JP2001332174A - Plasma display panel and its production - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plasma display panel offering operation with relatively high emission efficiency and having good reproductivity, causing almost no deterioration of a fluorescent substance in an aging process required for panel producing processes. SOLUTION: With heat treatment given to the whole panel, the thermal deteriorating condition of the fluorescent substance after the aging process is recovered.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a plasma display panel used for displaying images on a computer monitor, a television or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional plasma display panel will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an alternating current (AC) plasma display panel (hereinafter, referred to as “PDP”). In FIG. 22, 210 is a front glass substrate,
Discharge electrodes 211 are formed on front glass substrate 210. Further, the discharge electrode 211 is covered with a dielectric glass layer 212 and a dielectric protection layer 213 made of magnesium oxide (MgO) (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-3).
No. 42991).

[0003] Reference numeral 220 denotes a rear glass substrate, and address electrodes 221 and 220 are provided on the rear glass substrate 220.
A visible light reflecting layer 222, a partition wall 223, and a phosphor layer 224 are provided to cover this, and 230 is a discharge space in which a discharge gas is sealed. In the phosphor layer, phosphor layers of three colors of red, green, and blue are sequentially arranged for color display. Each of the phosphor layers 224 emits and emits light by ultraviolet rays having a short wavelength (for example, a wavelength of 147 nm) generated by discharge.

[0004] The following materials are generally used as the phosphor constituting the phosphor layer 224. “Blue phosphor”: BaMgAl ₁₀ O ₁₇ : Eu “Green phosphor”: Zn ₂ SiO ₄ : Mn or Ba
Al ₁₂ O ₁₉ : Mn “Red phosphor”: Y ₂ O ₃ : Eu or (Y _x Gd)
_1-x ) BO ₃ : Eu A conventional PDP manufacturing method will be described below.

[0005] First, a discharge electrode is formed on a front glass substrate, a dielectric layer made of dielectric glass is formed so as to cover the discharge electrode, and a protective layer made of MgO is formed on this dielectric layer. Next, an address electrode is formed on the rear glass substrate, and a visible light reflecting layer made of dielectric glass and a glass partition are formed thereon at a predetermined pitch. A phosphor layer is formed by disposing each color phosphor paste including the red phosphor, the green phosphor, and the blue phosphor prepared as described above in each space interposed between these partition walls, After formation, the phosphor layer is baked at about 500 ° C. to remove resin components and the like in the paste (phosphor calcination step).

After firing the phosphor, a glass frit for sealing with the front glass substrate is applied around the rear glass substrate, and calcined at about 350 ° C. to remove resin components and the like in the glass frit (glass for sealing). Calcination process). Thereafter, a front glass substrate on which a discharge electrode, a dielectric glass layer, and a protective layer are sequentially formed, and the rear glass substrate are arranged so as to face each other with a display electrode and an address electrode interposed at right angles through a partition wall, and 450
It is baked at about ℃, and the periphery is sealed with a sealing glass (sealing step).

After that, the inside of the panel is evacuated while heating to a predetermined temperature (about 350 ° C.) (evacuation step), and after completion, a discharge gas is introduced at a predetermined pressure. In the panel manufactured through the above steps, 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 and the discharge characteristics by discharging the manufactured panel for a predetermined time. Processing for stabilizing such light emission characteristics and discharge characteristics is called aging processing.

[0008]

However, in the conventional method of manufacturing a plasma display panel, there is a problem that the light emission characteristics are particularly deteriorated in the aging step for stabilizing the light emission characteristics and the discharge characteristics as described above. . One of the causes is that the phosphor used is deteriorated. In particular, BaMgAl ₁₀ O ₁₇ : Eu used as a blue phosphor is more likely to deteriorate in the aging process than phosphors of other colors,
This has been a cause of lowering of light emission intensity and deterioration of light emission chromaticity.

In view of the above, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problem, and hardly causes deterioration of the phosphor even through an aging step required for a panel manufacturing process, and has a relatively high luminous efficiency. It is an object of the present invention to provide a plasma display panel that operates and has good color reproducibility.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a front plate and a back plate each having at least one of a discharge electrode and a phosphor layer formed on at least one inner surface have an internal space. A method for manufacturing a plasma display panel, wherein the aging process is performed by applying a required discharge voltage to the discharge electrode in a state where a discharge gas is present in an internal space and performing an aging process in a state where a discharge gas is present in an internal space. After the treatment, a heat treatment for heating the phosphor forming the phosphor layer is performed.

In the heat treatment after the aging treatment, it is desirable to heat the phosphor to a higher temperature, and more specifically, to heat the phosphor to 300 ° C. or more. Further, it is more desirable to heat the phosphor to 370 ° C. or more, and it is more desirable to heat the phosphor to 400 ° C. or more, or even 500 ° C. or more. As a method of heating the phosphor, a method of heating the entire panel to a predetermined temperature using a heating furnace, a method of locally irradiating laser light to a panel portion on which the phosphor is disposed, and a method of heating the inside of the internal space For example, a method of heating by flowing a heated heat medium through the heater. When the entire panel is heated using a heating furnace, it can only be heated to a temperature at which the heating temperature does not exceed the softening point of the sealing glass used to seal the front and back panels of the panel. In the case of locally heating by irradiating light and the case of locally heating using a heat medium, heating can be performed to a higher temperature.

In the heating treatment after the aging treatment (in the case of heating in a heating furnace and in the case of heating with a laser beam), it is more desirable to perform heating while discharging gas in the internal space. After the aging treatment (when heating in a heating furnace and when heating with a laser beam), the gas can be exhausted from the internal space and the panel can be heated after introducing the drying gas. Here, in the heat treatment after the aging treatment (in the case of heating in a heating furnace and in the case of heating with a laser beam), a dry gas is flowed into the internal space through at least two or more vents formed in the panel. It can also be heated.

Next, an inert gas can be used as the drying gas. Further, it is desirable that the drying gas contains oxygen. Here, the introduced dry gas is exhausted in a heated state from the internal space heated by the heat treatment after the aging treatment (in the case of heating in a heating furnace, in the case of heating with a laser beam, and in the case of heating with a heating medium). You can also.

In the case where the heat treatment is performed in a state in which the gas is flowing in the discharge space (when the heating is performed in the heating furnace while the gas is flowing in the discharge space, the heating is performed by laser light while the gas is flowed in the discharge space) In the case of heating with a heat medium), it is more preferable that the panel structure to be subjected to the heat treatment has a structure in which a gas is positively flowed into the discharge space as described above, since the gas exchangeability in the discharge space is increased.

According to the above-described manufacturing method, in particular, since the deterioration of the blue phosphor is suppressed, a plasma display panel having excellent emission characteristics can be obtained. Specifically, all the cells are turned on under the same condition. When the color temperature of the emission color is 70
A plasma display panel having a temperature of 00K or more can be obtained. Further, a plasma display panel is obtained in which the peak intensity ratio of the emission spectrum when the cells in which the blue and green phosphor layers are disposed under the same power condition is blue / green ≧ 0.8.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an AC surface discharge type PDP according to an embodiment. In FIG. 1, a display area at a central portion of the PDP is partially shown. Is shown in This PDP includes discharge electrodes 12 (scanning electrodes 12a and sustaining electrodes 12b) on the opposite surface of front glass substrate 11.
Front panel substrate 10 on which dielectric layer 13 and protective layer 14 are disposed, and rear panel substrate 20 on which address electrodes 22 and visible light reflecting layer 23 are disposed on the opposite surface of rear glass substrate 21. Are arranged in parallel with each other in a state where the discharge electrode 12 and the address electrode 22 face each other. The gap between the front panel substrate 10 and the back panel substrate 20 is partitioned by a stripe-shaped partition wall 24 to form a discharge space 30, and a discharge gas is sealed in the discharge space 30.

In the discharge space 30, a phosphor layer 25 is provided on the back panel substrate 20 side. Note that the phosphor layers 25 are repeatedly arranged in the order of red, green, and blue. The discharge electrode 12 and the address electrode 22
Both are striped, and the discharge electrodes 12 are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the partition walls 24, and the address electrodes 22 are arranged in parallel with the partition walls 24. Then, the discharge electrode 12 and the address electrode 2
A panel configuration is formed in which cells that emit red, green, and blue light are formed where 2 intersect.

