JP2002367526A - Plasma display panel and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem of the manufacture of a plasma display panel that a dry gas introduced into the panel during sealing in order avoid thermal degradation of a blue phosphor during the sealing process gives size to a dispersion in the emission characteristic of the blue phosphor on the inner surface of the panel because the flow of the gas is biased within the plane of the panel when the gas is introduced and when it is exhausted. SOLUTION: A configuration is selected such that barrier ribs are formed across the inside and outside of a display region and a sealant layer is formed outside the display area. Moreover, the interval between the barrier ribs and the sealant layer is set not to be uniform in the longitudinal direction of the barrier ribs. This enables sufficient flow of the gas even at the center of the panel where it is difficult to flow in conventional panels, and the in-plane uniformity of the emission characteristic of the blue phosphors can be secured.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plasma display panel used for a display device and the like, and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a sectional view schematically showing an alternating current (AC) type plasma display panel.

[0003] In the plasma display panel shown in FIG. 4, a display electrode 11 is formed on a front glass substrate 10, and the entire surface thereof is covered with a dielectric layer 12 and a protective layer 13. On the other hand, an address electrode 21 is formed on a rear glass substrate 20, the entire surface thereof is covered with a dielectric layer 22, and a partition wall 23 is formed thereon. Then, phosphor layers 24 to 26 are formed by disposing respective color phosphor pastes including a red phosphor, a green phosphor, and a blue phosphor in each space interposed between the partition walls 23.

A discharge space 27 between the two glass substrates is filled with a mixed gas of Ne and Xe, and the phosphor layers (24 to 26) are excited by vacuum ultraviolet light (147 nm) having a short wavelength generated by the discharge. Then, color display is performed by emitting visible light of R, G, and B from the front glass substrate side.

[0005]

In a method of manufacturing a plasma display panel, after a phosphor layer is formed, a phosphor layer baking step (about 500 ° C.), a low melting glass pre-baking step (about 350 ° C.), and sealing are performed. There are heating steps such as a deposition step (about 450 ° C.) and an exhaust step (about 300 ° C.).

[0006] However, there is a problem that the phosphor is thermally degraded through these heat processes, and particularly, the blue phosphor is deteriorated in the sealing process. As a means for solving this problem, a sealing method (Japanese Patent Application No. 11-168995) has been proposed in which a dry gas is introduced into the inside of the panel at the time of sealing to suppress the deterioration of the blue phosphor. However, while this method has an advantage that the deterioration of the blue phosphor can be suppressed, the flow of the dry gas generated by introducing and exhausting the dry gas is biased in the panel surface, and the blue fluorescent material is deflected. There was a problem that in-plane non-uniformity was likely to occur in body characteristics. Specifically, since the distance between the partition and the sealing material layer outside the display area is considerably wider than the distance between the partitions, there is a large difference in the conductance between the center of the panel and the periphery of the panel. As a result, the light emission characteristics of the blue phosphor vary within the panel surface, reflecting the flow of the dry gas.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such a problem,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a plasma display panel that suppresses thermal degradation of a phosphor and has high in-plane uniformity of blue light emission.

[0008]

According to the plasma display panel of the present invention, a pair of substrates, each having a partition wall formed on at least one substrate and a sealing material layer formed on at least one substrate, is placed between the two substrates. A plasma display panel which is bonded so as to form an internal space, wherein a partition is formed over the inside and outside of a display region, and a sealing material layer is formed outside the display region, and a longitudinal direction of the partition is provided. In at least a portion corresponding to the outside of the display region, the distance between the partition and the sealing material layer is not uniform but different in the longitudinal direction of the partition.

In a portion corresponding to at least one outside of the display area with respect to the longitudinal direction of the partition, one of the substrate ends parallel to the longitudinal direction of the partition extends from the other substrate end to the other substrate end in the longitudinal direction of the partition. It is desirable that the sealing material layer is not parallel to the line segment connecting the leading ends, but intersects on an extension line. In a portion corresponding to at least one outside of the display area with respect to the longitudinal direction of the partition wall, It is desirable that the distance between the partition wall and the sealing material layer be increased or decreased in a short tone from one substrate end parallel to the direction toward the other substrate end.

