JP2002050279A - Manufacturing device for electron source substrate, electron source substrate, image display device, and apparatus using the image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manufacture an electron emission element on an electron source substrate with high precision by using a manufacturing device for the electron source substrate, since the manufacturing device has a small carriage-scanning area and can carriage- scan the electron source substrate with high scanning precision without reduction in the carriage-scanning precision by carriage-scanning structure's flexure or the like. SOLUTION: The manufacturing device for the electron source substrate forms a group of surface conduction electron emission elements between each of pairs of element electrodes 2, 3 on a substrate 1, with a drop of solution containing material of a conductive thin film 4 jetted by a droplet jet head, the manufacturing device runs the droplet jet head to carriage-scan the front surface of the substrate 1 and forms the group of the surface conductive electron emission elements on the front surface of the substrate 1 with the drop of the solution jetted by the droplet jet head, the electron source substrate set and manufactured on the manufacturing device is in a rectangular shape, and the carriage-scanning is reciprocating in the direction of the shorter side of the rectangular shape.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for manufacturing an electron source substrate using a surface conduction electron-emitting device, an electron source substrate manufactured by the device, an image display device having the electron source substrate, and an image display device. The present invention relates to an apparatus using an image display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, two types of electron emitting devices, a thermionic electron source and a cold cathode electron source, are known. The cold cathode electron source includes a field emission type (hereinafter, referred to as an FE type), a metal / insulating layer / metal type (hereinafter, referred to as an MIM type), a surface conduction type electron emission element, and the like. Examples of the FE type include “WP Dyke &
W. W. Dolan, "Field emissio
n ", Advance in Electron Ph
ysics, 889 (1956) "or" C.
A. Spindt, "Physical Proper
ties of thin-film field e
mission cathodes with mol
ybdenium "J. Appl. Phys., 475.
248 (1976) ". Examples of the MIM type include “CA Mead,“ The Tunnel ”.
-Emission amplifier ", J. Ap
pl. Phys. , 32 646 (1961) "and the like.

Examples of the surface conduction electron-emitting device type include:
"MI Elinson, Radio Eng. El
electron Phys. , 1290 (1965) ". The surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which electron emission occurs when a current flows through a small-area thin film formed on a substrate in parallel with the film surface. Examples of the surface conduction electron-emitting device include a device using an SnO ₂ thin film by Elinson et al., And a device using an Au thin film (“G. Dittmer:“ Thin SolidFi
lms ", 9 317 (1972)"), In ₂ O ₃ / S
nO ₂ thin film (“M. Hartwell an”
d C.I. G. FIG. Fonstad: "IEEETrans.
ED Conf. ", 519 (1975)"), and those using a carbon thin film ("Hisashi Araki et al .: Vacuum, Vol. 26, No. 1, p. 22, p. 1983") and the like have been reported.

A typical device configuration of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices is described in the above-mentioned M.S. FIG. 18 shows the Hartwell device configuration. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a substrate. Reference numeral 4 denotes a conductive thin film, which is formed of a metal oxide thin film or the like formed by sputtering in an H-shaped pattern, and the electron emitting portion 5 is formed by an energization process called energization forming described later. The device electrode interval L1 in the figure is 0.5 to 1 m.
m and W1 are set to 0.1 mm.

Conventionally, in these surface-conduction electron-emitting devices, the electron-emitting portion 5 is generally formed by subjecting the conductive thin film 4 to an energization process called energization forming before performing electron emission. It is a target. The energization forming is to apply a DC voltage or a very slowly increasing voltage, for example, about 1 V / min, to both ends of the conductive thin film 4 and to energize the conductive thin film 4 to locally destroy, deform or alter the conductive thin film 4. This is to form the electron-emitting portion 5 in a resistance state. Incidentally, the electron emitting portion 5 is formed of the conductive thin film 4.
A crack is generated in a part of the substrate and electrons are emitted from the vicinity of the crack. In the surface conduction type electron-emitting device subjected to the energization forming process, a voltage is applied to the conductive thin film 4 and a current is caused to flow through the device to cause the electron-emitting portion 5 to emit electrons.

Since such a surface conduction electron-emitting device has a simple structure and is easy to manufacture, there is an advantage that a large number of devices can be arranged and formed over a large area. Therefore, applied researches on charged beam sources, display devices and the like utilizing this feature have been made. As an example in which a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged and arranged, as will be described later, a surface conduction electron-emitting device is arranged in parallel called a trapezoidal arrangement, and both ends of each element are interconnected (also referred to as common interconnection). An electron source in which a number of connected lines are arranged in a large number of rows (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-364).
1332, JP-A-1-283737, JP-A-2-257552, etc.). In particular, in image forming apparatuses such as display apparatuses, flat panel display apparatuses using liquid crystal have been widely used in place of CRTs in recent years. However, since they are not self-luminous, they must be provided with a backlight. Therefore, development of a self-luminous display device has been desired. An example of the self-luminous display device is an image forming device, which is a display device in which an electron source having a large number of surface conduction type emitting elements and a phosphor that emits visible light by electrons emitted from the electron source are combined. (For example, USP
5066883).

However, in the method of manufacturing the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the above-described conventional example, there are various methods of vacuum film formation and photolithography and etching in a semiconductor process. There are many drawbacks and the production cost of the electron source substrate is high.

In order to solve such a problem, the present inventor, in forming a conductive thin film of the element portion of such a surface conduction electron-emitting device, discloses US Pat.
98030, USP 3,596,275, USP 34161
53, US Pat. No. 3,747,120, US Pat. No. 5,729,257, etc., cannot be formed stably with good yield and at low cost without using a vacuum film forming method and a photolithographic etching method. I thought.

[0009] However, unlike ink jet recording, in which a so-called ink is directed toward paper and recorded, a solution containing an element or a compound that becomes a conductive thin film is stably discharged, applied to a substrate, and provided with high precision. There are still many unsolved elements in fabricating an electron source substrate.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing an electron source substrate of an image display device using such a surface conduction electron-emitting device, an electron source substrate manufactured by the same, and an image using the same. The present invention relates to a display device and a device using the same, and a first object of the present invention is to propose a device capable of manufacturing an electron source substrate having a highly accurate electron-emitting device. A second object is to make an apparatus for manufacturing such an electron source substrate compact. A third object is to propose an electron source substrate having a highly accurate electron-emitting device. A fourth object is to propose an image display device using such an electron source substrate. A fifth object is to make a device incorporating such an image display device more user-friendly.

[0011]

According to the present invention, first, a droplet of a solution containing a conductive thin film material is ejected between a plurality of pairs of element electrodes on a substrate. In the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus in which a head is applied by jetting and a surface conduction electron-emitting device group is formed by a conductive thin film, the droplet ejecting head carriage-scans and ejects the droplets on the front surface of the substrate. An electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus for forming the surface conduction type electron-emitting device group, wherein the electron source substrate set and manufactured in the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus has a rectangular shape, and the carriage scan is performed in a short distance of the rectangular shape. Reciprocating scanning is performed in the hand direction.

Secondly, in the first electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus, the electron source substrate is transported in a longitudinal direction by substrate transport means provided in the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus, and the electron source substrate is moved by the droplet ejecting head. The surface conduction electron-emitting device group is formed by a combination of carriage scanning and droplet ejection.

[0013] Thirdly, a rectangular electron source substrate manufactured by the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the first or second aspect is provided.

Fourthly, the third electron source substrate and a face plate which is disposed to face the electron source substrate, has a phosphor mounted thereon, and has substantially the same shape and size as the electron source substrate. An image display device having the above.

