JP3075559B2 - Image forming apparatus manufacturing method and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus in which an image forming means and a spacer for maintaining a space between the containers are arranged in a container, and an invention relating to the image forming apparatus.

[0002]

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

[0003] As a surface conduction type emission element, for example,
MIElinson, Radio Eng. Electron Phys., 10, 1290, (196
5) and other examples described later are known.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which an electron is emitted when a current flows in a small-area thin film formed on a substrate in parallel with the film surface. As this surface conduction type emission element, Sn described by Elinson et al.
In addition to those using O ₂ thin films, those using Au thin films [G.
Dittmer: “Thin Solid Films”, 9,317 (1972)]
₂ O ₃ / SnO ₂ thin film [M. Hartwell and C.
G. Fonstad: “IEEE Trans.ED Conf.”, 519 (1975)], and those using carbon thin films [Hisashi Araki et al .: Vacuum, Vol. 26,
No. 1, 22 (1983)].

FIG. 37 shows a plan view of the above-mentioned device by M. Hartwell et al. As a typical example of the device configuration of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices. In the figure, reference numeral 3001 denotes a substrate, and reference numeral 3004 denotes a conductive thin film made of a metal oxide formed by sputtering. The conductive thin film 3004 is formed in an H-shaped planar shape as shown. The conductive thin film 3
An electron emission portion 3005 is formed by performing an energization process called energization forming described later on 004. The interval L in the figure is 0.5 to 1 [mm], and W is 0.1 [m].
m]. In addition, for convenience of illustration, the electron emitting portion 3005 is shown in a rectangular shape at the center of the conductive thin film 3004, but this is a schematic one, and the position and shape of the actual electron emitting portion are faithfully represented. Not necessarily.

In the above-described surface conduction electron-emitting device including the device by M. Hartwell et al., An electron emission portion 3005 is formed by performing an energization process called energization forming on the conductive thin film 3004 before electron emission. Was common. That is, energization forming means that a constant DC voltage is applied to both ends of the conductive thin film 3004,
Alternatively, a current is applied by applying a direct current voltage that is boosted at a very slow rate of, for example, about 1 V / min, and locally destroys, deforms, or alters the conductive thin film 3004, and the electrons in an electrically high resistance state That is, forming the emission part 3005. Note that a crack is generated in a part of the conductive thin film 3004 that is locally broken, deformed, or altered. After the energization forming, the conductive thin film 3004
When an appropriate voltage is applied to the above, electrons are emitted in the vicinity of the crack.

An example of the FE type is, for example, WPDyke
& WWDolan, “Field emission”, Advance in Electron
Physics, 8, 89 (1956) or CASpindt, “Phys
icalproperties of thin-film field emission cathode
s with molybdenium cones ", J. Appl. Phys., 47, 5248 (197
6) are known.

FIG. 38 shows a cross-sectional view of a device by CASpindt et al. As a typical example of the FE type device configuration.
In the figure, reference numeral 3010 denotes a substrate; 3011, an emitter wiring made of a conductive material; 3012, an emitter cone;
013 is an insulating layer, and 3014 is a gate electrode. The present device applies an appropriate voltage between the emitter cone 3012 and the gate electrode 3014, thereby forming the emitter cone 3
Field emission is caused from the tip of the 012.

Further, as another element structure of the FE type, there is an example in which an emitter and a gate electrode are arranged on a substrate almost in parallel with a substrate plane, instead of a laminated structure as shown in FIG.

As an example of the MIM type, for example,
CAMead, “Operation of tunnel-emission Devices, J.
Appl. Phys., 32, 646 (1961) and the like are known. MIM
FIG. 39 shows a typical example of the element configuration of the mold. The figure is a sectional view, in which 3020 is a substrate, 3021 is a lower electrode made of metal, 3022 is a thin insulating layer having a thickness of about 100 angstroms, and 3023 is a thickness of 80 to 300.
The upper electrode is made of a metal having a thickness of about Å. M
In the IM type, by applying an appropriate voltage between the upper electrode 3023 and the lower electrode 3021, the upper electrode 3023
Causes electron emission from the surface of the substrate.

The above-mentioned cold cathode device can obtain electrons at a lower temperature than the hot cathode device, and therefore does not require a heater for heating. Therefore, the structure is simpler than that of the hot cathode element, and a fine element can be produced. Also,
Even if a large number of elements are arranged on a substrate at a high density, problems such as thermal melting of the substrate hardly occur. In addition, unlike the hot cathode device, which operates by heating the heater, the response speed is slow, and the cold cathode device also has the advantage that the response speed is fast.

For this reason, research for applying the cold cathode device has been actively conducted.

For example, the surface conduction electron-emitting device has the advantage of being able to form a large number of devices over a large area because it has a particularly simple structure and is easy to manufacture among the cold cathode devices. Therefore, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-31332 by the present applicant, a method for arranging and driving a large number of elements has been studied. As for the application of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, for example, image forming apparatuses such as image display apparatuses and image recording apparatuses, and charged beam sources have been studied.

In particular, as an application to an image display device, for example, US Pat.
As disclosed in JP-A-257551 and JP-A-4-28137, an image display device using a combination of a surface conduction electron-emitting device and a phosphor that emits light by irradiation with an electron beam has been studied. An image display device using a combination of a surface conduction electron-emitting device and a phosphor is expected to have better characteristics than other conventional image display devices. For example, compared to liquid crystal display devices that have become popular in recent years,
It does not require a backlight because it is a self-luminous type,
It can be said that a wide viewing angle is excellent.

A method of driving a large number of FE types is disclosed in, for example, US Pat. No. 4,904,895 assigned to the present applicant. As an example of applying the FE type to an image display device, for example, a flat panel display device reported by R. Meyer et al. Is known [R. Meyer: “Recent Dev.
elopment on Microtips Display st LETI ", Tech.Digest
of 4th Int.Vacuum Microelectronics Conf., Nagaham
a, pp. 6-9 (1991)].

An example in which a number of MIM types are arranged and applied to an image display device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-55-1990 by the present applicant.
No. 738.

Among the image forming apparatuses using the above-described electron-emitting devices, a flat display device having a small depth has been attracting attention as a replacement for a cathode-ray tube display device because of its space saving and light weight. .

FIG. 40 is a perspective view showing an example of a display panel portion forming a flat-panel image display device, in which a part of the panel is cut away to show the internal structure.

In the figure, 3115 is a rear plate, 3116
Denotes a side wall, 3117 denotes a face plate, and a rear plate 3115, a side wall 3116, and a face plate 3
117 forms an envelope (airtight container) for maintaining the inside of the display panel in a vacuum.

A substrate 3111 is fixed to the rear plate 3115, and N × M cold cathode elements 3112 are formed on the substrate 3111 (N and M are positive integers of 2 or more. It is set appropriately according to the target number of display pixels.) Further, the N × M cold cathode elements 31
Reference numeral 12 denotes M row direction wirings 311 as shown in FIG.
Three and N column-directional wirings 3114 are provided.
The part constituted by the substrate 3111, the cold cathode element 3112, the row direction wiring 3113 and the column direction wiring 3114 is called a multi electron beam source. In addition, the row direction wiring 3
An insulating layer (not shown) is formed at least at a portion where the column 113 and the column direction wiring 3114 intersect with each other.
Electrical insulation is maintained.

