JP2003109525A - Electron beam device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent that potential difference is brought about between the spacer and the sidewall in the electron beam device and to improve reliability. SOLUTION: The rear plate 1015 and the face plate 1017 are jointed through a sidewall 1016 forming the frame and a spacer 1020, and, thereby, an outer case is formed. The sidewall 1016 and the face plate 1017 are jointed by a conductive adhesive 1031 and this conductive adhesive 1031 contacts also the end part of the spacer 1020. Accordingly, the sidewall 1016, the spacer 1020, and face plate 1017 are electrically connected. Thereby, even if charge is generated in the spacer 1020, potential difference is not brought about between the sidewall 1016 and the spacer 1020, and there is no possibility of giving an adverse effect to the image display by generating discharge.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron beam apparatus using an electron source that emits electrons and an image forming apparatus using the electron beam apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, two types of electron-emitting devices, known as a hot cathode device and a cold cathode device, are known. Among them, in the cold cathode device, for example, a surface conduction electron-emitting device, a field emission type (FE type) device, a metal / insulating layer / metal type (MIM
Type) emitting elements and the like are known.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon that electron emission occurs in a small-area thin film formed on a substrate by passing a current in parallel with the film surface. As this surface conduction electron-emitting device, for example, MI Elin
son by "Radio Eng. Electron Phys" 10, 1290, (196
5) which uses SnO ₂ thin film and G. Ditt
mer using "Au" thin film disclosed in "Thin Solid Films" 9,317 (1972), and M. Hartwell and CG.
Fonstad disclosed "IEEE Trans. ED Conf." 519 (1975) using In ₂ O ₃ / SnO ₂ thin film and Hisashi Araki in "Vacuum" Vol. 26, No. 1 22 (1983). The disclosed one using a carbon thin film is known.

This surface conduction electron-emitting device has an advantage that a large number of devices can be formed over a large area because it has a particularly simple structure and is easy to manufacture among cold cathode devices. Therefore, for example, by the present applicant, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-313
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 32, a method for arranging and driving a large number of elements has been proposed. Further, as an application of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, for example, an image forming apparatus such as an image display device or an image recording device, a charged beam source, or the like has been studied. Particularly, as an application to an image display device, for example, by the present applicant, US Pat. No. 5,066,
No. 883, JP-A-2-257551, and JP-A-4-25751.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 28137, there is proposed an image display device using a combination of a surface conduction electron-emitting device and a phosphor that emits light when irradiated with an electron beam. An image display device that uses a combination of a surface conduction electron-emitting device and a phosphor is expected to have better characteristics than other conventional image display devices. For example, as compared with a liquid crystal display device that has become popular in recent years, it is excellent in that it does not require a backlight because it is a self-luminous type and has a wide viewing angle.

On the other hand, a method for driving a large number of FE type elements in a row is disclosed in, for example, US Pat.
No. 95. Further, as an example in which the FE type is applied to an image display device, for example, R. Meyer's "Recent Devel"
opmenton Micro-tips Display at LETI ", Tech. Digest
of 4th Int. Vacuum Micro ele-ctronics Conf. Nagah
A flat panel display device reported by ama, pp. 6-9 (1991) is known.

An example in which a large number of MIM type elements are arranged and applied to an image display device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 55738.

Among the image forming apparatus using the electron-emitting device as described above, the flat-type display device having a small depth is noted as a replacement for the cathode ray tube type display device because it is space-saving and lightweight. There is.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an example of a display panel section of a flat panel image display device, and a part of the panel is cut away to show the internal structure. As shown in FIG. 9, a rear plate 3115 on which a substrate 3111 on which a multi-beam electron source is formed is stacked, and a side wall 311 forming a frame.
6 and the face plate 3117 on which the fluorescent film 3118 and the anode electrode (metal back) 3119 are formed, an envelope (airtight container) for maintaining a vacuum inside the display panel is formed.

The inside of the airtight container is held in a vacuum of about 10 ^-6 Torr, and as the display area of the image display device increases, the rear plate 3115 and the face plate due to the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the airtight container. 31
A means for preventing the deformation or destruction of 17 is required.
Rear plate 3115 and face plate 3117
The method of increasing the thickness to prevent deformation and destruction not only increases the weight of the image display device, but also causes image distortion and parallax when viewed from an oblique direction. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, there is provided a spacer (sometimes called a rib) 3120 which is a structural support body made of a relatively thin glass plate for supporting atmospheric pressure. This spacer 3120
The rear plate 3115 and the face plate 31
17, more accurately, the space between the substrate 3111 on which the multi-beam electron source is formed and the metal back 3119 is normally kept at a few mm or less, and as described above, the inside of the airtight container is kept at a high vacuum. Be done.

