JP2010050012A - Manufacturing device for electron source - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently manufacture an electron source by carrying out exhaustion in a vacuum container at short times without preparing a large-sized pump in a manufacturing device for an electron source. <P>SOLUTION: In the manufacturing device for an electron source which mounts two electron source substrates 2a, 2b on a substrate support 3 and performs voltage applying treatment in order by covering with the vacuum container 1, invasion of air into the vacuum container 1 is prevented by purging inside the vacuum container 1 with a low dew-point gas until forming a closed space by the vacuum container 1 and the substrate 2a while the substrate support 3 is decreased and the treatment-completed substrate 2b is discharged by horizontally moving and the vacuum container 1 is arranged on a next substrate 2a and the substrate support 3 is again increased. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electron source manufacturing apparatus used for an image display device or the like, and more particularly to a configuration for improving exhaust of a vacuum vessel.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, two types of electron-emitting devices using a thermionic electron-emitting device and a cold-cathode electron-emitting device are known, and the present applicant has a novel configuration as a cold-cathode electron-emitting device. A number of inventions have been made regarding surface conduction electron-emitting devices and their applications. The basic configuration, manufacturing method, and the like are disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2. As a typical configuration example of this surface conduction electron-emitting device, an electron emitting portion is formed on a conductive film connecting between a pair of device electrodes provided on a substrate by energization processing called activation and activation processing. The thing which was done is mentioned.

  The forming process is a process in which a voltage is applied to both ends of the conductive film, and the conductive film is locally broken, deformed, or altered to form a crack that is in an electrically high resistance state. The activation process is a process in which a voltage is applied to both ends of the conductive film in a vacuum atmosphere containing an organic compound to deposit carbon or a carbon compound near the crack. Electron emission is performed near the crack.

  A conventional surface conduction electron-emitting device is manufactured as follows. An electron source substrate in which a plurality of elements each including a conductive film and a pair of element electrodes connected to the conductive film and a wiring connecting the plurality of elements is formed over the substrate is manufactured. Next, a region where the above-described element is formed on the manufactured electron source substrate is covered with a vacuum vessel, and the inside of the vacuum vessel is evacuated. After evacuation, a voltage is applied to each element through an external terminal to form a crack in the conductive film of each element. Further, a gas containing an organic compound is introduced into the vacuum vessel, and a voltage is applied to each element again through an external terminal in an atmosphere in which the organic compound exists, so that carbon or a carbon compound is deposited in the vicinity of the crack. . After the deposition, the inside of the vacuum vessel is returned to atmospheric pressure, and then the substrate is replaced.

  In a conventional electron source manufacturing apparatus, a substrate is fixed by a support, a vacuum vessel covering an element formed on the substrate is covered, and the inside of the vacuum vessel is evacuated to perform forming and activation processes. Therefore, since one surface of the substrate is exposed to the vacuum side and the opposite surface is exposed to the atmosphere side, the function equivalent to that of the vacuum flange is required. However, since the thickness of the substrate is less than 10 mm, it does not have a strength that can withstand vacuum. Therefore, the structure is such that the substrate can be fixed in close contact with the support for fixing the substrate and the vacuum can be cut off.

  Since it has such a substrate holding structure, it is not a multi-chamber manufacturing apparatus with a load lock chamber and a vacuum integrated. Therefore, the vacuum vessel is exposed to the atmosphere when replacing the substrate. Patent Document 3 provides an electron source manufacturing apparatus capable of improving productivity by providing means for enabling evacuation in a short time. Specifically, a support for supporting the electron source substrate, a container that covers a part of the electron source substrate, has an opening at a contact portion with the electron source substrate, and further has a shutter that covers the opening. It is characterized by that. According to such an electron source manufacturing apparatus, by using means for covering the opening of the vacuum vessel that has covered the electron source substrate with a shutter together with the removal of the substrate, the inside of the vacuum vessel at the time of replacing the electron source substrate is used. Water molecules can be reduced, and vacuum evacuation is possible for a short time.