On the lower surface of the face plate 3117, a phosphor film 3118 made of a phosphor is formed, and phosphors (not shown) of three primary colors of red (R), green (G) and blue (B) are applied. Divided. A black body (not shown) is provided between the phosphors of the respective colors constituting the fluorescent film 3118, and a metal back 3119 made of Al or the like is formed on the surface of the fluorescent film 3118 on the rear plate 3115 side. ing.

Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn and Hv
Is a terminal for electric connection of an airtight structure provided for electrically connecting the display panel to an electric circuit (not shown).
Dx1 to Dxm are row direction wirings 3113 of the multi-electron beam source.
And Dy1 to Dyn are the column wirings 31 of the multi-electron beam source.
14 and Hv are electrically connected to the metal back 3119, respectively.

The inside of the airtight container is 10 ^-6 Torr.
r, and as the display area of the image display device increases, means for preventing deformation or destruction of the rear plate 3115 and the face plate 3117 due to a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the airtight container is required. . Rear plate 3115 and face plate 31
The method of increasing the thickness of not only increases the weight of the image display device, but also causes image distortion and parallax when viewed from an oblique direction. On the other hand, in FIG. 40, a structural support (called a spacer or a rib) 312 made of a relatively thin glass plate and supporting the atmospheric pressure is used.
0 is provided. In this way, the distance between the substrate 3111 on which the multi-beam electron source is formed and the face plate 3117 on which the fluorescent film 3118 is formed is usually maintained at a sub-millimeter to several millimeters. ing.

In the image display apparatus using the above-described display panel, when a voltage is applied to each cold cathode element 3112 through the external terminals Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn, electrons are emitted from each cold cathode element 3112. At the same time, a high voltage of several hundred [V] to several [kV] is applied to the metal back 3119 through the external terminal Hv to accelerate the emitted electrons and cause them to collide with the inner surface of the face plate 3117. As a result, the phosphors of each color forming the fluorescent film 3118 are excited and emit light, and an image is displayed.

In the above-described image display device, it is required to provide a spacer having a sufficient holding function to maintain a space in the airtight container and to efficiently produce such a spacer.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus having a spacer having an improved holding function.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus using an electron-emitting device, in which the deviation of the electron trajectory due to the spacer is further reduced.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus including a method for producing a spacer with further improved workability or yield.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus capable of forming a higher quality image.

[0030]

According to the present invention, there is provided a container comprising a member including a first substrate and a second substrate which are arranged at an interval from each other, and an image arranged in the container. an image forming apparatus and a forming means, characterized by the formation of spacers disposed within said vessel in order to hold the spacing, and arrangement of the spacer into said container. Here, the spacer according to the present invention includes both an insulating spacer and a conductive spacer.

First, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes, for example, an image display device such as a liquid crystal display panel, a plasma display panel, and an electron beam display panel. These image forming apparatuses have a configuration in which an image forming unit and a spacer for maintaining an interval in the container are arranged in the container.

For example, the image forming means in the electron beam display panel includes an electron-emitting device and an image-forming member for forming an image by irradiating electrons from the electron-emitting device. , An electrode for accelerating the electrons, and a luminous body that emits light when irradiated with the electrons.

The containers in the electron beam display panel are, for example, arranged at an interval from each other.
It is constituted by a member including a first substrate having an electron-emitting device and a second substrate having the image forming member.

In the aspect of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the image forming apparatus includes
The pacer is formed by cutting the spacer base material.
Plate spacer with conductive film along the longitudinal direction of the cross section
Wherein the plate-like spacer is provided with the first film through the conductive film.
Substrate or the second substrate . Space
In the cut surface from the base material, since chips and cracks are easily formed, it is more preferable to use a non-cut surface as a contact surface than to use such a cut surface as a contact surface with the substrate in terms of a holding function. It is valid. In addition, it is preferable to form a plurality of spacers having a desired shape from one base material in terms of work efficiency .

Further, as described below, the spacer disposed in the container of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention may have a conductive film disposed on the surface of the spacer.

First, as shown in FIG. 36A, the first substrate 201 and the second substrate 20 constituting the container are formed.
A conductive film 206 is disposed at an end of the spacer 203 close to a contact portion between the spacer 2 and the spacer 203.
The conductive film 206 may be disposed on one end of the spacer 203 on either the first substrate 201 side or the second substrate 202 side.

The conductive film 206 defines the potential of the end of the spacer 203, and is given a predetermined potential. For example, on the first substrate 201 side, the conductive film 206 is electrically connected to the wiring of the above-described electron-emitting device disposed on the first substrate 201, and on the second substrate 202 side, It is electrically connected to the above-mentioned accelerating electrode arranged on the second substrate 202. Thus, the conductive film provided at the end of the spacer stabilizes the trajectory of electrons from the electron-emitting device.

Further, as shown in FIG.
The conductive film 207 is disposed on the surface of the substrate 04. In this case, the conductive film 207 is preferably a film having a relatively high resistance as described later.

The conductive film 207 is formed on the first substrate 201
It is electrically connected to the conductor arranged on the upper side and the conductor arranged on the second substrate 202. For example, on the first substrate 201 side, the conductive film 207 is electrically connected to the wiring of the above-described electron-emitting device arranged on the first substrate 201, and on the second substrate 202 side, It is electrically connected to the above-mentioned accelerating electrode arranged on the second substrate 202. In this way, a minute current is applied to the surface of the spacer 204 to remove the charge on the surface of the spacer.

Further, as shown in FIG.
A conductive film 207 is disposed on the surface of the spacer 05, and conductive films 206 are also disposed on both ends of the spacer 205. Here, the conductive film 206 has the same function as the conductive film described with reference to FIG.
It has a function similar to that of the conductive film described in (b), and has higher resistance than the conductive film 206.

Therefore, the spacer as shown in FIG. 36C has the effects of removing the charge on the spacer surface and stabilizing the trajectory of the electrons from the electron-emitting device.

As described above, when a spacer having a conductive film disposed on its surface is formed and disposed in the container, the following method is employed in the present invention.

In another embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention
Forms a spacer having a desired shape by cutting the after forming a conductive film, the conductive film formed substrate into the surface of the larger substrate than a spacer disposed in said container. Thereby, the workability is improved as compared with the case where the conductive film is formed on the small piece spacer after cutting. Next, when arranging such a spacer in the container, the cut surface from the base material may be cut into the first substrate or the second substrate.
The non-cut surface side of the spacer is brought into contact with the substrate so as not to come into contact with the substrate. As described above, this is more effective in terms of the holding function, and in the cut surface from the base material,
Since the conductive film is also liable to peel off from the base material, it is better to use the non-cut surface as the contact surface than to use the cut surface as the contact surface with the substrate. Better connection can be obtained. In addition, it is more preferable to form a plurality of spacers having a desired shape from one base material in view of the above-mentioned workability.
No.

Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus and a method of manufacturing the same according to the present invention will be specifically described based on preferred embodiments.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a display panel of the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, in which a part of the panel is cut away to show the internal structure.