Fifth, the fourth image display device is a device in which the image display device is incorporated as one constituent unit, and the image display device has a horizontal direction toward the image display device. The image display device was incorporated so as to extend in the longitudinal direction. That is, the fourth image display device is incorporated in a device having an image display function in which the image display device is one constituent unit, and the device is configured such that when the device is used by a person, the device moves right and left toward the image display device. The direction was set so as to be in the longitudinal direction of the image display device.

[0016]

Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described. The basic configuration of the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention is a planar type. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an electron source substrate formed by the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention. Here, for simplification, the configuration of one flat surface conduction electron-emitting device is schematically shown. . Actually, as described later, such a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device is a device group arranged in a matrix. FIG. 1A is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1A.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a substrate, 2 and 3 are device electrodes, 4 is a conductive thin film, and 5 is an electron emitting portion. Examples of the substrate 1 include quartz glass, glass having a reduced impurity content such as Na, blue plate glass, a glass substrate having SiO ₂ deposited on the surface thereof, and a ceramic substrate such as alumina. As a material for the device electrodes 2 and 3, a general conductive material can be used. For example, Ni, Cr,
Metals or alloys such as Au, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Al, Cu, Pd, Pd, As, Ag, Au, RuO ₂ ,
Pd-Ag or the like of a metal or a metal oxide and a printed conductor composed of glass or the like, a transparent conductive material such as In ₂ O ₃ -SnO _2, is suitably selected from a semiconductor material such as polysilicon or the like.

The distance L between the device electrodes 2 and 3 is preferably in the range of several thousand to several hundred μm, and more preferably in the range of 1 to 200 μm in consideration of the voltage applied between the device electrodes 2 and 3. It is. The length W of the device electrodes 2 and 3 is several μm to several hundred μm in consideration of the resistance value and the electron emission characteristics of the electrodes.
The range is from 00 ° to 1 μm. In addition, the configuration is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG.
May be formed in order.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a method of manufacturing the flat surface conduction electron-emitting device having the structure shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 2B is a diagram in which conductive thin films 4 are formed on the device electrodes 2 and 3, and FIG. 2C is a diagram in which electron emission portions 5 are formed in the conductive thin films 4. FIG. As the conductive thin film 4, a fine particle film composed of fine particles is particularly preferable in order to obtain good electron emission characteristics, and the film thickness is step coverage on the device electrodes 2 and 3,
It is appropriately set depending on the resistance value between the three and the energization forming conditions described later, etc., but is preferably several to several thousand degrees, particularly preferably 10 to 500 degrees. The resistance value of Rs is 10 2 Ω to 10 7 Ω. Note that Rs is a value that appears when the resistance R of a thin film having a thickness t, a width w, and a length of 1 is set as R = Rs (1 / w). = Ρ / t
It is represented by Here, the forming process will be described by taking an energizing process as an example, but the forming process is not limited to this, and any method may be used as long as the film is cracked to form a high resistance state.

The material constituting the conductive thin film 4 is P
d, Pt, Ru, Ag, Au, Ti, In, Cu, C
metals such as r, Fe, Zn, Sn, Ta, W, Pb, Pd
Oxides such as O, SnO ₂ , In ₂ O ₃ , PbO, Sb ₂ O ₃ , HfB ₂ , ZrB ₂ , LaB ₆ , CeB ₆ , YB ₄ , G
borides such as dB ₄ , TiC, ZrC, HfC, TaC,
It is appropriately selected from carbides such as SiC and WC, nitrides such as TiN, ZrN and HfN, semiconductors such as Si and Ge, and carbon.

The fine particle film described here is a film in which a plurality of fine particles are aggregated, and has a fine structure not only in a state where the fine particles are individually dispersed and arranged, but also in a state where the fine particles are adjacent to each other.
Alternatively, they are in an overlapping state (including a case where some fine particles are aggregated to form an island shape as a whole). The particle size of the fine particles is from several millimeters to 1 μm, preferably from 10 millimeters to 200 millimeters.

Hereinafter, an apparatus for manufacturing an electron source substrate on which a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to one embodiment of the present invention is formed will be described. FIG. 3 is a view for explaining an embodiment of the apparatus for manufacturing an electron source substrate according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes an ejection head, 12 denotes a carriage, 13 denotes a substrate holder, and 14 denotes a planar surface conduction type. A substrate forming an electron-emitting device group; 15, a supply tube for a solution containing a conductive thin film material; 16, a signal supply cable; 17, an ejection head control box; 18, an X-direction scan motor of the carriage 12;
19 is a Y-direction scan motor of the carriage 12, 20 is a computer, 21 is a control box, and 22 (2
_2X1 , _22Y1 , _22X2 , _22Y2 ) are substrate positioning / holding means. In this case, the ejection head 11 is moved by carriage scanning on the front surface of the substrate 14 placed on the substrate holding table 13 to eject a solution containing a conductive thin film material.

The ejection head 11 may be of any mechanism as long as it can discharge a given amount of liquid droplets in a fixed amount.
An ink jet type mechanism capable of forming droplets of about ng is desirable. As the inkjet method, any of a piezo jet method using a piezoelectric element, a bubble jet (registered trademark) method in which bubbles are generated by using thermal energy of a heater, and a charge control method (continuous flow method) may be used. .

In such an apparatus for manufacturing an electron source substrate, in the present invention, the substrate 14 has a rectangular shape as shown in FIG.
Numeral 1 performs reciprocating scanning in the short direction (X direction in the figure) of the rectangular substrate 14 by carriage scanning.
That is, in one embodiment of the present invention, the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus and the rectangular electron source substrate manufactured by the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus are electrically conductive between a plurality of pairs of element electrodes 2 and 3 on the substrate 14. In the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus in which a droplet of a solution containing the material of the conductive thin film 4 is ejected by the droplet ejecting head 11 to form a surface conduction electron-emitting device group by the conductive thin film 4, An electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus for forming the surface conduction type electron-emitting device group by ejecting the droplets while the droplet ejecting head 11 performs carriage scanning on the front surface, and is set and manufactured in the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus. The electron source substrate has a rectangular shape, and the carriage scan performs reciprocal scanning in the short direction of the rectangular shape.

An electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus of the present invention and an electron source substrate manufactured by the same will be described later.
Medium screen of about 300mm to 2000mm x 3000m
It is assumed that an image forming apparatus (image display apparatus) having a large screen of m or more is manufactured. The problem at that time is that
Since the substrate is a large-screen electron source substrate, the accuracy is at the time of reciprocal scanning of the carriage (X direction in the figure). If the electron source substrate to be manufactured is a small screen substrate of about 100 mm × 150 mm, there is almost no problem. However, when manufacturing a large-sized one as in the present invention, X for scanning the carriage reciprocally is used. The accuracy of the carriage reciprocating scan caused by the deflection of the drive shaft in the direction becomes a problem.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even if a large product is manufactured, it is possible to minimize deterioration in accuracy,
In order to perform high-precision carriage reciprocal scanning and obtain an electron source substrate having a high-precision electron source emission unit, the shape and shape of the electron source substrate are set so that the distance in the carriage reciprocal scanning direction (X direction) is the shortest. The carriage reciprocating scanning direction is optimized.

