JP2003123634A - Characteristics adjustment method and device of electron source, and manufacturing method of electron source - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make nearly identical the characteristics of each electron emitting element that constitutes an electron source by a simple process, utilizing the unique nature of the electron emitting element. SOLUTION: In the adjustment method of an electron source having a plurality of electron emitting elements and in the manufacturing method of the electron source having the same, a process is included in which a pulse of adjustment voltage is impressed on the electron emitting element according to the characteristics of the electron emitting element to be adjusted. The above adjustment voltage is selected from a plurality of voltages having discrete values according to the characteristics of the electron emitting element and the number of impressing times of the pulse is determined based on the characteristics of the electron emitting element and the above selected voltage.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron source characteristic adjusting method and apparatus having a large number of electron-emitting devices, and a method of manufacturing the electron source.

[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, the cold cathode device is, for example, a field emission type electron emitting device (hereinafter referred to as F
E-type), metal / insulating layer / metal-type element emitting elements (hereinafter referred to as MIM type), surface-conduction electron-emitting elements (hereinafter referred to as surface-conduction-type emitting elements), and the like are known. .

In an electron source in which a large number of electron-emitting devices are wired in a simple matrix, and in an electron generator and an image display device to which this electron source is applied, the characteristics of each electron-emitting device are uniform, and the emission brightness of each pixel is It is desirable to be uniform.

However, the electron-emitting devices forming the electron source have some variations in the electron-emitting characteristics of individual devices due to process variations and the like. Variations in characteristics appear as variations in brightness for each pixel. On the other hand, a method is known in which the characteristics of the electron emission characteristics of the electron-emitting device are utilized to make the characteristics uniform (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-228867, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-243256, USP6.
231, 412, EP 0, 803, 892).

When this homogenization process is incorporated in the manufacturing process of the electron source, there is a possibility that the adjustment degree of the drive adjustment may vary from element to element or the adjustment degree of the drive adjustment may vary from electron panel to electron source panel. There is a nature. Therefore, it is desired to establish a more versatile homogenization process that can cope with such adjustment variations.
That is, even if the memory characteristics of the electron emission characteristics of the electron-emitting devices forming the electron source are slightly different between the respective elements or are slightly changed among the plurality of electron sources, the same highly uniform electron source is obtained. It is desirable to be able to provide manufacturing processes that can be manufactured in similar manufacturing process times.

For example, each element has an electron-emitting element characteristic (characteristic change curve) unique to each element as shown in FIG. Therefore, conventionally, from the relationship between the electron emission current Ie peculiar to this element and the adjustment voltage Vshift, an optimum adjustment voltage for obtaining the target electron emission current Ie1 is selected, and it is selected as the element to be adjusted. Was being applied.

Therefore, when the characteristics of each element are completely different, it is necessary to apply the characteristic change curve of the electron-emitting element for each element and prepare the voltage value for the number of elements. Therefore, the adjusting method becomes complicated, and the adjusting device becomes complicated and expensive. And in the manufacturing method of the electron source including this adjusting method as a part of the process,
It has become a factor that complicates the management of the manufacturing process.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to use a characteristic peculiar to an electron-emitting device to make the characteristics of electron-emitting devices constituting an electron source substantially the same in a simple process and a characteristic adjusting method. It is to provide a characteristic adjusting device and a method of manufacturing an electron source.

[0009]

The essence of the present invention is to provide a method for adjusting the characteristics of an electron source having a plurality of electron-emitting devices.
Depending on the characteristics of the electron-emitting device to be adjusted, it includes a step of applying a pulse of an adjusting voltage to the electron-emitting device at least once, and the adjusting voltage is a plurality of voltages having discrete values. From the above, the electron source is selected according to the characteristics of the electron-emitting device, and the number of times the pulse is applied is determined according to the characteristics of the electron-emitting device and the selected voltage. It is to provide a method of adjusting the characteristics of. Another object of the present invention is to provide a characteristic adjusting apparatus having a drive control circuit for executing such a characteristic adjusting method, or a method of manufacturing an electron source including a step of executing such a characteristic adjusting method.

The inventors of the present invention have found that the rate of change of the electron emission current when a characteristic shift voltage pulse is applied is substantially proportional to the number of pulses, that is, the logarithm of the voltage application time, if the voltage is constant. It was It has been found that, by using this characteristic, it is possible to apply the same characteristic change curve of the electron emission current to the elements having slightly different initial electron emission currents and adjust the element characteristics.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in a characteristic adjusting method, a characteristic of an electron-emitting device and a characteristic adjusting voltage selected from a plurality of discretely selected characteristic adjusting voltages,
It is characterized in that the number of times of application of the pulse of the characteristic adjustment voltage is determined according to the above. In other words, when the target value of a certain characteristic is determined, for a plurality of elements with slightly different characteristics,
By using one characteristic adjustment voltage and optimizing the number of pulse application times for each element, the characteristics of each element are brought close to the target value. In the present invention, it is preferable to perform a pre-driving process described later before the characteristic adjustment process.

The pre-driving process and the characteristic adjustment process are
It can be performed in the state of the electron source or in the state where the vacuum container to be the display panel is produced, and the partial pressure of the organic gas is 10 ⁻⁶
It is preferable to perform it in a vacuum atmosphere such that the pressure is Pa or less. Further, the characteristic adjustment table used in the present invention is such that a plurality of pulses for characteristic adjustment voltage having discrete values are repeatedly applied to the electron-emitting device, and the number of pulse application of the change rate of the electron emission characteristic measured at this time. It is desirable to create it based on the dependency. Then, the electron-emitting device used to create the characteristic adjustment table may be the device in the electron source to be adjusted, or the device created through the same process.

In the present invention, when the electron emission characteristics of a device are measured, the emission current from the device, the current flowing through the device, or the brightness of a light-emitting body (for example, a phosphor) generated by electrons emitted from the device. Should be measured. Further, according to the present invention, since the same adjustment voltage is used for a plurality of elements having slightly different characteristics, the characteristics of these elements can be adjusted at the same time, and the processing throughput is improved.

As the electron-emitting device used in the present invention, it is more preferable to use the electron-emitting device as described in the specification and drawings of USP 6,231,412. Further, the present invention is preferably used for an electron emitting device having crystalline carbon in the electron emitting portion.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and constituent elements of the present invention within a range in which the object of the present invention can be achieved. It also includes a substitute of the above and an equivalent thereof.

[Embodiment 1] This embodiment includes a pre-driving process step capable of reducing a change with time prior to a characteristic adjusting step in a manufacturing process.

(Preliminary Driving Treatment Step) In the case of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, the electron-emitting portion is formed after the energization forming treatment, and if necessary, by the energization activation treatment, the vicinity of the electron-emitting portion is brought about. Deposit carbon or carbon compounds. Further, it is preferable to carry out a stabilizing step after completion of the energization activation. This step is a step of exhausting and removing the organic substance in the vacuum container. It is preferable to use a vacuum evacuation device that does not use oil so that an organic substance such as oil generated from the device does not affect the characteristics of the element. Specifically, a vacuum evacuation device such as a magnetic levitation type turbo molecular pump, a cryopump, a sorption pump and an ion pump can be used. The partial pressure of the organic components in the vacuum container is 1 × 10 6 at which the above-mentioned carbon and carbon compound are almost not newly deposited.
^-6 [Pa] or less is preferable, and 1 x 10 ^-8 [Pa] or less is particularly preferable. Furthermore, when exhausting the inside of the vacuum container,
It is preferable to heat the entire vacuum container so that organic substance molecules adsorbed on the inner wall of the vacuum container or the electron-emitting device can be easily exhausted. In the atmosphere in which the partial pressure of organic substances in the vacuum atmosphere is reduced by such a stabilizing process, the energization process first performed is the pre-driving process.