In the figure, 1015 is a rear plate, 1016
Is a side wall, 1017 is a face plate, and 1015
An airtight container for maintaining the inside of the display panel at a vacuum is formed by 1017 to 1017. When assembling an airtight container, it is necessary to seal the joints of each member to maintain sufficient strength and airtightness.For example, apply frit glass to the joints, and in air or nitrogen atmosphere, Sealing was achieved by baking at 400 to 500 degrees for 10 minutes or more. A method of evacuating the inside of the airtight container to a vacuum will be described later. The inside of the airtight container is 1
Since a vacuum of about 0 ^-6 [Torr] is maintained, a spacer 1020 is provided as an anti-atmospheric structure for the purpose of preventing the hermetic container from being destroyed by atmospheric pressure or unexpected impact.

The rear plate 1015 has a substrate 1011
Is fixed, but the cold cathode element 1012 is provided on the substrate.
(N and M are positive integers of 2 or more, and are appropriately set according to the target number of display pixels. For example, a display for displaying a high-definition television) In the apparatus, it is desirable to set a number of N = 3000 and M = 1000 or more.) The N × M cold cathode elements are arranged in a simple matrix by M row-directional wirings 1013 and N column-directional wirings 1014. The portion constituted by 1011 to 1014 is called a multi-electron beam source.

The multi-electron beam source used in the image display device of the present invention is not limited in the material, shape or manufacturing method of the cold cathode device as long as the cold cathode device is an electron source with a simple matrix wiring. Therefore, for example, a cold cathode device such as a surface conduction type emission device, an FE type, or an MIM type can be used.

Next, the structure of a multi-electron beam source in which surface conduction electron-emitting devices (described later) as cold cathode devices are arranged on a substrate and arranged in a simple matrix will be described.

FIG. 20 is a plan view of the multi-electron beam source used for the display panel of FIG. Substrate 101
1, surface conduction type emission elements similar to those shown in FIG. 19 described later are arranged.
003 and the column-directional wiring electrodes 1004 are wired in a simple matrix. An insulating layer (not shown) is formed between the row-directional wiring electrodes 1003 and the column-directional wiring electrodes 1004 where they intersect, so that electrical insulation is maintained.

FIG. 21 is a sectional view taken along the line BB 'of FIG.
Shown in

Incidentally, the multi-electron source having such a structure is as follows.
After previously forming a row direction wiring electrode 1003, a column direction wiring electrode 1004, an interelectrode insulating layer (not shown), and a device electrode and a conductive thin film of a surface conduction electron-emitting device on a substrate,
Row direction wiring electrode 1003 and column direction wiring electrode 1004
The device was manufactured by supplying power to each element through the device and performing an energization forming process (described below) and an energization activation process (described below).

In this embodiment, the substrate 1011 of the multi-electron beam source is fixed to the rear plate 1015 of the airtight container.
When the substrate 1 has a sufficient strength, the substrate 101 of the multi-electron beam source is used as a rear plate of the hermetic container.
1 itself may be used.

On the lower surface of the face plate 1017, a fluorescent film 1018 is formed. Since the present embodiment is a color display device, a CR film
Phosphors of three primary colors of red, green, and blue used in the field of T are separately applied. The phosphor of each color is, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3A, a black conductor 1010 is provided between stripes of the phosphor, which are separately applied in stripes. The purpose of providing the black conductor 1010 is to prevent the display color from being shifted even if there is a slight shift in the electron beam irradiation position, and to prevent the reflection of external light to prevent a decrease in display contrast. And preventing charge-up of the fluorescent film by the electron beam. Although graphite is used as a main component for the black conductor 1010, any other material may be used as long as it is suitable for the above purpose.

The method of applying the phosphors of the three primary colors is not limited to the stripe arrangement shown in FIG. 22A. For example, a delta arrangement as shown in FIG. Other arrangements may be used.

When a monochrome display panel is manufactured, a monochromatic phosphor material may be used for the phosphor film 1018, and a black conductive material may not be necessarily used.

A metal back 1019 known in the field of CRTs is provided on the surface of the fluorescent film 1018 on the rear plate side.
Is provided. The purpose of providing the metal back 1019 is
A part of the light emitted from the fluorescent film 1018 is specularly reflected to improve the light utilization rate, or the fluorescent film
The protective film 18 serves as an electrode for applying an electron beam acceleration voltage, and serves as a conductive path for excited electrons of the fluorescent film 1018. The metal back 1019 was formed by forming the fluorescent film 1018 on the face plate substrate 1017, smoothing the surface of the fluorescent film, and vacuum-depositing Al thereon. Note that when a fluorescent material for low voltage is used for the fluorescent film 1018, the metal back 1019 may not be used.

Although not used in the present embodiment, for the purpose of applying an acceleration voltage and improving the conductivity of the fluorescent film, a gap between the face plate substrate 1017 and the fluorescent film 1018 is formed.
For example, a transparent electrode made of ITO may be provided.

FIG. 23 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line AA 'of FIG. 19, and the numbers of the respective parts correspond to those of FIG. Spacer 1
Reference numeral 020 denotes a spacer formed by, for example, the method of Example 1 described later, and forms a first conductive film (hereinafter, referred to as a high-resistance film) 11 on the surface of the insulating member 1 for the purpose of preventing electrification. And the inside of the face plate 1017 (such as the metal back 1019) and the surface of the substrate 1011 (the row direction wiring 1).
013 or the column-directional wiring 1014), a second conductive film (hereinafter referred to as a low-resistance film or an intermediate layer) having a lower resistance than the first conductive film 21) formed of a member on which a film is formed, and are arranged by a necessary number and at a necessary interval to achieve the above-mentioned object.
1 is fixed to the surface of the first member by a joining member 1041. The high-resistance film 11 is provided on the inside of the face plate 1017 (such as the metal back 1019) and the surface of the substrate 1011 (the row-direction wiring 1013 or the column-direction wiring 1014) via the low-resistance film 21 on the spacer 1020 and the bonding member 1041. Electrically connected. In the embodiment described here,
The shape of the spacer 1020 is a thin plate.
13 and is electrically connected to the row wiring 1013.

As the spacer 1020, the substrate 1011
Has insulating properties enough to withstand high voltage applied between the upper row direction wiring 1013 and column direction wiring 1014 and the metal back 1019 on the inner surface of the face plate 1017;
In addition, it is required that the spacer 1020 has conductivity enough to prevent the surface of the spacer 1020 from being charged.

Examples of the insulating member 1 of the spacer 1020 include quartz glass, glass having a reduced impurity content such as Na, soda lime glass, and ceramic members such as alumina. It is preferable that the insulating member 1 has a coefficient of thermal expansion close to that of the member forming the airtight container and the substrate 1011.

High resistance film 11 constituting spacer 1020
A current obtained by dividing the acceleration voltage Va applied to the face plate 1017 (such as the metal back 1019) on the high potential side by the resistance value Rs of the high resistance film 21 serving as the antistatic film flows through the high potential side. Therefore, the resistance value Rs of the spacer is set in a desirable range from the viewpoint of antistatic and power consumption. The surface resistance R / □ is preferably 10 ¹² Ω or less from the viewpoint of antistatic. 10 ¹¹ Ω to obtain a sufficient antistatic effect
The following are more preferred. The lower limit of the surface resistance depends on the spacer shape and the voltage applied between the spacers.
It is preferably 0 ⁵ Omega more.