The width of the sealing material layer is not uniform but different at least in a portion corresponding to the outside of the display area with respect to the longitudinal direction of the partition wall, and at least in the longitudinal direction of the partition wall. In a portion corresponding to the outside of one display area, it is desirable that the width of the sealing material layer be increased or decreased in a short range from one substrate end parallel to the longitudinal direction of the partition wall to the other substrate end.

[0011] Further, a plasma is obtained by laminating a pair of substrates each having a partition wall formed on at least one substrate and a sealing material layer formed on at least one substrate so that an internal space is formed between the two substrates. In the display panel, the partition wall is formed over the inside and outside of the display region, and the sealing material layer is formed outside the display region, and corresponds to at least one outside the display region with respect to the longitudinal direction of the partition wall. In the portion, at least one portion where the partition wall and the sealing material layer are in contact with each other is characterized.

Further, the distance between the partition and the sealing material layer at a portion corresponding to the outside of the display area is point-symmetric with respect to the center of the substrate on which the partition is formed.

In a portion corresponding to at least one of the display regions outside the longitudinal direction of the partition wall, a conduction hole is formed at a position close to the partition wall where the distance between the partition wall and the sealing material layer is the largest in the longitudinal direction of the partition wall. It is characterized by having been done.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to the present invention, in a portion corresponding to at least one of the display regions outside the longitudinal direction of the partition, the distance between the partition and the sealing material layer is large in the longitudinal direction of the partition. A step of introducing or exhausting a gas into the panel through a conduction hole formed at a position close to the partition wall.

According to the present invention, by changing the configuration of the sealing material layer in a portion corresponding to the outside of the display area, it is possible to allow a sufficient gas to flow also in the central portion of the panel, which has been difficult to flow the gas. Therefore, the in-plane uniformity of the emission characteristics of the blue phosphor can be ensured.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. However, such an embodiment does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. 4 and 5 show a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of a main part of an AC surface discharge type plasma display panel. In these figures, only three cells are shown for convenience. However, in practice, many cells emitting red (R), green (G), and blue (B) are arranged, and a plasma display panel is formed. It is configured.

First, a method for manufacturing the front plate will be described.
After an ITO film is formed on the entire surface of the front glass substrate 10 by a sputtering method, patterning is performed by a photolithography method to form a transparent electrode of ITO. Next, after forming a photosensitive silver paste on the entire surface, an Ag bus electrode pattern is formed on the ITO by the same photolithography method.
The display electrode 11 is formed by drying and baking g (not shown, but has a configuration in which an Ag electrode is provided as a bus electrode on a transparent electrode of ITO). A dielectric glass paste is applied thereon by a screen printing method and then baked to form a dielectric glass layer 12. Then, an MgO film is formed by a sputtering method, a vacuum evaporation method, or the like, and a protective layer 13 is formed on the entire surface of the dielectric glass layer 12.
To form a front panel.

Next, a method of manufacturing the back plate will be described.
First, the address electrodes 21 are formed on the rear glass substrate 20 by the same method as the method of forming the Ag electrodes on the front plate. A dielectric glass layer 22 is formed thereon by a screen printing method as in the case of the front plate and the panel. Then, the partition walls 23 are formed by a screen printing method, a sand blast method, or a photolithography method. One of a red (R) phosphor, a green (G) phosphor, and a blue (B) phosphor is disposed in each space between the partition walls 23 by a screen printing method, and is dried and fired. By doing so, the phosphor layers 24, 25,
26 is formed. As the phosphor of each color R, G, B, for example, the following phosphors are used.

Red phosphor: Y ₂ O ₃ : Eu ³⁺ Green phosphor: Zn ₂ SiO ₄ : Mn Blue phosphor: BaMgAl ₁₀ O ₁₇ : Eu ²⁺ Then, a sealing material layer made of glass having a low softening point. Is formed by a screen printing method or the like (not shown in the figure) to form a back plate. The configuration of the sealing material layer which is a feature of the present invention will be described later.