The electric field strength in the vicinity of the electron emitting portion during driving is extremely high. Therefore, if it is driven with the same drive voltage for a long time,
The amount of emitted electrons gradually decreases. It is considered that this is because the change with time in the vicinity of the electron emitting portion due to the high electric field strength appears as a decrease in the amount of emitted electrons.

Preliminary driving means that the element subjected to the stabilization process is driven at a voltage of Vpre for a while and then V
This is to measure the electric field strength in the vicinity of the electron emission portion of the device when driven by the pre voltage. After that, normal driving is performed with the driving voltage Vdrv that reduces the electric field strength. Vpr
By driving the electron emission portion of the device with a large electric field strength in advance by driving by applying a voltage e, the changes in the structural members that cause the instability of the characteristics over time are intensively expressed in a short period of time, and the normal driving voltage Vdrv It is considered that the variable factors due to driving for a long time can be reduced.

(Characteristic adjusting step) Next, a method of adjusting the characteristic of the electron emission characteristic, which is performed by using the memory function of the electron emission characteristic for the element which is preliminarily driven, will be described. By this characteristic adjustment, the amount of electrons emitted when the element is driven with the voltage Vdrv is reduced as compared with that before the adjustment.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the voltage waveforms of the pre-driving and characteristic adjustment driving signals applied to one element, focusing on one of the electron-emitting devices constituting the multi-electron source, where the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents time. The axis shows the voltage applied to the electron-emitting device (hereinafter referred to as device voltage Vf).

Here, as the drive signal, a continuous rectangular voltage pulse is used as shown in FIG. 4A, and the application period of the voltage pulse of the characteristic adjustment drive period is divided into three periods of the first period to the third period, Within each period, the pulse was applied an appropriate number of times selected from 1 to 1000. The pulse peak value and the number of pulses to be applied are determined according to the element. A part of the waveform of the voltage pulse shown in FIG. 1A is enlarged and shown in FIG.

As concrete drive conditions, the pulse width of the drive signal is T1 = 1 [msec] and the pulse period is T2 = 1.
It was set to 0 [msec]. The impedance of the wiring path from the drive signal source to the electron-emitting device is sufficiently set so that the rising time Tr and the falling time Tf of the voltage pulse effectively applied to the electron-emitting device are 100 [ns] or less. Reduced and driven.

Here, the element voltage Vf is Vf = Vpre (preliminary driving voltage) in the preliminary driving period, Vf = Vdrv (display driving voltage) in the first period and the third period in the characteristic adjustment period, and the second period. Then, Vf = Vshift (voltage for characteristic adjustment) is set. These element voltages Vpre and V
Both drv and Vshift are voltages higher than the electron emission threshold voltage of the electron-emitting device, and Vdr
It was set so as to satisfy the condition of v <Vpre ≦ Vshift. However, since the electron emission threshold voltage is different depending on the shape and material of the electron emitting device, the electron emitting threshold voltage is appropriately set according to the electron emitting device to be measured.

Details of each period of the characteristic adjustment period will be described with reference to FIG. (First period: characteristic evaluation period at operating voltage) The first period is a period for evaluating the element characteristic when the drive voltage is lowered to the normal drive voltage Vdrv which is the normal operation voltage after the preliminary drive voltage is applied. A normal drive voltage (Vdrv) pulse is applied to the element, and the emission current Ie when the Vdrv voltage is applied is measured. The number of times the waveform pulse is applied to measure the device characteristics can be set to 1 to 10, for example.

(Second period: characteristic shift voltage application period) In the second period, a voltage value Vshift larger than the pre-driving voltage Vpre is applied by using the memory function of the electron emission characteristic for the method of adjusting the characteristic of the electron emission characteristic. Then, the electron emission characteristics of the device are shifted. Therefore, the second period to the third period are not applied to the element that does not need the characteristic adjustment. In the second period, the number of times the waveform pulse is applied to shift the electron emission characteristics of the device is, for example, 1 to 1000.
Can be

(Third period: characteristic evaluation period at operating voltage after application of characteristic shift voltage) In the third period, the driving voltage is lowered to the display drive voltage Vdrv which is an operating voltage for normal display after application of the characteristic shift voltage. This is the period for evaluating the device characteristics when the device is damaged. As in the first period, the display drive voltage Vd is applied to the element.
Emission current I when rv pulse is applied and voltage Vdrv is applied
e is being measured.

As described above, after the above-mentioned driving is performed on one element, the same process is performed on all the elements, thereby completing the characteristic adjustment process for the multi-electron source. .

Here, the correlation between the application time of the shift voltage applied during the characteristic adjustment and the shift amount of the characteristic will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a graph schematically showing the correlation between the characteristic shift amount Shift and the application time of the shift voltage when a certain characteristic shift voltage Vshift having a magnitude equal to or larger than the electron emission threshold voltage value is applied. The horizontal axis of the graph is the logarithm of the shift voltage application time, and the vertical axis is the characteristic shift amount Shift. As shown in FIG. 2, the characteristic shift amount increases in direct proportion to the logarithm of the application time of the shift voltage.

FIG. 3A shows the relationship of FIG. 2 from another perspective. The emission current characteristic shifts to the right as the number of Vf = Vshift pulses applied increases during the second period. It shows that we are going. The element showing the characteristic of Iec (1) before applying the shift pulse is V
State where one shift pulse is applied Iec
Change to (2). When three Vshift pulses are applied, the emission current characteristic curve becomes Iec (3),
When 10 Vshift pulses are applied, the emission current characteristic curve becomes Iec (5), and when 100 Vshift pulses are applied, the emission current characteristic curve becomes Iec (6). The emission current Iec (5) when the characteristic shift pulse is applied is the emission current Iec at the drive voltage Vdrv.
e5, and the emission current Iec (6) becomes the drive voltage Vdrv.
At the emission current Ie6. When this characteristic change is used, the electron emission current at the drive voltage Vdrv in the third period is set to a specific value by increasing or decreasing the number of Vshift pulses applied to the device in the second period to change to a desired emission current characteristic curve. can do.

From FIG. 3A, the electron emission current of the device having the multi electron source is pre-driving, and then Vf = Vdrv is applied I
e4 was Ie when Vf = Vdrv is applied by increasing the number of times the shift voltage (Vshift) is applied.
It can be seen that the electron emission amount changes from 3 → Ie5 → Ie6.