The thickness t of the antistatic film formed on the insulating material is preferably in the range of 10 nm to 1 μm. Although it depends on the surface energy of the material, the adhesion to the substrate, and the substrate temperature, a thin film of 10 nm or less is generally formed in the shape of an island, and has an unstable resistance and poor reproducibility. On the other hand, when the film thickness t is 1
If it is more than μm, the film stress increases and the risk of film peeling increases, and the film formation time becomes longer, resulting in poor productivity. Therefore, the film thickness is desirably 50 to 500 nm.
The surface resistance R / □ is ρ / t, and from the preferable range of R / □ and t described above, the specific resistance ρ of the antistatic film is 0.1.
[Ωcm] to 10 ⁸ [Ωcm] is preferable. In order to achieve a more preferable range of the surface resistance and the film thickness,
ρ is preferably 10 ^{2 to} 10 ⁶ Ωcm.

As described above, the temperature of the spacer rises when current flows through the antistatic film formed thereon or when the entire display generates heat during operation. If the resistance temperature coefficient of the antistatic film is a large negative value, the resistance value decreases when the temperature increases, the current flowing through the spacer increases, and the temperature further increases. And the current continues to increase until the power supply limit is exceeded. The value of the temperature coefficient of resistance at which such a runaway of current occurs is empirically a negative value and the absolute value is 1% or more. That is, the resistance temperature coefficient of the antistatic film is desirably less than -1%.

As a material of the high resistance film 11 having the antistatic property, for example, a metal oxide can be used. Among metal oxides, oxides of chromium, nickel, and copper are preferred materials. It is considered that the reason is that these oxides have a relatively low secondary electron emission efficiency and are hardly charged even when electrons emitted from the cold cathode element 1012 hit the spacer 1020. In addition to metal oxides, carbon is a preferable material having a low secondary electron emission efficiency. In particular, since amorphous carbon has high resistance, it is easy to control the spacer resistance to a desired value.

As another material of the high resistance film 11 having antistatic properties, a nitride of aluminum and a transition metal can adjust the composition of the transition metal to provide a wide range of resistance from a good conductor to an insulator. It is a suitable material because it can be controlled. Further, it is a stable material with little change in resistance value in a manufacturing process of a display device described later. Further, the material has a temperature coefficient of resistance of less than -1% and is practically easy to use.
Examples of the transition metal element include Ti, Cr, and Ta.

The nitride film is formed on the insulating member by thin film forming means such as sputtering, reactive sputtering in a nitrogen gas atmosphere, electron beam evaporation, ion plating, and ion assist evaporation. The metal oxide film can be formed by the same thin film formation method, but in this case, oxygen gas is used instead of nitrogen gas. In addition, a metal oxide film can be formed by a CVD method or an alkoxide coating method. The carbon film is formed by a vapor deposition method, a sputtering method, a CVD method, or a plasma CVD method. In particular, when forming amorphous carbon, make sure that the atmosphere during the film formation contains hydrogen or the film formation gas is used. Use hydrocarbon gas.

Low resistance film 21 constituting spacer 1020
A high-resistance side face plate 101
7 (metal back 1019 etc.) and substrate 10 on the low potential side
11 (wirings 1013, 1014, etc.), which are provided for electrical connection. Hereinafter, the name of an intermediate electrode layer (intermediate layer) is also used. The intermediate electrode layer (intermediate layer) can have a plurality of functions listed below.

(1) The high resistance film 11 is electrically connected to the face plate 1017 and the substrate 1011.

As described above, the high resistance film 11 is provided for the purpose of preventing electrification on the surface of the spacer 1020.
7 (metal back 1019, etc.) and the substrate 1011 (wirings 1013, 1014, etc.) directly or via the contact material 1041, a large contact resistance is generated at the interface of the connection portion, and the charges generated on the spacer surface are quickly dissipated. May not be removed. In order to avoid this, a low resistance intermediate layer is provided on the contact surface 3 or the side surface portion 5 of the spacer 1020 which comes into contact with the face plate 1017, the substrate 1011 and the contact member 1041.

(2) The potential distribution of the high resistance film 11 is made uniform.

Electrons emitted from the cold cathode element 1012 form electron orbits in accordance with the potential distribution formed between the face plate 1017 and the substrate 1011. Spacer 1
In order to prevent disturbance of the electron orbit near 020, it is necessary to control the potential distribution of the high resistance film 11 over the entire region. The high-resistance film 11 is formed on the face plate 1017 (metal back 1019 etc.) and the substrate 1011.
(Wirings 1013, 1014, etc.) directly or in contact material 10
When the connection is made via the connection 41, the connection resistance may be uneven due to the contact resistance at the connection interface, and the potential distribution of the high-resistance film 11 may deviate from a desired value. In order to avoid this, the spacer 1020 is
A low-resistance intermediate layer is provided over the entire length of the spacer end portion (contact surface 3 or side surface portion 5) in contact with the substrate 1011 and a desired potential is applied to the intermediate layer portion to thereby provide the entire high-resistance film 11 as a whole. Can be controlled.

(3) Control the trajectory of the emitted electrons.

The electrons emitted from the cold cathode device 1012 are
An electron orbit is formed according to a potential distribution formed between the face plate 1017 and the substrate 1011. Regarding the electrons emitted from the cold cathode devices near the spacers, there may be restrictions (such as changes in wiring and device positions) associated with the installation of the spacers. In such a case, in order to form an image without distortion or unevenness, it is necessary to irradiate the desired position on the face plate 1017 with the electrons by controlling the trajectory of the emitted electrons. By providing a low-resistance intermediate layer on the side surface portion 5 of the surface in contact with the face plate 1017 and the substrate 1011, the potential distribution near the spacer 1020 can have desired characteristics and the trajectory of emitted electrons can be controlled. it can.

The resistance value of the low resistance film 21 may be selected to be sufficiently lower than that of the high resistance film 11, for example, preferably 10 ⁵ Ωcm or less, more preferably 10 ³ Ωcm or less. Further, it is preferable that the specific resistance value is smaller by one digit or more than the specific resistance of the high resistance film, and it is more preferable that the specific resistance value is smaller by two digits or more. As a material constituting the low resistance film 21, Ni, Cr, Au, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, A
metals or alloys such as l, Cu, Pd, and Pd, A
g, Au, RuO ₂ , Pd-Ag or other metal or metal oxide and a printed conductor made of glass or the like, or In ₂ O
It is appropriately selected from a transparent conductor such as _3- SnO ₂ and a semiconductor material such as polysilicon.

It is desirable that the bonding member 1040 has conductivity so that the spacer 1020 is electrically connected to the row wiring 1013 and the metal back 1019.
That is, frit glass to which a conductive adhesive, metal particles, or a conductive filler is added is preferable.

Dx1 to Dxm, Dy1 to Dyn, and Hv are electric connection terminals having an airtight structure provided for electrically connecting the display panel to an electric circuit (not shown). Dx1 to Dxm are the row wirings 10 of the multi-electron beam source.
13, Dy1 to Dyn are column direction wirings 1014 of the multi-electron beam source, and Hv is the metal back 1 of the face plate.
019 electrically.