That is, the electron source substrate to be manufactured has a rectangular shape, and reciprocating scanning of the carriage is performed in the short direction (X direction) of the electron source substrate. The reciprocating scanning is performed, and an electron source substrate having a high-accuracy electron source emitting portion is obtained. With such a combination of the shape of the electron source substrate and the device for manufacturing the electron source substrate, it is possible to obtain a highly accurate electron source substrate even for an electron source substrate for a large-screen image display device.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an apparatus for manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to another embodiment of the present invention. Another feature of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the electron source substrate is provided with substrate positioning / holding means 22 _X1 , 2.
Although an example in which the electron source substrate is held by _2X2 is shown, here, the electron source substrate manufactured by the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus and the electron source substrate manufactured by the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is the electron source substrate. It is transported in the longitudinal direction by the substrate transport means 23 provided in the manufacturing apparatus, and the surface conduction electron-emitting device group is formed by a combination of carriage scanning and droplet ejection by the droplet ejection head 11. . That is, the electron source substrate is
An example is shown in which the substrate is transported by the electron source substrate transport means 23 in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular substrate (corresponding to the Y direction in FIG. 3). As described above, if the rectangular electron source substrate is transported in the longitudinal direction of the substrate, the carriage reciprocating scanning performed while ejecting the solution 42 is performed in the lateral direction of the rectangular substrate (X in FIG. 3).
(Corresponding to the direction in FIG. 4).

Therefore, even in the case of an electron source substrate for a large screen, since the distance in the carriage reciprocating scanning direction (X direction) can be minimized, it is possible to minimize the bending of the drive shaft in the X direction. It is possible to perform accurate carriage reciprocal scanning and to obtain an electron source substrate having a highly accurate electron source emission unit. Further, since the area in the carriage reciprocating scanning direction can be narrowed, the apparatus for manufacturing such an electron source substrate can be made compact. In FIG. 4, the transport means 2 for moving the electron source substrate in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 14 is shown.
Although the example of the conveying means by the roller is shown as 3, the present invention is not limited to this means, and may be, for example, a belt conveying method.

Next, the structure of the ejection head unit will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A shows a configuration example of a discharge head unit according to the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 5B shows an example of droplet ejection between element electrodes using the discharge head unit of FIG. 5A. FIG. 5, reference numeral 30 denotes a discharge head unit; 32, a detection optical system for capturing image information on the electron source substrate; which is close to an inkjet head 33 for discharging droplets 42; The focal position and the landing position 43 of the droplet 42 by the inkjet head 33 are arranged so as to coincide with each other. In this case, the positional relationship between the detection optical system 32 and the inkjet head 33 can be precisely adjusted by the head alignment fine movement mechanism 34 and the head alignment control mechanism 31. The detection optical system 32 uses a CCD camera and a lens.

If the electron source substrate manufactured as described above is a small screen substrate of about 100 mm × 150 mm,
Although there is almost no problem, when manufacturing a large-sized device as in the present invention, the accuracy of the carriage reciprocal scanning deteriorates due to the deflection of the drive shaft in the X direction for performing the carriage reciprocal scanning. Especially 200mm x 300m
If the method is applied to the production of an image display device having a medium screen of about m to 2000 mm × 3000 mm or more, a problem arises. Should be in hand direction.

When the substrate size is about 200 mm × 300 mm or less, the discharge head unit for applying droplets is of a large array multi-nozzle type capable of covering a range of 200 mm, and the relative movement between the discharge head unit and the substrate is orthogonal. Rather than performing in two directions (X direction, Y direction), it is possible to perform relative movement only in one direction (for example, only in X direction), and mass productivity can be increased, but the substrate size is 200 mm. In the case of × 300 mm or more, it is difficult to realize a large-array multi-nozzle type ejection head unit that can cover such a range of 200 mm in terms of technical / cost. It is better to adopt a configuration in which the carriage 30 scans and the application of the solution droplets is performed sequentially. .

As a material of the droplet 42, an aqueous solution, an organic solvent, or the like containing the above-described element or compound that becomes a conductive thin film can be used. For example, a palladium-based element or compound as a conductive thin film is shown below, and a palladium acetate-ethanolamine complex (PA-M
E), palladium acetate-diethanol complex (PA-D
E), palladium acetate-triethanolamine complex (P
A-TE), an aqueous solution containing an ethanolamine complex such as a palladium acetate-butylethanolamine complex (PA-BE) and a palladium acetate-dimethylethanolamine complex (PA-DME), and a palladium-glycine complex (Pd- Gly), an aqueous solution containing an amine acid complex such as a palladium-β-alanine complex (Pd-β-Ala) or a palladium-DL-alanine complex (pd-DL-Ala); A butylamine solution of a propylamine complex is exemplified.

When such a droplet 42 is applied to a desired element electrode portion by the ejection head unit (ejection head) 30, the position to be applied is measured by the detection optical system 32 and the image identification device, and the measurement data is obtained. The correction coordinates are generated based on the distance between the discharge port surface of the discharge head unit (ejection head) 30 and the substrate and the relative movement speed between the two, and the discharge head unit (ejection head) is provided on the front surface of the electron source substrate according to the correction coordinates. Droplets are applied to the carriage 30 while visiting the carriage.
As the detection optical system 32, a combination of a CCD camera or the like and a lens is used, and as the image identification device, a commercially available one that binarizes an image and obtains the position of the center of gravity can be used. As is clear from the above description, the electron source substrate of the present invention is manufactured by flying a solution containing an element or a compound to be a conductive thin film in the air by the principle of ink jet and applying it as droplets on the substrate. Things. Specific conditions for forming such droplets and dots are shown below.

The solution used was an aqueous solution of palladium acetate-triethanolamine and was prepared as follows. That is, 150 g of palladium acetate is added to 3
The suspension was suspended in 000 cc of isopropyl alcohol, and 610.5 g of triethanolamine was further added, followed by stirring at 35 ° C. for 12 hours. After completion of the reaction, isopropyl alcohol was removed by evaporation, ethyl alcohol was added to the solid to dissolve and filter, and the filtrate was obtained by recrystallizing palladium acetate-triethanolamine from the filtrate. 4 g of the thus obtained palladium acetate-triethanolamine was dissolved in 96 g of pure water to form a solution (4.0 wt%).

The ejecting head used had a structure equivalent to that of an edge shooter type thermal ink jet system (however, the above solution was used instead of ink). When the diameter of one dot is about Φ45 μm, the ejection head has a nozzle diameter of Φ25 μm and a heating element size of 25 μm.
× 90 μm (resistance value 121Ω) and drive voltage 22.6
V, the pulse width was 6 μs, the driving frequency was 10 kHz, the energy for forming one droplet was about 25.3 μJ, and the jetting speed of the droplet at that time was about 7 m / s.

The above solution and jetting conditions are an example of a case in which the distance between the device electrodes 2 and 3 is 140 μm, and four dots 44 are attached thereto to form one electron emission portion ( FIG. 6), and the present invention is not limited to this condition.

For example, FIG. 7 shows a case where the distance between the device electrodes 2 and 3 is 140 μm, and the electron-emitting device is formed by attaching 6 drops × 2 rows = 12 drops. In this example, the dot diameter is about Φ22 μm. In this case, the ejection head used has a nozzle diameter of Φ14 μm, and the size of the heating element is correspondingly 14 μm × 60 μm.
(The resistance value is 102Ω), and the driving voltage is 1
1.5V, pulse width 4μs, drive frequency 16kHz
And the droplets were ejected with the energy for forming one droplet being about 5.2 μJ. The ejection speed of the droplet at that time was about 6 m / s.

Also, the distance between the device electrodes 2 and 3 is not limited to 140 μm, and it is necessary to arrange the electron-emitting devices on the electron source substrate at a high density in order to manufacture a higher definition image display device. For example, if the distance between the device electrodes 2 and 3 is 50
μm. In this case as well, the ejection head used has a nozzle diameter of Φ14 μm as described above, and the size of the heating element, driving conditions, and the like are appropriately selected in accordance therewith.