The multi-electron source is composed of a large number of elements,
The characteristics after applying the pre-driving are also different. According to the knowledge of the present inventor, when the characteristic shift voltage is applied to the elements having different electron emission characteristics after pre-driving, the characteristic change rate is large with a small electron emission amount before the characteristic shift voltage is applied. It was found to be almost constant regardless of That is, as shown in FIG. 3B, the electron emission current of an element having an initial characteristic different from that of FIG.
It was assumed that Ie4 ′ was applied when f = Vdrv was applied, but the electron emission amount was changed from Ie3 ′ → Ie5 ′ → Ie6 ′ when Vf = Vdrv was applied by increasing the number of times the shift voltage (Vshift) was applied. At this time, focusing on the rate of change of Ie shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, when Vshift is applied to the element (1) of FIG. 3A,
Ie is Ie4 (beginning) → Ie3 (3 pulses) → Ie5
(10 pulses) → Ie6 (100 pulses).
The change rate of Ie is Ie3 / Ie4 → Ie5 / Ie4 → I
It is e6 / Ie4. Vsh is applied to the element (2) of FIG.
Ie when Ift is applied and the rate of change are as follows.
e4 '(beginning)->Ie3' (3 pulses)-> Ie5 '(1
0 pulse) → Ie6 ′ (100 pulses). The rate of change is Ie3 ′ / Ie4 ′ → Ie5 ′ / Ie4 ′ → Ie6 ′
/ Ie4 '. Here, each change rate Ie3 / Ie
4 and Ie3 '/ Ie4', Ie5 / Ie4 and Ie5 '/
Comparison of Ie4 ′, Ie6 / Ie4 and Ie6 ′ / Ie4 ′ revealed that they were approximately equal. If this characteristic is utilized, the same change curve of the emission current characteristic can be applied to the element having a slightly different initial Ie to adjust the element characteristic.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, first, a part of the elements of the multi electron source is used to obtain a change curve of the emission current characteristic with respect to the application of the characteristic shift voltage, and based on this, the characteristic adjustment of the entire multi electron source is adjusted. I do. Although details will be described later, instead of using continuous voltage values as applied shift voltage values, data is acquired from a plurality of discrete voltage values and the characteristics of the entire electron source are adjusted at a desired time.

The characteristic adjusting device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 4 is a characteristic adjustment having a drive control circuit for changing the electron emission characteristic of each electron-emitting device by adding a waveform signal for characteristic adjustment to each electron-emitting device that constitutes the display panel 301 using the multi-electron source. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of an apparatus.

In FIG. 4, 301 is a display panel. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a plurality of electron-emitting devices are wired in a simple matrix on the display panel 301, the forming process and the activation process have already been completed, and the process is in the stabilization process. The display panel 301 is a vacuum having a substrate on which a plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix and a face plate or the like which is provided separately on the substrate and has a phosphor that emits light by electrons emitted from the electron-emitting devices. In the container. These electron-emitting devices have row-direction wiring terminals Dx1 to Dxn and column-direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dy1.
It is connected to an external electric circuit via Dym. Thirty
Reference numeral 1a is a part of a large number of electron-emitting devices that constitute the display panel 301, and this is used as a characteristic adjustment data acquisition device.

Reference numeral 302 is a terminal for applying a high voltage from the high voltage source 311 to the phosphor of the display panel 301. Reference numerals 303 and 304 denote switch matrices as drive circuits, which select row-direction wirings and column-direction wirings to select electron-emitting devices for applying a pulse voltage. Pulse generator circuits 306 and 307 generate pulse waveform signals Px and Py. A pulse crest value setting circuit 308 determines the crest values of the pulse signals output from the pulse generation circuits 306 and 307 by outputting the pulse setting signals Lpx and Lpy. A control circuit 309 controls the entire characteristic adjustment flow, outputs data Tv for setting the peak value to the pulse peak value setting circuit 308, and controls the number of pulse application times. 3
A CPU 09a controls the operation of the control circuit 309. The operation of the CPU 309a will be described later with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 5, 6 and 9.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 309b is a memory for storing the characteristics of each element for adjusting the characteristics of each element. Specifically, 309b stores the electron emission current Ie of each element when the drive voltage Vdrv is applied. 309c
As will be described later in detail, a reference lookup table (characteristic adjustment LUT) created by applying voltage to some of the elements 301a to create data is referred to during characteristic adjustment. Three
A switch matrix control circuit 10 outputs switch switching signals Tx and Ty to output a switch matrix 303,
By controlling the selection of the switch of 304, the electron-emitting device to which the pulse voltage is applied is selected.

Next, the data acquisition required in the characteristic adjustment process will be described. In the present embodiment, the electron emission current Ie from each element is adjusted in order to adjust the electron emission current of the element.
Is measured and stored. Details of the measurement of the electron emission current Ie will be described. At least for characteristic adjustment,
It is necessary to measure the electron emission current Ie flowing when the drive voltage Vdrv is applied, which will be described. A switch matrix control signal Tsw from the control circuit 309 causes the switch matrix control circuit 310 to switch and connect the switch matrices 303 and 304 so as to select a predetermined row-direction wiring or column-direction wiring and drive a desired electron-emitting device. It

On the other hand, the control circuit 309 outputs the peak value data Tv corresponding to the drive voltage Vdrv to the pulse peak value setting circuit 308. As a result, the pulse peak value setting circuit 3
From 08, the peak value data Lpx and Lpy are output to the pulse generation circuits 306 and 307, respectively. Based on the peak value data Lpx and Lpy, the pulse generation circuits 306 and 307 output drive pulses Px and Py, respectively, and the drive pulses Px and Py are applied to the elements selected by the switch matrices 303 and 304. . Here, the drive pulses Px and Py are applied to the electron-emitting device by the drive voltage Vdrv (peak value).
The pulse widths are set to 1/2 and the pulses have different polarities. At the same time, the high voltage power supply 311
Thus, a predetermined voltage is applied to the phosphor of the display panel 301.

The electron emission characteristic of the electron-emitting device is such that when a device voltage higher than a certain voltage (which is called a threshold voltage, Vth1 in FIG. 3A) is applied, the electron emission current Ie rapidly increases. Below the threshold voltage, the electron emission current Ie is hardly detected. That is, it is a non-linear element having a clear threshold voltage Vth with respect to the electron emission current Ie. Therefore, the amplitude values of the drive pulses Px and Py are Vd.
When the pulses are ½ of rv and have different polarities, electrons are emitted only from the elements selected by the switch matrices 303 and 304. Then, the current detector 305 measures the electron emission current Ie when the electron emission element is driven by the drive pulses Px and Py.

The characteristic adjusting method using the characteristic adjusting apparatus shown in FIG. 4 will be described below with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 9. In this embodiment, since pre-driving and characteristic adjustment driving are performed, both driving processes will be described.

In the process flow, after applying the pre-driving voltage Vpre to all the electron-emitting devices of the display panel 301, the electron emission characteristic when the drive voltage Vdrv is applied is measured, and the reference target electron emission current value Ie when the characteristic is adjusted. The step of setting -t (corresponding to the flow chart of FIG. 5 and the first period of the pre-driving period and the characteristic adjustment period of FIG. 1A) and one of the portions 301a that causes almost no hindrance in displaying an image. Of the electron emission current when the characteristic shift voltage Vshift and the normal drive voltage Vdrv are alternately applied to the device by using the above-mentioned device, and a lookup table is created (FIG. 6).
Of FIG. 1A, corresponding to the second and third periods of the characteristic adjustment period of FIG. 1A), and applying the pulse waveform signal of the characteristic shift voltage Vshift according to the lookup table for the characteristic adjustment and A step of applying a drive voltage Vdrv to measure the electron emission characteristic in order to determine whether or not the adjustment is completed (corresponding to the second and third periods of the characteristic adjustment period of FIG. 1A). Consists of.

First, after applying the pre-driving voltage Vpre to all the electron-emitting devices of the display panel 301, the normal driving voltage Vdr is applied.
The step of measuring the electron emission characteristic when v is applied and setting the reference target electron emission current value Ie-t when performing the characteristic adjustment (flow chart of FIG. 5, pre-driving period and characteristic adjustment period of FIG. 1A). Corresponding to the first period).

In step S11, the switch matrix control signal Tsw is output, and the switch matrix control circuit 310 switches the switch matrices 303 and 304 to select one electron-emitting device from the display panel 301. Next, in step S12, the crest value data Tv of the pulse signal applied to the selected element is output to the pulse crest value setting circuit 308. The peak value of the measurement pulse is the pre-driving voltage value Vpre = 16V. And step S13
Then, the pulse signals of the pre-driving voltage value Vpre are applied to the electron-emitting devices selected in step S11 from the pulse generation circuits 306 and 307 via the switch matrices 303 and 304.