The address electrode 22 is a metal electrode (for example,
(A silver electrode or a Cr—Cu—Cr electrode). The discharge electrode 12 has an electrode configuration in which a thin bus electrode (silver electrode, Cr—Cu—Cr electrode) is laminated on a wide transparent electrode made of a conductive metal oxide such as ITO, SnO ₂ , or ZnO. It is preferable to reduce the resistance of the display electrode and to secure a wide discharge area in the cell.
Similarly, a silver electrode can be used.

The dielectric layer 13 is a layer made of a dielectric material disposed over the entire surface of the front glass substrate 11 on which the discharge electrodes 12 are disposed. However, it may be formed of bismuth-based low-melting glass or a laminate of lead-based low-melting glass and bismuth-based low-melting glass. The protective layer 14 is made of magnesium oxide (Mg)
O) and covers the entire surface of the dielectric layer 13.

The visible light reflecting layer 23 is similar to the dielectric layer 13, but is mixed with TiO ₂ particles so as to also serve as a visible light reflecting layer. The partition wall 24 is made of a glass material, and the visible light reflecting layer 2 of the rear panel substrate 20 is formed.
3 projecting from the surface. As the phosphor material constituting the phosphor layer 25, here, blue phosphor: BaMgAl ₁₀ O ₁₇ : Eu green phosphor: Zn ₂ SiO ₄ : Mn red phosphor: Y ₂ O ₃ : Eu or (Y _x Gd) _1-x )
BO ₃ : Eu is used.

The composition of these phosphor materials has conventionally been P
The same as that used for DP, but the conventional P
Compared to the phosphor layer in the DP, the phosphor has a lower degree of thermal degradation during the manufacturing process, and thus has a better emission color. That is, in the conventional general PDP, the chromaticity coordinate y of the emission color when only the blue cell is turned on (CIE color system)
Is not less than 0.085 and the color temperature is about 6000 K in the white balance without color correction, whereas in the PDP of the present embodiment, the chromaticity coordinates of the emission color when only the blue cell is turned on. y is 0.08 or less, and further 0.06
It is also possible to set the color temperature to about 7000K to 11000K with white balance without color correction. In addition, as the chromaticity coordinate y of the blue cell decreases, the PD having a wider color reproduction range near the blue color.
P can be realized. Thus, the color temperature of 6000
According to the inventors' experimental confirmation of the emission spectrum of the blue phosphor capable of realizing a color temperature exceeding K,
It is necessary to have a spectral characteristic having a peak wavelength of 455 nm or less. In other words, when the peak wavelength shifts to a long wavelength exceeding 455 nm, the wavelength approaches green and the color reproducibility deteriorates. Note that this emission spectrum characteristic is
This is a spectral characteristic when only a blue phosphor emits light.

Next, in the present embodiment, the thickness of the dielectric layer 13 is about 20 μm and the thickness of the protective layer 14 is about 1.0 μm in accordance with a 40-inch class high-definition television. The height of the partition 24 is 0.1 to 0.15 m.
m, partition pitch is 0.15 to 0.3 mm, phosphor layer 25
Has a thickness of 5 to 50 μm. The discharge gas to be charged is a Ne—Xe system, the content of Xe is 5% by volume, and the charging pressure is set in the range of 500 to 800 Torr.

At the time of driving the PDP, as shown in FIG. 21, each driver and the panel driving circuit 300 are connected to the PDP and applied between the scanning electrode 12a and the address electrode 22 of the cell to be lit, thereby causing an address discharge. After that, a pulse voltage is applied between the scan electrode 12a and the sustain electrode 12b to perform a sustain discharge. Then, the cell emits ultraviolet light in accordance with the discharge, and is converted into visible light by the phosphor layer. An image is displayed by lighting the cell in this manner.

[Method of Manufacturing PDP] A method of manufacturing a PDP having the above structure will be described below. (Preparation of Front Panel Substrate) The front panel substrate 10 is obtained by applying a paste for forming a transparent electrode on a front glass substrate 11 by screen printing, and then applying a paste for a silver electrode on the transparent electrode by screen printing. By firing, the discharge electrode 12 is formed. Then, so as to cover the top thereof, a glass material (the composition of the lead-based, for example, lead oxide [PbO] 70 wt%, boron oxide _{[B 2} O 3] 15 wt%, silicon oxide _[SiO 2] 15 wt %) Is applied by screen printing and baked,
A dielectric layer 13 is formed, and CV is further applied to the surface of the dielectric layer 13.
It is manufactured by forming the protective layer 14 made of magnesium oxide (MgO) by the method D (chemical vapor deposition method).

[0025] (rear panel manufacturing of the substrate) back panel substrate, on the back glass substrate 21, a paste for the silver electrodes forming the address electrode 22 by a method of screen printing and then fired, thereon, TiO ₂ particles The visible light reflecting layer 23 was formed by applying a paste containing and dielectric glass particles by a screen printing method and firing it, and the paste containing the same glass particles was repeatedly applied at a predetermined pitch using the screen printing method. Thereafter, the partition wall 24 is formed by baking. At the same time as the formation of the barrier ribs 24, it is desirable to form barrier ribs for blocking the flow of the glass for sealing around the region where the barrier ribs 24 are formed on the rear glass substrate. By forming the flow stop partition in this way,
This is because the glass for sealing can be prevented from flowing toward the inner peripheral side of the substrate at the time of sealing.

Then, red, green, and blue color phosphor pastes are prepared, applied to the gaps between the partitions 24 by a screen printing method, and fired in air to form the color phosphor layers 25. Each color phosphor paste used here can be produced as follows.

Blue phosphor (BaMgAl ₁₀ O ₁₇ : E)
u) is, as raw materials, barium carbonate (BaCO ₃ ), magnesium carbonate (MgCO ₃ ), aluminum oxide (α)
-Al ₂ O ₃ ) is blended so that the atomic ratio of Ba, Mg, and Al is 1: 1: 1: 10. Next, a predetermined amount of europium oxide (Eu ₂ O ₃ ) is added to the mixture.
Then, the mixture is mixed with an appropriate amount of flux (AlF ₂ , BaCl ₂ ) in a mixer (for example, a ball mill), under a reducing atmosphere (in H ₂ , N ₂ ) for a predetermined time (for example, 0.5 hour), and at a temperature of 1400 ° C. It is obtained by firing at １６1650 ° C.

The red phosphor (Y ₂ O ₃ : Eu) is obtained by adding a predetermined amount of europium oxide (Eu ₂ O ₃ ) to yttrium hydroxide Y ₂ (OH) ₃ as a raw material. And it mixes with an appropriate amount of flux with a mixer (for example, a ball mill), and is baked in air at a temperature of 1200 to 1450 ° C. for a predetermined time (for example, 1 hour).

The green phosphor (Zn ₂ SiO ₄ : Mn) is
As raw materials, zinc oxide (ZnO), silicon oxide (Si
O ₂ ) is blended so that the atomic ratio of Zn and Si is 2: 1. Next, a predetermined amount of manganese oxide (Mn ₂
O ₃ ) is added. Then, after mixing in a mixer (for example, a ball mill), it is obtained by firing in air at a temperature of 1200 to 1350 ° C. for a predetermined time (for example, 0.5 hour).

The phosphors of each color thus produced are pulverized and sieved to obtain phosphor particles of each color having a predetermined particle size distribution. The phosphor paste of each color is obtained by mixing the phosphor particles of each color with a binder and a solvent. When forming the phosphor layer 25, in addition to the above-described screen printing method, a method of scanning while discharging a phosphor ink from a nozzle, or a method of forming a photosensitive resin containing a phosphor material of each color. A sheet can be formed by attaching a sheet to the surface of the rear glass substrate 21 on the side where the partition walls 24 are arranged, patterning by photolithography, and developing to remove unnecessary portions.

(Seal of Front Panel Substrate and Rear Panel Substrate) Glass (glass frit) for sealing is applied to one or both of the front panel substrate 10 and the rear panel substrate 20 manufactured as described above, and pre-baked. The discharge electrode 12 of the front panel substrate 10 and the address electrode 22 of the rear panel substrate 20 are overlapped so as to be orthogonal to each other, and the substrates 20 and 30 are heated to seal glass. Seal by softening the layer.

Then, the panel is baked while evacuating from the internal space of the sealed panel substrate, thereby temporarily
Degas the gas from this internal space. Then, a discharge gas is sealed in this internal space. The calcining and sealing steps will be described in detail below. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a sealing device used in the calcination and sealing processes.