That is, in the present invention, the number of droplets to be deposited is appropriately selected from about 1 to about 30 droplets in accordance with the distance between the device electrodes 2 and 3 and the required accuracy of the electron-emitting device, and electron emission is performed under optimum conditions. An element is formed, and is not limited to a special condition. The number of droplets to be deposited also depends on the nozzle diameter of the ejection head to be used, but it is desirable to keep the drop to a maximum of about 30 drops from the viewpoint of productivity (it is also possible to deposit more fine droplets). Yes, but at a cost and productivity disadvantage).

Next, the ejection head used in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram illustrating an ejection head used in a device for manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating an assembled ejection head. (B) is an exploded view of the ejection head, and FIG. 9 (C) is a view showing the lid substrate shown in FIG. 9 (B) upside down. Here, an example is shown in which the number of nozzles of the ejection head is four. The ejection head is formed by bonding a heating element substrate 51 and a lid substrate 52. The heating element substrate 51 is formed on a silicon substrate 53 by an individual electrode 54, a common electrode 55, and an energy action section by a wafer process. It is constituted by forming a certain heating element 56.

On the other hand, a groove 59 for forming a flow channel into which a solution containing an element or a compound to be a conductive thin film is introduced, and a common liquid for accommodating the solution introduced into the flow channel are provided on the lid substrate 52. A concave region 60 for forming a chamber (not shown) is formed, and these heating element substrate 51 and lid substrate 52 are joined as shown in FIG.
The flow path and the common liquid chamber are formed. In a state where the heating element substrate 51 and the lid substrate 52 are joined,
A heating element 56 is located at the bottom of the flow path, and the nozzle 58 for discharging a part of the solution introduced into these flow paths as droplets is formed at the end of the flow path. The lid substrate 52 has a solution inlet 57 for supplying a solution into the supply liquid chamber by a supply unit (not shown).

In this example, a four-nozzle ejection head is shown, but if such a multi-nozzle ejection head is used, an electron-emitting device can be formed very efficiently. Although this example shows a four-nozzle ejection head, it is not necessarily limited to four nozzles. Needless to say, the larger the number of nozzles, the more efficient the formation of electron-emitting devices. However, this does not mean simply increasing the number of nozzles. Increasing the number of nozzles increases the cost of the ejection head and increases the probability of clogging of the ejection nozzles. (A balance of device manufacturing efficiency).

In addition to the number of nozzles, the same consideration is required for the nozzle array length (effective ejection width of the ejection head). In other words, this does not mean that the nozzle array length (effective ejection width of the ejection head) simply needs to be increased, but this is also determined in consideration of the balance of the entire device (the balance between the device cost and the manufacturing efficiency of the electron-emitting device). Can be

As an example, in the present invention, the number of nozzles and the number of nozzles are set so that the nozzle array length of the multi-nozzles (effective ejection width of the ejection head) is equal to or greater than the distance between the element electrodes 2 and 3. The array density is determined. However, to be larger than that here does not mean that it is unlimitedly large, but that it is slightly larger than the distance between the device electrodes 2 and 3. In other words, the basic idea of the present invention is to minimize the cost of the ejection head by using an ejection head having a nozzle array arrangement length (effective ejection width of the ejection head) equivalent to the distance between the element electrodes 2 and 3. The electron emission element can be efficiently manufactured by setting the nozzle row arrangement length (effective ejection width of the ejection head) equal to the distance between the element electrodes 2 and 3 while keeping the distance.

A more specific numerical value will be described in the case where four droplets are ejected so as to form a pattern filling 140 μm between the device electrodes 2 and 3 as described above. in this case,
In the present invention, the nozzle row arrangement length of four nozzles shown in FIG. 8 (effective ejection width of the ejection head, in other words, the distance between the nozzles at both ends) is about 127 μm (140 μm of the element electrode 23).
The length between the nozzles can be regarded as substantially the same as that between μm), and the distance between the nozzles is about 42.3 μm. So in this case,
60 in so-called inkjet printer
This uses an ejection head having a nozzle arrangement density equivalent to 0 dpi (dot per inch).

Although the above description has been made with reference to the four-nozzle ejection head shown in FIG. 8, the distance between the nozzles is about 42.3 μm.
It is also conceivable to use a six-nozzle ejection head. In this case, the length of the nozzle array of the six nozzles (the effective ejection width of the ejection head, in other words, the distance between the nozzles at both ends) is about 212 μm (which can be regarded as being larger than 140 μm between the element electrodes 23). The distance between the nozzle rows can be sufficiently covered to cover the distance, and the electron-emitting device can be manufactured efficiently.

After the patterning of the surface conduction electron-emitting device group is performed in this way, in the present invention, the electron-emitting portion 5 is formed by a forming process as described below (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The electron-emitting portion 5 is constituted by a high-resistance crack formed in a part of the conductive thin film 4 and depends on the film thickness, film quality, material, etc. of the conductive thin film 4 or the forming processing conditions. In some cases, the inside of the electron emitting portion 5 contains conductive fine particles having a particle size of 1000 ° or less. The conductive fine particles contain some or all of the elements of the material constituting the conductive thin film 4. The electron-emitting portion 5 and the conductive thin film 4 in the vicinity thereof may contain carbon or a carbon compound.

As an example of the forming method applied to the conductive thin film 4, a method based on an energizing process will be described. When an electric current is applied between the device electrodes 2 and 3 using a power supply (not shown), an electron-emitting portion 5 having a changed structure is formed at a portion of the conductive thin film 4. That is, according to the energization forming, a portion of the conductive thin film 4 where a structural change such as destruction, deformation or alteration is locally formed, and this portion becomes the electron emission portion 5. FIG. 9 shows an example of the voltage waveform of the energization forming.
The voltage waveform is particularly preferably a pulse waveform, and a voltage pulse having a constant pulse peak value is continuously applied (see FIG. 9).
(A)) and a case where a voltage pulse is applied while increasing the pulse peak value (FIG. 9 (B)). First, the case where the pulse crest value is a constant voltage (FIG. 9A) will be described.

T1 and T2 in FIG. 9A are the pulse width and pulse interval of the voltage waveform, and T1 is 1 μs to 1 μs.
0 ms and T2 are 10 μs to 100 ms, and the peak value of the triangular wave (peak voltage at the time of energization forming) is appropriately selected according to the form of the surface conduction electron-emitting device. Under such conditions, for example, a voltage is applied for several seconds to tens of minutes. The pulse waveform is not limited to a triangle wave,
A desired waveform such as a rectangular wave may be used.

T1 and T2 in FIG. 9B are the same as those shown in FIG. 9A, and the peak value of the triangular wave (peak voltage during energization forming) is, for example, 0.1.
It can be increased by about V steps. When the energization forming process is completed, a voltage that does not locally destroy or deform the conductive thin film 4 is applied during the pulse interval T2,
The current can be measured and detected. For example, 0.1V
The element current flowing by applying a voltage of the order is measured, the resistance value is obtained, and when the resistance shows 1 MΩ or more, the energization forming is terminated. It is desirable to perform a process called an activation process on the element after the energization forming. By performing the activation process, the device current If and the emission current Ie change significantly.