In step S14, in order to evaluate the electron emission characteristics when the device subjected to the pre-driving voltage is driven to the driving voltage Vdrv, it is driven as the peak value data Tv of the pulse signal applied to the selected device. Voltage value Vdrv
= 14.5V is set. Then, in step S15, the pulse signal having the drive voltage value Vdrv is applied to the electron-emitting device selected in step S11. In step 16, the electron emission current I at the Vdrv voltage is adjusted to adjust the characteristics.
e is stored in the memory 309b.

In step S17, it is checked whether or not all the electron-emitting devices on the display panel 301 have been measured. If not, the process proceeds to step S18, and the switch matrix control signal Tsw for selecting the next electron-emitting device is selected.
Is set and the process proceeds to step S11.

On the other hand, when the measurement process for all electron-emitting devices is completed in step S17, step S17
At 19 for all electron-emitting devices of the display panel 301,
The electron emission current Ie at the driving voltage Vdrv is compared,
The reference target electron emission current value Ie-t is set.

The reference target electron emission current value Ie-t was set as follows. As shown in FIG. 3A, the application of the characteristic shift voltage causes the Ie-Vf curve to shift rightward in all the elements. Therefore, the target is set to a smaller value of Ie when Vdrv is applied. However, if the target value is made too small, the average electron emission amount of the multi-electron source after the characteristic adjustment will be greatly reduced. In the present embodiment, the electron emission current values of all devices are statistically processed, and the average electron emission current Ie-ave and standard deviation σ-Ie are calculated. The reference target electron emission current value Ie-t is set to Ie-t = Ie-ave-?-Ie.

By setting the reference target electron emission current value Ie-t in this way, variations in the electron emission amount of individual devices are reduced without significantly reducing the average electron emission current of the multi-electron source after the characteristic adjustment. it can.

Next, a device emission current Ie when a plurality of characteristic shift voltages of 1 to 100 pulses are applied to a plurality of electron-emitting devices in a portion 301a which hardly causes a problem in displaying an image on the display panel 301. And a step of creating a lookup table for adjusting the characteristics from the data (flow chart of FIG. 6, FIG. 1A).
(Corresponding to the second and third periods of the characteristic adjustment period).

When the look-up table is created, the characteristic shift voltage has four levels (Vshift1 to Vshift).
The discrete voltage value of t4) was selected and the characteristic shift amount was observed for each voltage. As described above, the range of the characteristic shift voltage is Vshift ≧ Vpre, and Vsh is Vsh.
The range of the ift voltage is appropriately set depending on the shape and material of the electron-emitting device, but normally, the characteristic can be adjusted by setting the range of about 1 V in several steps.

First, in the flow chart of FIG. 6, four characteristic shift voltages Vshift are applied to a plurality of sample electron-emitting devices.
t1, Vshift2, Vshift3, Vshift
4 A procedure for measuring the amount of change in the element emission current Ie when each of 1 to 100 pulses is applied will be described. There are a plurality of sample devices per characteristic shift voltage.
The average value or the median value may be used.

In step S21, regions to which each of the four characteristic shift voltages is applied to four or more electron-emitting devices, the number of devices, each characteristic shift voltage value, and the number of applied pulses are set. Here, the region 301 in the display panel 301 where each of the four characteristic shift voltages is applied to the plurality of electron-emitting devices is a portion 301 which hardly causes any trouble in displaying an image.
a is selected, and the number of elements is 2 for one characteristic shift voltage.
It was set to 0 element. In step S22, the switch matrix control signal Tsw is output, and the switch matrix control circuit 310 switches the switch matrices 303 and 304 to select one electron-emitting device from the display panel 301. In step S23, the crest value data Tv of the pulse signal applied to the selected element is set to the pulse crest value setting circuit 30.
Output to 8. The peak value of the characteristic shift voltage pulse is, for example, pre-driving voltage value Vpre = 16V, characteristic shift voltage value Vshift1 = 16.25V, Vshift2 =
16.5V, Vshift3 = 16.75V, Vshi
Either ft4 = 17V. And step S2
In step 4, the pulse of the characteristic shift voltage Vshift is applied as the first characteristic shift voltage to the electron-emitting device selected in step S21 from the pulse generation circuits 306 and 307 via the switch matrices 303 and 304.

In step S25, the peak value data Tv of the pulse signal applied to the selected element is evaluated in order to evaluate the electron emission current characteristics when the element to which the characteristic shift voltage is applied is driven to the driving voltage Vdrv. Is set to drive voltage value Vdrv = 14.5V. And step S
In step 26, the drive voltage value Vdrv pulse signal is applied to the electron-emitting device selected in step S22. In step S27, the electron emission current Ie at the Vdrv voltage is stored in the memory 309b as electron emission amount change data according to the number of characteristic shift voltage application pulses. In step S28, the electron-emitting device selected in step S21 is
Check whether the characteristic shift voltage is applied a predetermined number of times,
If not, the process proceeds to step S23. On the other hand, when the characteristic shift voltage reaches the number of applications in step S28,
It proceeds to step S29. In step S29, it is checked whether or not the electron emission amount change measurement is performed on a plurality of predetermined electron-emitting devices, and if not, the process proceeds to step S30 to set a switch matrix control signal Tsw for selecting the next electron-emitting device. Then, the process proceeds to step S22. on the other hand,
When the measurement process for the predetermined electron-emitting devices is completed in step S29, the number of the predetermined electron-emitting devices is set to 5
Two characteristic shift voltages Vshift0 (= Vpre), V
shift1, Vshift2, Vshift3, Vs
The change amount of the device emission current when each of the hitt4 is applied (1 to 100 pulses) is graphed.

FIG. 7 shows the change amount (average value) of the device emission current thus obtained. The element emission current value at this time is a value measured when the characteristic shift voltage is driven by the drive voltage Vdrv for each pulse application. The relationship between the five characteristic shift voltages is Vshift4>
Vshift3>Vshift2>Vshift1> V
It is pre.

As shown in FIG. 7, by increasing the number of application of the characteristic shift voltage or increasing the characteristic shift voltage, the variation amount of the element characteristic is large, that is, the adjustment amount is large. Figure 7
Characteristic adjustment of the entire multi-electron source using the characteristic change curve shown in (1) is performed in the following two steps. The characteristic shift voltage range and the average number of applied pulses are set based on the target electron emission current value Ie-t set from the Ie measurement result of FIG. That is, the process up to this point is the stage of creating a lookup table for adjusting the characteristics. The characteristic shift voltage is set for each element on the basis of the set value determined in. Then, the characteristic shift voltage application and the electron emission current characteristic measurement are repeated to shift the characteristic to the target value. That is, a pulse waveform signal of the characteristic shift voltage Vshift is applied according to a look-up table for characteristic adjustment, and a driving voltage Vdrv is applied to determine whether the characteristic adjustment is completed and the electron emission characteristic is measured. (The flow chart of FIG. 9 corresponds to the second and third periods of the characteristic adjustment period of FIG. 1A).

Will be described in detail. The largest current value measured in FIG. 5 is Iem
Using the ax value, the maximum adjustment rate Dmax is calculated from the target Ie-t set in FIG. Dmax = Ie−t / Ie max For example, target Ie−t = 0.9 μA, Ie max
= 1.2 μA, Dmax = 0.75 is required. At this time, from FIG. 7, the maximum shift voltage is V
It can be seen that even if shift4 is applied, all cannot be adjusted with one pulse. On the other hand, when the number of pulses applied with the characteristic shift voltage increases, the characteristic adjustment process time becomes longer, which is not so preferable. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the characteristic shift is performed by applying 10 pulses on average. At this time, the time required for the process can be estimated by the product of 10 pulse application time and the number of elements having the target Ie-t or more.