The front plate and the back plate manufactured as described above are bonded together for sealing. Here, the sealing step will be described. FIG. 6 shows a temperature profile of the sealing step. FIG. 7 shows a panel in which a front plate and a back plate are bonded before sealing and a device configuration. A sealing material layer 52 for sealing is provided between the front plate 50 and the back plate 51, and an exhaust device 62 and a dry gas introduction device 61 are provided on the back plate 51.
A first glass tube 53 and a second glass tube 54 connected to are formed. The first and second glass tubes 5
Numerals 3 and 54 are formed at positions of conduction holes provided in the back plate 51, through which gas is introduced and exhausted into the panel. In addition, this conduction hole is a portion corresponding to at least one outside the display region with respect to the longitudinal direction of the partition wall,
It should be noted that the partition wall is formed at a position (for example, the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) close to the partition wall where the distance between the partition wall and the sealing material layer is the largest in the longitudinal direction. The start and stop of the introduction and exhaust of the drying gas are performed by valves 63 and 6.
4 opening and closing. In the heating furnace 60, the valves 63 and 64 are all closed and heated to a temperature higher than the softening point of the low-melting glass until it is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point of the low-melting glass which is the sealing material at the time of temperature rise. Then, the valves 63 and 64 are opened, and the second glass tube 54 is opened.
To start the exhaust in the panel, and start the introduction of the drying gas through the first glass tube 53. Heating is performed to the sealing peak temperature while flowing a dry gas into the panel, and the sealing is performed by maintaining the sealing peak temperature for a certain time.
Since the sealing peak temperature and the holding time at the sealing peak temperature differ depending on the configuration of the panel, it is necessary to optimize the configuration according to each configuration.

After sealing, the discharge space 2 partitioned by the partition 23
After evacuating the inside of 7, a discharge gas composed of Ne and Xe is filled therein, and aging is performed to produce a plasma display panel.

At the time of driving the plasma display panel, as shown in FIG. 8, each driver and panel driving circuit 70 are connected to the plasma display panel to apply a voltage between the scanning electrode 71 and the address electrode 73 of the cell to be lighted. After the address discharge is performed, the display electrodes 71,
A sustain voltage is applied by applying a pulse voltage between 72. 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.

Hereinafter, the sealing material layer 52 which is a feature of the present invention will be described.
Will be described. 1 and 2 show schematic diagrams of the configuration of the plasma display panel according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, in a portion corresponding to outside the display area,
Partition 23 and sealing material layer 52 with respect to the longitudinal direction of partition 23
By forming the sealing material layer so that the distance from the panel is not uniform, the conductance in the peripheral portion of the panel can be reduced, so that the dry gas introduced into the panel at the time of sealing passes through the peripheral portion of the panel. That
It becomes possible to flow a dry gas sufficient to suppress the deterioration of the blue phosphor also in the center of the panel. Such a configuration of the sealing material layer 52 can be easily implemented without a significant change from the conventional one, since, for example, in the case of screen printing, the shape of the mask may be a desired shape. It is.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, at a portion corresponding to at least one outside of the display area with respect to the longitudinal direction of the partition, one substrate end parallel to the longitudinal direction of the partition is moved from the other substrate end to the other substrate end. Toward, the sealing material layer is not parallel to the line segment connecting the tips in the longitudinal direction of the partition wall, but is configured to intersect on the extension line, and at least one of the display areas outside the display panel in the longitudinal direction of the partition wall. In a corresponding portion, it is preferable that the interval between the partition and the sealing material layer is increased or decreased in a short direction from one substrate end parallel to the longitudinal direction of the partition toward the other substrate end. This is for the same reason as described above. It should be noted that the term “parallel to the longitudinal direction of the partition wall” does not only mean strictly parallel, but also includes, in general, parallel.