The activation step can be performed, for example, by repeating the application of a pulse in an atmosphere containing an organic substance gas, similarly to the energization forming. This atmosphere can be formed by utilizing an organic gas remaining in the atmosphere when the inside of the vacuum vessel is discarded using, for example, an oil diffusion pump or a rotary pump, or once sufficiently exhausted by an ion pump or the like. It can also be obtained by introducing a gas of an appropriate organic substance into a vacuum. The preferable gas pressure of the organic substance at this time varies depending on the above-described application form, the shape of the vacuum vessel, the type of the organic substance, and the like, and is appropriately set according to the case. Suitable organic substances include alkane, alkene, alkyne aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, amines, organic acids such as phenol, carboxylic acid and sulfonic acid. Specific examples thereof include saturated hydrocarbons represented by C _n H _{2n + 2} such as methane, ethane and propane, and unsaturated hydrocarbons represented by a composition formula such as C _n H _2n such as ethylene and propylene. , Benzene, toluene, methanol, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methylamine, ethylamine, phenol, formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, and the like. By this treatment, carbon or a carbon compound is deposited on the device from the organic substance existing in the atmosphere, and the device current If and the emission current Ie are significantly changed. The end of the activation step is determined while measuring the device current If and the emission current Ie. Note that the pulse width, pulse interval, pulse peak value, and the like are set as appropriate.

The carbon or carbon compound includes graphite (both monocrystalline and polycrystalline) and amorphous carbon (amorphous carbon and carbon containing a mixture of amorphous carbon and microcrystals of the graphite). The thickness is preferably not more than 500 °, more preferably not more than 300 °.

It is preferable that the electron-emitting device thus prepared is subjected to a stabilization process. This treatment is preferably performed at a partial pressure of the organic substance in the vacuum vessel of 1 × 10 ⁻⁸ Torr or less, preferably 1 × 10 ⁻¹⁰ Torr or less. The pressure in the vacuum vessel is preferably 10 ^-6 to 10 ^-7 Torr or less, and particularly preferably 1 × 10 ^-8 Torr or less. It is preferable to use a vacuum evacuation device that does not use oil so that the oil generated from the device does not affect the characteristics of the element. Specifically, a vacuum exhaust device such as a sorption pump and an ion pump can be used. Further, when evacuating the inside of the vacuum vessel, it is preferable to overheat the entire vacuum vessel to facilitate evacuating the organic substance molecules adsorbed on the inner wall of the vacuum vessel and the electron-emitting device. The evacuation conditions in the heated state at this time are desirably 5 hours or more at 80 to 200 ° C., but are not particularly limited to these conditions. It changes with. The partial pressure measurement of the organic substance can be obtained by measuring partial pressures of organic molecules having a mass number of 10 to 200 and mainly composed of carbon and hydrogen by a mass spectrometer, and integrating the partial pressures. After the stabilization step, it is preferable that the atmosphere at the time of driving maintain the atmosphere at the end of the stabilization process, but the present invention is not limited to this. Even if it is slightly reduced, it is possible to maintain sufficiently stable characteristics.
By employing such a vacuum atmosphere, deposition of new carbon or a carbon compound can be suppressed, and as a result, the device current If and the emission current Ie are stabilized.

Next, the image display device of the present invention will be described. The image display device having a rectangular shape according to one embodiment of the present invention includes the electron source substrate 10 according to some of the above-described embodiments, and is disposed to face the electron source substrate 10 and has a phosphor mounted thereon. It has a face plate (plate 76 described later) having substantially the same shape and size as the source substrate 10.

Various arrangements of the electron-emitting devices of the electron source substrate used in the image display device can be adopted. First, each of a large number of electron-emitting devices arranged in parallel is connected at both ends, a large number of rows of electron-emitting devices are arranged (referred to as a row direction), and electrons are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the wiring (referred to as a column direction). There is a ladder-type arrangement in which electrons from the electron-emitting device are controlled and driven by a control electrode (also called a grid) arranged on the information of the electron-emitting device. Separately, a plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix in the X and Y directions, and one of the electrodes of the plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged in the same row is commonly connected to a wiring in the X direction. One example is one in which the other of the electrodes of a plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged in the same column is commonly connected to a wiring in the Y direction. Such is the so-called simple matrix arrangement. First, the simple matrix arrangement will be described in detail below.

An electron source substrate obtained by arranging a plurality of electron-emitting devices of the present invention in a matrix will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 10, 10 is an electron source substrate,
61 is an X-direction wiring, 62 is a Y-direction wiring, 63 is a surface conduction electron-emitting device, and 64 is a connection. .. DXm, and the Y-directional wires 62 are DY1, DY2,.
It is composed of n wirings of Yn. The material, the film thickness, and the thickness are set so that a substantially uniform voltage is supplied to many surface conduction type elements 63.
The wiring width is appropriately set. These m X-directional wirings 61
And n n-directional wirings 62 are electrically separated by an interlayer insulating layer (not shown) to form a matrix wiring (m, m).
n is a positive integer).

The interlayer insulating layer (not shown) is formed in a part of a desired region on the entire surface of the substrate 14 on which the X-directional wiring 61 is formed. The X-direction wiring 61 and the Y-direction wiring 62 are respectively drawn as external terminals. Further, the device electrodes (not shown) of the surface conduction electron-emitting device 63 are electrically connected to the m X-directional wires 61 and the n Y-directional wires 62 by a connection 64. Material for forming wiring 61 and wiring 62, connection 64
And the materials forming the pair of device electrodes may have the same or some of the constituent elements that are the same or different. These materials are appropriately selected, for example, from the above-described materials for the device electrodes. When the material forming the element electrode is the same as the wiring material, the wiring connected to the element electrode can also be called an element electrode.

The X-direction wiring 61 is electrically connected to a scanning signal generating means (not shown) for applying a scanning signal for scanning a row of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 63 arranged in the X direction according to an input signal. It is connected. On the other hand, the Y-direction wiring 62
Are electrically connected to modulation signal generating means (not shown) for applying a modulation signal for modulating each column of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 63 arranged in the Y direction according to an input signal. Further, the drive voltage applied to each element of the surface conduction electron-emitting device 63 is supplied as a difference voltage between a scanning signal and a modulation signal applied to the element. As a result, individual elements can be selected and driven independently using only simple matrix wiring.

Next, an image display apparatus using an electron source having a simple matrix arrangement prepared as described above will be described.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 11, 12, and 13. FIG. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram of a display panel of an image display device, and FIG.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a fluorescent film used for this. FIG. 13 shows NTSC
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a driving circuit for performing display in accordance with a television signal of a system and showing an image display device including the driving circuit.

In FIG. 11, reference numeral 10 denotes an electron-emitting device 63.
Is an electron source substrate manufactured on a substrate, and 71 is an electron source substrate 10
Is a face plate in which a fluorescent film 74 and a metal back 75 are formed on the inner surface of a glass substrate 73; 72 is a support frame;
The support frame 72 and the face plate 76 are coated with frit glass or the like, and
The envelope 78 is formed by baking at 0 degree for 10 minutes or more to seal. The face plate 76 and the rear plate 71 have substantially the same size and shape as the electron source substrate 10, although there is a difference in size about the thickness of the support frame 72. 11, 63 corresponds to the electron-emitting device of FIG.
Reference numerals 61 and 62 denote an X-direction wiring and a Y-direction wiring connected to a pair of device electrodes of the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

The envelope 78 is composed of the face plate 76, the support frame 72, and the rear plate 71 as described above.
Since the rear plate 71 is provided mainly for the purpose of reinforcing the strength of the electron source substrate 10, if the electron source substrate 10 itself has sufficient strength, the separate rear plate 71 is unnecessary, and The support frame 72 may be directly sealed, and the envelope 78 may be configured by the face plate 76, the support frame 72, and the electron source substrate 10. Further, by providing an anti-atmospheric pressure support member called a spacer between the face plate 76 and the rear plate 71, the envelope 78 having sufficient strength against atmospheric pressure can be obtained.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a fluorescent film. The phosphor is composed of only the phosphor in the case of monochrome, but is composed of a black conductive material 81 called a black stripe or a black matrix depending on the arrangement of the phosphor in the case of a color phosphor film. The purpose of providing a black stripe and a black matrix is that, in the case of color display, the color separation and the like are made inconspicuous by blacking out the painted portions between the phosphors 82 of the necessary three primary color phosphors,
The purpose is to suppress a decrease in contrast due to reflection of external light on the fluorescent film 74. The material of the black stripe is not limited to a commonly used material containing graphite as a main component, as long as it is conductive and has little light transmission and reflection.