The spacers 3120 are efficiently arranged in the number required structurally. At that time, if the spacers 3120 are formed to have a length shorter than the image display region (the region where the metal back 3119 is formed and the region where the region is orthographically projected onto the rear plate 3115), the number of the spacers 3120 and the number of installation steps thereof are reduced. There is no choice but to increase it. Therefore, it is preferable to provide the spacer 3120 longer than the image display area.

[0011]

In the display device having the spacer 3120 longer than the image display area, a potential difference is generated between the spacer 3120 and the side wall 3116 for some reason such as when the spacer 3120 is charged. At this time, due to the structure in which the end portion of the spacer 3120 and the side wall 3116 are close to each other, that portion generates a strong electric field, and the spacer 31
20 may cause a discharge phenomenon between the side wall 3116 and the side wall 3116 and adversely affect the image.

In view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable electron beam apparatus which does not cause a potential difference between the spacer and the side wall during driving of the display panel. It is to provide an image forming apparatus using the same.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a first substrate having a region from which electrons are emitted and at least a region to which the emitted electrons are irradiated. An envelope including a second substrate having an image forming member that forms an image by irradiation of the second substrate, a frame that fixes the first substrate and the second substrate, and a spacer arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate. In the electron beam apparatus having the above, at least a part of the spacer is located outside an area irradiated with electrons, and a joint portion of at least one of the first substrate or the second substrate and the frame is bonded by a conductive adhesive. It is characterized in that the conductive adhesive is also bonded to the spacer.

It is preferable that the portion where the conductive adhesive and the spacer are joined is present inside the frame and outside the image display area of the second substrate.

It is preferable that the conductive adhesive is electrically joined to the potential defining wiring in which the potential is defined.

It is preferable that the spacer has a metal film at a position in contact with the conductive adhesive.

The conductive adhesive is preferably a low melting point metal.

It is preferable that an underlayer having good wettability with the conductive adhesive is provided on the bonding surface of the first substrate or the second substrate with the conductive adhesive.

The base material of the spacer is preferably insulative. Further, it is preferable that a high resistance thin film is formed on the surface of the base material of the spacer. Further, it is preferable that a high resistance film having a surface resistance of 10 ⁵ to 10 ¹² Ω / □ is formed on the surface of the spacer.

The electron source that emits electrons may be a cold cathode device. Further, the cold cathode device may be a surface conduction electron-emitting device.

It is preferable that a metal film is provided on at least one of the position of the spacer contacting the first substrate and the position of contacting the second substrate in the image display region. It is preferable that the metal film is electrically connected to at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate in the image display region.

The spacer is preferably arranged on the wiring for driving the electron source that emits electrons.

The image forming member may form an image by collision of electrons.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention has an electron beam apparatus having any one of the above-mentioned configurations.

According to this structure, when the first substrate and the second substrate are bonded with the conductive adhesive via the frame and the spacer to form the envelope, the conductive adhesive is applied to the frame. Since the conductive adhesive is in electrical contact with the spacer, the spacer is electrically connected to the frame through the conductive adhesive. Therefore, even if the spacer is charged, there is no potential difference between the spacer and the frame, and there is little possibility that discharge will occur between the two and affect the image display.

Further, since the frame and the spacer are electrically connected by the conductive adhesive which is a bonding agent for bonding the frame, the sealing function of the display panel is not impaired. In other words, since a separate member for electrically connecting the frame and the spacer is not provided at the joint portion (sealing portion) between the frame and the substrate, a separate joint surface (sealing surface) between the frame and the substrate is provided. No unevenness is formed by partially disposing the member, and the sealing function is not impaired.

[0027]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the display panel for the image forming apparatus of the embodiment, in which a part of the panel is cut away to show the internal structure. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a side wall 1 of the cross-section taken along the line CC ′ of FIG.
FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of one side of 016 and a spacer 1020 portion.

As shown in FIG. 1, a rear plate 1015 which is a first substrate, a side wall 1016 which is a frame, and a face plate 1017 which is a second substrate are used to maintain an airtight container for maintaining a vacuum inside the display panel. (Enclosure) is formed. Since the inside of the airtight container is kept in a vacuum of about 10 ⁻⁶ [Torr], a spacer 1020 which is an atmospheric pressure resistant structure support is provided for the purpose of preventing the airtight container from being broken by atmospheric pressure or an unexpected impact. Has been.

A substrate 1011 is fixed to the rear plate 1015, and the cold cathode device 1 is mounted on the substrate 1011.
012 are formed in a matrix of n × m (n and m are positive integers of 2 or more and are appropriately set according to the target number of display pixels).