The sealing device 40 includes a front panel substrate 10
And a gas introduction valve 42 for adjusting the amount of atmospheric gas introduced into the heating furnace 41 to the heating furnace 41 for heating the rear panel substrate 20, and a gas discharge valve 43 for adjusting the amount of gas discharged from the heating furnace 41. Etc. are attached. The inside of the heating furnace 41 can be heated to a high temperature by a heater (not shown). Further, an atmosphere gas (for example, when the partial pressure of water vapor is 20 T) that forms an atmosphere in which the front panel substrate and the rear panel substrate are heated is provided in the heating furnace 41.
Dry air of about orr. In addition, the following "dry gas",
The term “dry air” refers to a water vapor partial pressure (dew point) of 20.
It means gas and air below Torr (22 ° C). )
Can be introduced from a gas introduction valve 42 and exhausted from a gas discharge valve 43 by a vacuum pump (not shown).
The inside can be made high vacuum. The degree of vacuum in the heating furnace 41 can be adjusted by the gas introduction valve 42 and the gas discharge valve 43. A gas dryer (not shown) is provided between the atmosphere gas supply source and the heating furnace 41 to remove the atmosphere gas by cooling it to a low temperature (minus several tens degrees) and condensing moisture. . The amount of steam (steam partial pressure) in the atmosphere gas is controlled by passing the atmosphere gas through the gas dryer.

In the heating furnace 41, the front panel substrate 10
And a mounting table 4 on which the back panel substrate 20 is superimposed and mounted.
A moving pin 45 for moving the rear panel substrate 20 in parallel is provided above the mounting table 44. The rear panel substrate 20 is located above the mounting table 44.
There is provided a pressing mechanism 46 for pressing downward.

A vent 21 a is provided in the outer peripheral portion of the rear glass substrate 21. A glass tube 26 is attached to the vent 21 a, and the glass tube 26 is inserted into the glass tube 26 from outside the heating furnace 41. Pipe 48 is connected. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an internal configuration of the heating furnace 41. 2 and 3, the rear panel substrate 20 is
The partitions are arranged so that the direction of the partitions is along the horizontal direction in the drawing.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rear panel substrate 20 is set slightly longer than the front panel substrate 10 in the direction of the partition wall (lateral direction in the drawing). It protrudes outward from both ends of the panel substrate 10 (note that a protruding line for connecting the address electrode 22 to the drive circuit is provided at the protruding portion). The moving pins 45 and the pressing mechanism 46 are connected to the back panel substrate 20 mounted on the mounting table 44.
The protruding portions are arranged so as to be sandwiched from above and below around the four corners of the rear panel substrate 20.

The upper ends of the four moving pins 45 project upward from the upper surface of the mounting table 44, and can be simultaneously raised and lowered by a pin lifting mechanism (not shown) provided inside the mounting table 44. . Each of the four pressing mechanisms 46 includes a cylindrical support portion 46a fixed to the upper portion of the heating furnace 41, a slide portion 46b supported in a vertically movable state inside the support portion 46a, and a support portion. A spring 46 which is located inside 46a and urges the slide portion 46b downward.
The lower end of the slide portion 46b presses the rear panel substrate 20 by the urging force of the spring 46c.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation when a preheating step and a sealing step are performed using this sealing apparatus. The calcination, preheating, and sealing steps will be described with reference to FIG. Calcination process: the outer peripheral portion of the facing surface of the front panel substrate 10 (the surface facing the rear panel substrate 20), the outer peripheral portion of the facing surface of the rear panel substrate 20 (the surface facing the front panel substrate 10), or A sealing glass layer 15 is formed by applying a sealing glass paste to the outer peripheral portions of the opposing surfaces of both the front panel substrate 10 and the rear panel substrate 20 (in the figure, the sealing glass layer 15 is a front surface). It is formed on the opposite surface of the panel substrate 10.)

Then, the front panel substrate 10 and the rear panel substrate 20 are placed in a fixed position on the mounting table 44 in a state where they are aligned and overlapped, and the pressing mechanism 46 is set to press the rear panel substrate 20. (See FIG. 4A). Next, the following operation is performed while flowing the atmospheric gas (dry air) through the heating furnace 41 (or while using the vacuum exhaust from the gas discharge valve 43).

The moving pins 45 are raised, and the rear panel substrate 20 is pushed upward to be translated (see FIG. 4B). Thereby, the gap between the opposing surfaces of the front panel substrate 10 and the rear panel substrate 20 is widened, and the rear panel substrate 20
The surface on which the phosphor layer 25 is disposed is opened to a wide space in the heating furnace 41. In this state, the inside of the heating furnace 41 is heated to a calcining temperature (about 350 ° C.), and calcined by maintaining the calcining temperature for about 10 to 30 minutes.

Preheating step: The panel substrates 10 and 20 are further heated and heated to release the gas adsorbed on the panel substrates 10 and 20. Then, a predetermined temperature (for example, 40
(0 ° C.), the preheating step is completed. Sealing step: Subsequently, the moving pins 45 are lowered, and the rear panel substrate 20 is again superimposed on the front panel substrate 10. At this time, the back panel substrate 20 is superimposed in the original alignment state (see FIG. 4C).

When the temperature in the heating furnace 41 reaches a sealing temperature (around 450 ° C.) higher than the softening point of the sealing glass layer 15, the sealing temperature is maintained for 10 to 20 minutes. At this time, the outer peripheral portions of the front panel substrate 10 and the rear panel substrate 20 are sealed by the softened sealing glass. During this time, since the rear panel substrate 20 is pressed against the front panel substrate 10 by the pressing mechanism 46, stable sealing can be performed.

The sealing method of the present embodiment has the following effects as compared with the conventional sealing method. Normally, gases such as water vapor are adsorbed on the front panel substrate and the back panel substrate. When these substrates are heated and heated, the adsorbed gas is released. In the conventional general manufacturing method, after the calcination step, in the sealing step, the front panel substrate and the back panel substrate are overlapped at room temperature and then heated and heated to be sealed. The gas adsorbed on the front panel substrate and the rear panel substrate is released. In the calcination step, even if the gas adsorbed on the substrate escapes to some extent, the gas is adsorbed again by bringing the temperature to room temperature in the atmosphere until the start of the sealing step, so that the gas is released in the sealing step. Occurs. Then, the released gas is confined in the narrow internal space. At this time, as a result of the measurement, it has been found that the partial pressure of water vapor in the internal space is usually 20 Torr or more.

Therefore, the phosphor layer 25 facing the internal space is apt to be thermally degraded by the influence of gas (particularly the influence of water vapor released from the protective layer 14). Then, when the phosphor layer (particularly, the blue phosphor layer) is thermally degraded, the light emission intensity decreases. On the other hand, according to the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the gas such as water vapor adsorbed on the front panel substrate 10 and the rear panel substrate 20 is released by the sealing step and the preheating step. Since a wide gap is formed between the panel substrates 10 and 20, generated gas is not confined in the internal space. After the preliminary heating, both panel substrates 10 and 20 are sealed in a heated state.
After the preliminary heating, neither moisture nor the like is adsorbed on both panel substrates 10 and 20. Therefore, at the time of sealing, both panel substrates 1
The gas generated from 0 and 20 decreases, and the phosphor layer 25
Is prevented from being thermally degraded.

Further, in this embodiment, since the steps from the preheating step to the sealing step are performed in an atmosphere in which dry air flows, the phosphor layer 25 is exposed to water vapor in the atmosphere gas.
No thermal degradation occurs. Also, by using the sealing device 40 as described above, first, the front panel substrate 1
If the back panel substrate 20 is aligned with 0, the sealing is performed in the aligned state.

Next, after cooling, the panel is taken out of the heating furnace 41, and a driving circuit for aging processing is connected to the discharge electrode to perform aging processing to stabilize light emission characteristics and discharge characteristics. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of an aging device 50 for performing an aging step in the present embodiment. The aging device 50 includes pipes 52a and 52 for flowing a discharge gas into the internal space 51a of the panel 51.
b, valves 53a and 53b for adjusting the discharge gas pressure in the internal space 51a of the panel 51, and a drive circuit 54 for applying a discharge voltage in a pulsed manner.

The rear panel substrate 55 on which the address electrodes, the visible light reflecting layer, the partition walls, and the phosphor layers are formed is provided with two or more vents 56 which communicate with the internal space of the panel while avoiding the display area. This vent is provided by the vent 21
Including those newly provided in addition to a. A glass tube 57 is attached to these vents 56, and is mounted on a mounting table (not shown). Then, the glass tube 57 is connected to the pipes 52a and 52b for flowing the discharge gas.
After the connection, after evacuating the internal space of the panel 51 through the pipe 52b, a discharge gas 59 is introduced from the pipe 52a,
Thereafter, the valves 53a and 53b are adjusted so that the discharge gas continues to flow at a predetermined flow rate while maintaining a predetermined pressure. It is desirable that the flow rate of the discharge gas is made to be as constant as possible. This is because when the flow rate changes, the discharge voltage changes. However, if a large discharge voltage is applied in anticipation of the amount of change in advance, it is possible to avoid that the discharge does not occur even if the flow rate of the discharge gas changes and the discharge voltage changes.