In the present invention, the directions of the stripes of the phosphor in the matrix or the two directions perpendicular to each other in the matrix are parallel to the two directions perpendicular to each other in the electron-emitting device group. And the phosphors are positioned and laminated so that the phosphors coincide with the respective electron-emitting devices to constitute an image display device. Since the directions and positions of the matrices of the image display devices having such a configuration match each other, an image display device with extremely high image quality can be realized.

As a method of applying the phosphor on the glass substrate 73, a precipitation method or a printing method is used regardless of monochrome or color. A metal back 75 is usually provided on the inner surface side of the fluorescent film 74 (FIG. 11). Metal back 7
5 is to improve the luminance by mirror-reflecting the light emitted from the phosphor toward the inner surface side to the face plate 76 side, to act as an electrode for applying an electron beam acceleration voltage, It has a role of protecting the phosphor from damage due to the collision of negative ions generated in the above. The metal back 75 can be manufactured by performing a smoothing process (usually called filming) on the inner surface of the fluorescent film 74 after manufacturing the fluorescent film 74 and then depositing Al by vacuum evaporation or the like.

The face plate 76 further includes a fluorescent film 7.
A transparent electrode (not shown) may be provided on the outer surface side of the fluorescent film 74 in order to increase the conductivity of the fluorescent film 74. When performing the above-mentioned sealing, in the case of color, the phosphors of each color must correspond to the electron-emitting devices, and it is necessary to perform sufficient alignment. In order to perform this sufficient alignment, according to the present invention, as described above, the phosphor is arranged at a position facing the electron-emitting device, and the two matrices of the respective matrices are orthogonal to each other.
The directions are parallel to each other. In order to obtain a highly accurate image display device having such a configuration,
It is preferable that the phosphor substrate adopts the same positioning method as the electron source substrate of the present invention.

The image display device shown in FIG. 11 is specifically manufactured as follows. The envelope 78 is evacuated through an exhaust pipe (not shown) by an exhaust device that does not use oil, such as an ion pump and a sorption pump, while being appropriately heated, similarly to the above-described stabilization process, and the degree of vacuum is about 10 ⁻⁷ Torr. After the atmosphere of the organic material is made sufficiently small, the substrate is sealed. In some cases, a getter process is performed to maintain the degree of vacuum after sealing the envelope 78. This is done by heating a getter disposed at a predetermined position (not shown) in the envelope 78 by a heating method such as resistance heating or high-frequency heating immediately before or after sealing of the envelope 78, and performing vapor deposition. This is a process for forming a film. A getter typically contains Ba as a principal component, by the adsorption action of the evaporated film, for example, 1 × 10 ^-5 Tor
The vacuum degree of r to 1 × 10 ⁻⁷ Torr is maintained.

Next, by driving this display panel constituted by using an electron source having a simple matrix arrangement type substrate, N
A schematic configuration of a driving circuit for performing television display based on a TSC television signal will be described with reference to FIG. 13, reference numeral 91 denotes an image display panel; 92, a scanning circuit; 93, a control circuit; 94, a shift register;
Is a line memory, 96 is a synchronization signal separation circuit, 97 is a modulation signal generator, and Vx and Va are DC voltage sources.

The function of each section will be described below. First, the display panel 91 is connected to the terminals Dox1 to Doxm and the terminal Dx.
It is connected to an external electric circuit via oy1 to Doyn and the high voltage terminal Hv. Of these terminals, the terminals Dox1 to Doxm sequentially drive electron sources provided in the display panel 91, that is, a group of surface conduction electron-emitting devices arranged in a matrix of M rows and N columns, one row at a time (N elements). A scanning signal for moving is applied. On the other hand, to the terminals Doy1 to Doyn, a modulation signal for controlling an output electron beam of each element of the one row of surface conduction electron-emitting devices selected by the scanning signal is applied. A DC voltage of, for example, 10 kV is supplied to the high voltage terminal Hv from the DC voltage source Va, which applies sufficient energy to the electron beam output from the surface conduction electron-emitting device to excite the phosphor. Is the accelerating voltage for

Next, the scanning circuit 92 will be described. This circuit has M switching elements inside (in the drawing, S1 to Sm are schematically shown), and each switching element is an output voltage of a DC voltage source Vx or 0V.
(Ground level), and is electrically connected to the terminals Dox1 to Doxm of the display panel 91. Each of the switching elements S1 to Sm operates based on the control signal Tscan output from the control circuit 93, but can be actually configured by combining switching elements such as FETs. Note that the DC voltage source Vx is such that the drive voltage applied to an element that is not scanned based on the characteristics (electron emission threshold voltage) of the surface conduction electron-emitting element is equal to or lower than the electron emission threshold voltage. It is set to output a constant voltage.

The control circuit 93 has a function of matching the operations of the respective units so that appropriate display is performed based on an image signal input from the outside. Based on a synchronization signal Tsync sent from a synchronization signal separation circuit 96 described below, Tscan, Tsft, and Tm are applied to each unit.
ry control signals are generated.

The synchronizing signal separating circuit 96 is a circuit for separating a synchronizing signal component and a luminance signal component from an NTSC television signal input from the outside, and can be formed by using a frequency separating (filter) circuit. It is. As is well known, the synchronization signal separated by the synchronization signal separation circuit 96 includes a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal.
Here, it is illustrated as a Tsync signal for convenience of explanation.
On the other hand, a luminance signal component of an image separated from the television signal is referred to as a DATA signal for convenience, and the signal is input to a shift register 94.

The shift register 94 is for serially / parallel converting the DATA signal input serially in time series for each line of an image, and operates based on a control signal Tsft sent from the control circuit 93. I do. That is, the control signal Tsft is
May be rephrased as the shift clock. One line of serial / parallel converted image (electron emitting element N
(Corresponding to the drive data for the elements) is output from the shift register 94 as N parallel signals Id1 to Idn.

The line memory 95 is a storage device for storing data for one line of an image for a required time only.
The contents of Id1 to Idn are stored as appropriate according to the control signal Tmry sent from the control circuit 93. The stored contents are output as Id1 to Idn and input to the modulation signal generator 97.

The modulation signal generator 97 outputs the image data Id
A signal source for appropriately driving and modulating each of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices according to each of 1 to Idn, and an output signal thereof is sent to the surface conduction electron-emitting device in the display panel 91 through terminals Doy1 to Doyn. Applied.

As described above, the electron-emitting device according to the present invention has the following basic characteristics with respect to the emission current Ie. That is, as described above, electron emission has a clear threshold voltage Vth, and electron emission occurs only when a voltage higher than Vth is applied. For a voltage equal to or higher than the electron emission threshold, the emission current also changes according to the change in the voltage applied to the element. The electron emission threshold voltage Vth can be changed by changing the material, configuration, and manufacturing method of the electron emission element.
In some cases, the degree of change of the emission current with respect to the value or the applied voltage changes, but in any case, the following can be said.