A fluorescent film 1018 is formed on the lower surface of the face plate 1017. The phosphors of the respective colors are applied in stripes, for example, and a black conductive material (not shown) is provided between the stripes of the phosphors. A CRT is provided on the surface of the fluorescent film 1018 on the rear plate 1015 side.
A metal back 1019 known in the field is provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the spacer 1020 is
A high resistance film 1020b is formed on the surface of a thin plate-shaped insulating member (base material) 1020a, and the inside of the face plate 1017 and the surface of the substrate 1011 (row wiring 1013).
A conductive film (low resistance film) 1020c is formed on the contact surface with. The thin plate-shaped spacers 1020 are arranged along the row direction (X direction), and the rear plate 101
5 is fixed on the cold cathode element 1012 and the fluorescent film 1.
It extends from the region sandwiched by 018 to the outside thereof. As shown in FIG. 3, both ends of the spacer 1020 have adhesive 1
It is fixed to the rear plate 1015 by 030.

The face plate 1017 is bonded to the side wall 1016 with a conductive adhesive 1031. The conductive adhesive 1031 is applied to the inner surface of the face plate 1017, extends inside the frame formed by the side walls 1016, and a part of the conductive adhesive 1031 is attached to the end of the spacer 1020.

As described above, as shown in FIG. 3, the face plate 1017 is attached to the side wall 1 by the conductive adhesive 1031.
The rear plate 1015 is bonded to the side wall 1016 with the insulating adhesive 1032 to form an airtight container. A spacer 1020 is sandwiched between the face plate 1017 and the rear plate 1015, and one end surface of the spacer 1020 has a metal back 101 provided on the inner surface of the face plate 1017.
It is in contact with 9. The other end surface of the spacer 1020 is
Row-direction wiring 1 provided on the inner surface of the rear plate 1015
013 and is fixed to the rear plate 1015 by the adhesive 1030. Conductive adhesive 103
1 also adheres to the spacer 1020, and electrically connects the conductive adhesive 1031 and the spacer 1020. As a result, the portion of the inner surface of the face plate 1017 along the side wall 1016 and the spacer 1020 can be made to have substantially the same potential. The conductive adhesive 1031 in contact with the spacer 1020 and the metal back 1019 are separated by an appropriate distance. This spacing is equal to the conductive adhesive 1031.
Is a distance necessary to prevent discharge from occurring due to the potential difference between the metal back 1019 and the metal back 1019.

(Assembly of Airtight Container) Next, the procedure for assembling this airtight container will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the side wall 1016 is formed on the inner surface of the rear plate 1015 on which the wiring such as the row-direction wiring 1013 is formed.
Are bonded by an insulating adhesive 1032. Then, a spacer 1020 having a height approximately equal to the height from the wiring surface of the rear plate 1015 to the upper end portion of the side wall 1016 is aligned and arranged on the row-direction wiring 1013, and is placed outside the image display area of the spacer 1020. Both end portions located are adhered and fixed to the rear plate 1015 with an adhesive 1030.

Next, the face plate 1 on which the fluorescent film 1018 (see FIG. 1) and the metal back 1019 are formed.
The conductive adhesive 1031 is applied to the inner surface of 017. As shown in FIG. 1, the conductive adhesive 1031 is applied to a portion of the face plate 1017 that abuts the side wall 1016 fixed to the rear plate 1015, and the metal back 1019.
Spacer 1 fixed to the rear plate 1015 on the outside of the
It is applied to the region from the portion of the 020 that contacts both ends to the portion that contacts the sidewall 1016.

Next, the face plate 1017 coated with the conductive adhesive 1031 is attached to the side wall 1016 and the spacer 1.
020 is aligned with the fixed rear plate 1015, the conductive adhesive 1031 is softened, and then the rear plate 1015 and the face plate 1017 are joined to form an envelope.

The conductive adhesive 1031 is connected to a potential regulating wiring (not shown) exposed to the outside of the airtight container from the joint between the face plate 1017 and the side wall 1016, so that any potential can be regulated.

As described above, the face plate 1017 and the rear plate 1015 are connected to the conductive adhesive 103.
The conductive adhesive 1031 is also bonded to the spacer 1020. As a result, the spacer 1020 and the side wall 1016 have the conductive adhesive 103
It is electrically connected via 1. Therefore, the spacer 10
Even when 20 is charged, a potential difference does not occur between the side wall 1016 and the side wall 1016, and it is possible to suppress the occurrence of discharge and influence on image display.

Even in a panel in which there is a potential difference between the inside of the image area and the side wall 1016, the spacer 1020 and the side wall 1016 are made of the conductive adhesive 1031 according to the present embodiment.
Since the connection is made with, it is possible to reduce the potential difference between the spacer 1020 and the side wall 1016 portion, and it is possible to suppress the influence on the image display due to the discharge.