When the vents 56 are provided at two locations as shown in the figure, it is desirable to provide the vents 56 on diagonal surfaces via partition walls of the back panel substrate 55. This is because by providing such a structure, the flow of gas sent into the panel is improved. In the present embodiment, He, Ne, Ar, Xe dried as a discharge gas flowing through the internal space is used.
Alternatively, the discharge gas pressure is set to about 100 to 760 Torr by using the mixed inert gas.

After adjusting the gas pressure, a predetermined voltage is applied to the discharge electrodes formed on the front panel substrate 58 by using the drive circuit 54 while the gas is flowing in the panel, and a discharge is generated inside the panel 51. Aging is performed for a predetermined time.
By continuing the discharge while flowing the discharge gas as described above, the gas containing water vapor generated inside can be discharged, and the deterioration of the emission characteristics of the phosphor which has conventionally occurred during aging can be suppressed.

Further, since a dry gas is used as the discharge gas introduced into the panel, it is possible to suppress thermal deterioration caused by contact between the water vapor in the discharge gas and the phosphor. In order to achieve such an effect, it is important to efficiently exhaust gas generated in a very narrow linear space partitioned by a partition inside the panel 51 in the aging step. For that purpose, the introduced discharge gas needs to stably flow in the linear space partitioned by the partition, and the panel configuration as shown in FIGS. 6 to 12 is advantageous. Although the stripe-shaped partition is provided on the entire panel, FIGS.
2 shows only a few of the stripe-shaped partition walls on both sides.

FIG. 6 shows that the shortest distance between the partition 61 and the sealing glass layer 62 in the vertical direction and the partition end 63 is shorter than the shortest distance between the sealing glass layer 64 in the direction parallel to the partition 61 and the adjacent partition 61. After the discharge gas introduced from the ventilation port 65a spreads into the space 66a formed on the end of the partition wall (on the drawing) and stably flows through the space 67 between the partition walls, Space 66 formed below the end (on the drawing)
The gas discharged from the vent hole 65b through b can be efficiently discharged, and the deterioration of the phosphor in the aging process can be suppressed.

In this configuration, the shortest distance between the partition 61 and the sealing glass layer 62 and the partition end 63 in the vertical direction is determined by the following formula.
As the distance between the sealing glass layer 64 and the adjacent partition 61 in the direction parallel to the direction becomes wider, the introduced gas flows through the space 67 between the partitions more stably. this is,
By doing so, the gas introduced from the vent 65a is located above the partition wall end near the vent 65a (on the drawing).
This is because it is easy to spread to the space 67a and to perform distribution to the space 67 and discharge from the space 67 therefrom. Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the configuration in which the sealing glass layer 64 in the direction parallel to the partition wall and the adjacent partition wall 61 are at least partially in contact with each other is most effective. This is because discharge does not occur outside the partition walls located at both ends, so there is no need to flow gas in this part.Therefore, if the gas flow in this part is blocked, in the discharge space where discharge occurs during aging This is because gas can be derived more efficiently.

In the space 66a, the distance between the end of the partition wall and the sealing glass is a problem in the portion near the vent 65a where gas enters the panel, and is located farthest from the vent. Even if the end 63 of the partition wall is in contact with the sealing glass layer, the gas flowing into the space 66a from the ventilation hole 65a is distributed to the space 67, and does not hinder the gas flow. That is, if the space near the vent 65 a is narrow, gas flows into a wide space that is easier to flow, and the gas is not distributed well to the space 67. Hereinafter, in the space above the partition, the end of the partition and the glass layer to be sealed (or the partition for preventing flow).
When the distance is discussed, it refers to the distance to the end of the partition other than the partition farthest from the ventilation port through which gas enters.

Similarly, in the space 66b, the distance between the end of the partition wall and the sealing glass is a problem in the portion near the vent 65b through which the gas exits from the inside of the panel, and is located farthest from the vent. Even if the end 63 of the partition wall is in contact with the sealing glass layer, the gas in the
It does not hinder the gas flow at all. In other words, if the space near the vent 65b is narrow, the gas flows into a wide space that is easier to flow, so that the efficiency of discharging the gas from the vent 65b decreases. Hereinafter, when discussing the distance between the end of the partition wall and the sealing glass layer (or the partition wall for preventing flow) in the space below the partition wall, the partition walls other than the partition wall located farthest from the vent port through which the gas exits will be described. Refers to the distance from the end.

Further, in the space 66b where the gas is discharged, if the distance between the end of the partition wall and the sealing glass is small, the gas flowing through the space 67 is less likely to be discharged from the vent 65b through the space 66b. When the distance between the end of the partition wall and the sealing glass in the space 66a is defined as described above, the effect of improving the gas distribution efficiency to the space 67 can be obtained. Of course, when the distance between the end of the partition wall and the sealing glass in the space 66b is defined as described above, the discharge efficiency from the space 67 to the space 66b is improved, so that the gas flow in the space 67 is more efficiently increased. As described above, it is desirable to define the distance between the end of the partition wall and the sealing glass in both the spaces 66a and 66b as described above.

FIG. 8 shows the barrier ribs 81, 82 for preventing the sealing glass layers 62, 64 from flowing into the panel at the time of sealing. And the shortest distance between the stripe-shaped partition wall 61 and the vertical flow-stop partition wall 81 and the stripe-shaped partition wall end portion 63 is for the flow-stop in the parallel direction to the stripe-shaped partition wall 61. This is a panel having a configuration wider than the shortest distance between the partition wall 82 and the adjacent stripe-shaped partition wall 61, and discharge gas introduced from the vent 65 a is placed in a space 66 a formed above the partition wall end (on the drawing). After spreading and flowing stably through the space 67 between the partition walls, the ventilation port 6 passes through a space 66b formed below the partition wall end (on the drawing).
5b, the gas generated inside can be efficiently discharged, and the deterioration of the phosphor in the aging step can be suppressed.

In this configuration, the shortest distance between the partition wall 61, the flow-stopping partition wall 81 in the vertical direction, and the partition wall end 63 is equal to that of the partition wall 61.
As the distance becomes smaller than the shortest distance between the flow-stopping partition wall 82 and the adjacent partition wall 61 in the direction parallel to the direction, the introduced gas flows more stably through the space 67 between the partition walls. Here, FIG.
As shown in (1), the most effective configuration is one in which the flow-stopping partition wall 82 in the direction parallel to the partition wall and the adjacent partition wall 61 contact at least partially. As described above, since discharge does not occur outside the partition walls located at both ends, it is not necessary to flow gas to this portion.Therefore, if the gas flow in this portion is interrupted, the discharge occurs during aging. This is because the gas can be more efficiently led out in the generated discharge space.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, only a striped partition wall 61 and a vertical flow-stop partition wall 81 are formed, and a panel having a configuration in which the partition wall 61 and the sealing glass layer 64 in a parallel direction are in contact with each other. The effect was obtained. further,
The positions of the vents 65a and 65b are not limited to the upper and lower portions of the end of the partition wall, but may be provided, for example, beside the center of the partition wall 61 as shown in FIG. Here, the partition walls 61 located at both ends and the flow-stopping partition walls 82 are brought into contact with each other,
It is desirable to promote the flow of gas in one direction so that the gas can be more efficiently led out between the partition walls.

The number of vents is not limited to two, but may be two or more so that gas can be introduced and discharged. Here, as shown in FIG. 12, it is also possible to divide the panel by the partition wall 70 and adjust the introduction and discharge of gas in each part. After the aging, the panel is put into the heating furnace 41 again, the temperature is lowered to an exhaust temperature lower than the softening point of the sealing glass, and heating is performed while maintaining the exhaust temperature (for example, about 350 ° C. for one hour). ), The interior space of both sealed panel substrates is evacuated to a high vacuum (8 × 10 ⁻⁷ Torr) state, and gas is released from the interior space. This evacuation process is performed by connecting a vacuum pump (not shown) to the pipe 48, but only one of the vents is opened and connected to the vacuum pump, and the remaining vents allow gas to flow into the panel. It is sealed so that it does not occur.