That is, when a pulse-like voltage is applied to the present element, for example, when a voltage lower than the electron emission threshold is applied, no electron emission occurs but a voltage higher than the electron emission threshold is applied. Outputs an electron beam. that time,
First, it is possible to control the intensity of the output electron beam by changing the pulse peak value Vm. Second, it is possible to control the total amount of charges of the output electron beam by changing the pulse width Pw.

Therefore, as a method of modulating the electron-emitting device in accordance with the input signal, there are a voltage modulation method, a pulse width modulation method, and the like. A voltage modulation circuit is used which generates a voltage pulse having a length of, but modulates the peak value of the pulse appropriately according to input data. In order to implement the pulse width modulation method, the modulation signal generator 97 generates a voltage pulse having a constant peak value, but a pulse width that modulates the width of the voltage pulse appropriately according to input data. A modulation type circuit is used.

The shift register 94 and the line memory 95 may be of a digital signal type or an analog signal type. The point is that serial / parallel conversion and storage of image signals may be performed at a predetermined speed.

When using a digital signal type,
It is necessary to convert the output signal DATA of the synchronization signal separation circuit 96 into a digital signal. This can be achieved by providing an A / D converter at the output of the synchronization signal separation circuit 96. In connection with this, the circuit used for the modulation signal generator 97 is slightly different depending on whether the output signal of the line memory 95 is a digital signal or an analog signal.

First, the case of a digital signal will be described.
In the voltage modulation method, for example, a well-known D / A conversion circuit may be used as the modulation signal generator 97, and an amplification circuit or the like may be added as necessary. In the case of the pulse width modulation method, the modulation signal generator 97 includes, for example, a high-speed oscillator,
A counter for counting the number of waves output by the oscillator,
And a circuit combining a comparator (comparator) for comparing the output value of the counter with the output value of the line memory 95. If necessary, an amplifier may be added to amplify the pulse width modulated signal output from the comparator to the drive voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

Next, the case of an analog signal will be described.
In the voltage modulation method, for example, an amplification circuit using a well-known operational amplifier or the like may be used as the modulation signal generator 97, and a level shift circuit or the like may be added as necessary. In the case of the pulse width modulation method, for example, a well-known voltage-controlled oscillation circuit (VCO) may be used, and an amplifier for amplifying the voltage up to the driving voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device may be added as necessary. You may.

In the image display device having the above-described structure, the electron-emitting devices of the display panel 91 are provided with external terminals Dox1 to Doxm, Doy1 to Doyn.
Through the high voltage terminal Hv to apply a high voltage to the metal back 75 or a transparent electrode (not shown) to accelerate the electron beam, collide with the fluorescent film 74, and excite An image can be displayed by emitting light.

The configuration described here is a schematic configuration necessary for manufacturing a suitable image display device used for display and the like. For example, detailed portions such as materials of each member are not limited to those described above. Instead, it is appropriately selected so as to be suitable for the use of the image display device. Although the NTSC system has been described as an example of an input signal, the present invention is not limited to this, and PAL, SECA
Various systems such as the M system may be used, and a TV signal composed of a larger number of scanning lines (for example, a high-definition TV including the MUSE system) may be used.

Next, the ladder-type arrangement electron source substrate and the image display device will be described with reference to FIGS. 14, reference numeral 10 denotes an electron source substrate; 63, an electron-emitting device; 98, Dx1 to Dx1 connected to the electron-emitting device 63;
0 is a common wiring. The plurality of electron-emitting devices 63 are arranged on the substrate 14 in parallel in the X direction. This is called an element row. A plurality of the element rows are arranged on a substrate to form an electron source substrate. By applying a drive voltage between the common wires of each element row, each element row can be driven independently. In other words, a voltage equal to or higher than the electron emission threshold may be applied to an element row in which an electron beam is to be emitted, and a voltage equal to or lower than the electron emission threshold may be applied to an element row in which an electron beam is not emitted. Also, a common wiring Dx between each element row
2 to Dx9, for example, Dx2 and Dx3, may be the same wiring.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a panel structure in an image display device having such a ladder-type electron source. 101 is a grid electrode, 102 is a hole (opening) through which electrons pass, and 103 is Dox1, Dox2,.
························································· G1, G2,.
An external terminal 100 made of n is an electron source substrate in which the common wiring between the element rows is the same wiring. 11 and 13 denote the same members. The difference from the above-described image display device having the simple matrix arrangement (FIG. 1) is that the grid electrode 10 is disposed between the electron source substrate 100 and the face plate 76.
1 or not.

The grid electrode 101 is for modulating the electron beam emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and passes the electron beam to a stripe-shaped electrode provided orthogonally to the ladder-shaped device row. For this purpose, one circular opening 102 is provided for each element.
The shape and installation position of the grid are not limited to those shown in FIG. For example, a large number of passage openings may be provided in a mesh shape as openings, and a grid may be provided around or near the surface conduction electron-emitting device. The terminal 103 outside the container and the terminal 104 outside the grid container are electrically connected to a control circuit (not shown).

In the image display device according to the present invention, a modulation signal for one line of an image is simultaneously applied to the grid electrode rows in synchronization with sequentially driving (scanning) the element rows one by one. This makes it possible to control the irradiation of each electron beam to the phosphor and display an image one line at a time. According to this, in addition to a display device of a television broadcast, a video conference system, a display device of a computer, and the like, it can also be used as an image display device as an optical printer configured using a photosensitive drum or the like.

Next, still another feature of the present invention will be described. FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining a display device incorporating the display device of the present invention. The device according to the present embodiment is the image display device 1 according to some of the above-described embodiments.
Reference numeral 11 denotes a device in which the image display device 111 is incorporated as one constituent unit.
1 is installed so that the horizontal direction toward the image display device 111 is the longitudinal direction of the image display device 111. For example, this is an example of a large display 111 and a controller 112 such as a personal computer that sends a video signal to the display 111. Alternatively, a video deck may be arranged instead of the controller 112. Here, for example,
It is a large-screen display having a size of 00 mm, 1500 mm in width, or more, and shows an example in which it is used as a home theater.

As shown in FIG. 16, in such an apparatus, a person 113 obtains information by viewing the display surface from almost the front with respect to the display surface arranged so as to be perpendicular or approximately perpendicular to the floor. It is often used. An exceptional situation is when there are too many viewers and some people have to look at the display surface diagonally from the display surface, but this is only an exceptional case, It is common to see from the most visible, frontal and near-frontal locations.

Here, it is assumed that the person 113 who is looking at the display surface is looking at the viewing angle θv in the vertical direction. In other words, without looking wide open your eyes or moving your face up and down, you look at the display surface normally in front,
The viewing angle at which good visual information is obtained is θv. In this case, visual information is input to the outside of the viewing angle θv and its surroundings, to the extent that something is visible but cannot be clearly distinguished, but that is not considered here.

FIG. 17 is a view (plan view) of a person looking at the display surface of this device as viewed from above. FIG. 17 shows only the display device 111 and the head of the person 113 for simplification. At this time, if the person is a healthy person, the horizontal viewing angle θh is the aforementioned vertical viewing angle θv.
Greater than. Because this is seen with two eyes. In other words, for a normal healthy person, the horizontal viewing angle θh is larger than the vertical viewing angle θv, so even when considering a display device like the present invention, a configuration that maximizes the characteristics of the human being. It is important that

In the present invention, from such a viewpoint, the display information of such a device is most efficiently (without waste).
3 can be obtained. That is, when a healthy person obtains information from the display device 111, the information can be obtained in such a manner that the horizontal viewing angle θh is larger than the vertical viewing angle θv. In other words, in view of the shape / dimension / dimension ratio of the display surface, the display surface becomes horizontally long so as to correspond to the fact that the horizontal viewing angle θh of the healthy person is larger than the vertical viewing angle θv. Like that. In other words, the display surface is arranged so as to be perpendicular or approximately perpendicular to the floor, and the display surface has a wider area in the horizontal direction than in the vertical direction. Specifically, it is a rectangle that is long in the horizontal direction.