In the present embodiment, the conductive adhesive 1031 is used to join the side wall 1016 and the face plate 1017, but the inner surface of the rear plate 1015 and the side wall 1016.
The same effect can be obtained even if the spacer 1020 and the spacer 1020 are joined by a conductive adhesive. However, in that case, an insulating coating is required on the surface of the row-direction wiring 1013 of the face plate 1017. Further, the inner surfaces of both the face plate 1017 and the rear plate 1015 may be similarly connected to the side wall 1016 and the spacer 1020 by using a conductive adhesive.

The conductive adhesive 1031 is made of a low melting point metal (I
n, Ag—Ge, Pb, etc.) is preferable, and in this case, in order to improve the wettability of the low melting point metal, the face plate 10
17 or the conductive adhesive 10 of the rear plate 1015
A metal coating of Ag, Au, or the like may be formed in advance on the 31 applied portion.

As the conductive adhesive 1031, in addition to low melting point metal, low melting point glass (glass frit) mixed with metal particles (Ag, Au, etc.), or inorganic adhesive with metal particles (Ag, Au). Etc.)
The same effect can be obtained.

In this embodiment, the face plate 101
Conductive adhesive 1031 and metal back 1 applied to 7
Although not in contact with 019, face plate 1017
It is also possible to bring the conductive adhesive 1031 and the metal back 1019 into contact with each other depending on the potential configuration of.

(Image Display Device) An image display device using the display panel described above will be specifically described.

In the display panel shown in FIG. 1, the substrate 1011
On the upper side, n × m cold cathode elements 1012 are formed.
n and m are positive integers of 2 or more and are appropriately set according to the target number of display pixels. For example, in a display device intended to display a high-definition television, n = 300
It is desirable to set 0 or more and m = 1000 or more.
The n × m cold cathode devices are arranged in a simple matrix by m row-direction wirings 1013 and n column-direction wirings 1014. The substrate 1011, the cold cathode device 1012, the row-direction wiring 1013, and the column-direction wiring 1014 constitute a so-called multi-electron beam source.

The multi-electron beam source used in the image display device of the present invention is not limited in material, shape or manufacturing method of the cold cathode device 1012 as long as it is an electron source in which the cold cathode device 1012 is wired in a simple matrix. Therefore, for example, a cold cathode device 1012 such as a surface conduction electron-emitting device, an FE device, or an MIM device can be used.
Here, the structure of a multi-electron beam source in which surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged as a cold cathode device 1012 on a substrate and simple matrix wiring is described.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a multi-electron beam source used in the display panel shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line BB ′ of FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 1012 are arranged on the substrate 1011. The surface conduction electron-emitting devices 1012 are arranged in a simple matrix by row-direction wirings 1013 and column-direction wirings 1014. . An insulating layer (not shown) is formed between the electrodes at the intersection of the row wiring 1013 and the column wiring 1014 to maintain electrical insulation.

The multi-electron beam source having such a structure is provided on the substrate 1011 in advance with the row-direction wiring electrodes 1103.
A column-direction wiring electrode 1104, an interelectrode insulating layer (not shown), and a device electrode 1 of the surface conduction electron-emitting device 1012.
102, 1103 and the conductive thin film 1104 are formed,
A thin film 1113 is provided in the gap portion of the conductive thin film 1104, and this gap portion is used as the electron emission portion 1105. Then, the row-direction wiring electrode 1103 and the column-direction wiring electrode 11
Each surface conduction electron-emitting device 1012 is supplied with power via 04 to perform the energization forming process and the energization activation process.

A fluorescent film 1018 is formed on the lower surface of the face plate 1017. A metal back 1019 is provided on the surface of the fluorescent film 1018 on the rear plate 1015 side. Specifically, the face plate substrate 1
After forming the fluorescent film 1018 on the 017, the fluorescent film 101
8 is smoothed, and Al is vacuum-deposited on it to form a metal back 1019. Since the present embodiment is a color display device, phosphors of three primary colors of red, green and blue used for a CRT are separately coated as the phosphor film 1018. The metal back 1019 specularly reflects part of the light emitted by the fluorescent film 1018 to improve the light utilization rate, protects the fluorescent film 1018 from the collision of negative ions, and acts as an electrode for applying an electron beam acceleration voltage. In addition, the fluorescent film 1018 functions as a conduction path for electrons that are excited.

When a low voltage phosphor material is used for the fluorescent film 1018, the metal back 1019 is not used.