JP 7-235255 A JP-A-8-171849 JP 2004-184502 A

  However, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 3, when the shutter is inserted, it operates while being in contact with the opening of the vacuum vessel, so that the shutter has a thickness (height) of 10 mm or more in order to prevent the deflection of the shutter. It has a structure. For this reason, a gap of at least this thickness is required between the opening of the container and the substrate. For this reason, although the amount of water molecules mixed in is reduced as compared with a structure without a shutter, the structure cannot be completely prevented.

  In addition, after the substrate is placed on the support, the drive processing for applying a voltage and the wiring connected to the conductive film formed on the substrate are performed in order to perform the forming process and the activation process described above. There is a step of connecting the two. At this time, in order to align, the support on which the substrate is placed is driven in the front-rear and left-right directions for alignment, but the vacuum vessel is exposed to the atmosphere even during this alignment.

  Therefore, in order to evacuate in a short time to a predetermined pressure range, it is possible to evacuate in a short time by providing a vacuum pump with a large displacement amount. However, this increases the size of the apparatus and increases the apparatus cost. There is a problem of end.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to evacuate a vacuum vessel in a short time without providing a large pump in an electron source manufacturing apparatus, and to manufacture an electron source more efficiently.

The present invention is an electron source manufacturing apparatus comprising a substrate, a plurality of electron-emitting devices formed on the surface of the substrate, and a plurality of wirings connecting the electron-emitting devices to each other,
A support for mounting at least two substrates, a container for covering the region where the electron-emitting devices are formed from above, and forming a closed space with the substrate, and controlling the atmosphere of the closed space Means, a means for applying a voltage to the wiring, an elevating mechanism for the container or the support, and a horizontal moving means for the container or the support,
A region where the electron-emitting device of the substrate is formed is covered with a container to form a closed space, and after applying a voltage to the wiring by controlling the atmosphere of the closed space, the support is attached to the container. The container is moved away from the substrate by lowering, and the support is moved horizontally relative to the container to move the container onto the other substrate and raise the support relative to the container. In this process of forming a closed space between the other substrate and the container and repeating the operation of replacing the substrate after the voltage application process with a new substrate, the closed space after the voltage application process is purged with a low dew point gas. The purging of the container is continued until the closed space of the other substrate is formed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the mixing of water molecules in the atmosphere into the vacuum vessel during substrate replacement, and as a result, the exhaust time can be shortened. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the size of components such as a vacuum pump, and it is possible to realize an electron source manufacturing apparatus at a low apparatus cost. Further, the production cost can be reduced by shortening the tact time of the manufacturing process, and an inexpensive and highly uniform electron source can be manufactured.

  An electron source manufactured by the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention includes a substrate, a plurality of electron-emitting devices formed on the surface of the substrate, and a plurality of wirings that connect the electron-emitting devices to each other.

  In order to achieve the above object, the electron source manufacturing apparatus of the present invention has the following characteristics.

  The electron source manufacturing apparatus of the present invention covers a support for placing at least two substrates and a region where electron-emitting devices are formed from above, and forms a closed space between the substrate and the substrate. It is equipped with. The apparatus includes means for controlling the atmosphere of the closed space, means for applying a voltage to the wiring, a lifting mechanism for the container or the support, and horizontal moving means for the container or the support. Therefore, one substrate on the support is covered with a container to form a closed space, and the region on the surface of the substrate forming the closed space where the electron-emitting devices are formed is maintained in a predetermined atmosphere. The voltage can be applied.

  Furthermore, the substrate after the voltage application and the substrate to which the voltage is applied next are placed on the support at the same time, and the support is lowered or the container is raised, so that a predetermined amount is provided between the substrate and the opening of the container. The distance can be increased. In this state, by moving the support or the container horizontally, the container is moved from the substrate to which the voltage is applied to the next substrate, whereby the substrate is carried out and carried in from the container.

  As described above, in the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the voltage application process is performed on the substrates placed on the support one by one, and at the same time, the operation of replacing the processed substrate with a new substrate is repeated.