In order to evacuate the inside of the hermetic container, after assembling the hermetic container, an exhaust pipe (not shown) and a vacuum pump are connected, and the inside of the hermetic container is evacuated to a degree of vacuum of about 10 ^-7 [Torr]. Exhaust until After that, the exhaust pipe is sealed,
In order to maintain the degree of vacuum in the airtight container, a getter film (not shown) is formed at a predetermined position in the airtight container immediately before or after sealing. The getter film is, for example, a film formed by heating and depositing a getter material containing Ba as a main component by a heater or high-frequency heating, and the inside of the hermetic container is 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ or 1 × by the adsorption action of the getter film.
The degree of vacuum is maintained at 10 ^-7 [Torr].

In the image display device using the display panel described above, when a voltage is applied to each cold cathode element 1012 through the external terminals Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn, electrons are emitted from each cold cathode element 1012. At the same time, a high voltage of several hundred [V] to several [kV] is applied to the metal back 1019 through the external terminal Hv to accelerate the emitted electrons and collide with the inner surface of the face plate 1017. As a result, the phosphor of each color forming the fluorescent film 1018 is excited and emits light, and an image is displayed.

Normally, when a surface conduction electron-emitting device is used as the cold cathode device 1012, the voltage applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device is about 12 to 16 [V],
The distance d between the metal back 1019 and the cold cathode element 1 is about 0.1 [mm] to 8 [mm].
The voltage between 012 is about 0.1 [kV] to about 10 [kV].

The basic structure and manufacturing method of the display panel according to the embodiment of the present invention and the outline of the image display device have been described above.

Next, a method of manufacturing the multi-electron beam source used for the display panel of the above embodiment will be described. The material, shape, and manufacturing method of the cold cathode device are not limited as long as the multi-electron beam source used for the image display device of the present invention is an electron source in which cold cathode devices are arranged in a simple matrix. Therefore, for example, a surface conduction type emission element, an FE type, or M
A cold cathode device such as an IM type can be used.

However, in a situation where a display device having a large surface screen and an inexpensive display device is required, among these cold cathode devices, a surface conduction type emission device is particularly preferable. That is, in the FE type, since the relative position and shape of the emitter cone and the gate electrode greatly affect the electron emission characteristics, extremely high-precision manufacturing technology is required, but this achieves a large area and a reduction in manufacturing cost. Is a disadvantageous factor. In the case of the MIM type, it is necessary to make the thicknesses of the insulating layer and the upper electrode thin and uniform, which is also a disadvantageous factor in achieving a large area and a reduction in manufacturing cost. On the other hand, since the surface conduction electron-emitting device has a relatively simple manufacturing method, it is easy to increase the area and reduce the manufacturing cost. In addition, the inventors have found that among the surface conduction electron-emitting devices, those in which the electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film have particularly excellent electron-emitting characteristics and can be easily manufactured. Therefore, it can be said that it is most suitable for use in a multi-electron beam source of a high-luminance, large-screen image display device. Therefore, in the display panel of the above embodiment, a surface conduction electron-emitting device having the electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion formed of a fine particle film was used. Therefore, the basic configuration, manufacturing method and characteristics of a suitable surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described first, and then the structure of a multi-electron beam source in which many devices are arranged in a simple matrix will be described. (Suitable device configuration and manufacturing method of surface conduction electron-emitting device) Two typical types of surface conduction electron-emitting devices, in which an electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed from a fine particle film, are a flat type and a vertical type. Can be (Flat-Type Surface-Conduction-Type Emission Device) First, the device configuration and manufacturing method of a flat-type surface-conduction-type emission device will be described.

FIG. 24A is a plan view for explaining the structure of a planar type surface conduction electron-emitting device, and FIG. 24B is a sectional view thereof. In the figure, 1101 is a substrate, 1102 and 11
03, a device electrode; 1104, a conductive thin film; 1105, an electron-emitting portion formed by an energization forming process;
Reference numeral 3 denotes a thin film formed by the activation process.

As the substrate 1101, for example, various glass substrates such as quartz glass and blue plate glass, various ceramics substrates such as alumina, or an insulating layer made of, for example, SiO ₂ is formed on the various substrates described above. A laminated substrate or the like can be used.

The device electrodes 1102 and 1103 provided on the substrate 1101 in parallel with the substrate surface are formed of a conductive material. For example, N
i, Cr, Au, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Cu, Pd,
Materials such as Ag or the like, alloys of these metals, or metal oxides such as In ₂ O ₃ —SnO ₂ , semiconductors such as polysilicon, and the like are appropriately selected and used. Good. To form the electrodes, for example, film forming technology such as vacuum evaporation and photolithography,
Although it can be easily formed by using a combination of patterning techniques such as etching, it may be formed by other methods (for example, printing technique).

The shapes of the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are appropriately designed according to the application purpose of the electron-emitting device.
Generally, the electrode interval L is usually designed by selecting an appropriate numerical value from the range of several hundreds of angstroms to several hundreds of μm. Range. Also, the thickness d of the device electrode is usually from several hundred angstroms to several μm.
An appropriate numerical value is selected from the range.

A fine particle film is used for the portion of the conductive thin film 1104. The fine particle film mentioned here is a film containing many fine particles as a constituent element (including an island-shaped aggregate).
I mean If you examine the microparticle film microscopically, usually
A structure in which the individual fine particles are spaced apart, a structure in which the fine particles are adjacent to each other, or a structure in which the fine particles overlap each other is observed.

The particle size of the fine particles used in the fine particle film is in the range of several Angstroms to several thousand Angstroms, and preferably in the range of 10 Angstroms to 200 Angstroms. Further, the thickness of the fine particle film is appropriately set in consideration of various conditions described below. That is, the device electrode 11
02, or 1103, conditions necessary for satisfactorily performing energization forming described later, conditions necessary for setting the electric resistance of the fine particle film itself to an appropriate value described later. , And so on. In particular,
The setting is made in the range of several Angstroms to several thousand Angstroms, and a preferable value is between 10 Angstroms and 500 Angstroms.

Materials that can be used to form the fine particle film include, for example, Pd, Pt, Ru, Ag,
Au, Ti, In, Cu, Cr, Fe, Zn, Sn, T
a, W, Pb, and other metals, PdO, S
Oxides such as nO ₂ , In ₂ O ₃ , PbO, Sb ₂ O ₃ , etc .; HfB ₂ , ZrB ₂ , LaB ₆ , C
Borides such as eB ₆ , YB ₄ , GdB ₄ , etc., TiC, ZrC, HfC, TaC, SiC, WC,
And other carbides, TiN, ZrN, Hf
Nitrides such as N, etc., semiconductors such as Si, Ge, etc., carbon, and the like are listed, and are appropriately selected from these.

As described above, the conductive thin film 1104 is formed of a fine particle film.
It was set to be included from 10 ³ to a range of 10 ⁷ [Ω / sq].

The conductive thin film 1104 and the device electrode 11
Since it is desirable that the wires 02 and 1103 be electrically connected well, they have a structure in which a part of each overlaps with the other. The way of overlapping is, in the example of FIG.
Although the substrate, the device electrode, and the conductive thin film are stacked in this order from the bottom, in some cases, the substrate, the conductive thin film, and the device electrode may be stacked in this order from the bottom.

The electron-emitting portion 1105 is a crack-like portion formed in a part of the conductive thin film 1104, and has a higher electrical property than the surrounding conductive thin film. The crack is formed by performing a later-described energization forming process on the conductive thin film 1104. Fine particles having a particle size of several Angstroms to several hundred Angstroms may be arranged in the crack. Since it is difficult to accurately and accurately show the actual position and shape of the electron-emitting portion, it is schematically shown in FIG.