In this embodiment, the rear plate 1 of the airtight container is used.
The substrate 1011 of the multi-electron beam source is fixed to 015. However, when the substrate 1011 of the multi-electron beam source has sufficient strength, the substrate 1011 of the multi-electron beam source itself is placed in an airtight container. It may be used as a rear plate.

Although not used in this embodiment, for the purpose of applying an accelerating voltage and improving the conductivity of the fluorescent film, a transparent material such as ITO is formed between the face plate substrate 1017 and the fluorescent film 1018. Electrodes may be provided.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line AA 'in FIG. The spacer 1020 has insulation properties sufficient to withstand a high voltage applied between the row-directional wiring 1013 and the column-directional wiring 1014 on the substrate 1011 and the metal back 1019 on the inner surface of the face plate 1017, and the surface of the spacer 1020. It must have electrical conductivity to the extent that it prevents electrostatic charge. Therefore, the spacer 102 of the present embodiment
No. 0 has a high resistance film 1020b formed on the surface of an insulative base material 1020a for the purpose of preventing electrification, the inside of the face plate 1017 (metal back 1019) and the surface of the substrate 1011 (row direction wiring 1013 or column direction). A low resistance film (conductive film) 1020c is formed on the contact surface with the wiring 1014) and the side surface contacting with the contact surface.
They are arranged at necessary intervals as many as necessary. The high resistance film 1020b is formed on at least the surface of the base material 1020a exposed in the airtight container (in vacuum). The spacer 1020 is a low resistance film 1020.
It is electrically connected to the inside of the face plate 1017 (metal back 1019 or the like) and the surface of the substrate 1011 (row-direction wiring 1013 or column-direction wiring 1014) via c. In the present embodiment, the spacer 1020 has a thin plate shape, is arranged in parallel with the row wiring 1013, and is electrically connected thereto.

As the base material 1020a of the spacer 1020, for example, quartz glass, glass with a reduced content of impurities such as Na, soda lime glass, or a ceramic member such as alumina is used. The base material 1020a preferably has a coefficient of thermal expansion close to that of the member forming the airtight container and the substrate 1011.

Further, the high resistance film 1020b has a surface resistance value of 10 in consideration of the maintenance of the antistatic effect and the suppression of the power consumption due to the leakage current as described above.
It is preferably in the range of ⁵ [Ω / □] to 10 ¹² [Ω / □].

The low resistance film 1020c is the high resistance film 1
As long as it has a resistance value sufficiently lower than that of 020b,
The material is Ni, Cr, Au, Mo, W, Pt, T
i, Al, Cu, and Pd, etc. or alloys, and _{Pd, Ag, Au, RuO 2} , Pd-Ag or the like of the metal or metal oxide and formed printed conductors of glass or the like, or In ₂ O _3, - It is appropriately selected from a transparent conductor such as SnO ₂ and a semiconductor material such as polysilicon.

The spacer 1020 is provided in the row direction wiring 1013.
It is joined by a conductive adhesive 1031 so as to be electrically connected to the metal back 1019. The conductive adhesive 1031 may be frit glass with metal particles or conductive filler added.

In order to electrically connect the display panel and an electric circuit (not shown), the electric connection terminals D _{x1 to} D _x of the airtight container.
_xm and D _{y1 to} D _yn and Hv are provided. Electrical connection terminals D _{x1 to} D _xm are row-direction wirings 1013 of the multi electron beam source, D _{y1 to} D _yn are column direction wirings 1014 of the multi electron beam source, Hv is a metal back 1019 of the face plate 1017, respectively. It is electrically connected.

Further, in order to evacuate the inside of the airtight container to a vacuum, after assembling the airtight container, an exhaust pipe (not shown) and a vacuum pump are connected to the inside of the airtight container to a vacuum degree of about 10 ⁻⁷ [Torr]. Exhaust. After that, the exhaust pipe is sealed,
In order to maintain the degree of vacuum in the airtight container, a getter film (not shown) is formed at a predetermined position in the airtight container immediately before or after the sealing. The getter film is, for example, a film formed by heating a getter material containing Ba as a main component with a heater or high-frequency heating and depositing it, and the inside of the airtight container is 10 ⁻⁵ to 10 ⁻⁷ by an adsorption action of the getter film. Tor
r] vacuum is maintained.

Image display using the display panel described above
Using the device, the terminal D outside the container_x1~ D _xm, D_y1~ D_ynThrough
Then, a voltage is applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device 1012,
Electrons are emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device 1012.
At the same time, the metal back 10 is provided through the terminal Hv outside the container.
A high voltage of several hundred [V] to several [kV] is applied to 19 to release
The generated electrons are accelerated to the inner surface of the face plate 1017.
Collide. As a result, each color of the fluorescent film 1018
The phosphor is excited and emits light, and an image is displayed.