  In the present invention, voltage application refers to a forming process for forming a crack in a conductive film that is a constituent member of an electron-emitting device, and an activity for depositing carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity of the crack formed by the forming process. At least one of the conversion processes.

  In the present invention, the inside of the closed space after voltage application is purged with a low dew point gas, and the purge is continuously performed from the closed space until the next closed space of the substrate is formed. As a result, the inside of the container is always purged with the low dew point gas when the substrate is carried out and carried in, and hardly contacts the atmosphere. Therefore, water molecules are not mixed in the container, and the time for evacuating the next closed space of the substrate is greatly shortened.

  An embodiment of a manufacturing apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of an electron source manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, in which a forming process and an activation process can be performed continuously. In FIG. 1, 1 is a vacuum vessel, 2a is a next substrate before voltage application, 2b is a substrate after voltage application, and 3 is a substrate support. The next substrate 2 a before voltage application and the substrate 2 b after voltage application are placed on the substrate support 3. Further, a spacer 19 is installed between the next substrate 2a before voltage application and the substrate 2b after voltage application, and it is as if one sheet is formed by the next substrate 2a before voltage application, the substrate 2b after voltage application and the spacer 19. The substrate is placed on the substrate support 3. Reference numeral 4 denotes a lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the substrate support 3. The next substrate 2 before voltage application placed on the substrate support 3 by the elevating mechanism 4 is pressed against the seal member 6, and the vacuum container 1 is sealed by the seal member 6.

  8 is a vacuum pump, 5a to 5h are valves, and 18 is an exhaust pipe. The vacuum vessel 1 is evacuated by a vacuum pump 8 connected to an exhaust pipe 18 and maintained in a predetermined atmosphere. A vacuum gauge 15 measures the pressure in the vacuum vessel 1. An electron-emitting device (not shown) formed on the substrate 2a before voltage application is connected to a pair of opposing device electrodes, and a conductive film is formed on a part thereof. A plurality of these electron-emitting devices are arranged on the substrate 2a before application and on the substrate 2b after application, and each electron-emitting device is connected by wiring.

  Reference numeral 7 denotes a drive driver as voltage application means, and reference numeral 9 denotes a wiring for connecting the drive driver 7 and a wiring formed on the substrate 2a before voltage application. Further, 11 is a moisture removal filter, 10 is a gas flow rate control device, 22 is a gas supply pipe, 12 is an organic substance gas, 13 is a carrier gas, and 17 is a dew point meter that can measure the dew point in the vacuum vessel 1. Reference numeral 14 denotes a slide mechanism which is a means for horizontally moving a structure composed of the substrate support 3 and the lifting mechanism 4. In FIG. 1, the substrate support 3 can be horizontally moved in the left-right direction. The function and operation of the slide mechanism 14 will be described later in detail. The substrate support 3 holds and fixes the pre-application substrate 2a and the post-application substrate 2b. The pre-application substrate 2a and the post-application substrate 2b are mechanically moved by a vacuum chucking mechanism, an electrostatic chucking mechanism, or a fixing jig. It has a mechanism to fix. A heater (not shown) is provided inside the substrate support 3, and the pre-application substrate 2 a and the post-application substrate 2 b can be heated as necessary. A heater (not shown) that can heat the vacuum vessel 1 is also provided.

The vacuum container 1 is a glass or stainless steel container, and is preferably made of a material that emits less gas from the container. The vacuum vessel 1 has a structure that can withstand at least a pressure range of 1.33 × 10 ⁻⁶ Pa to atmospheric pressure. The sealing member 6 is for maintaining the airtightness between the electron source substrate 2 and the vacuum vessel 1, and an O-ring, a rubber sheet, or the like having excellent heat resistance and gas permeation blocking properties is used.

  As the organic substance gas 12, an organic substance used for activating the electron-emitting device or a mixed gas obtained by diluting an organic substance with nitrogen, helium, argon or the like is used. Further, when performing the energization process of forming, a gas for promoting the formation of cracks in the conductive film, for example, hydrogen gas having a reducing property, may be introduced into the vacuum container 1. These gases are supplied to the vacuum vessel 1 through the gas supply pipe 19.