The thin film 1113 is a thin film made of carbon or a carbon compound, and covers the electron emitting portion 1105 and its vicinity. The thin film 1113 is formed by performing an energization activation process described later after the energization forming process.

The thin film 1113 is made of any one of single-crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, and amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and has a thickness of preferably 500 [Å] or less, and 300 [Å] or less. More preferably, Since it is difficult to accurately show the actual position and shape of the thin film 1113, it is schematically shown in FIG.

The basic structure of the preferred elements has been described above. In the examples, the following elements were used.

That is, blue glass was used for the substrate 1101, and Ni thin films were used for the device electrodes 1102 and 1103. The thickness d of the device electrode was 1000 [angstrom], and the electrode interval L was 2 [μm].

Pd or P as the main material of the fine particle film
Using dO, the thickness of the fine particle film was about 100 [angstrom], and the width W was 100 [μm].

Next, a description will be given of a method of manufacturing a suitable flat surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIGS. 25 (a) to 25 (d) are cross-sectional views for explaining the manufacturing process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device. The notation of each member is the same as that of FIG. 1) First, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
2 and 1103 are formed.

When forming, the substrate 1
After sufficiently washing 101 with a detergent, pure water and an organic solvent,
The material of the device electrode is deposited. As a method of depositing,
For example, a vacuum film forming technique such as an evaporation method or a sputtering method may be used. After that, the deposited electrode material is patterned using photolithography and etching technology,
A pair of device electrodes 1102 and 110 shown in FIG.
Form 3 2) Next, as shown in FIG. 25B, a conductive thin film 1104 is formed.

In the formation, first, FIG.
An organic metal solution is applied to the substrate on which the pair of device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are formed, dried, heated and baked to form a fine particle film, and then patterned into a predetermined shape by photolithography and etching. Here, the organometallic solution is a solution of an organometallic compound whose main element is a material of fine particles used for the conductive thin film. In particular,
In this embodiment, Pd is used as a main element. In the embodiment, the dipping method is used as a coating method, but other methods such as a spinner method and a spray method may be used.

As a method for forming a conductive thin film made of a fine particle film, a method other than the method of applying an organometallic solution used in this embodiment, such as a vacuum evaporation method or a sputtering method, may be used.
Alternatively, a chemical vapor deposition method or the like may be used.
3) Next, as shown in FIG. 25C, an appropriate voltage is applied between the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 from the forming power supply 1110, and the energization forming process is performed.
An electron emitting portion 1105 is formed.

The energization forming treatment is to energize the conductive thin film 1104 made of a fine particle film, to appropriately break, deform, or alter a part of the conductive thin film 1104 to change the structure to a structure suitable for emitting electrons. This is the process that causes A portion of the conductive thin film made of a fine particle film that has been changed to a structure suitable for emitting electrons (that is, the electron emitting portion 110
In 5), an appropriate crack is formed in the thin film.
Note that the electrical resistance measured between the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 is significantly increased after the formation of the electron emission portions 1105 as compared to before the formation.

FIG. 26 shows an example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from the forming power supply 1110 in order to explain the energization method in more detail. When forming a conductive thin film made of a fine particle film, a pulsed voltage is preferable. In the case of this embodiment, a triangular wave pulse having a pulse width T1 is continuously generated at a pulse interval T2 as shown in FIG. Was applied. At that time, the peak value Vpf of the triangular wave pulse was sequentially increased. Also, monitor pulses Pm for monitoring the state of formation of the electron-emitting portion 1105 are inserted at appropriate intervals between the triangular-wave pulses, and the current flowing at that time is measured by the ammeter 1.
It was measured at 111.

In this embodiment, for example, 10 ⁻⁵ [t
orr], for example, the pulse width T1 is 1 [millisecond], the pulse interval T2 is 10 [millisecond], and the peak value Vpf is 0.1 [V] for each pulse.
The pressure was increased. Then, the monitor pulse Pm was inserted at a rate of one every time five triangular waves were applied. The monitor pulse voltage Vpm was set to 0.1 [V] so as not to adversely affect the forming process. The electric resistance between the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 is 1
When the current reaches × 10 ⁶ [Ω], that is, the current measured by the ammeter 1111 when the monitor pulse is applied is 1 × 10 ^−7.
[A] When the following conditions were reached, the energization related to the forming process was terminated.

The above method is a preferable method for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present embodiment, and for example, the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device such as the material and thickness of the fine particle film or the element electrode interval L is changed. In such a case, it is desirable to appropriately change the energization conditions accordingly. 4) Next,
As shown in FIG. 25 (d), an appropriate voltage is applied between the element electrodes 1102 and 1103 from the activation power supply 1112, and the energization activation process is performed to improve the electron emission characteristics.

The energization activation process is a process of energizing the electron-emitting portion 1105 formed by the energization forming process under appropriate conditions and depositing carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity thereof (in the figure). Shows a deposit made of carbon or a carbon compound as a member 1113.) Note that by performing the energization activation process, the emission current at the same applied voltage can be typically increased by 100 times or more compared to before the energization activation process.

Specifically, 10 ^-4 to 10 ^-5 [tor
r], a voltage pulse is periodically applied in a vacuum atmosphere to deposit carbon or a carbon compound originating from an organic compound existing in the vacuum atmosphere.
The deposit 1113 is one of single-crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, and amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and has a thickness of 500 Å or less, and more preferably 300 Å or less.

FIG. 27A shows an example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from the activation power supply 1112 in order to explain the energization method in more detail. In the present embodiment, the energization activation process is performed by periodically applying a rectangular wave of a constant voltage. Specifically, the voltage Vac of the rectangular wave is 14 [V], and the pulse width T3 is 1 [mm]. Second] and the pulse interval T4 is 10 [milliseconds]. The above-mentioned energization conditions are preferable conditions for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of this embodiment, and when the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is changed, it is desirable to appropriately change the conditions accordingly.

An anode electrode 1114 shown in FIG. 25 (d) is for capturing an emission current Ie emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and is connected to a DC high voltage power supply 1115 and an ammeter 1116. The substrate 1101
When the activation process is performed after the display panel is incorporated in the display panel, the phosphor screen of the display panel is connected to the anode electrode 1114.
Used as While a voltage is applied from the activation power supply 1112, the emission current Ie is measured by the ammeter 1116 to monitor the progress of the energization activation process, and the activation power supply 111
2 is controlled. An example of the emission current Ie measured by the ammeter 1116 is shown in FIG.
When the pulse voltage starts to be applied from 112, the emission current Ie increases with time, but eventually saturates and hardly increases. As described above, when the emission current Ie is substantially saturated, the application of the voltage from the activation power supply 1112 is stopped, and the energization activation process ends.

The above-mentioned energization conditions are preferable conditions for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present embodiment, and when the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is changed, the conditions should be changed accordingly. desirable.

As described above, the planar surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 25E was manufactured. (Vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device) Next, another typical configuration of a surface conduction electron-emitting device in which an electron-emitting portion or its periphery is formed from a fine particle film,
That is, the configuration of the vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described.