After the evacuation step, the panel substrate is cooled to room temperature while keeping the internal space at a vacuum, a discharge gas is sealed into the internal space from one opened glass tube, and all the opened vents are opened. Is sealed, and all the glass tubes are cut off to produce a PDP. Next, by performing the aging treatment as described above, it is possible to suppress the thermal deterioration of the phosphor, which cannot be avoided in the conventional aging process. The reason will be discussed below.

First, using an apparatus as shown in FIG.
Blue phosphor used (BaMgAl ₁₀ O ₁₇ : Eu)
Was evaluated for durability against discharge. , The evaluation device,
The phosphor to be evaluated is applied to the inner surface of the discharge tube 110, and the emission characteristics before and after the discharge for a certain period of time are evaluated. A discharge gas 111 is sealed in the discharge tube 110 at a predetermined pressure, and a voltage is applied between the pair of electrodes 112 to generate a discharge. Ne, Xe
And a gas mixture of water vapor with a gas pressure of 100T
orr. The partial pressure ratio of Ne and Xe is set to Ne: Xe = 9.
The ratio was fixed at 5: 5, and the light emission characteristics of the phosphor were evaluated by changing the partial pressure of water vapor (or the dew point temperature). In addition, in order to remove heat generated in the discharge tube 110,
A heat emitter 113 is arranged in the discharge tube. BaO was used as the heat emitter 113.

FIGS. 14 and 15 show the rate of change in emission intensity of the used blue phosphor (BaMgAl ₁₀ O ₁₇ : Eu) due to discharge (emission intensity after discharge / emission intensity before discharge, and emission intensity refer to luminance / color). And the chromaticity y value after discharge are shown. The horizontal axis in FIGS. 14 and 15 is the partial pressure of water vapor in the discharge gas. The chromaticity y value of the blue phosphor before the discharge test was 0.052.

The light emission intensity after discharge became weaker with an increase in the partial pressure of water vapor. Further, when the water vapor partial pressure is around 0 Torr, no change in chromaticity due to discharge is observed, and the chromaticity change increases as the water vapor partial pressure increases. Thus, the blue phosphor y
As the value increases, the color gamut of the panel becomes narrower. The deterioration of the emission intensity after the discharge is presumed from the change in the y value, which is considered to be larger than that in the case of heating in steam.

From these results, it can be seen that the blue phosphor (BaMgAl ₁₀
O ₁₇ : Eu) may be degraded by a gas containing water vapor generated from a protective layer (MgO) on the front panel or a phosphor layer or a partition formed on the rear panel during the aging step, and during the aging step. It is considered that the ion impingement generated by the discharge or the deterioration due to the irradiation of vacuum ultraviolet rays is combined. Therefore, deterioration due to ultraviolet irradiation is unavoidable due to the aging process. Therefore, if the partial pressure of water vapor in the discharge gas, which is another cause of the phosphor deterioration, is reduced, the blue phosphor (BaMgAl ₁₀ O ₁₇ : Eu) is used. It has been found that it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the light emission characteristics of (2).

In consideration of the aging process, the discharge occurs in a narrow space partitioned by partition walls or the like, so that the protective layer (MgO) on the front plate or the phosphor layer or partition wall formed on the rear plate during the discharge. It is considered that the gas containing water vapor generated from the gas is confined and affects the phosphor. In other words, at the time of discharge, the surface of the phosphor layer is heated to a high temperature (about 1000 ° C.) by the generated plasma, and in such a high temperature state, the inner peripheral surface of the discharge space is sputtered by the plasma. When the generated water vapor contacts the surface of the phosphor layer, the phosphor deteriorates.

Therefore, by discharging the gas containing water vapor generated at the time of discharge from the discharge space, thermal degradation of the phosphor caused by contact between the gas and the phosphor can be prevented. In the present embodiment, the discharge gas is continuously flowed during aging, but the same effect is obtained even when the discharge gas flows intermittently by intermittently repeating the introduction and discharge of the discharge gas. . This is because the gas containing water vapor in the discharge space can be discharged to the outside of the discharge space by intermittently introducing and discharging the discharge gas. Further, the discharge may be performed intermittently in a plurality of times, and the discharge gas in the discharge space may be replaced between discharges. In this case, the vent is 2
The gas can be replaced between discharges by providing only one vent hole for both gas introduction and gas discharge without providing more than one.

It is also desirable that the discharge gas flowing through the panel internal space be a dry gas containing as little water vapor as possible. This is because if the discharge gas introduced into the panel contains too much water vapor, the water vapor and the phosphor come into contact with each other, and the phosphor is eventually thermally degraded. Therefore, considering the results of FIGS. 14 and 15 together, the partial pressure of water vapor of the discharge gas flowing through the panel internal space is 15 Torr.
r (the dew point temperature is 20 ° C. or less). Further, the lower the water vapor partial pressure (or the dew point temperature), the more the degradation of the emission characteristics of the phosphor can be suppressed.
0 Torr or less (dew point temperature is 10 ° C or less), and 5
Torr or less (dew point temperature is 1 ° C. or less) is desirable, and 1 Torr or less (dew point temperature is -20 ° C. or less) is more desirable, and further 0.1 Torr or less (dew point temperature is -40 ° C. or less). It is more desirable.

(Example)

[0069]

[Table 1]

The PDP with the panel number 1 shown in Table 1 is a PDP according to an example in which the panel having the structure shown in FIG. 8 is manufactured by the aging method based on the above embodiment, and is used as a discharge gas flowing during aging. A mixed gas of Ne and Xe (mixing ratio: Ne: Xe = 95: 5) was used, and the partial pressure of water vapor of the discharge gas introduced into the panel was set to 1 Torr or less. The discharge gas pressure was set to 500 Torr.

The PDP with the panel number 2 shown in Table 1 is a PDP according to the embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 16, a stripe-shaped partition wall 61, a vertical flow stopping partition wall 81, and a stripe-shaped partition wall end. A panel having a configuration in which the shortest interval between the portions 63 is smaller than the shortest interval between the stripe-shaped partition wall 61 and the adjacent stripe-shaped partition wall 61 in the direction parallel to the stripe-shaped partition wall 61, and the same aging as in the previous embodiment. It was produced by the method.

Further, the PDP of panel number 3 shown in Table 1
Is a PDP according to a comparative example. In the configuration of FIG. 16, there is one vent 65 as shown in FIG. 17, and the aging process was performed in a state where the vent was sealed. Each of the above P
In the DP, the aging discharge was performed for 12 hours, and the manufacturing conditions other than the aging process were the same. Also,
The panel configuration was the same except for the vents and the barrier ribs, the phosphor film thickness was 30 μm, and the discharge gas was Ne (95%).
%)-Xe (5%) was encapsulated at 500 Torr. Aging was performed by alternately applying a 200 V, 20 KHz alternating current to the discharge electrodes in a pulsed manner.

After aging, the produced panel was lit in white (all cells were lit), and the light emission characteristics were evaluated (the evaluation results are shown in Table 1). As a result, the PDP of panel number 1 showed the best characteristics. Panel number 1 is PD with panel number 2
The reason why the characteristics were better than that of P was that, in panel number 1, in the aging process, the discharge gas stably flowed in the striped space between the partition walls, and the gas containing water vapor generated inside could be efficiently discharged. In the PDP of panel number 2, most of the discharge gas introduced from the vent hole 65a has a space 161 formed between the leftmost partition (on the drawing) and the flow-stop partition 82, and is located below the partition end. Through space 66b,
Since most of the discharge gas introduced and discharged from the ventilation port 65b was discharged from the space 66a above the partition wall end without being distributed to the space 67, the gas containing water vapor generated in the striped space between the partition walls. It is considered that the wastewater was not efficiently discharged.

Further, since the PDP of panel No. 3 cannot discharge gas containing water vapor generated in the striped space between the partition walls, the light emission characteristics of the PDPs of panel Nos. 1 and 2 are low.
It was worse than. As described above, the PDPs of Panel Nos. 1 and 2 had superior panel characteristics as compared with the PDP of Panel No. 3 aged by the conventional method. This supports that exhausting gas generated inside during aging is effective to prevent deterioration of panel characteristics.

In this embodiment, FIGS. 8, 16 and 17 are used.
9 shows light emission characteristics of the panel having the panel configuration shown in FIG.
12 to FIG. 12, the gas generated in the striped space between the partition walls could be efficiently exhausted, and a panel having almost the same good luminescence characteristics as in the present example was obtained. . [Embodiment 2] In this embodiment, except that the aging step and the subsequent steps are different from those of Embodiment 1,
Since the manufacturing method of the DP structure and the PDP is the same as that of the first embodiment, only the differences will be described.