  The organic substance gas 12 can be used as it is when the organic substance is a gas at normal temperature, and when the organic substance is liquid or solid at normal temperature, it is used by evaporating or sublimating it in a container, or it is further used as a dilution gas. It can be used by mixing with. As the carrier gas 13, an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon or helium is used.

  The organic substance gas 12 and the carrier gas 13 are mixed at a constant ratio and introduced into the vacuum vessel 1. The flow rate and mixing ratio of both are controlled by the gas flow rate control device 10. The gas flow rate control device 10 includes a mass flow controller and a solenoid valve. The heating temperature of the mixed gas is preferably equal to the temperature of the substrate 2a before application.

  It is more preferable to provide a moisture removal filter 11 in the middle of the gas flow control device 10 and the gas supply pipe 19 to remove moisture in the introduced gas. For the moisture removal filter 11, a moisture absorbing material such as silica gel, molecular sieve, magnesium hydroxide or the like can be used.

  Examples of the vacuum pump 4 include low vacuum pumps such as a dry pump, a diaphragm pump, and a scroll pump, and an oil-free pump is preferably used.

  The atmosphere in the vacuum vessel 1 is returned to atmospheric pressure by the low dew point gas 16 from the valve 5h after the voltage application process. The low dew point gas 16 is a low-humidity gas that does not cause water molecules to adhere to the vacuum vessel 1 during the process according to the present invention. Specifically, a gas having a dew point of −80 ° C. or lower is preferable, and dry air or Nitrogen is preferred, and an inert gas may be used if necessary. For the forming process and the activation process, conventional processing methods described in JP-A-7-235255 and JP-A-8-171849 are preferably applied.

  Further, the post-application substrate 2b that has already undergone the voltage application process is released from the fixing mechanism of the substrate support 3 during the voltage application process of the next substrate, and is removed from the substrate support 3 by the substrate transport mechanism (not shown). The Then, a new pre-application substrate different from the above-mentioned pre-application substrate 2a is placed on the substrate support 3 by the substrate transport mechanism.

  At that time, after the substrate to be processed next is set on the substrate support 3, it is connected to a driving driver for applying a voltage and a conductive film formed on the substrate in order to perform a voltage application process. There is a step of connecting the wiring. At this time, in order to perform alignment, the alignment is performed by moving the substrate support 3 on which the substrate is placed in the front-rear and left-right directions by an alignment mechanism (not shown).

  In this example, the wiring 9 connecting the driving driver 7 and the wiring on the substrate 2b after voltage application is moved away from the substrate 2b after voltage application after the voltage application processing is completed. The connection with the upper wiring is released. This is performed during purging with the low dew point gas 16 in the vacuum vessel 1.

  After confirming that the pressure in the vacuum vessel 1 has become atmospheric pressure and the connection between the driving driver 7 and the wiring on the substrate 2b by the wiring 9, the support 3 for fixing the substrate 2b after application is shown by the lifting mechanism 4 in FIG. Go down below 1. In addition, although the board | substrate support body 3 is raised / lowered using the raising / lowering mechanism 4, the vacuum vessel 1 may be able to raise / lower. In the present invention, it is sufficient that the substrate support 3 can be moved up and down relative to the vacuum vessel 1. During this time, the inside of the vacuum vessel 1 is continuously purged with a low dew point gas, and the dew point of the atmosphere in the vacuum vessel 1 can be monitored by the dew point meter 17.