FIG. 28 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the basic structure of a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device. In the figure, reference numeral 1201 denotes a substrate; 1202 and 1203 denote device electrodes;
206 is a step forming member, 1204 is a conductive thin film using a fine particle film, 1205 is an electron emitting portion formed by energization forming process, and 1213 is a thin film formed by energization activation process.

The difference between the vertical type and the flat type described above is that one of the element electrodes 1202 is provided on the step forming member 1206 and the conductive thin film 120
4 covers the side surface of the step forming member 1206. Therefore, the element electrode interval L in the planar type shown in FIG. 24 is set as the step height Ls of the step forming member 1206 in the vertical type. Note that for the substrate 1201, the element electrodes 1202 and 1203, and the conductive thin film 1204 using a fine particle film, the materials listed in the description of the planar type can be used in the same manner. For the step forming member 1206, an electrically insulating material such as SiO ₂ is used.

Next, a method of manufacturing a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. FIGS. 29A to 29F are cross-sectional views for explaining a manufacturing process.
Is the same as 1) First, as shown in FIG.
An element electrode 1203 is formed thereover. 2) Next, as shown in FIG. 29B, an insulating layer for forming a step forming member is laminated. The insulating layer may be formed by stacking, for example, SiO ₂ by a sputtering method, but another film forming method such as a vacuum evaporation method or a printing method may be used. 3) Next, as shown in FIG. 29C, an element electrode 1202 is formed on the insulating layer. 4) Next, as shown in FIG. 29D, a part of the insulating layer is removed by using, for example, an etching method, and the device electrode 1 is removed.
Expose 203. 5) Next, as shown in FIG. 29E, a conductive thin film 1204 using a fine particle film is formed. For the formation, as in the case of the flat type, a film forming technique such as a coating method may be used. 6) Next, in the same manner as in the case of the flat type, an energization forming process is performed to form an electron emitting portion (FIG. 25C).
A process similar to the planar type energization forming process described with reference to FIG. ). 7) Next, in the same manner as in the case of the planar type, an activation process is performed to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity of the electron emission portion (the planar activation process described with reference to FIG. 29D). The same processing as described above may be performed.)

As described above, the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 29F was manufactured. (Characteristics of Surface Conduction Emission Device Used in Display Device) The element configuration and the manufacturing method of the planar and vertical surface conduction electron-emitting devices have been described above. Next, the characteristics of the device used in the display device will be described.

FIG. 30 shows typical examples of (emission current Ie) versus (device applied voltage Vf) characteristics and (device current If) versus (device applied voltage Vf) characteristics of the device used in the display device. . Note that the emission current Ie is significantly smaller than the element current If, and it is difficult to show the same current on the same scale.
Since these characteristics are changed by changing design parameters such as the size and shape of the element, the two graphs are shown in arbitrary units.

The element used for the display device has the following three characteristics regarding the emission current Ie.

First, a certain voltage (this is referred to as a threshold voltage Vth
When a voltage of the above magnitude is applied to the element, the emission current Ie sharply increases. On the other hand, at a voltage lower than the threshold voltage Vth, the emission current Ie is hardly detected.

That is, the non-linear element has a clear threshold voltage Vth with respect to the emission current Ie.

Secondly, since the emission current Ie changes depending on the voltage Vf applied to the element, the emission current Ie depends on the voltage Vf.
The magnitude of e can be controlled.

Thirdly, since the response speed of the current Ie emitted from the device is faster than the voltage Vf applied to the device, the amount of charge of the electrons emitted from the device depends on the length of time during which the voltage Vf is applied. Can control.

Because of the above characteristics, the surface conduction electron-emitting device could be suitably used for a display device. For example, in a display device in which a large number of elements are provided corresponding to pixels of a display screen, if the first characteristic is used, display can be performed by sequentially scanning the display screen. That is,
The driving element has a threshold voltage Vt according to a desired light emission luminance.
h or higher, and a voltage lower than the threshold voltage Vth is applied to the non-selected elements. By sequentially switching the elements to be driven, the display screen can be sequentially scanned and displayed.

Further, since the emission luminance can be controlled by using the second characteristic or the third characteristic, gradation display can be performed.

FIG. 31 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a drive circuit for performing television display based on an NTSC television signal. In the figure, a display panel 1701 corresponds to the above-described display panel, and is manufactured and operates as described above. In addition, the scanning circuit 1702
Scans the display line, and the control circuit 1703 scans the scanning circuit 1
A signal or the like to be input to 702 is generated. Shift register 1
Reference numeral 704 shifts data for each line, and the line memory 1705 inputs data for one line from the shift register 1704 to the modulation signal generator 1707. The synchronization signal separation circuit 1706 separates the synchronization signal from the NTSC signal.

Hereinafter, the function of each section of the apparatus shown in FIG. 31 will be described in detail. First, the display panel 1701 has terminals Dx1 to Dx1.
It is connected to an external electric circuit via xm, terminals Dy1 to Dyn, and high voltage terminal Hv. Among them, the terminals Dx1 to Dxm sequentially drive the multi-electron beam sources provided in the display panel 1701, that is, the cold-cathode devices arranged in a matrix of m rows and n columns by one row (n elements). A scanning signal for performing the scanning is applied. on the other hand,
To the terminals Dy1 to Dyn, a modulation signal for controlling the output electron beams of the n elements for one row selected by the scanning signal is applied. Further, a DC voltage of, for example, 5 [kV] is supplied to the high voltage terminal Hv from the DC voltage source Va, which is sufficient to excite the phosphor into an electron beam output from the multi-electron beam source. It is an accelerating voltage for applying energy.

Next, the scanning circuit 1702 will be described. This circuit has m switching elements inside (in the figure,
S1 to Sm), each switching element selects either the output voltage of the DC voltage source Vx or 0 [V] (ground level), and the switching element of the display panel 1701 It is electrically connected to terminals Dx1 to Dxm. Each of the switching elements S1 to Sm outputs a control signal T output from the control circuit 1703.
It operates based on scan, but in fact, for example, F
It can be easily configured by combining switching elements such as ET. The DC voltage source Vx outputs a constant voltage so that a driving voltage applied to an unscanned element is equal to or lower than an electron emission threshold voltage Vth based on the characteristics of the electron emission element illustrated in FIG. Is set to

The control circuit 1703 has a function of coordinating the operation of each unit so that appropriate display is performed based on an image signal input from the outside. Based on a synchronizing signal Tsync sent from a synchronizing signal separating circuit 1706 to be described next, control signals Tscan, Tsft and Tmry are generated for each unit. The synchronizing signal separating circuit 1706 is a circuit for separating a synchronizing signal component and a luminance signal component from an NTSC system television signal input from the outside. As is well known, a frequency separating (filter) circuit is used. It can be easily configured. The synchronization signal separated by the synchronization signal separation circuit 1706 is composed of a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal as is well known, but is shown here as a Tsync signal for convenience of explanation. On the other hand, a luminance signal component of an image separated from the television signal is referred to as a DATA signal for convenience, and this signal is input to a shift register 1704.

A shift register 1704 is for serially / parallel converting the DATA signal input serially in time series for each line of an image, and is based on a control signal Tsft sent from the control circuit 1703. Works. That is, the control signal Tsft can be rephrased as a shift clock of the shift register 1704. The data for one line of the image that has been subjected to the serial / parallel conversion (corresponding to the drive data for n electron-emitting devices) is output from the shift register 1704 as n signals Id1 to Idn.