From FIG. 7, the adjustment rates D0 to D4 of Ie when 10 pulses are applied are read out. Characteristic shift voltage Vs
The electron emission current upper limit value Ie-u at the time of applying the drive voltage Vdrv immediately after applying the preliminary drive voltage Vpre for the first time that will reach the target electron emission current Ie-t immediately after applying 10 pulses of the shift Can be expressed as Ie-u = Ie-t / D That is, when 10 pulses of Vshift are applied to the pre-driven element having the characteristic of Ie-u, the electron emission current becomes I
e−t. That is, the characteristic shift voltage Vshift1
When the adjustment rate when 10 pulses are applied is D1, the electron emission current upper limit value Ie-u1 at the time of applying the driving voltage Vdrv after applying the pre-driving voltage Vpre1 pulse at this time is: Ie-u1 = Ie-t / D1 Becomes Similarly, the characteristic shift voltage Vshift2 is set to 10
When the adjustment rate at the time of applying the pulse is D2, the electron emission current upper limit value Ie-u2 at the time of the driving voltage Vdrv after the application of the pre-driving voltage Vpre1 pulse at this time is Ie-u2 = Ie-t / D2.

Assuming that the adjustment rate when the characteristic shift voltage Vshift3 is applied for 10 pulses is D3, the electron emission current upper limit value Ie-u3 when the drive voltage Vdrv is applied after the pre-driving voltage Vpre1 pulse is applied is Ie-u3. = Ie-t / D3 If the adjustment rate when the characteristic shift voltage Vshift4 is applied for 10 pulses is D4, the pre-driving voltage Vpre at this time
The upper limit value Ie-u4 of the electron emission current when the drive voltage Vdrv is applied after the application of one pulse is Ie-u4 = Ie-t / D4. Also, the characteristic shift voltage Vshift0 = Vpr
Let e be the adjustment rate when 10 pulses are applied to e, and the drive voltage V after applying the pre-driving voltage Vpre1 pulse at this time
The upper limit value Ie-u0 of the electron emission current when drv is applied is Ie-u0 = Ie-t / D0.

When a look-up table for characteristic adjustment is created from the respective electron emission current upper limit values,
It becomes FIG. In FIG. 8, the characteristic shift voltage Vpre
Drive voltage Vdrv after application of pre-drive voltage Vpre1 pulse for applying (= Vshift0) to perform characteristic adjustment
The electron emission current range at the time is from the target Ie-t to Ie-u1.
Up to Similarly, the electron emission current range when the drive voltage Vdrv is applied after applying the preliminary drive voltage Vpre1 pulse for applying the characteristic shift voltage Vshift1 to perform the characteristic adjustment is from Ie-u1 to Ie-u2, and the characteristic shift voltage Vshift2 is Preliminary application of characteristic adjustment voltage After application of the drive voltage Vpre, the electron emission current range when the drive voltage Vdrv is applied is from Ie-u2 to Ie-u3, and the characteristic shift voltage Vshift3 is applied to perform the characteristic adjustment. The electron emission current range when the drive voltage Vdrv is applied after the drive voltage Vpre is applied is Ie-u3 to Ie-u4.
Drive voltage Vdr after preliminary drive voltage Vpre for applying characteristic shift voltage Vshift4 to perform characteristic adjustment
The electron emission current range when v is applied is larger than that of Ie-u4. When the electron emission current when the drive voltage Vdrv is applied after the pre-drive voltage Vpre is applied is larger than Ie-u4,
Vshift4 will be applied.

For example, the adjustment ratios when 10 pulses of each characteristic shift voltage are applied are D0 = 0.9 and D1 = 0.8.
1, D2 = 0.72, D3 = 0.6, D4 = 0.5, target Ie−t = 0.9 μA, Ie maximum value = 1.55 μA
At this time, the range of Ie of the element to which each characteristic shift voltage is applied is 0.9 <Ie ≦ 1.0 μA (@Vshift
0), 1.0 <Ie ≦ 1.11 μA (@Vshift
1), 1.11 <Ie ≦ 1.25 μA (@Vshift
2), 1.25 <Ie ≦ 1.5 μA (@Vshift
3), 1.5 <Ie (@ Vshift4).

For the characteristic adjustment, the pulse waveform signal of the characteristic shift voltage Vshift is applied with reference to the look-up table (FIG. 8), and the drive voltage Vdrv is applied to determine whether the characteristic adjustment is completed. FIG. 9 shows the steps of measuring the electron emission characteristic (flow chart of FIG. 9, corresponding to the second and third periods of the characteristic adjustment period of FIG. 1A).
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S51, the display panel 301
The maximum number of pulses to be applied during the characteristic adjustment is set for one surface conduction electron-emitting device for which the characteristic adjustment is performed. Here, the maximum number of applied pulses is 20 pulses, which is twice the average number of applied pulses. Next, in step S52, the switch matrix control signal Tsw is output, and the switch matrix control circuit 310 outputs the switch matrix 3
By switching 03 and 304, one electron-emitting device is selected from the display panel 301. In step S53, the electron emission current value at the time of applying the drive voltage Vdrv after the pre-driving for the selected element is read. In step S54, the characteristic adjustment lookup table is read. In step S55, the electron emission current value of the selected element read in step S53 is compared with the target value Ie-t in the characteristic adjustment, and it is determined whether or not the characteristic adjustment is performed. If the electron emission current value is equal to or smaller than the target value Ie-t in the characteristic adjustment, the characteristic adjustment is not performed and the process proceeds to step S63. When the electron emission current value is larger than the target value Ie-t in the characteristic adjustment, the characteristic shift voltage value Vshift0 corresponding to the electron emission current value of the element selected by referring to the characteristic adjustment lookup table read in step S54. ~ V
One of shift4 is set and the peak value data Tv of the pulse signal applied to the selected element is output to the pulse peak value setting circuit 308 (S56). Step S57
Then, the characteristic shift voltage value Vshift is applied to the electron-emitting device selected in step S52 from the pulse generation circuits 306 and 307 via the switch matrices 303 and 304.
A pulse signal of any of t0 to Vshift4 is applied. For example, if the electron emission current value of the device selected in step S52 is Ie-p and is in the following range, the characteristic shift voltage value is Vshift2 from the characteristic adjustment lookup table FIG. Ie-u2 <Ie-p <Ie-u3

In step S58, the drive voltage value is used as the peak value data Tv of the pulse signal applied to the selected element in order to evaluate the element characteristics when the element whose characteristic has been adjusted is driven to the drive voltage Vdrv. Set Vdrv. Then, in step S59, the drive voltage value Vdrv pulse voltage is applied to the element selected in step S52. The electron emission current at this time is measured in step S60 and stored in the memory. In step S61, step S60
The electron emission current value measured at is the target I in the characteristic adjustment.
If it is not equal to or less than e−t, the process proceeds to step S62 to check the cumulative pulse application number with respect to the maximum characteristic application pulse number for characteristic adjustment drive. When the electron emission current value of the device measured in step S60 is equal to or smaller than the target value Ie-t in the characteristic adjustment, the characteristic adjustment is not performed and the process proceeds to step S63. In step S62, it is checked whether or not the cumulative pulse application number to the selected element has reached the characteristic adjustment drive maximum application pulse number setting value. If it has not reached, the process proceeds to step S56, and if it has reached, the process proceeds to step S63. . In step S63, it is checked whether or not the characteristics have been adjusted for all the elements of the display panel 301. If not, the process proceeds to step S64, the next device is selected, the switch matrix control signal Tsw is output, and the process proceeds to step S52. move on. When the flow is completed for all the devices in step S63, the characteristic adjustment is completed, and the electron emission currents of all the devices are made uniform. The step ends here. At this time, the time required for the process is approximately the initial Ie is the target Ie-t.
This is the product of the larger number of elements and the 10 pulse shift voltage application time.