  A sensor (not shown) detects a distance when the substrate 2b and the seal member 6 are separated after voltage application when the substrate support 3 is lowered by driving the elevating mechanism 4. As this sensor, for example, a mechanical switch or the like is used to detect the distance when the substrate support 3 is lowered. When the distance between the substrate 2b after voltage application and the seal member 6 is 2 mm, for example, before applying the voltage to be processed next so as to cover one surface of the vacuum vessel 1 that has been covered by the substrate 2b after voltage application so far. Substrate 2a is replaced by substrate 2b after voltage application by slide mechanism 14. In FIG. 1, it moves parallel to the left side of the page. Further, the substrate 2a before voltage application, the substrate 2b after voltage application, and the spacer 19 slide so as not to contact the seal member 6. During this time, the inside of the vacuum vessel 1 is always purged with the low dew point gas 16. In the present invention, in order to prevent the atmosphere from entering the vacuum vessel 1 by purging with the low dew point gas 16, the distance between the substrate 2b and the seal member 6 is such that the seal member 6 is placed on the substrate 2b when the substrate 2b is moved horizontally. It is necessary to keep it to the minimum as long as it does not come into contact with other elements. Specifically, it is 5 mm or less when a normal electron source is manufactured.

  After the slide mechanism 14 completes the movement to the predetermined position, the substrate support 3 and the pre-voltage application substrate a are raised upward by the elevating mechanism 4 and stopped at a position where they contact the seal member 6. Immediately after confirming that the elevating mechanism 4 is stopped, the purge process using the low dew point gas 16 is completed.

  Thus, since the low dew point gas 16 is always purged into the vacuum container 1 while the vacuum container 1 and the substrates 2a and 2b are separated from each other, air mixing into the vacuum container 1 is prevented.

  The vacuum vessel 1 has a closed space formed by the sealing member 6 and the substrate 2a before voltage application. In this state, after the vacuum vessel 1 is evacuated, a voltage application process is performed. At this time, the driving driver 7 and the wiring on the electron source substrate are connected by the wiring 9, and a voltage application process is performed by applying a voltage from the driving driver 7 to the electron-emitting device of the electron source substrate. When the voltage application process is completed, the vacuum vessel 1 is similarly purged to the atmospheric pressure by the low dew point gas 16 and the electron source substrate is exchanged by the elevating mechanism 4 and the slide mechanism 14. At this time, the slide mechanism 4 moves in the right direction in FIG.

  In this example, the substrate support 3 is horizontally moved by the slide mechanism 4. However, in the present invention, it is only necessary that the substrate support 3 can be moved horizontally relative to the vacuum vessel 1. A slide mechanism that horizontally moves 1 may be used.

  Next, FIG.2 and FIG.3 is a figure which shows the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. Note that FIG. 2 shows only the configuration of the main part as in FIG. Other configurations are the same as those in FIG. In this example, the point which employ | adopted the rotation slide mechanism 20 which rotates the board | substrate support body 3 which mounts a board | substrate in a horizontal direction, and performs board | substrate exchange is different from 1st Embodiment. Therefore, only such a configuration will be described.

  A view of the rotary slide mechanism 20 as viewed from above is shown in FIG. The substrate support 3 and the spacer 21 employed in this example are circular as shown in the figure, and the substrate 2a before voltage application and the substrate 2b after voltage application are placed by a substrate fixing mechanism (not shown). The spacer 21 may have a divided structure. Further, the shapes of the substrate support 3 and the spacer 21 are not limited to the circular shape, and may be any shape as long as the formation region of the electron-emitting device is covered by the vacuum vessel 1 and the closed space is formed with the vacuum vessel 1. Absent. Further, the two substrates and the spacer 21 are configured so that one substrate is placed on the substrate support 3. It is preferable that the two substrates and the spacers 21 have the same height, and one planar substrate is placed on the substrate support 3. Further, the substrate support 3 is rotated by a rotation drive mechanism (not shown) of the rotation slide mechanism 20 so that the substrate 2a before voltage application, the substrate 2b after voltage application, and the spacer 21 do not contact the seal member 6. This rotational drive mechanism may be an electric motor or a mechanism that converts the thrust of the hydraulic cylinder air cylinder into a rotational motion using a rack and pinion transmission element. Further, the rotary slide mechanism 20 may be rotated in the right direction or the left direction in FIG.

