surface (L1 +
L2 + L3), and the equipotential lines are as shown in the figure, so that the electric field near the structure 50 is small.

From the above description, it is considered that the structure shown in FIG. 6B in the structure 50 reduces electric field concentration and suppresses discharge.

Next, the reason why the getter support as a structure is made conductive in the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram showing equipotential lines near the conductive getter support 62 disposed outside the image area. FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram showing equipotential lines near the insulating getter support 63 arranged outside the image area. As shown in FIG. 5, a getter member 70 is formed at an intermediate position of the getter support 62 in the panel thickness direction. For example, when the face plate 20 and the rear plate 24 are made of blue plate glass, when the getter support is conductive (62), the equipotential lines are shown in FIG.
become that way. On the other hand, when the getter support is made of non-alkali glass (63), the result is as shown in FIG. Comparing the two shows that the electric field near the getter member 70 is weaker when the getter support is conductive.

From the above description, it is considered that the getter support 62 and the getter member 70 are configured as shown in FIG. 5A to reduce the electric field concentration and suppress the discharge.

With the above-described configuration, it is possible to suppress discharge due to electric field concentration on the getter support 62 and the getter member 70.

As the material of the getter support 62, various materials can be used, but those having resistance lower by one digit or more than those of the rear plate 24 and the face plate 20;
In addition, it is necessary to have heat resistance enough to withstand the heat in a heat process for manufacturing the display panel. For example, N
i, Cr, Au, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Al, Cu,
There are metals such as Pd, alloys, and the like, which are appropriately selected.

As with the getter support 62, the conductive adhesive 16 needs to be a material having heat resistance enough to withstand the heat in the heat process.

Also, in the case where the conductive film 61 is formed on the surface of the getter support 71 as shown in FIG. 4, a material having heat resistance enough to withstand the heat in the heating step is used in the same manner as described above. Since there is a need, the material of the getter support 71 is preferably glass, ceramic, or the like.

In this embodiment, the rear plate 24 and the face plate 20 are made of soda lime glass, the getter support 62 is made of Al, and the conductive adhesive 16 is made of conductive frit glass.

The image forming apparatus manufactured as described above was able to display a good image with high luminance and no discharge.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the vicinity of a spacer fixing member II-II in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment. Here, only portions different from the first embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the second embodiment, a getter member 70 is formed at a position about one third from the bottom of the getter support 62 in the panel thickness direction. The getter support 62 is connected to a potential regulating power supply Vr via a wiring 65. With this power supply, the getter support 62 can be set at an arbitrary potential.

In this embodiment, the voltage Vr is set to one third of the electron acceleration voltage Va applied to the metal back 23.

Here, the reason for the above setting will be described. FIG.
(A) is a schematic diagram showing equipotential lines near the conductive getter support 62 when the voltage of Vr is set to one third of Va. FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram showing equipotential lines near the insulating getter support 63 when the voltage of Vr is set to one third of Va. As shown in FIG.
In this embodiment, the getter member 70 is located at about one third from the bottom of the getter support 62 in the panel thickness direction.
Are formed. For example, face plate 20,
In the case where the rear plate 24 is made of soda lime glass, in the case of the conductive getter support 62, the equipotential lines are shown in FIG.
become that way. On the other hand, when the getter support is made of non-alkali glass, the equipotential lines are as shown in FIG. Comparing the two, if the getter support is conductive,
It can be seen that the electric field near the getter member 70 becomes weaker.

From the above description, it is considered that the getter support 62 and the getter member 70 are configured as shown in FIG. 8A to reduce electric field concentration and suppress discharge.

With the above-described configuration, it is possible to suppress discharge due to electric field concentration on the getter support 62 and the getter member 70.

The image forming apparatus manufactured as described above was able to display a good image with high luminance and no discharge.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view of a panel showing a third embodiment, and shows a configuration when viewed from above a face plate. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the getter support 62 indicated by the reference numeral III-III in FIG. FIG. 11 is a view in which the face plate is removed for convenience. Here, only portions different from the first embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 9, the getter member 70 is formed on the side of the support frame 10 of the getter support 62, and is located at an intermediate position of the getter support 62 in the panel thickness direction.
The getter support 62 is set to the GND potential by the row wiring 31.