Further, in the present embodiment, the procedure is such that the characteristic adjustment look-up table is created for each display panel 301 and the characteristic adjustment is performed based on the characteristic adjustment look-up table. When performing the characteristic adjustment by setting the target electron emission current value Ie-t of the electron-emitting device to be the same, the characteristic adjustment lookup table is created only for the first display panel and the second and subsequent display panels are created. After applying the pre-driving voltage Vpre to all the electron-emitting devices of the display panel 301, the driving voltage Vdrv
If the measurement result of the electron emission characteristic at the time of application is within the range in which the target electron emission current value Ie-t of the electron-emitting device can be set, a part of the characteristic change curve shown in FIG. 7 is confirmed without being acquired. It is also possible to obtain the data only for the purpose and perform the characteristic adjustment using the characteristic adjustment lookup table of the first display panel, reducing the processing time of the characteristic adjustment process for the second and subsequent display panels. can do.

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment, the procedure for individually adjusting the characteristics of each electron-emitting device in the display panel 301 has been described. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, even if the configuration of the electron-emitting devices of the display panel 301 becomes highly dense and the total number of the electron-emitting devices significantly increases, the time spent for the characteristic adjustment should not be increased as much as possible. It is the one.

Specifically, the procedure for adjusting the characteristics of one or a plurality of elements in the display panel 901 shown in FIG. 10 at the same time and the apparatus configuration corresponding thereto will be described below. . The concept of the preliminary drive process and the characteristic adjustment for one element is the same as that of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a characteristic adjusting apparatus having a drive control circuit for changing the electron emission characteristics of individual electron-emitting devices by applying a characteristic adjustment voltage to a plurality of elements of the multi-electron source at the same time. Is.

In FIG. 10, reference numeral 901 is a display panel. It is assumed that the display panel 901 has, for example, a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices wired in a simple matrix, and that the forming process and the activation process have already been completed and are in the stabilization process. In the display panel 901, a substrate in which a plurality of elements are arranged in a matrix and a face plate or the like which is provided apart from the substrate and has a fluorescent substance which emits light by electrons emitted from the elements are arranged in a vacuum container. is doing. Further, it is connected to an external electric circuit via the row-direction wiring terminals Dx1 to Dxn and the column-direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dym. Reference numeral 901a denotes a part of the plurality of emission elements that form the display panel 901, and indicates an element used for acquiring characteristic adjustment data. 902 is
This is a terminal for applying a high voltage from the high voltage source 911 to the phosphor of the display panel 901. A switch matrix 903 is a multi-selection type switch matrix 903a capable of selecting one terminal or a plurality of terminals in the row-direction wiring terminals Dx1 to Dxn and the same pulse waveform signal to one or more selected terminals in the row direction. It is composed of a pulse distribution amplifier circuit 903b for applying. The switch matrix 903 will be described later with reference to FIG.

A switch matrix 904 selects one of the column-direction wirings and applies one of the column-direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dym of the electron-emitting device for applying a pulse waveform signal.
You have selected one. Pulse generators 906 and 907 generate pulse waveform signals Px and Py. 90
Reference numeral 8 is a pulse peak value setting circuit, which is a pulse setting signal Lpx,
By outputting Lpy, the pulse generation circuit 906,
The peak value of the pulse signal output from each of 907 is determined. A control circuit 909 controls the entire characteristic adjustment flow and outputs data Tv for setting the peak value to the pulse peak value setting circuit 908. Note that 909
Reference numeral a denotes a CPU, which controls the operation of the control circuit 909.

Reference numeral 909b is a memory for storing the characteristics of each element for adjusting the characteristics of each element. Specifically, 909b stores the electron emission current Ie of each element when the display drive voltage Vdrv is applied. Reference numeral 909c is a lookup table for reference (characteristic adjustment LUT) created by applying voltage to some elements 901a to acquire data.
Then, refer to it when adjusting the characteristics.

Reference numeral 910 is a switch matrix control circuit,
By outputting the switch switching signals Tx and Ty and controlling the selection of the switches of the switch matrices 903 and 904, the electron-emitting device to which the pulse voltage is applied is selected. The switch switching signal Tx is composed of a signal for selecting one arbitrary block in the block division described later and a signal for selecting one or a plurality of switches in the block.

The switch matrix 903 will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, among all the elements in the display panel 901, a maximum of a plurality of consecutive q elements for applying the same characteristic shift voltage pulse at the same time in the row direction with only one terminal selected in the column direction is selected. Is set as one block area, and a multi-selectable block division method is adopted. The multi-selection switch matrix 903a divides the row-direction wiring terminals Dx1 to Dxn into q-blocks and divides the switches connected to the row-direction wiring terminals in a one-to-one manner so that only certain selected block areas can be selected. Each block has a structure in which a group of switches can be turned on at the same time, and the block selection switch groups SW-B1 and SW-B2 to SW-Bp are provided. For example, when selecting a block in the area of the row-direction wiring terminals to which the block selection switch group SW-B1 is connected, all the switches in the block selection switch group SW-B1 are turned on, and the other block selection switch group SW All the switches in -B2 to SW-Bp are turned off.

Further, the multi-selection type switch matrix 90
3a includes q terminal selection switches S for selecting a plurality of arbitrary wiring terminals in one block.
Equipped with W-A1 to SW-Aq. The terminal selection switch is a pair of p in which one switch in each block selection switch group is connected to one terminal selection switch.
It is in the form of multiple connections. As a result, any terminal in a block can be selected. Further, since each terminal selection switch has a structure that can be turned ON / OFF independently, it is possible that a plurality of arbitrary terminals in a block are simultaneously selected.

Next, in the pulse distribution / amplification circuit 903b, the pulse waveform signal Px set by the pulse generation circuit 907 is the same for each of the terminal selection switches SW-A1 to SW-Aq formed in the multi-selection type switch matrix 903a. Circuits Amp-A1 to Amp-Ar, A for distributing and amplifying the pulse waveform signal Px in multiple stages so that the pulse waveform signal Px can be applied to
mp-A1B1 to Amp-ArBs and DRV-1 to
It was composed of DRV-q. Drivers DRV-1 to DRV-
q is 1: 1 with the terminal selection switches SW-A1 to SW-Aq
Connected by. That is, the pulse waveform signal Px from the pulse generator 907 is distributed as the same waveform to the terminal selection switches SW-A1 to SW-Aq by the pulse distribution amplification circuit 903b. Switch matrix control circuit 910
One or a plurality of the terminal selection switches SW-A1 to SW-Aq are selected by the switch switching signal Tx from the block selection switch group S
One block selection switch group of W-B1 to SW-Bp is selected. As a result, the pulse waveform signal Px can be applied to one or a plurality of selected wiring terminals in the row direction of all the elements in the display panel 901.