In this embodiment, first, after sealing the front panel substrate and the rear panel substrate, aging treatment is performed under conventional general conditions. This method is a simple method in which a pulse is applied between discharge electrodes to generate a discharge. However, in this conventional aging process, the phosphor is thermally deteriorated as described above, so that the aging process significantly deteriorates the light emission characteristics and the discharge characteristics. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the phosphor deteriorated in the aging process is effectively restored in its light emission characteristics.

In the present embodiment for this purpose, the following steps are added after the aging step. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a panel manufacturing apparatus for performing an aging step and a subsequent heating step in the present embodiment. The panel manufacturing apparatus includes a panel 10
A pipe 102 for introducing and exhausting a gas into the internal space 1
a, 102b, valves 103a, 103b for adjusting the gas pressure in the internal space of the panel 101, a drive circuit 104 for applying a discharge voltage, and a heating furnace.

The rear glass substrate 105 on which the address electrodes, the visible light reflecting layer, the partition walls, and the phosphor layers are formed is provided with two or more vents 106 communicating with the inner space of the panel while avoiding the display area. In addition to the vent 21a,
Includes newly opened vents. ), Glass tubes 107 are attached to these vents. Then, the glass tube 107 and the pipes 102a, 102
2b is connected. After connection, the internal space 11 of the panel 101
The panel is heated to a predetermined temperature while evacuating vacuum through the pipe 102b (evacuating step).
02a, a discharge gas is introduced at a predetermined pressure, and the driving circuit 1
A predetermined voltage is applied to the discharge electrodes formed on the front plate 109 using 04 to generate a discharge inside the panel 101,
Aging is performed for a predetermined time.

In the present embodiment, He, Ne, Ar, Xe or a mixed inert gas thereof dried as a discharge gas is used, and the discharge gas pressure is set at about 100 to 760 Torr. After the aging step, the discharge gas inside the panel is exhausted through the pipe 102b, and then the drying gas is introduced from the pipe 102a, and the glass for sealing the panel 101 is kept flowing while the drying gas is kept flowing into the panel 101 at a constant flow rate. Heat until the temperature reaches a predetermined level that does not soften.

After the panel is cooled, the interior space of the panel 101 is evacuated to a vacuum through a pipe 102b, a discharge gas having a predetermined composition is introduced from the pipe 102a at a predetermined pressure, the glass tube 107 is sealed, and a PDP is manufactured. I do. By heating after the discharge as described above, it is possible to recover the deterioration of the light emission characteristics of the phosphor generated during the aging.
In this heating step, the degree of recovery is higher if heating is performed while flowing the drying gas into the internal space of the panel. Further, when the dry gas is supplied in this manner, by defining the opening position of the vent as described in the first embodiment (see FIGS. 6 to 12), the gas is efficiently supplied into the discharge space. And the degree of recovery is even higher.

Further, the characteristics of the phosphor can be restored only by discharging the gas generated inside the panel at the time of heating, instead of actively flowing the dry gas in the internal space. This is because water vapor generated inside during heating can be discharged to the outside of the panel. Further, the deterioration of the phosphor is recovered to some extent only by introducing the drying gas instead of actively flowing the drying gas in the internal space. However, as compared with the case of flowing, the degree of recovery is small because water vapor generated inside during heating cannot be efficiently discharged to the outside of the panel.

Further, even if heating is performed without discharging the discharge gas after discharging, the light emission characteristics are recovered to some extent. However, it is preferable to discharge the discharge gas in the panel once after discharging as described above. However, the degree of recovery is high. Next, consideration will be given to the fact that the above method can effectively restore the light emission characteristics. First, a blue phosphor (BaMgAl ₁₀ O) in which deterioration of light emission characteristics due to aging treatment is remarkably observed.
₁₇ : Table 2 shows the change in the light emission characteristics of the plasma display panel coated with only Eu) before and after the aging step.

[0083]

[Table 2]

The emission intensity is a relative evaluation with the value before the aging step taken as 100. In the blue phosphor, the emission intensity was greatly deteriorated by the aging process, and the chromaticity y value was also increased. By going through the aging process in this way,
The characteristics of the phosphor deteriorate. FIGS. 19 and 20 show that a blue phosphor (BaMgAl ₁₀ O ₁₇ : Eu) whose y value and emission intensity have been degraded by the aging process is subjected to a peak temperature maintenance time of 30 in dry air (steam partial pressure of 2 Torr).
The measurement results of the firing peak temperature dependence of the relative luminescence intensity and the chromaticity y value when rebaked in minutes are shown. The relative light emission intensity is set to 100 as the light emission intensity of the blue phosphor before the aging step. The chromaticity y value of the unsintered blue phosphor was 0.052.

It can be seen that the luminous characteristics (luminous intensity and chromaticity y value) are restored by refiring the phosphor that has deteriorated in the aging step in a dry atmosphere. That is, it can be seen that the deterioration of the blue phosphor during the aging step is a reversible reaction. In addition, the recovery of the light emission characteristics is recognized when the heating peak temperature is around 300 ° C., and as the refiring temperature increases, the degree of the recovery increases. However, it is found that the saturation state is reached at around 500 ° C. Although not shown,
When the peak time was changed, the longer the peak time, the greater the degree of recovery of the emission characteristics.

Although not shown, heating is performed by Ne-X.
e When performed in a mixed gas, the effect of the atmosphere was hardly observed on the recovery of the chromaticity y value, and the recovery was equivalent to that in the dry air. The degree of recovery was larger in the firing than in the Ne-Xe mixed gas. The reason for this is that since the change in the y value is caused by water vapor, the recovery of the y value in refiring is determined by the partial pressure of water vapor, regardless of the gas type. It is necessary to repair defects (generally oxygen deficiency) generated in the phosphor by ultraviolet irradiation, and it is considered that re-firing in an atmosphere containing oxygen has a higher degree of recovery.

Next, the relationship between the partial pressure of water vapor of the dry gas and the degree of recovery of the light emission characteristics will be considered. As the water vapor partial pressure in the dry gas is lower, the thermal degradation caused by the contact between the phosphor and the water vapor is less likely to occur, as described above. The degree of recovery of the characteristics increases, and 15 Torr
A remarkable effect appears from around (the dew point temperature is 20 ° C. or less). Further, the lower the water vapor partial pressure (dew point temperature), the more the emission characteristics of the phosphor can be suppressed from deteriorating. Below), and 1 Torr or less (dew point temperature is -20 ° C or less)
Is more preferable, and more desirably 0.1 Torr or less (dew point temperature is −40 ° C. or less). The relationship between the partial pressure of water vapor in the dry gas and the effect of the recovery is supported by the characteristic diagrams shown in FIGS. The relationship between FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 is a characteristic diagram obtained when discharging is performed. On the other hand, here, the relationship between the degree of recovery of the once deteriorated phosphor characteristics and the partial pressure of water vapor in the heating atmosphere is shown. For this reason, it is not always possible to discuss the characteristics in the same manner as in the characteristic diagrams of FIGS. 14 and 15, but a similar tendency is observed.

(Example 2)

[0089]

[Table 3]

PDPs of panel numbers 1 to 8 shown in Table 3
Is a P according to an example manufactured based on the above embodiment.
In the heating step after the aging step, panel numbers 1 to 4 are heated to a predetermined temperature while flowing a dry gas (steam partial pressure of 2 Torr) inside the panel, and then cooled, exhausted, and filled with discharge gas. The panel that went,
The heating temperature and the type of the drying gas were changed. The peak temperature (highest temperature) during heating was maintained for 30 minutes.

The PDP of panel number 5 shown in Table 3 is a panel in which after the aging step, the inside of the panel is heated while being evacuated, then cooled, and then evacuated and filled with discharge gas.
The PDP of panel No. 6 is dry air (steam partial pressure 2 To
The panel was heated to a predetermined temperature while flowing rr), and then exhausted while heating the panel as it was without cooling the panel.

In the PDP of panel number 7, after introducing dry air (steam partial pressure of 2 Torr), the panel was heated in a sealed state without flowing dry gas into the panel, and then cooled and then exhausted and sealed with discharge gas. It is a panel. Panel number 8
PDP is obtained by heating a panel manufactured by a conventional manufacturing method as it is after an aging step. The PDP of Panel No. 9 is a PDP according to a comparative example, and shows light emission characteristics of a panel manufactured by a conventional manufacturing method after passing through an aging step.