Here, the reason for the above configuration will be described. FIG.
0 (a) is a schematic diagram showing equipotential lines near the getter support 62 when the conductive getter support 62 is set to the GND potential by the row wiring 31. FIG. FIG. 10B is a schematic diagram showing equipotential lines near the getter support 63 when the insulating getter support 63 is set at the GND potential by the row wiring 31.
In the case where the face plate 20 and the rear plate 24 are made of blue plate glass, in the case of the conductive getter support 62, the equipotential lines are as shown in FIG. On the other hand, when the getter support is made of non-alkali glass, the equipotential lines are shown in FIG.
0 (b).

First, since the getter member 70 is formed on the support frame 10 side of the getter supports 62 and 63, no electric field is applied. Comparing FIGS. 10A and 10B, it can be seen that when the getter support is conductive, the electric field near the contact portion between the getter support 62 and the rear plate 24 is weakened.

From the above description, it is considered that the getter support 62 and the getter member 70 are configured as shown in FIG. 10A to reduce the electric field concentration and suppress the discharge.

With the above configuration, it is possible to suppress discharge due to electric field concentration on the getter support 62 and the getter member 70.

The image forming apparatus manufactured as described above was able to display a good image with high luminance and no discharge.

(Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 13 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the spacer fixing member II in FIGS. 13 and 14. FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view of a panel according to the fourth embodiment, showing a configuration when viewed from above a face plate. FIG. 14 is a view in which the face plate is removed for convenience.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, both ends of the spacer 13 extend to the outside of the image area 12, and the spacer as a structure is provided at a predetermined position in the support frame 10. It is fixed by the fixing member 14. Then, the spacer fixing member 14 is fixed to the rear plate 24 or the face plate 20 by the adhesive 16.

Hereinafter, the spacer fixing member 14 which is a feature of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 12, the spacer fixing member 14 is formed with a groove for vertically standing the spacer, and is fixed to both ends of the spacer 13. The spacer fixing member 14 is made of a conductor, and is set to the GND potential by the row wiring 31. Further, the spacer fixing member 14 is fixed to the rear plate 24 by the conductive adhesive 16. Note that the getter support 62 may be fixed to the face plate 20. The height of the spacer fixing member 14 is almost the same as the gap between the face plate 20 and the rear plate 24, as shown in FIG. Note that the spacer fixing member 14 does not necessarily have to have an atmospheric pressure resistant structure.

With the above configuration, the third
As in the case of the getter support of the embodiment, the electric field is weakened in the vicinity of the contact portion of the spacer fixing member 14 with the rear plate 24, so that discharge due to concentration of the electric field on the spacer fixing member 14 can be suppressed. It became so.

In this embodiment, the spacer fixing member 14
In the above, the configuration similar to that of the third embodiment was used as described above. However, depending on the shape of the spacer fixing member 14, even if the configuration of the first or second embodiment is used, In some cases, an effect similar to that of the body 62 can be obtained.

Specifically, the spacer fixing member 14 is made conductive, is brought into contact with the face plate 20 and the rear plate 24, and is fixed to the rear plate 24 by the conductive adhesive 16 (first embodiment). Embodiment),
In addition to this, the spacer fixing member 14 is connected to a potential regulating power supply Vr by a wiring, and the spacer fixing member 14 is regulated to an arbitrary potential (second embodiment).

The image forming apparatus manufactured as described above was able to display a good image with high luminance and no discharge.

[0181]

As described above, according to the present invention, electric field concentration near the structure can be reduced and discharge can be suppressed.

Thus, in the image forming apparatus using the electron beam generator of the present invention, it is possible to display a high-luminance, good-quality image without discharge.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a reference symbol II-I in FIG. 2 according to a first embodiment.
It is sectional drawing which shows the getter support vicinity of I.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the display panel according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view in which a part of the display panel according to the first embodiment is cut away.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a reference symbol II-I in FIG. 2 according to the first embodiment;
It is sectional drawing which shows the other example of getter support vicinity of I.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating equipotential lines near a getter support according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing a change in an electric field due to a structure.

FIG. 7 according to the second embodiment, which is denoted by reference numeral II-I in FIG.
It is sectional drawing which shows the getter support vicinity of I.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing equipotential lines near a getter support according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a reference symbol III in FIG. 11 according to the third embodiment.
It is sectional drawing which shows the getter support vicinity of -III.

FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view illustrating equipotential lines near a getter support according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view showing a display panel according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of a spacer fixing member denoted by reference numeral II in FIGS. 13 and 14 according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a cutaway perspective view of a display panel according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view showing a display panel according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view in which a part of the display panel according to the first embodiment is cut away.

FIG. 16 shows the display panel according to the first embodiment in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA ′ of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing a substrate of the multi-electron beam source according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a substrate of the multi-electron beam source according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a plan view illustrating a phosphor array of a face plate of the display panel.