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

[Other Embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the surface conduction electron-emitting device, but can be applied to any other electron-emitting device among cold cathode type electron-emitting devices. As a specific example, the applicant of the present invention has disclosed JP-A-63-27.
The pair of electrodes facing each other, which are disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4047,
There is a field emission type electron-emitting device formed along the surface of a substrate forming an electron source.

The present invention can also be applied to an image forming apparatus using an electron source other than the simple matrix type. For example, in an image forming apparatus for selecting a surface conduction electron-emitting device using a control electrode, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-257551 by the applicant of the present invention, the above-mentioned structure is provided between the electron source and the control electrode. A supporting member (spacer) as described above can be provided.

[0066]

EXAMPLES The conductive adhesive and the like described in the above embodiment will be described in detail with reference to specific materials and numerical examples. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[First Embodiment] A method of this embodiment for manufacturing the display panel shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Production of Electron Source) First, as shown in FIG. 1, on a substrate 1011, row-direction wiring 1013, column-direction wiring 1014, an interelectrode insulating layer (not shown), and surface conduction electron emission. An element electrode of the element 1012 and a conductive thin film are formed.

(Production of Spacer) Next, the spacer 1020 which is a support for the atmospheric pressure resistant structure of the display panel (see FIG. 1).
Is an insulating member made of soda lime glass (300 m
m × 2 mm × 0.2 mm) is manufactured as the base material 1020a. The base material 1020a of the spacer 1020 is formed into an elongated quadrangular prism having a cross section of 2 mm × 0.2 mm by a heat drawing method and cut as necessary.

(Formation of spacer high resistance film and conductive film)
Of the surface of the base material 1020a of the spacer 1020, four side surfaces (300 ×
2, 300 × 0.2 front and back surface) with high resistance film 1020b
To form a film. Then, the two end surfaces (300 ×) that contact the face plate 1017 and the rear plate 1015.
0.2 (two sides) and two wider sides (300 x 2)
In a region (280 × 0.1) excluding 10 mm from both ends of the spacer 1020 in the longitudinal direction (X direction of FIG. 1) within a range of 0.1 mm from the above-mentioned two end faces, a conductive film ( A low resistance film) 1020c is formed. As an example,
As the high resistance film 1020b, a Cr-Al nitride film (thickness: 200 nm, about 10 ⁹ [Ω] is formed by simultaneously sputtering a target of Cr and Al with a high frequency power source.
/ □]) is formed. The conductive film 1020c includes the high resistance film 1020b and the face plate 1017 formed on the spacer 1020, and the high resistance film 1020b and the rear plate 1.
In addition to the purpose of ensuring the electrical connection of 015, the electric field around the spacer 1020 is suppressed and the trajectory of the electron beam from the electron-emitting device 1012 is controlled.

(Side Wall Assembly) A side wall 1016 made from soda lime glass (outer shape 350 × 350 × 1.9 mm,
A width of 10 mm) is bonded to the rear plate 1015 with an insulating adhesive 1032 (manufactured by Nippon Electric Glass; LS3081). An example of the firing temperature at this time is 450 ° C.

(Spacer Assembly) A portion of the spacer 1020 outside the image display region (the metal back 1019 forming portion and its orthogonal projection region on the rear plate) is
An adhesive 1030 (for example, Aron Ceramic D (trade name) manufactured by Toagosei Co., Ltd.) is applied. Then, this spacer 1020 is aligned inside the side wall 1016 of the rear plate 1015 so as to be aligned with the row wiring 1013, and is heat-cured (200 ° C.) and fixed.

(Application of Conductive Adhesive) Fluorescent film 10 made of stripe-shaped phosphors of each color extending in the column direction (Y direction).
18 and a metal back 1019 are attached to the inner surface of the face plate 1017, the conductive adhesive (In) 10
31 is applied and heated (150 ° C.). Conductive adhesive 1
031 is a side wall 1 on the inner surface of the face plate 1017.
016 The coating is applied to a portion that contacts the upper surface and a range that extends from the portion that contacts both ends of the spacer 1020 to the contact portion that extends in the longitudinal direction of the spacer 1020 and that contacts the side wall 1016 (see FIG. 1).

(Sealing of Rear Plate and Face Plate) Thereafter, as shown in FIG.
17 and the rear plate 1015 are opposed to each other, aligned, and then heated to 150 ° C. to be joined. At this time, the softened conductive adhesive 1031 and the spacer 1020 contact and are electrically connected.