In each of the above PDPs, the discharge in the aging step was performed for 24 hours, and the manufacturing steps up to the aging step were performed under the same conditions. Also, the panel configuration is the same,
The phosphor film thickness is 30 μm, and the discharge gas is Ne (95%)-X
e (5%) was encapsulated at 500 Torr. As the light emission characteristics, the light emission intensity and the chromaticity y value when lit in blue were measured. Further, the panel color temperature in white balance (panel color temperature when white, blue, green, and red cells emit light with the same power without white balance) and the blue and green cells emit light with the same power without color correction. And the peak intensity (blue / green) of the emission spectrum was measured. The luminous intensity is shown as a relative luminous intensity with the luminous intensity of panel number 9 of the comparative example being 100.

Looking at the evaluation results of the light emission characteristics, all of the PDPs of panel numbers 1 to 8 of this example had improved light emission characteristics as compared with the conventional PDP of panel number 9. Comparing the data between the PDPs of panel numbers 1 to 3, it can be seen that the higher the heating temperature after the aging step, the better the light emission characteristics of the panel. This is because, as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the higher the heating temperature, the higher the degree of recovery of the blue phosphor deteriorated in the aging step.

By comparing the data of the PDPs of panel numbers 1, 4 and 5, the heating atmosphere was
Dry air containing oxygen shows the best emission characteristics. It is considered that this is because defects caused by oxygen deficiency of the phosphor formed in the aging step are recovered by heating in an atmosphere containing oxygen. Panel number 1,
By comparing the data of PDP No. 6, the PDP evacuated in the heated state without cooling after the heating step had better emission characteristics. This is because if the gas is exhausted in a heated state without cooling, the adsorbed gas in the panel can be efficiently exhausted.

Further, even when heating was performed in a sealed state without flowing gas inside, as shown in the PDP data of panel No. 7, some improvement in light emission characteristics was obtained. Furthermore,
When the data of the PDP of panel number 4 and the data of the PDP of panel number 8 were compared, even if the panel after the aging step was directly heated, as shown in the data of the PDP of panel number 8, a slight improvement in the light emission characteristics was observed. However, it can be seen that the degree of recovery is increased by exhausting the inside of the panel once before heating. After aging by the conventional method as in the PDP of panel number 8,
The effect of improving the panel characteristics was obtained when the panel was heated as it was without exhausting it once, that is, when the gas containing water vapor was left in the discharge space. This is because, unlike the case where electric discharge is performed in the presence of a gas containing water vapor, if only heating is performed, there is no effect on the phosphor due to ultraviolet rays generated by electric discharge.

In the heating step after the aging step, the panel is heated to 370 ° C. or higher, so that the luminous intensity is considerably improved and a substantially constant chromaticity value is obtained. Further, a higher emission intensity can be obtained by heating the panel to 400 ° C. or higher. In addition, the measurement of the color temperature not affected by the color correction and the measurement of the peak intensity ratio of the emission spectrum of the blue and green phosphor layers are performed in the following manner in addition to the driving of the manufactured PDP. Can be measured.

First, the front panel substrate and the rear panel substrate are peeled off, the exposed phosphor layer of the rear panel substrate is irradiated with ultraviolet rays in a vacuum using an ultraviolet lamp, and the generated visible light is measured. And the same values were obtained when measured by this method on the panel. This method is particularly effective when colored glass is used for the front panel and the visible light generated by the phosphor cannot be accurately captured.

Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the following modified examples are conceivable.
That is, in the case where the sealing process is performed by the conventional general method (the method of simply heating the front panel substrate and the rear panel substrate in the furnace) in the first embodiment, the sealing process is performed in the second embodiment. By heating at a predetermined temperature after the aging process as described above, it is possible to recover from the state of thermal deterioration generated in the sealing process.

In the second embodiment, the panel is put into a heating furnace to restore the characteristics of the phosphor after the aging process, and the entire panel is heated. Can be heated to restore properties. That is, this method is to heat the phosphor layer by scanning while irradiating the surface of the front glass substrate or the rear glass substrate on the phosphor layer with laser light. According to this method, unlike the case where the entire panel is heated, since the phosphor can be heated without heating the sealing glass, the phosphor can be heated to a temperature higher than the softening point of the sealing glass. . More specifically, when the properties of the phosphor are restored by heat treatment, the effect is saturated.
It can be heated to above ℃. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the difference in the degree of recovery due to the difference in the heating temperature. When this method is applied, it is desirable to perform the method while flowing a dry gas into the panel or exhausting the inside of the panel.
Alternatively, it is preferable that the drying be performed in a state in which a dry gas having a reduced water vapor partial pressure is introduced into the panel. In addition, even when heating in a heating furnace, it may be possible to heat up to about 500 ° C., but it is limited by the softening point of the sealing glass,
500 ° C if the softening point of the glass for sealing is lower than 500 ° C
It cannot be heated above. On the other hand, the method of irradiating the laser beam is not restricted by the softening point of the sealing glass.

Further, by flowing a heating medium such as an inert gas heated to a predetermined temperature into the discharge space, the phosphor can be heated to recover the characteristics of the phosphor. Similar to the method of irradiating laser light, this method can heat the phosphor without heating the sealing glass, unlike the case where the entire panel is heated, so that the fluorescent material can be heated to a temperature higher than the softening point of the sealing glass. The body can be heated.

Further, the method of the first embodiment can be combined with the method of the second embodiment. In this case, if heating is performed while flowing a gas containing oxygen into the panel during heating,
It is more desirable because the state of oxygen deficiency of the phosphor can be repaired. Further, the material of the phosphor is not limited to the above-mentioned materials, and a material having the following composition can be used.

Blue phosphor: (Ba, Sr) MgAl
₁₀ O ₁₇ : Eu Green phosphor: BaAl ₁₂ O ₁₉ : Mn Finally, in the above embodiment, the surface discharge type PDP is used.
However, the present invention can be applied to a facing discharge type PDP. Furthermore, in direct current type (DC type) PDPs,
Similar effects can be obtained.

[0104]

As described above, according to the method for manufacturing a plasma display panel of the present invention, the heat treatment for heating the phosphor for forming the phosphor layer is performed after the aging treatment. Through the aging step necessary for the above, a phosphor display panel that operates with relatively high luminous efficiency and has excellent color reproducibility with little deterioration of the phosphor finally can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a PDP common to an embodiment of the present invention.
It is a perspective view which shows a structure of.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration of the sealing device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of the sealing device.

FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (c) are views showing operations when performing a preheating step and a sealing step using the sealing device.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a configuration of the aging device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an arrangement relationship of partition walls, sealing glass, ventilation holes, and the like on the back panel substrate.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an arrangement relationship of partition walls, sealing glass, ventilation holes, and the like on the back panel substrate.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing an arrangement relationship of partition walls, sealing glass, ventilation holes, and the like on the back panel substrate.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing an arrangement relationship of partitions, sealing glass, ventilation holes, and the like on the back panel substrate.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing an arrangement relationship of partitions, sealing glass, ventilation holes, and the like on the back panel substrate.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing an arrangement relationship of partition walls, sealing glass, ventilation holes, and the like on the back panel substrate.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing an arrangement relationship of partition walls, sealing glass, ventilation holes, and the like on the back panel substrate.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a configuration of a discharge tube for evaluating durability of a phosphor.

FIG. 14 is a characteristic diagram showing a relationship between a light emission intensity of a phosphor and a partial pressure of water vapor.

FIG. 15 is a characteristic diagram illustrating a relationship between a chromaticity y value of a phosphor and a partial pressure of water vapor.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing an arrangement relationship of partitions, sealing glass, ventilation holes, and the like on the back panel substrate.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing an arrangement relationship of partition walls, sealing glass, ventilation holes, and the like on the back panel substrate.