From the configuration of the switch matrixes 903 and 904, the characteristic adjustment can be performed in block units for all the elements in the display panel 901 by the following characteristic adjustment block transfer procedure. For example, switch matrix 9
In 04, the first terminal in the column direction is first selected, the first block is selected in the row direction in the switch matrix 903 in block units, and the characteristic adjustment is performed in the block area ( (Fig. 12). When the characteristic adjustment of all the elements in the block area is completed, the selection of the first terminal in the column direction is maintained, and the block area is sequentially moved in the row direction to perform the characteristic adjustment. When the characteristic adjustment for all the blocks in the row direction is completed, the switch matrix 904 selects the next one terminal in the column direction, and the switch matrix 903 sequentially moves the block area in the row direction in block units. In this manner, the switch matrix 904 selects the last terminal in the column direction, and the switch matrix 903 sequentially moves the block region in the row direction in block units.
The characteristic adjustment can be performed for all the elements in the display panel 901.

Contrary to this procedure, in the switch matrix 903, the first block is first selected in the row direction, and the characteristics of one block from the first terminal in the column direction in the switch matrix 904 are selected. Each time the adjustment is completed, the terminals in the column direction are sequentially moved. When the selection of all the terminals in the column direction is completed, the next block is selected in the row direction in the switch matrix 903, and the switch matrix 90 is selected.
At 4, the terminals are sequentially moved in the column direction. In this way, the last block is selected in the row direction by the switch matrix 903 and the terminals are sequentially moved in the column direction by the switch matrix 904, so that the characteristic adjustment is performed for all the elements in the display panel 901. You can also

Next, the process flow for adjusting the electron emission characteristics of the individual electron-emitting devices that form the multi-electron source will be described. However, the step of applying the pre-driving voltage Vpre to all the elements of the display panel 901, and then the driving voltage Vd
The first stage of the step of measuring the electron emission characteristics when rv is applied, and the step of setting the target value Ie-t for adjusting the electron emission characteristics (flow chart of FIG. 5, pre-driving period of FIG. 1A) And corresponding to the first period of the characteristic adjustment period), and when the characteristic shift voltage Vshift and the drive voltage Vdrv are alternately applied to the elements by using some elements of a portion 901a that hardly causes a problem in displaying an image. The second step of deriving the change amount of the electron emission current of (1) and creating the lookup table (corresponding to the second and third periods of the characteristic adjustment period of FIG. 1A in the flowchart of FIG. 6) is the same as in the first embodiment. The description is omitted because it was considered based on the characteristic adjustment time (= average 10 pulse application time) for one element shown.

In the third stage, the characteristic adjustment procedure, that is, the pulse waveform signal of the characteristic shift voltage Vshift is simultaneously applied to one element or a plurality of elements according to the lookup table for the characteristic adjustment, and the characteristic adjustment is completed. The step of measuring the electron emission characteristic by applying the drive voltage Vdrv to determine whether or not is different from that of the first embodiment, and therefore will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 12 and 13. Note that FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the flow from steps S105 to S117 in FIG.

First, in step S101, the display panel 90
The maximum number of applied pulses for the characteristic adjustment drive is set for one electron-emitting device for which the characteristic adjustment in 1 is performed. The maximum number of applied pulses was 20 pulses, which was twice the average number of applied pulses. Next, in step S102, one block is selected from all the elements in the display panel 901 in the row direction by the switch matrix 903, and one column is selected in the column direction. In this embodiment,
One block has 288 elements (288 rows and 1 column). In step S103, the drive voltage Vdrv after pre-driving for a plurality of elements existing in the selected one block area
Each electron emission current value at the time of application is read. Step S
At 104, the characteristic adjustment lookup table 909c is read. In step S105, first, out of the plurality of elements existing in the selected one block area read in step S103, a plurality of elements whose electron emission current value is equal to or less than the target value Ie-t in the characteristic adjustment are extracted, and the characteristics are extracted. The element group is not adjusted. Next, among the plurality of elements existing in the selected one block area read in step S103, the electron emission current value is larger than the target value Ie-t in the characteristic adjustment,
By referring to the characteristic adjustment look-up table read out in 104, which characteristic shift voltage value Vshift0 to Vshift4 corresponding to the electron emission current value of the element is applied is selected and grouped.
That is, a plurality of elements in one block area are
The element group Gr. 0, an element group Gr. That applies Vshift1. 1, the element group Gr. To which Vshift2 is applied. 2, an element group Gr. Which applies Vshift3. 3,
The element group Gr. Sort into 4. Then, in step S106, the previous step S1
Characteristic shift voltage values Vshift0 to V selected in 05
Either shift4 is set.

In step S107, the element group Gr. Corresponding to the characteristic shift voltage value set from any one of the characteristic shift voltage values Vshift0 to Vshift4. 0-Gr.
4 outputs a switch matrix control signal Tsw from the switch matrix control circuit 910 so as to select one row direction terminal or a plurality of row direction terminals corresponding to each element existing in any one of 4 and the switch matrix 90.
3, 904 are switched to select one or more electron-emitting devices from the display panel 901. In step S108,
The peak value data Tv of the pulse signal applied to the selected one or more elements is output to the pulse peak value setting circuit 908. In step S109, the pulse generation circuits 906, 9
07 through the switch matrices 903 and 904,
The characteristic shift voltage values Vshift0 to Vshift are added to one or a plurality of elements selected in step S107.
Any pulse signal of t4 is applied. Here, the characteristic shift voltage values Vshift0 to Vshift4 are sequentially applied, and in step S110, it is checked whether the characteristic shift voltage values Vshift0 to Vshift4 are all applied. If the characteristic shift voltage values Vshift0 to Vshift4 are all applied, the process proceeds to step S112. If the characteristic shift voltage values Vshift0 to Vshift4 are not all applied, the process proceeds to step S111. In step S111, one of the characteristic shift voltage values Vshift0 to Vshift4 that have not been applied yet is selected, and the process proceeds to step S106.

In step S112, step S102
A switch matrix control signal Tsw is output by the switch matrix control circuit 910 in order to evaluate the device characteristics when all the devices existing in the block area selected in step S1 are driven to the drive voltage Vdrv. 1 selected by switching the switch matrixes 903 and 904
One element is selected from the block area. Step S
At 113, the drive voltage value Vdrv is set as the peak value data Tv of the pulse signal applied to the selected element. Then, in step S114, the drive voltage value Vdrv pulse voltage is applied to the selected element. The electron emission current Ie at this time is measured in step S115 and is measured in the memory 909.
Store in b. In step S116, it is checked whether or not the electron emission currents have been measured for all the emitting elements in the selected one block region. If not, the process proceeds to step S117, the next device is selected, and the process proceeds to step S112.

On the other hand, if the electron emission current is measured for all the elements in the selected block region in step S116, the process proceeds to step S118. Step S
At 118, it is checked whether or not the cumulative pulse application number to the elements in the selected block region has reached the characteristic adjustment drive maximum application pulse number setting value. If not, the process proceeds to step S119, and if it has reached step S121. Go to. In step S119, the characteristic adjustment lookup table is read as in step S104. Step S
At 120, characteristic shift voltage values Vshift0 to Vsh
If the characteristic shift voltage value to be applied out of the if4 is selected and grouped, the group Gr. 0-Gr. Four
For each of the above, one or a plurality of elements in which the electron emission current value Ie measured and stored in step S115 of each element existing in the group is equal to or less than the target value Ie-t in the characteristic adjustment are extracted. Then set the element group again for which characteristic adjustment is not performed. One or a plurality of elements whose electron emission current values are larger than the target value Ie-t in the characteristic adjustment are set so that they remain in the same group, and the characteristic shift voltages Vshift0 to Vshi are again set.
The process proceeds to step S106 to apply any of ft4. In step 121, it is checked whether or not the characteristic adjustment has been performed on all blocks obtained by dividing the elements of the display panel 901 into block units in step S102. If there is a block for which the characteristic adjustment has not been performed yet, the process proceeds to step S122, the next unexecuted block is selected according to the procedure for shifting the characteristic adjustment block described above, and the process proceeds to step S102. When the flow is completed for all the blocks whose characteristics are adjusted in step 121, the characteristics adjustment is completed, and the electron emission currents of all the devices are made uniform. At this time, comparing the application of the characteristic shift voltage between the first embodiment and the second embodiment, when applying the shift voltage pulse once for each element to one block of 288 elements, the total number of pulse application times is However, in the second embodiment, the application is reduced from the 288 times of the first embodiment to five times.
That is, the shift voltage application time can be shortened.

In the first and second embodiments, the electron emission current is measured and the characteristics are adjusted so as to make it uniform. However, the emission brightness of the phosphor that emits light by the electrons emitted from the device is measured. If there is a brightness variation, it may be corrected to be uniform. That is, each time each electron-emitting device is driven, the emission brightness of the phosphor emitted by the electrons emitted from the device is measured, and the measured brightness is converted into a value corresponding to the electron emission current. Uniformity can be realized.

In the first and second embodiments, the characteristic shift voltage is applied to create the characteristic adjustment look-up table by using the elements of the image display areas 301a and 901a in the display panel. Alternatively, a dummy element that is not driven may be built in the display panel and the data may be acquired here. Also,
In addition to the display panel for adjustment, data can be obtained from an element in the display panel formed through the same process.

[0086]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to control the variation in the electron emission characteristics of the electron-emitting devices of the electron source with good reproducibility by a relatively simple method. In addition, since it is possible to suppress the nonuniformity of the adjustment time caused by the difference in the characteristics of each element, the versatility of the adjustment method is enhanced and the manufacturing process of the electron source is easily managed.

Then, by the method as described in USP 6,231,412, an electron source in which surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on a substrate is prepared, and a phosphor is added as necessary. After the display panel was manufactured by assembling the vacuum container integrally with the plate having the display panel, the characteristic adjusting method according to each of the above-described embodiments was performed. As a result, a display state with uniform brightness could be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a characteristic adjustment signal of an electron-emitting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing the relationship between shift voltage application time and characteristic shift amount.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a difference in emission current characteristic with respect to a driving voltage of an electron-emitting device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a characteristic adjusting device for a multi-electron source according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a characteristic adjustment flow of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a characteristic adjustment flow following the flow of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a characteristic curve diagram illustrating the amount of change in electron emission current when continuously applied to the device for each of several types of drive voltages.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an electron emission current range of each electron emission element with respect to a discrete characteristic shift voltage applied for characteristic adjustment in the first embodiment.

9 is a characteristic adjustment flow following the flow of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a characteristic adjusting device for a multi-electron source according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a circuit diagram showing details of a row direction selection switch matrix in FIG.

12 is a characteristic adjustment flow of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a detailed flowchart showing a part of the characteristic adjustment flow of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a graph showing an example of a characteristic change curve of electron emission current.

[Explanation of symbols]

301: display panel, 301a: characteristic adjustment data acquisition area in the display panel, 302: high voltage terminal, 303, 30
4: switch matrix circuit, 305: electron emission current detector, 306, 307: pulse generation circuit, 308: pulse peak value setting circuit, 309: control circuit, 309a: CP
U, 309b: memory, 309c: characteristic adjustment LUT, 3
10: Switch matrix control circuit, 311: High voltage power supply, 901: Display panel, 901a: Characteristic adjustment data acquisition area, 902: High voltage terminal, 903: Switch matrix circuit, 903a: Multi-selection SW matrix, 903
b: pulse distribution amplifier circuit, 904: switch matrix circuit, 905: electron emission current detector, 906, 907:
Pulse generation circuit, 908: Pulse peak value setting circuit, 90
9: control circuit, 909a: CPU, 909b: memory,
909c: Characteristic adjustment LUT, 910: Switch matrix control circuit, 911: High voltage power supply.

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A method for adjusting a characteristic of an electron source having a plurality of electron-emitting devices, wherein a pulse of an adjusting voltage is applied to the electron-emitting device at least once according to the characteristic of the electron-emitting device to be adjusted. The voltage for adjustment is selected from a plurality of voltages having discrete values according to the characteristics of the electron-emitting device, and the number of times of applying the pulse is the characteristic of the electron-emitting device. And the electron source characteristic adjusting method, which is determined according to the selected voltage. 2. The relationship between the voltage for adjustment and the electron-emitting device based on the rate of change of the characteristics of the electron-emitting device that changes for each of the plurality of voltages depending on the number of times of application of a pulse of each voltage. Prepare a characteristic adjustment table to be attached, with reference to the characteristic adjustment table, the voltage for adjustment, depending on the characteristics of the electron-emitting device to be adjusted, select,
2. The voltage is applied to the electron-emitting device.
The method for adjusting the characteristics of an electron source described in. 3. The electron source according to claim 2, wherein the characteristic adjustment table is created based on data obtained from an electron-emitting device selected from the electron source for adjustment. How to adjust the characteristics of. 4. The characteristic measurement of the electron-emitting device is performed every time a pulse of the voltage for adjustment is applied to bring the electron-emitting device closer to a target value, according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Method of adjusting characteristics of electron source. 5. The partial voltage of the organic gas is set to 1 for the adjustment voltage.
The method for adjusting characteristics of an electron source according to claim 1, wherein the voltage is applied in an atmosphere of 0 ^-6 Pa or less. 6. The adjusting voltage is simultaneously applied to a plurality of selected electron-emitting devices having the same adjusting voltage, and the adjusting voltage is applied at the same time. Method of adjusting characteristics of electron source. 7. The characteristic adjusting device for an electron source, comprising a drive control circuit for executing the characteristic adjusting method according to claim 1. Description: 8. The drive control circuit includes: storage means for storing a characteristic adjustment table; a drive circuit for applying an adjustment voltage; and a control circuit for selecting the adjustment voltage and determining the number of times of application. The characteristic adjusting device according to claim 7, further comprising: 9. A method of manufacturing an electron source having a plurality of electron-emitting devices, the step of producing the plurality of electron-emitting devices on a substrate, the step of measuring the characteristics of the plurality of electron-emitting devices, and 7. A method of manufacturing an electron source, comprising: performing the characteristic adjustment method described in any one of 1 to 6 above. 10. The method of manufacturing an electron source according to claim 9, wherein the characteristic adjusting method is performed after the electron source and the plate having the phosphor are assembled. 11. The relationship between the voltage for adjustment and the electron-emitting device based on the rate of change in the characteristics of the electron-emitting device that changes for each of the plurality of voltages according to the number of times of application of a pulse of each voltage. Prepare a characteristic adjustment table to be attached, with reference to the characteristic adjustment table, the voltage for adjustment, depending on the characteristics of the electron-emitting device to be adjusted, select,
10. The electron-emitting device is applied to the electron-emitting device.
Alternatively, the method of manufacturing the electron source according to the item 10. 12. The characteristic adjustment table is created based on data obtained from an electron-emitting device selected from the electron source to be adjusted.
The method for manufacturing an electron source according to. 13. The characteristic measurement of the electron-emitting device is performed every time the pulse of the voltage for adjustment is applied, and the target value is brought close to the target value. Method of manufacturing electron source. 14. The method for producing an electron source according to claim 9, wherein the voltage for adjustment is applied in an atmosphere in which the partial pressure of the organic gas is 10 ⁻⁶ Pa or less. . 15. The adjusting voltage is simultaneously applied to a plurality of selected electron-emitting devices having the same adjusting voltage, and the adjusting voltage is applied at the same time. Method of manufacturing electron source.