(Electron Source Process and Sealing) The airtight container completed as described above is evacuated by a vacuum pump through an exhaust pipe to obtain a sufficient degree of vacuum. After that, the row-direction wiring electrode 1 is passed through the terminals D _{X1 to} D _xm and D _{Y1 to} D _Yn outside the container.
A multi-electron beam source was manufactured by supplying electric power to each surface electron-emitting device via 013 and the column-direction wiring electrode 1014 to perform an energization forming process and an energization activation process.

Next, the exhaust pipe (not shown) was welded by heating with a gas burner at a vacuum degree of about 1 × 10 ^-6 [Torr], and the envelope (airtight container) was sealed.

Finally, a getter process was performed to maintain the degree of vacuum after sealing.

(Image formation) Completed as described above,
The display panel shown in FIG. 1 is incorporated in an image forming apparatus. Then, the scanning signal and the modulation signal are applied to each cold cathode device (surface conduction electron-emitting device) 1012 from the signal generating means (not shown) via the external terminals D _{X1 to} D _xm and D _{Y1 to} D _Yn. By doing so, electrons are emitted. Further, by applying a high voltage to the metal back 1019 through the high voltage terminal Hv, the emitted electron beam is accelerated, electrons are made to collide with the phosphor film 1018, and each color phosphor is excited and emits light, thereby displaying an image. To do. The high voltage terminal H
The applied voltage Va to v is 3 to 10 [kV], and each wiring 10
The applied voltage Vf between 13, 1014 is 14 [V].

Even when the spacer 1020 is charged, there is no potential difference between the spacer 1020 and the frame, and as a result, there is no discharge, and a clear color image with good color reproducibility can be displayed.

[Second Embodiment] A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, a conductive adhesive 1031 is applied to the rear plate 1015. The description of the same configurations and steps as those in the first embodiment will be omitted.

(Side Wall Assembly) A side wall 1016 made of soda lime glass is attached to a face plate 1017 having phosphor films 1018 made of stripe-shaped phosphors of respective colors and metal backs 1019 attached to the inner surface extending in the column direction (Y direction). (Outer dimensions 350x350x1.9 mm, width 10
mm) is an insulating adhesive 1032 (manufactured by Nippon Electric Glass; L
It joins by S3081). An example of the firing temperature at this time is 450 ° C.

(Spacer Assembly) A portion of the spacer 1020 outside the image display area (the metal back 1019 forming portion and its orthogonal projection area on the rear plate) is
An adhesive 1030 (for example, Aron Ceramic D (trade name) manufactured by Toagosei Co., Ltd.) is applied. The spacer 1020 is attached to the side wall 1016 of the face plate 1017.
It is aligned and aligned with a black body (not shown) on the inside of, and heat-cured (200 ° C.) and fixed.

(Application of conductive adhesive) Rear plate 101
5, a conductive adhesive (In) 1031 is applied and heated (150 ° C.). The conductive adhesive 1031 extends in the longitudinal direction of the spacer 1020 from a portion of the inner surface of the rear plate 1015 that abuts the lower surface of the sidewall 1016 and a portion that abuts both ends of the spacer 1020.
And the range up to the abutting portion. However, an insulating layer is formed on the surface of the row-direction wiring 1013 outside the image display region.

Thereafter, the steps of sealing the rear plate and the face plate, the electron source process and sealing, and the image formation are the same as those in the first embodiment.

As a result, even when the spacer 1020 is charged, there is no potential difference between the spacer 1020 and the frame, and as a result, there is no discharge, and a clear color image with good color reproducibility can be displayed.

[Third Embodiment] A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, conductive adhesives 1031 and 1033 are applied to both the face plate 1017 and the rear plate 1015. Description of the same configurations and steps as those of the first and second embodiments will be omitted.

(Side Wall Assembly) A rear plate 1015 has a side wall 1016 (outer shape 35) made of soda lime glass.
0x350x1.9 mm, width 10 mm) is joined by the conductive adhesive 1033 (Pb-Sn solder). An example of the firing temperature at this time is 450 ° C.

(Spacer Assembly) A portion of the spacer 1020 outside the image display area (the metal back 1019 forming portion and its orthogonal projection area on the rear plate) is
An adhesive 1030 (for example, Aron Ceramic D (trade name) manufactured by Toagosei Co., Ltd.) is applied. Then, this spacer 1020 is aligned inside the side wall 1016 of the rear plate 1015 so as to be aligned with the row wiring 1013, and is heat-cured (200 ° C.) and fixed.