It is desirable that the width of the sealing material layer is not uniform but different at least in a portion corresponding to the outside of the display area in the longitudinal direction of the partition wall. Further, as shown in FIG. In a portion corresponding to at least one of the display regions outside the longitudinal direction, the width of the sealing material layer increases or decreases in a minor direction from one substrate end parallel to the longitudinal direction of the partition wall toward the other substrate end. It is more desirable that the configuration be such. With such a configuration, the contact area between the sealing material layer 52 and the front plate 50 is larger than in the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, so that the front plate and the back plate are more securely sealed. It becomes possible.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, it is desirable to have at least one portion where the partition wall and the sealing material layer are in contact with each other. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the dry gas from passing through the display area existing in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the partition wall instead of the central portion of the panel, so that the gas can be efficiently supplied to the panel. It is possible to flow to the central part.

It is desirable that the configuration of the sealing material layer in the portion corresponding to the outside of the display area is point-symmetric with respect to the center of the substrate on which the partition wall is formed as shown in FIGS. With such a configuration, the dry gas can flow evenly in the longitudinal direction of the partition walls, so that the emission characteristics of the blue phosphor can be made uniform within the panel surface. Of course, it is not necessary to be strictly point-symmetric, and it should be noted that the outline of the configuration of the portion corresponding to the outside of the display area may be point-symmetric.

In this embodiment, only the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is illustrated. However, in the portion corresponding to the outside of the display area, the distance between the partition and the sealing material layer in the longitudinal direction of the partition is not uniform. It should be noted that the configuration may be different, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration of FIGS.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, at least a portion corresponding to the outside of the display area with respect to the longitudinal direction of the partition, the distance between the partition and the sealing material layer in the longitudinal direction of the partition. Is formed at a position close to the largest partition wall. With such a configuration, introduction or exhaust of dry gas through the conduction hole,
Alternatively, it is possible to suppress the flow of the dry gas generated by introducing and exhausting the dry gas through at least two or more conduction holes from being concentrated on the peripheral portion of the panel, and to allow the gas to sufficiently flow also in the central portion of the panel. That is, it is possible to make the flow of the drying gas uniform in the plane. However, the position of the conduction hole may be any position as long as the distance between the partition and the sealing material layer is closest to the partition in the longitudinal direction of the partition, and is not limited to the positions shown in FIGS. Keep in mind that

In this embodiment, the method of introducing and exhausting the dry gas into the panel from the conduction hole at the time of sealing has been described. The present invention can be effectively applied to all plasma display panels manufactured by a method including a step of introducing a gas into a panel through a hole and / or exhausting the gas.

In the above-described embodiment, the surface discharge type plasma display panel is exemplified. However, all plasma display panels such as a facing discharge type plasma display panel which require a heat process for sealing are used. Can be applied.

A panel sealed by using a substrate having a partition having a conventional structure has a blue chromaticity coordinate of 0.06 to 0.06.
While the in-plane variation of about 0.07 occurred, the panel sealed by using the substrate having the partition having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 of the present embodiment showed the in-plane variation in blue chromaticity coordinates. Was 0.06 to 0.061, and the in-plane uniformity of blue light emission was realized. Furthermore, the discharge characteristics in the panel and the uniformity thereof were improved. Although the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is shown here, substantially the same results are obtained with the configurations shown in FIGS.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, the deterioration of the light emission characteristics of the phosphor, which has been particularly remarkable in the sealing step, through the conventional heat step is suppressed, and the in-plane uniformity of blue light emission is obtained. It is possible to realize a plasma display panel with high performance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a configuration of a plasma display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a configuration of a plasma display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a configuration of a plasma display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view (perspective view) of a plasma display panel.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of an AC surface discharge type plasma display panel.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a temperature profile in a sealing step according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a panel and a device configuration in which a front plate and a back plate are attached to each other before sealing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a plasma display panel display device in which a driving circuit is connected to the plasma display panel of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 front glass substrate 11 display electrode 12 dielectric layer 13 protective layer 20 rear glass substrate 21 address electrode 22 dielectric layer 23 partition 24 red phosphor layer 25 green phosphor layer 26 blue phosphor layer 27 discharge space 50 front plate 51 back Face plate 52 Sealing material layer 53 for sealing 53 First glass tube 54 Second glass tube 60 Heating furnace 61 Dry gas introduction device 62 Exhaust device 63, 64 Valve 70 Panel drive circuit 71 Scan electrode 72 Sustain electrode 73 Address electrode