As described above, the effect of increasing the area of the display surface in the horizontal direction rather than the vertical direction is not only optimized or close to the above-described viewing angle, but also the amount of display information, Furthermore, there is an advantage that the amount of information that can be handled by the display device of the present invention can be increased, and that the user is less likely to be tired. This is because the viewing angle of the human being is such that the horizontal viewing angle θh is the vertical viewing angle θv.
Because it is overwhelmingly bigger, widening the display surface in the horizontal direction can increase the amount of information that can be handled than widening the display surface in the vertical direction, and shake the head slightly left and right rather than shake the neck up and down Just because you can see everything, it is hard to get tired.

The size of the display surface is generally used, that is, two to two from the front of the device.
If this device (display surface) is viewed while sitting on a chair at a position of 10 m, the height direction (vertical direction) of the display surface should be at most 3 m. this is,
This range should be set based on the vertical viewing angle θv of a person who looks at the display surface when the display surface is used in such a situation (position). In other words, by setting the height direction (vertical direction) to at most 3 m, you can look at the display surface in front normally without opening your eyes especially large or moving your face up and down, Information can be visually recognized well.

Next, the size in the horizontal direction (horizontal direction), which is also the horizontal viewing angle θh as shown in FIG.
Therefore, the distance should be at most 8 m. Within this range, 2-10 m from the front of the device as described above
Assuming that the user sits in a chair at this position and looks at this device (display surface), the person looking at this display surface should take a substantially constant posture without shaking his head to the left and right. This is because information on the display surface can be visually recognized well.

[0097]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a droplet of a solution containing a material of a conductive thin film is ejected between a plurality of pairs of device electrodes on a substrate by a droplet ejecting head, and the conductive material is applied. In the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus in which a surface conduction electron-emitting device group is formed by a conductive thin film, the droplet ejection head performs carriage scanning on the front surface of the substrate and ejects droplets to form a surface conduction electron-emitting device group. In the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus, the electron source substrate set and manufactured in the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus has a rectangular shape, and the carriage scan performs reciprocating scanning in the short direction of the rectangular shape. Since the carriage scanning area is short, there is no decrease in the carriage scanning accuracy due to the deflection of the carriage scanning mechanism or the like, and high-precision carriage scanning can be performed. An electron source substrate to be created can also be assumed its electron emitting element part precision.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus, the electron source substrate is transported in the longitudinal direction by the substrate transport means provided in the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus, and the carriage is driven by the droplet ejecting head. Since the surface conduction electron-emitting device group is formed by a combination of scanning and droplet ejection, the area in the carriage scanning direction can be narrowed. Can be made compact.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the electron source substrate has a rectangular shape and is manufactured by the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus with high carriage scanning accuracy, the electron source substrate having the electron emission elements with high accuracy can be used. Obtainable.

Effect corresponding to claim 4: Since the electron source substrate having such a highly accurate electron-emitting device is used for an image display device, a high-quality image display device can be obtained.

Advantages corresponding to claim 5: When the rectangular image display device is incorporated in a device having an image display function as one constituent unit, this device displays an image when used by a person. Since the device was installed so that the horizontal direction toward the device is the longitudinal direction of the image display device, the viewing angle of a person is larger left and right than vertically,
A device that is very easy to use (the image display device is easy to see and is less tiring) can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view and a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a method of manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating an apparatus for manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an apparatus for manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of an ejection head unit according to the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view illustrating a configuration of a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which an electron-emitting device portion is formed by a plurality of droplets.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view illustrating a configuration of a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which an electron-emitting device portion is formed by a plurality of droplets.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of an ejection head used in an apparatus for manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing an example of a voltage waveform in an energization forming process that can be employed when manufacturing the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a matrix arrangement type electron source substrate to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing an example of a display panel of an image display device using a matrix arrangement type electron source substrate to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing a fluorescent film to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a drive circuit for performing display on the display panel of FIG. 6 in response to an NTSC television signal on an image display device.

FIG. 14 is a view showing a ladder-positioned electron source substrate to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a display panel of an image display device using a ladder-positioned electron source substrate to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a situation in which a device incorporating the display device of the present invention is used.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a horizontal viewing angle of a person looking at the display device of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a schematic view of a conventional electron-emitting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Substrate, 2 and 3 ... Device electrode 4 ... Conductive thin film 5 ... Electron emission part 10, 100 ... Electron source board, 11 ... Drop ejection head, 12 ... Carriage, 13 ... Substrate holding stand, 14 ...
Substrate forming flat surface conduction electron-emitting device group, 15
... Supply tube for solution containing conductive thin film material, 1
6 signal supply cable, 17 ejection head control box, 18 carriage X-direction scan motor,
19: carriage Y-direction scan motor, 20: computer, 21: control box, 22 (2
2 _X1 , 22 _Y1 , 22 _X2 , 22 _Y2 ) ... board positioning /
Holding means, 23: electron source substrate transport means, 30: ejection head unit, 31: head alignment control mechanism, 32
... Detection optical system, 33 ... Inkjet head, 34 ... Head alignment fine movement mechanism, 41 ... Optical axis, 42 ... Droplet,
43: droplet landing position, 51: heating element substrate, 52: lid substrate, 53: silicon substrate, 54: individual electrode, 55: common electrode, 56: heating element, 57: solution inlet, 58 ... nozzle, 59 ... Groove, 60: recessed area, 61: X-direction wiring, 6
2 ... Y direction wiring, 63 ... Surface conduction electron-emitting device, 64
... Connection, 71 ... Rear plate, 72 ... Support frame, 73 ... Glass substrate, 74 ... Fluorescent film, 75 ... Metal back, 76 ...
Face plate, 77: high-voltage terminal, 78: envelope, 8
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Black member, 82 ... Phosphor, 91 ... Image display panel,
92: scanning circuit, 93: control circuit, 94: shift register, 95: line memory, 96: synchronization signal separation circuit, 9
7: Modulation signal generator, 98: Common wiring, Vx, Va: DC voltage source, 101: Grid electrode, 102: Void, 10
3, 104: terminal outside the container, 111: image display device (display), 112: controller, 113: human.

Claims (5)

[Claims] A droplet of a solution containing a material of a conductive thin film is ejected between a plurality of pairs of device electrodes on a substrate by a droplet ejecting head to form a surface conduction electron-emitting device group using the conductive thin film. An electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus, wherein the droplet ejecting head carriage-scans the front surface of the substrate and ejects the droplets to form the surface conduction electron-emitting device group. An electron source substrate set and manufactured in the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus, having a rectangular shape, and wherein the carriage scan is a reciprocating scan in a short direction of the rectangular shape. . 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electron source substrate is transported in a longitudinal direction by a substrate transport unit provided in the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus. The electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a group of electron-emitting devices is formed. 3. A rectangular electron source substrate manufactured by the electron source substrate manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1. 4. An electron source substrate according to claim 3, and a face plate disposed opposite to the electron source substrate, mounted with a phosphor, and having substantially the same shape and size as the electron source substrate. A rectangular image display device. 5. The image display device according to claim 4, wherein the image display device is incorporated as one constituent unit, wherein the image display device is configured to display the image in a horizontal direction toward the image display device. A device which is incorporated so as to extend in the longitudinal direction of the display device.