(Application of conductive adhesive) Fluorescent film 10 made of stripe-shaped phosphors of each color extending in the column direction (Y direction).
18 and a metal back 1019 are attached to the inner surface of the face plate 1017, the conductive adhesive (In) 10
31 is applied and heated (150 ° C.). Conductive adhesive 1
031 is a side wall 1 on the inner surface of the face plate 1017.
The coating is applied to a portion that abuts on the upper surface of the spacer 016 and a range that extends from a portion that abuts both ends of the spacer 1020 to a portion that abuts the side wall 1016 that extends in the longitudinal direction of the spacer 1020. However, an insulating layer is formed on the surface of the row-direction wiring 1013 outside the image display region.

Thereafter, the steps of sealing the rear plate and the face plate, the electron source process and sealing, and the image formation are the same as those in the first embodiment.

As a result, even when the spacer 1020 is charged, there is no potential difference between the spacer 1020 and the frame, and as a result, there is no discharge, and a clear color image with good color reproducibility can be displayed.

[0092]

As described above, according to the present invention, in forming the envelope by joining the first substrate and the second substrate through the frame and the spacer, the frame and the spacer are made of a conductive adhesive. Are electrically connected by. Therefore, even if the spacer is charged, no potential difference is generated between the frame and the frame without damaging the sealing function of the display device, and as a result, discharge may occur and affect the image display. It is possible to obtain an image forming apparatus having a small size.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view in which a part of a display panel of an image display device of the present invention is cut away.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A ′ in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C ′ of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of an assembly process of the display panel shown in FIG.

5 is a plan view of a substrate of a multi-beam electron source of the display panel shown in FIG.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B ′ of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a display panel of an image display device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a display panel of an image display device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view in which a part of a display panel of a conventional image display device is cut away.

[Explanation of symbols]

1011 substrate 1012 cold cathode device (surface conduction electron-emitting device) 1013 row direction wiring 1014 column direction wiring 1015 rear plate (first substrate) 1016 side wall (frame) 1017 face plate (second substrate) 1018 fluorescent film (phosphor) 1019 Metal Back 1020 Spacer (Structural Support) 1020a Base Material 1020b High Resistance Film 1020c Low Resistance Film (Conductive Film, Metal Film) 1030 Adhesive 1031 Conductive Adhesive 1032 Insulating Adhesive 1033 Conductive Adhesive 1102, 1103 Element electrode 1104 Conductive thin film 1105 Electron emission part 1113 Thin film D _{x1 to} D _xm , D _{y1 to} D _yn , Hv Electrical connection terminal

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Ryoji Tanaka             3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Non non corporation (72) Inventor ▲ Taka ▼ Nobuyuki Hashi             3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Non non corporation F-term (reference) 5C032 AA01 CC10 FF06                 5C036 EE09 EE19 EF01 EF06 EF09                       EG02 EG05 EG06 EG50 EH08                       EH11 EH21

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A first substrate having an area from which electrons are emitted, and a second substrate having an image forming member that forms an image by irradiation of the emitted electrons at least in an area from which the emitted electrons are irradiated. An electron beam apparatus having an envelope including a frame that fixes the first substrate and the second substrate, and a spacer that is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein the spacer is at least A part is located outside the region irradiated with the electrons, and a bonding portion between at least one of the first substrate or the second substrate and the frame is bonded with a conductive adhesive,
An electron beam apparatus, wherein the conductive adhesive is also bonded to the spacer. 2. The electron beam apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a portion where the conductive adhesive and the spacer are joined is present inside the frame and outside the image display area of the second substrate. 3. The conductive adhesive is electrically joined to a potential defining wiring in which a potential is defined.
The electron beam apparatus according to. 4. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein the spacer has a metal film at a position in contact with the conductive adhesive.
An electron beam apparatus according to item. 5. The electron beam apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conductive adhesive is a low melting point metal. 6. The base layer having good wettability with the conductive adhesive is provided on an adhesive surface of the first substrate or the second substrate with the conductive adhesive. The electron beam apparatus according to item 1. 7. The electron beam apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a base material of the spacer is insulative. 8. The electron beam apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a high resistance thin film is formed on a surface of the base material of the spacer. 9. The surface resistance of the spacer is 10 or less.
9. A high resistance film of ⁵ to 10 ¹² Ω / □ is formed.
The electron beam apparatus according to. 10. The electron beam apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electron source that emits the electrons is a cold cathode element. 11. The electron beam apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the cold cathode device is a surface conduction electron-emitting device. 12. The metal film is provided in at least one of a position in contact with the first substrate and a position in contact with the second substrate in the image display region of the spacer. The electron beam apparatus according to item 1. 13. The electron beam apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the metal film is electrically connected to at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate in an image display region. 14. The electron beam apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spacer is arranged on a wiring for driving an electron source that emits the electrons. 15. The electron beam apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming member forms an image by collision of the electrons. 16. An image forming apparatus having the electron beam apparatus according to claim 1. Description: