JP2008016353A - Sealed container, and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sealed container or a manufacturing method of the sealed container wherein a sealing time can be shortened. <P>SOLUTION: This manufacturing method of a sealed container to form a sealed space in the inside of a frame member has a process to bond the periphery of the opening part of the frame member to a first member, a process to dispose a sealing material in the peripheral part of a second member, a process to apply a surface activating treatment to the sealing material, and a process to force the sealing material into contact with a portion on the frame member which faces the sealing material to seal the portion. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sealed container such as an envelope used in a display device and a method for manufacturing a sealed container, and more particularly to a device capable of shortening the sealing time.

Display devices such as a liquid crystal display and a field emission display (hereinafter referred to as “FED”) having a sealed panel (sealed container) whose inside is decompressed are known. As a method of manufacturing these sealed panels, a method of sealing a space surrounded by a frame by sandwiching two plates made of glass or the like between the two plates at the periphery and airtightly joining them. It has been known. Specifically, a spacer is bonded to a predetermined portion of a rear plate provided with a plurality of electron-emitting devices in advance, and a frame body is bonded to the peripheral portion. Further, a low melting point metal such as indium is applied as a sealing material to the peripheral portion of the face plate facing this. The rear plate and the face plate configured as described above are disposed so as to face each other in the decompression chamber, and the sealing portion at the periphery is sealed by heating from the outside of the plate to melt the sealing material (for example, , See Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-137939 A

However, the above-described closed container manufacturing method has the following problems. That is, since it is necessary to conduct heat through the plate and melt the sealing material between the two plates, it is necessary to heat the plate from the outside for a long time. Therefore, it took time to seal. Moreover, the plate may be damaged by heating for a long time.
Then, this invention aims at providing the manufacturing method of the airtight container or airtight container which can shorten the sealing time and can reduce the damage to a plate.

An airtight container according to an example of the present invention includes a frame member, a first member bonded to the opening of the frame member so as to cover the opening, and the first member among the openings of the frame member. A second member that covers the opening on the side to which the material is not bonded, and a sealing material that seals the second member and the frame member in a state where each of the second member and the frame member is subjected to a surface activation process. To do.
An example of a method for manufacturing a sealed container according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing a sealed container that forms a sealed space inside a frame member, and a step of joining the periphery of the opening of the frame member and the first member;
A step of disposing a sealing material on the periphery of the second member; a step of subjecting the sealing material to a surface activation treatment; and a portion on the frame member facing the sealing material and the sealing material. And contacting and sealing.

  According to the present invention, the sealing time of the sealed container can be shortened.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, the structure of the display device 1 using the sealed panel (sealed container) according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the display device 1, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the display device 1 of FIG. 1 cut along a line AA. For the sake of explanation, the configuration is omitted or enlarged as appropriate in each drawing and schematically shown.

  The display device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is a kind of FED including an electron-emitting device 24. The display device 1 includes a face plate 10 and a rear plate 20 provided to face each other. The face plate 10 and the rear plate 20 are hermetically joined to each other via a rectangular frame 30 at the periphery thereof to constitute a flat hermetic envelope.

  The face plate 10 corresponds to an example of a first member, and is formed in a rectangular shape from a translucent glass member or the like. As shown in FIG. 3, the face plate 10 is formed with a phosphor screen 11 that is excited to emit light when irradiated with an electron beam and functions as an image display surface. The phosphor screen 11 includes red, blue, and green phosphor layers R, G, and B formed in a stripe shape or a dot shape, a light shielding layer 12, and the like.

  A metal back 13 made of aluminum or the like is formed on the lower surface of the phosphor screen 11. The metal back 13 is connected to a voltage supply unit (not shown) for applying an anode voltage. When a high voltage is applied to the metal back 13 by this voltage supply unit, the potential of the phosphor screen 11 is increased, and a potential difference is generated between the grounded rear plate 20 and the face plate 10.

  Further, a sealing material 40 is applied to the periphery of the metal back 13. The sealing material 40 is made of, for example, a low-melting-point metal having a melting point of 250 ° C. or lower, such as indium, tin, or an alloy in which a small amount of silver or titanium is mixed with tin.

The rear plate 20 is made of the same material as the face plate 10, and is formed in a rectangular shape like the face plate 10.
A conductive cathode layer 21 is formed on the upper surface of the rear plate 20 in the drawing. On the conductive cathode layer 21, a silicon dioxide film 22 having a cavity 22a is formed. A gate electrode 23 is formed on the silicon dioxide film 22. A cone-shaped electron-emitting device 24 is formed on the conductive cathode layer 21 in the cavity 22a. The electron-emitting devices 24 are arranged in a matrix corresponding to each pixel, that is, for each of the phosphor layers R, G, and B, and emits an electron beam to cause the phosphor layers R, G, and B to emit light. In addition, on the rear plate 20, matrix-like wirings connected to the electron-emitting devices 24 are formed.

  Further, the rear plate 20 is provided with a plurality of spacers 25 for supporting an atmospheric pressure load acting from the outside of the face plate 10 and the rear plate 20 by being interposed between the face plate 10 and the rear plate 20. Each spacer 25 is formed in an elongated plate shape having a height of about 1.0 to 2.0 mm made of glass or the like.

Further, a frame body 30 made of glass or the like is joined to the periphery of the rear plate 20 by a frit glass 31. The frame body 30 corresponds to an example of a frame member, and is formed in a rectangular frame shape along the peripheral edges of the face plate 10 and the rear plate 20 so as to surround the sealed portion. The upper opening of the frame 30 in the drawing is closed by the face plate 10, and the lower opening in the drawing is closed by the rear plate 20.
The rear plate 20 corresponds to an example of a second member.

  The rear plate 20 formed as described above, to which the frame 30 or the like is attached, and the face plate 10 are joined by joining the peripheral edge of the face plate 10 and the corresponding upper surface of the frame 30 in the figure. The frame 30 is sealed with a gap.

  At this time, the upper surface of the spacer 25 in the drawing contacts the lower surface of the face plate 10 via the metal back 13 and the light shielding layer 12 of the phosphor screen 11 described above, and the face plate 10 and the rear plate 20 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. Are maintained in a state of being opposed to each other in parallel.

In the display device 1 configured as described above, when a predetermined voltage is applied to the metal back 13 as the anode electrode, the conductive cathode layer 21 and the gate electrode 23, an electron beam is emitted from the electron-emitting device 24. Is done. The emitted electrons are guided to the gate electrode 23 and irradiated onto the phosphor screen 11, whereby the phosphor is excited and emits light. A desired image is displayed through the transparent face plate 10 by this light emission. Here, light emission can be controlled by matrix control of the voltage applied to the gate electrode 23, and gradation display for each pixel is possible. Sealing of the display device 1 according to the present embodiment The procedure will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 3, first, the face plate 10 provided with the phosphor screen 11 and the rear plate 20 provided with the electron-emitting devices 24 and the spacers 25 are prepared. A frame 30 is attached to the periphery of the upper surface of the rear plate 20 with a frit glass 31 in the drawing. Further, a sealing material 40 is applied to the periphery of the face plate 10 facing the upper surface of the frame 30 in the figure.

Next, these two plates 10 and 20 are arranged to face each other in the decompression chamber, and a surface activation process is performed on the surface of the face plate 10 including the sealing material 40 and the surface of the frame 30. Specifically, by irradiating an Ar ion beam in a reduced-pressure atmosphere (10 ⁻⁶ Pa), a portion including the sealing material 40 on the face plate 10 and an oxide film attached to the surface of the frame 30 are removed. Remove. Thus, by removing the oxide film or the like, an active state in which atoms on the surface are easily chemically bonded is obtained.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, pressure is applied from the outer surfaces of the face plate 10 and the rear plate 20. As described above, the sealing material 40 is crushed and joined to the upper surface of the frame 30 in the drawing, the face plate 10 and the rear plate 20 are hermetically sealed via the frame 30 at the periphery, and an airtight space is formed inside. It is formed.

  The display device 1 according to the present embodiment has the following effects. That is, in the method of sealing by heating, it is necessary to heat the plates 10 and 20 for a long time in order to melt the sealing material 40 between the plates 10 and 20, but according to this embodiment, the surface activation treatment is performed. Therefore, it can be sealed at room temperature. Accordingly, it is not necessary to heat for a long time, so that the sealing time can be shortened. Moreover, the damage to each plate 10 and 20 by heating can be prevented. Furthermore, since the plates 10 and 20 are not thermally deformed by heating, the yield of the formed display device 1 can be improved.

  Further, by crushing and sealing the sealing material 40 made of a soft metal, the surface roughness of the plates 10 and 20 can be absorbed.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a display device 1 using a sealed container according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the same part as the said 1st Embodiment attaches | subjects the same code | symbol, and abbreviate | omits description.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the present embodiment, the sealing material 40 is applied to the periphery of the rear plate 20. The sealing material 40 is made of indium or the like as in the first embodiment, and is applied so as to be thicker by several tens of μm than the height of the convex portion 32 described later.

  The frame 30 is joined to the face plate 10 by a frit glass 31. The frame body 30 is formed in a rectangular frame shape from a glass material or the like as in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, a convex portion 32 extending in a line shape is formed on the entire upper surface of the frame 30 in the drawing. The convex portion 32 is a projection formed by baking frit glass, and the tip thereof is sharp so as to be able to break through the surface of the sealing material. The height of the convex portion 32, that is, the distance from the lower surface of the frame 30 to the tip of the convex portion 32 is configured to be several tens of μm.

  A method for manufacturing the display device 1 using the sealed container according to the present embodiment will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 5, as in the first embodiment, the face plate 10 on which the phosphor screen 11 is provided, and the rear plate 20 on which the electron-emitting device 24 is provided and the spacer 25 is attached. And prepare. Further, the frame body 30 on which the convex portions 32 are formed is joined to the face plate 10 via the frit glass 31. Further, the sealing material 40 is applied to the periphery of the rear plate 20. The two plates 10 and 20 configured as described above are arranged to face each other in a reduced pressure state, and a surface activation process is performed in the vicinity of the convex portion 32.

Specifically, the oxide film adhering to the surface is removed by irradiating an Ar ion beam in a reduced-pressure atmosphere (10 ⁻⁶ Pa) in the vicinity of the convex portion 32 formed on the frame 30, and atoms are bonded. Make it easy to do. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, pressure is applied from both the face plate 10 and the rear plate 20 as in the first embodiment. Due to the pressurization, the convex part 32 formed on the frame 30 breaks through the oxide film on the surface of the sealing material 40 and enters the sealing material 40, and the convex part 32 and the inside of the sealing material 40 are joined. Is done. As described above, the two plates are hermetically sealed through the frame body 30.

  According to the present embodiment, in addition to the same effects as those of the first embodiment, it is only necessary to perform the surface activation process only on the protruding portion on the face plate 10, so that the cost of the surface activation process can be reduced. Further, the sealing time can be further shortened. Further, since the rear plate 20 does not require a surface activation process, damage can be suppressed to a smaller extent.

[Third embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Here, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of rows of projections 33 to 35 similar to the projections 32 of the second embodiment are formed on the frame 30 (here, three rows). With such a structure, in addition to the same effects as those of the second embodiment, it is possible to increase the bonding strength and prevent leakage.

[Fourth embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the convex parts 36-38 are formed. These convex portions are formed by wet etching. Here, a method for forming the convex portion will be described. As shown in FIG. 10, a resist pattern is formed at a predetermined position of the frame body 30 by a photolithography technique before the frame body 30 is bonded to the face plate 10. Thereafter, wet etching is performed and overetching is performed, so that line-shaped convex portions 36 to 38 having sharp tips are formed.

  According to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the second and third embodiments, the convex portions 36 to 38 are formed by wet etching, so that it is possible to reduce the mold when baking the frit glass. Therefore, the cost can be further reduced.

  In addition, in each said embodiment, although illustrated about the case where the frame 30 was comprised with glass, you may be comprised with other materials, such as a metal. Further, as the energy source used for the surface activation treatment, other energy sources such as a fast atom beam and Ar plasma irradiation may be used instead of the Ar ion beam exemplified in the above embodiments.

In each embodiment, the spacer 25 is an elongated glass plate, but may be other shapes such as a columnar shape.
Further, the attachment portion of the frame 30 may be either the face plate 10 or the rear plate 20.

  Further, the sealed container according to the present invention is not limited to the electron emission type display device 1 described in the above embodiment, but can be applied not only to display devices having other structures but also to devices other than the display device such as a MEMS package.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

The perspective view which shows the display apparatus 1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the display device 1 cut along a line AA in FIG. 1. Sectional drawing which shows the active process in the manufacturing method of the same display apparatus. Sectional drawing which shows the joining process. Sectional drawing which shows the active process in the manufacturing method of the display apparatus 1 concerning 2nd Embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows the joining process. The perspective view which shows a part of convex part which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The perspective view which shows a part of convex part which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. The perspective view which shows a part of convex part which concerns on 4th Embodiment. The perspective view which shows a part of convex part which concerns on 4th Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Display apparatus, 10 ... Faceplate, 11 ... Phosphor screen, 12 ... Light-shielding layer, 13 ... Metal back, 20 ... Rear plate 20, 24 ... Electron emission element, 30 ... Frame, 31-37 ... Convex part.

Claims (7)

A frame member;
A first member joined to the opening of the frame member so as to cover the opening;
A second member that covers an opening of the frame member that is not joined to the first member;
A sealing material for sealing the second member and the frame member in a state where the surface activation treatment is performed, respectively;
A sealed container characterized by comprising:   The sealed container according to claim 1, wherein the sealing material contains a metal having a melting point of 250 ° C or lower.   The airtight container according to claim 1, wherein the frame member has a convex portion at a portion facing the second member.   The sealed container according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the sealing material is thicker than a height of the convex portion. In the manufacturing method of a sealed container that forms a sealed space inside the frame member,
Joining the periphery of the opening of the frame member and the first member;
Disposing a sealing material around the second member;
Applying a surface activation treatment to the sealing material;
A step of contacting and sealing the sealing material and a portion on the frame member facing the sealing material;
The manufacturing method of the airtight container characterized by having provided.   6. The method for manufacturing an airtight container according to claim 5, wherein the frame member, the first member, and the frame member and the second member are hermetically sealed.   6. The method of manufacturing a sealed container according to claim 5, wherein the surface activation treatment is performed by Ar ion beam, fast atom beam, or Ar plasma irradiation.

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