FIG. 20 is a plan view (a) and a cross-sectional view (b) of the planar surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the first embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view showing a step of manufacturing the planar surface-conduction emission type electron-emitting device.

FIG. 22 shows an applied voltage waveform in the energization forming process.

FIG. 23 shows an applied voltage waveform (a) during energization activation processing,
It is a change (b) of the emission current Ie.

FIG. 24 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a conventional surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 25 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a conventional FE element.

FIG. 26 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a conventional MIM element.

FIG. 27A is a schematic view of a getter portion where a problem has occurred,
It is a schematic diagram (b) of a spacer support part.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 rear plate also serving as electron source substrate 2 electron source region 3 image forming member 10 support frame 12 image region 13,1020 structural support (spacer) 14 spacer fixing member 15 adhesive 16 conductive adhesive 20,1017 face plate 22 fluorescence Body 23, 1019 Metal back 24, 1015 Rear plate 30, 1105 Electron emission portion 31, 1013 Row direction wiring 32, 1011, 1101 Substrate 33, 1014 Column direction wiring 40 Surface conduction electron-emitting device 50 Structure 60 Conductor Spacer fixing member 61 Conductive film 62 Getter support which is a conductor 63 Getter support which is an insulator 65 Wiring 70 Getter member 71 Getter support 100 Insulating member 111 High resistance film 121 Low resistance film 1010 Black conductor 1012 Cold Cathode element 1016 Wall 1018 fluorescent film 1041 DC high voltage power source contact member 1102 element electrodes 1104 electrically conductive thin film 1110 forming power source 1111,1116 ammeter 1112 activation power source 1113 energization activation deposits formed by the process 1114 anode electrode 1115

Claims (21)

[Claims] A first element having an electron-emitting device for emitting electrons;
In an electron beam generating apparatus in which a substrate and a second substrate having a target to which electrons emitted from the electron-emitting device are irradiated are opposed to each other to form an airtight container, wherein both the first substrate and the second substrate are provided. An electron beam generator comprising a structure connected to the electron beam generator. 2. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein said structure has conductivity. 3. The electron beam generator according to claim 2, wherein the structure having conductivity is a conductor. 4. The electron beam generator according to claim 2, wherein the conductive structure has a conductive film formed on a surface thereof. 5. The electron beam according to claim 2, wherein said conductive structure has a resistance value which is lower by at least one digit than said first substrate and said second substrate. Generator. 6. The electron beam generator according to claim 2, wherein the structure is set at a constant potential. 7. The electron beam generator according to claim 6, wherein the potential of the structure is a GND potential. 8. An electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein said structure is a getter support for supporting a getter for maintaining a degree of vacuum in said hermetic container. apparatus. 9. An electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein said structure is a spacer supporting portion for supporting a spacer for supporting atmospheric pressure in said airtight container. apparatus. 10. The spacer according to claim 9, wherein the spacer is made of an insulating material having a thermal expansion coefficient substantially equal to that of the first substrate or the second substrate to be joined.
An electron beam generator according to claim 1. 11. An electron beam generator according to claim 10, wherein said spacer has a surface coated with a high resistance film. 12. The sheet resistance of said high resistance film is 10 7
The electron beam generator according to claim 11, wherein the power is 10 to the 14th power [Ω / □]. 13. The high-resistance film according to claim 11, wherein the high-resistance film is made of at least one kind of metal element or nitride, oxide, carbide, or boride containing carbon, silicon, and germanium. Electron beam generator. 14. The electron beam generator according to claim 11, wherein the high resistance film is connected between the first substrate and the second substrate via a low resistance film. apparatus. 15. The electron beam generator according to claim 14, wherein the sheet resistance of the low resistance film is lower than the high resistance film by one digit or more. 16. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein said electron-emitting device is a cold cathode device. 17. The electron beam generator according to claim 16, wherein said electron-emitting device has a conductive film including an electron-emitting portion between electrodes for emitting electrons. 18. An electron beam generator according to claim 16, wherein said electron-emitting device is a surface conduction electron-emitting device. 19. An electron according to claim 1, wherein said target is irradiated with electrons emitted from said electron-emitting device in response to an input signal to form an image. Line generator. 20. The electron beam generator according to claim 19, wherein said target is made of a phosphor. 21. An apparatus according to claim 19, wherein a voltage applied between said first substrate and said second substrate exceeds 3 kV.
Or the electron beam generator according to 20.