FIG. 18 is a plan view showing a configuration of an aging device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a heating temperature dependency of a change in relative luminous intensity when a blue phosphor whose luminous characteristics have deteriorated in the aging process is heated.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a heating temperature dependency of a change in chromaticity y value when a blue phosphor whose light emission characteristics have deteriorated in the aging process is heated.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a state in which each driver and a panel driving circuit are connected to a PDP.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a conventional PDP.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Front panel substrate 11 Front glass substrate 12 Discharge electrode 12a Scan electrode 12b Sustain electrode 13 Dielectric layer 14 Protective layer 20 Back panel substrate 21 Back glass substrate 22 Address electrode 23 Visible light reflective layer 24 Partition wall 25 Phosphor layer 30 Discharge space 50 Aging device 51 Panel 51a Internal space 52a, 52b Piping 53a, 53b Valve 54 Drive circuit 55 Back panel substrate 56 Vent 57 Glass tube 58 Front glass substrate 59 Discharge gas

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Mitsuhiro Otani 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5C012 VV04 5C040 FA01 GB03 GB14 GG09 JA24 MA10

Claims (38)

[Claims] A discharge electrode is disposed on at least one of the electrodes, and a front plate and a rear plate each having a phosphor layer formed on at least one inner surface thereof are sealed in a state having an internal space therein. A method for manufacturing a plasma display panel, which is manufactured by applying a required voltage to the discharge electrode and performing an aging process in a state where the fluorescent material is present in an internal space, wherein a phosphor forming a phosphor layer is formed after the aging process. A method for manufacturing a plasma display panel, which performs a heating process for heating. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the heat treatment after the aging treatment, the entire panel is heated in a furnace. 3. The heat treatment after the aging treatment includes irradiating a laser beam to a panel portion on which the phosphor is disposed.
A manufacturing method of the plasma display panel according to the above. 4. The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein in the heat treatment after the aging treatment, a heat medium is flowed into the internal space. 5. The method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein in the heat treatment after the aging treatment, the phosphor is heated to 300 ° C. or higher. 6. The method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein in the heat treatment after the aging treatment, the phosphor is heated to 370 ° C. or higher. 7. The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein in the heat treatment after the aging treatment, the phosphor is heated to 400 ° C. or higher. 8. The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein in the heat treatment after the aging treatment, the phosphor is heated to 500 ° C. or higher. 9. The method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein in the heat treatment after the aging treatment, heating is performed while discharging gas in the internal space. 10. The method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein a gas in the internal space is exhausted after the aging treatment, and the phosphor is heated after introducing a dry gas. 11. In the heat treatment after the aging treatment, a dry gas is introduced from a first vent formed in the panel, and the introduced dry gas is discharged from a second vent formed in the panel. The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the heating is performed while heating. 12. A discharge electrode is provided on at least one of the electrodes,
A plurality of partitions are formed inside the front plate and the back plate, each having a phosphor layer formed on at least one inner surface thereof, and partition the internal space between the front plate and the back plate. A plurality of discharge spaces are thereby formed, and the front plate and the back plate are sealed at their outer peripheral portions with a sealing glass layer interposed therebetween, and sealed with the first longitudinal ends of the plurality of partition walls. Between the glass layer, a first space communicating with the discharge space formed between the partition walls is formed, and between the second longitudinal end of the plurality of partition walls and the sealing glass layer. A second space communicating with the discharge space is formed, the first vent is formed to communicate with the first space, and the second vent is formed in the second space. Forming a plasma display panel formed in communication, and in the subsequent heat treatment, A process for introducing a dry gas into the first space through the first vent, and performing a process for discharging the dry gas from the second space through the second vent to allow the dry gas to flow into the discharge space. Item 12. The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to item 11. 13. A gas flow path from the first space to the second space, wherein the discharge space has a structure in which discharge gas flows more easily than other portions.
A manufacturing method of the plasma display panel according to the above. 14. The shortest interval between the partition and the sealing glass layer facing the first space excluding the partition farthest from at least the first ventilation port among the plurality of partitions, and the end of the partition,
The sealing glass layer in a direction parallel to the partition wall and a partition wall adjacent to the sealing glass layer are formed wider than the shortest distance.
4. The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to 3. 15. A part of the outermost partition wall between the outermost partition wall of the plurality of partition walls and the sealing glass layer so that a discharge gas does not flow,
The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein a part of the plasma display panel is brought into contact with the sealing glass layer. 16. The first ventilation port is formed near the outermost partition wall, and the second ventilation port is formed near the outermost partition wall opposite to the first ventilation port. A method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 14. 17. A discharge electrode is disposed on at least one of the discharge electrodes,
A plurality of partitions are formed inside the front plate and the back plate, each having a phosphor layer formed on at least one inner surface thereof, and partition the internal space between the front plate and the back plate. A plurality of discharge spaces are formed by being performed, the front plate and the back plate are sealed with a sealing glass layer at an outer peripheral portion thereof, and a flow stop partition is provided on an inner circumferential side of the sealing glass layer. A first space that is formed and communicates with a discharge space formed between the partition walls is formed between the longitudinal first ends of the plurality of partition walls and the flow stopping partition walls. A second space communicating with the discharge space is formed between the second end in the longitudinal direction and the flow stop partition, and the first vent is formed in communication with the first space. The second vent is connected to a plasma display formed in communication with the second space. Forming a panel, performing a process of introducing a dry gas into the first space through the first vent in the subsequent heat treatment, and a process of discharging the dry gas from the second space through the second vent. The method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 11, wherein the drying gas is caused to flow in the discharge space. 18. The plasma display panel according to claim 17, wherein in the gas flow path from the first space to the second space, the discharge space has a structure in which the discharge gas flows more easily than the other part. Manufacturing method. 19. The shortest interval between the partition wall excluding the partition wall located farthest from at least the first ventilation port, the flow stop partition wall facing the first space, and the end of the partition wall among the plurality of partition walls,
18. The flow stop partition in the direction parallel to the partition and a partition which is wider than the shortest distance between the partition and an adjacent partition.
9. The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to item 8. 20. A part of the outermost partition wall between the outermost partition wall of the plurality of partition walls and the flow stop partition wall so that discharge gas does not flow,
The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to any one of claims 18 to 20, wherein a part of the partition wall is brought into contact with the flow stop partition wall. 21. The first vent is formed near the outermost partition, and the second vent is formed near the outermost partition opposite to the first vent. The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 17. 22. The method of claim 1, wherein the drying gas comprises an inert gas.
A method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 21. 23. The method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the dry gas contains oxygen. 24. The plasma display according to any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein a process of discharging the introduced dry gas in a heated state from the internal space of the panel heated by the heat treatment after the aging treatment is performed. Panel manufacturing method. 25. A discharge electrode is disposed on at least one of the discharge electrodes,
An aging treatment method for a plasma display panel, wherein a front plate and a back plate each having a phosphor layer formed on at least one inner surface thereof are sealed in a state having an internal space therein, and a discharge gas is supplied to the internal space. A plasma display panel comprising: a discharge process for applying a required voltage to the discharge electrode in a state where the discharge electrode is present to perform a discharge in an internal space; and a heating process for heating a phosphor forming a phosphor layer after the discharge process. Aging treatment method. 26. The aging treatment method for a plasma display panel according to claim 25, wherein in the heating treatment after the aging treatment, the entire panel is heated in a furnace. 27. The aging treatment method for a plasma display panel according to claim 25, wherein in the heating treatment after the aging treatment, the panel portion on which the phosphor is disposed is irradiated with a laser beam. 28. The aging treatment method for a plasma display panel according to claim 25, wherein in the heating treatment after the aging treatment, a heat medium is caused to flow in the internal space. 29. The heat treatment after the aging treatment, wherein the phosphor is heated to 300 ° C. or higher.
9. The aging treatment method for a plasma display panel according to any one of 8. 30. The heat treatment after the aging treatment, in which the phosphor is heated to 370 ° C. or higher.
An aging method for a plasma display panel according to claim 28. 31. The heat treatment after the aging treatment, wherein the phosphor is heated to 400 ° C. or higher.
9. The aging treatment method for a plasma display panel according to any one of 8. 32. The heat treatment after the aging treatment, wherein the phosphor is heated to 500 ° C. or higher.
9. The aging treatment method for a plasma display panel according to any one of 8. 33. The plasma display panel aging treatment method according to claim 25, wherein in the heat treatment after the aging treatment, heating is performed while discharging gas in the internal space. 34. The aging treatment method for a plasma display panel according to claim 25, wherein the gas in the internal space is exhausted after the aging treatment, and the phosphor is heated after introducing the drying gas. 35. In the heat treatment after the aging treatment, a dry gas is introduced from a first vent formed in the panel, and the introduced dry gas is discharged from a second vent formed in the panel. The aging treatment method for a plasma display panel according to any one of claims 25 to 34, wherein the heating is performed while heating. 36. The method of claim 2, wherein the drying gas comprises an inert gas.
An aging treatment method for a plasma display panel according to any one of claims 5 to 35. 37. The drying gas according to claim 25, wherein the drying gas contains oxygen.
An aging treatment method for a plasma display panel according to claim 36. 38. A plasma display panel display device comprising: a plasma display panel manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 1; and a drive circuit for driving the plasma display panel.