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masafumi Okawa 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Terms (reference) 5C012 AA09 PP08 5C040 FA01 FA04 GB03 GB14 HA01 HA05 MA02

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A plasma formed by bonding a pair of substrates each having a partition wall formed on at least one substrate and a sealing material layer formed on at least one substrate so that an internal space is formed between the two substrates. In a display panel, the partition wall is formed over the inside and outside of a display region, and the sealing material layer is formed outside the display region, and at least one of the display regions outside the display region in the longitudinal direction of the partition wall. Wherein the distance between the partition and the sealing material layer is not uniform but different in the longitudinal direction of the partition in a portion corresponding to (a). 2. In a portion corresponding to at least one outside of the display area with respect to the longitudinal direction of the partition, the length of the partition extends from one substrate end parallel to the longitudinal direction of the partition toward the other substrate end. 2. The plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the sealing material layer is not parallel to a line segment connecting the front end in the direction but intersects on an extension line. 3. The partition and the seal are formed at a portion corresponding to at least one outside of the display area with respect to the longitudinal direction of the partition from one substrate end parallel to the longitudinal direction of the partition toward the other substrate end. 3. The plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the material layers increases or decreases in a minor tone. 4. The seal material layer according to claim 1, wherein the width of the sealing material layer is not uniform at a portion corresponding to at least one of the display regions outside the display region in the longitudinal direction of the partition wall.
4. The plasma display panel according to any one of items 1 to 3. 5. The sealing material layer in a portion corresponding to at least one outside of the display area in the longitudinal direction of the partition wall from one substrate end parallel to the longitudinal direction of the partition wall to the other substrate end. 5. The plasma display panel according to claim 4, wherein the width of the plasma display panel increases or decreases in a minor key. 6. A plasma formed by bonding a pair of substrates each having a partition wall formed on at least one substrate and a sealing material layer formed on at least one substrate so that an internal space is formed between the two substrates. In a display panel, the partition wall is formed over the inside and outside of a display region, and the sealing material layer is formed outside the display region, and at least one of the display regions outside the display region in the longitudinal direction of the partition wall. The plasma display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising at least one portion where the partition wall and the sealing material layer are in contact with each other. 7. The space between the partition wall and the sealing material layer at a portion corresponding to outside the display area is point-symmetric with respect to the center of the substrate on which the partition wall is formed. The plasma display panel according to any one of the above. 8. The plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein a portion corresponding to at least one outside of the display area with respect to the longitudinal direction of the partition wall is in contact with the partition wall in the longitudinal direction of the partition wall. A plasma display panel, wherein a conductive hole is formed at a position close to the partition wall having the largest distance from a sealing material layer. 9. A substrate having a phosphor layer formed on at least one side and a sealing material layer formed on at least one side is overlapped with each other so that an internal space is formed between the two substrates, A plasma display panel manufactured by a method including a sealing step of sealing by maintaining a sealing temperature equal to or higher than a temperature (softening point) at which the sealing material softens while introducing a drying gas, wherein the plasma display panel is formed. Is a plasma display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 8. 10. The method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein a portion corresponding to at least one of the display areas outside the longitudinal direction of the partition wall has a longitudinal direction of the partition wall. A method of manufacturing a plasma display panel, comprising the step of: exhausting gas into a panel through a conduction hole formed at a position close to a partition where a distance between the partition and a sealing material layer is largest. 11. The method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the portion corresponding to at least one of the display regions outside the longitudinal direction of the partition wall has a lengthwise direction of the partition wall. A method for manufacturing a plasma display panel, comprising a step of introducing a gas from the inside of a panel through a conduction hole formed at a position close to a partition where the distance between the partition and the sealing material layer is the largest. 12. A plasma display panel display device comprising a plasma display panel and a drive circuit for driving the plasma display panel, wherein the plasma display panel is any one of claims 1 to 9. A plasma display panel display device, characterized in that: 13. A plasma display panel display device comprising: a plasma display panel; and a driving circuit for driving the plasma display panel, wherein the plasma display panel is manufactured by the method according to claim 10. A plasma display panel display device, which is a manufactured plasma display panel.