Example 1
In the apparatus of the first embodiment, the lowering movement distance of the elevating mechanism 4 was set to 2 mm, the substrate was replaced, and the exhaust time was measured. The material of the vacuum vessel 1 shown in FIG. 1 is made of stainless steel and SUS304L was used, and the inner surface of the vacuum vessel 1 was subjected to electrolytic composite polishing. The volume of the vacuum vessel 1 is 0.17 m ³ , the heating temperature of the vacuum vessel 1 is 50 ° C., the effective exhaust speed at the connection port between the vacuum vessel 1 and the exhaust pipe 18 is 900 L / s, and the substrate is exhausted assuming 120 seconds of substrate replacement. Time was measured. Further, before carrying out this measurement, the vacuum vessel 1 was degassed at 150 ° C. for 10 hours.

  Further, as a comparative example, the substrate replacement was performed in a state where the lowering movement distance of the elevating mechanism 4 was 300 mm and the purge of the low dew point gas was insufficient (a state where the atmosphere was in contact with the inside of the container). The exchange time at this time was 120 seconds.

As a result of the measurement, the exhaust time up to 1.0 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa was about 7.4 minutes in the example and about 8.9 minutes in the comparative example. The exhaust time up to 3.0 × 10 ⁻⁵ Pa was 28.3 minutes in the example and 39 minutes in the comparative example. The vacuum vessel 1 was evacuated from the atmospheric pressure by a roughing pump (not shown). In this example, the vacuum vessel 1 was roughly evacuated to 70 Pa, and the required time was 100 seconds in all cases, and included in the evacuation time described above. It is.

  Therefore, from this measurement result, it was confirmed that the apparatus of the present invention can reduce the amount of air mixed into the vacuum vessel 1 and exhaust it to a predetermined atmosphere in a short time.

(Example 2)
Exhaust time was measured in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the apparatus of the second embodiment was used. As a comparative example, the lowering movement distance of the lifting mechanism 4 was set to 300 mm as in the first embodiment.

As a result, the exhaust time to 1.0 × ^-4 Pa, embodiments about 7.4 minutes, Comparative Example was about 8.9 minutes. The exhaust time up to 3.0 × 10 ⁻⁵ Pa was 29.9 minutes in the example and 39 minutes in the comparative example. The vacuum vessel 1 was evacuated from the atmospheric pressure by a roughing pump (not shown). In this example, the vacuum vessel 1 was roughly evacuated to 70 Pa, and the required time was 100 seconds in all cases, and included in the evacuation time described above. It is.

  Therefore, from this measurement result, it was confirmed that the apparatus of the present invention can reduce the amount of air mixed into the vacuum vessel 1 and exhaust it to a predetermined atmosphere in a short time.

It is a figure which shows typically the structure of one Embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the structure of other embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of this invention. It is a figure when the rotation slide mechanism of the manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 2 is seen from the upper surface.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum container 2a, 2b Electron source board | substrate 3 Substrate support body 4 Lifting mechanism 5a thru | or 5h Valve | bulb 6 Seal member 7 Drive driver

Claims (1)

An electron source manufacturing apparatus comprising a substrate, a plurality of electron-emitting devices formed on the surface of the substrate, and a plurality of wirings that connect the electron-emitting devices to each other,
A support for mounting at least two substrates, a container for covering the region where the electron-emitting devices are formed from above, and forming a closed space with the substrate, and controlling the atmosphere of the closed space Means, a means for applying a voltage to the wiring, an elevating mechanism for the container or the support, and a horizontal moving means for the container or the support,
A region where the electron-emitting device of the substrate is formed is covered with a container to form a closed space, and after applying a voltage to the wiring by controlling the atmosphere of the closed space, the support is attached to the container. The container is moved away from the substrate by lowering, and the support is moved horizontally relative to the container to move the container onto the other substrate and raise the support relative to the container. In this process of forming a closed space between the other substrate and the container and repeating the operation of replacing the substrate on which the voltage application process has been completed with a new substrate, the closed space after the voltage application process is purged with a low dew point gas. The purging of the container is continued until the closed space of the other substrate is formed.

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