The line memory 1705 is a storage device for storing data for one line of an image for a required time only, and stores the contents of Id1 to Idn as appropriate according to a control signal Tmry sent from the control circuit 1703. The stored contents are output as I'd1 to I'dn and input to the modulation signal generator 1707.

The modulation signal generator 1707 controls the electron-emitting device 1 according to each of the image data I'd1 to I'dn.
012 is a signal source for appropriately driving and modulating each of the output signals of the display panel 1 through terminals Dy1 to Dyn.
701 is applied to the electron-emitting device 1012.

As described with reference to FIG. 30, the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention has the following basic characteristics with respect to the emission current Ie. That is, electron emission has a clear threshold voltage Vth (8 [V] in a surface conduction electron-emitting device of an embodiment described later), and electron emission occurs only when a voltage equal to or higher than the threshold Vth is applied. Also, the electron emission threshold V
For a voltage equal to or greater than th, the emission current Ie also changes according to the change in the voltage as shown in the graph of FIG. For this reason, when a pulse-like voltage is applied to this element, for example, when a voltage lower than the electron emission threshold Vth is applied, no electron emission occurs, but when a voltage higher than the electron emission threshold Vth is applied, the surface is An electron beam is output from the conduction type emission device. At this time, the intensity of the output electron beam can be controlled by changing the pulse peak value Vm.
In addition, it is possible to control the total amount of charges of the output electron beam by changing the pulse width Pw.

Therefore, as a method of modulating the electron-emitting device in accordance with the input signal, a voltage modulation method, a pulse width modulation method, or the like can be employed. When performing the voltage modulation method, a circuit of the voltage modulation method that generates a voltage pulse of a fixed length and modulates the peak value of the pulse appropriately according to input data is used as the modulation signal generator 1707. be able to. When implementing the pulse width modulation method, the modulation signal generator 1707 generates a voltage pulse having a constant peak value and modulates the width of the voltage pulse appropriately according to input data. Circuit can be used.

The shift register 1704 and the line memory 1
Reference numeral 705 may be a digital signal type or an analog signal type. That is, the serial /
This is because parallel conversion and storage may be performed at a predetermined speed.

When the digital signal type is used, the output signal DATA of the synchronization signal separation circuit 1706 needs to be converted into a digital signal.
An A / D converter may be provided at the output unit 6. In this connection, the circuit used for the modulation signal generator 1707 differs slightly depending on whether the output signal of the line memory 115 is a digital signal or an analog signal. That is, in the case of the voltage modulation method using a digital signal, the modulation signal generator 1
For example, a D / A conversion circuit is added to 707, and an amplification circuit and the like are added as necessary. For pulse width modulation,
The modulation signal generator 1707 includes, for example, a high-speed oscillator and a counter that counts the number of waves output from the oscillator.
And a circuit combining a comparator (comparator) for comparing the output value of the counter with the output value of the memory. If necessary, an amplifier for amplifying the pulse width modulated signal output from the comparator to the drive voltage of the electron-emitting device can be added.

In the case of the voltage modulation method using an analog signal, the modulation signal generator 1707 can employ an amplifier circuit using, for example, an operational amplifier, and can add a shift level circuit and the like as necessary. In the case of the pulse width modulation method, for example, a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO)
And, if necessary, an amplifier for amplifying the voltage up to the drive voltage of the electron-emitting device can be added.

In the image display apparatus to which the present invention can be applied in such a configuration, by applying a voltage to each electron-emitting device via the external terminals Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn, the electron-emitting device can emit electrons. Occurs. Metal back 1019 or transparent electrode (not shown) via high voltage terminal Hv
To apply a high voltage to accelerate the electron beam. The accelerated electrons collide with the fluorescent film 1018 and emit light to form an image.

The configuration of the image display apparatus described here is an example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied, and various modifications can be made based on the concept of the present invention. The input signal is described in the NTSC system. However, the input signal is not limited to this. In addition to the PAL and SECAM systems, a TV signal including a larger number of scanning lines (a high-definition TV including the MUSE system) can be used. Can also be adopted.

Next, the ladder-type arrangement of the electron source and the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 32 and 33. FIG.

FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an electron source having a ladder arrangement. In FIG. 32, 21 is an electron source substrate, and 24 is an electron-emitting device. 26, Dx1 to Dx1
0 is a common wiring for connecting the electron-emitting devices 24. A plurality of electron-emitting devices 22 are arranged on the substrate 21 in parallel in the X direction (this is called an element row). A plurality of the element rows are arranged to constitute an electron source. By applying a drive voltage between the common wires of each element row, each element row can be driven independently. That is, a voltage equal to or higher than the electron emission threshold is applied to an element row that wants to emit an electron beam, and a voltage lower than the electron emission threshold is applied to an element row that does not emit an electron beam. Common wiring Dx between each element row
As for 2 to Dx9, for example, Dx2 and Dx3 can be the same wiring.

FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a panel structure in an image forming apparatus having a ladder-type electron source. Reference numeral 27 denotes a grid electrode, reference numeral 28 denotes a hole through which electrons pass, and reference numeral 29 denotes an external terminal formed of Dox1, Dox2,..., Doxm. Reference numeral 30 denotes an external terminal composed of G1, G2,..., Gn connected to the grid electrode 27, and reference numeral 21 denotes an electron source substrate. In FIG. 33, FIG.
The same parts as those shown in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those shown in these drawings. A major difference between the image forming apparatus shown here and the image forming apparatus having the simple matrix arrangement shown in FIGS. 19 and 20 is whether or not the grid electrode 27 is provided between the electron source substrate 21 and the face plate 36. It is.

The grid electrode 27 modulates the electron beam emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and passes the electron beam to a stripe-shaped electrode provided orthogonal to the ladder-shaped device row. For this purpose, one circular opening 28 is provided for each element. The shape and installation position of the grid are not limited to those shown in FIG. For example, a large number of passage openings may be provided in a mesh shape as openings, and a grid may be provided around or near the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

The outer container terminal 29 and grid outer terminal 30 are electrically connected to a control step (not shown).

[0145]

EXAMPLES The method of forming a spacer which is a feature of the present invention will be further described with reference to examples. Ma
Reference examples according to the present invention will also be described.

In each of the embodiments and reference examples described below, as the multi-electron beam source, N × M (N = 3) of the above-described type having an electron emission portion in the conductive film between the electrodes is used.
[072] A multi-electron beam source was used in which the surface conduction electron-emitting device (M = 1024) was matrix-wired (see FIGS. 19 and 20) by M row-directional wirings and N column-directional wirings.

Reference Example 1 In this reference example , an image forming apparatus having a mode in which a minute current flows through a spacer to remove the charge will be described.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a state in which an intermediate layer portion and a high-resistance film are formed on a spacer base material made of alumina. In FIG. 1, 11 is a spacer substrate, 12 is a high resistance film, 1
Reference numeral 3 denotes an intermediate layer portion, and 14 denotes a cut portion.

First, the spacer substrate 11 was formed by firing a green sheet mainly composed of alumina formed by a doctor blade method. In this reference example , a 70 mm square, 0.2 m thick spacer base material 11 was used.
m.

Next, a high resistance film 12 was formed on both surfaces of the spacer substrate 11 as follows.

By simultaneously sputtering Ti and Al targets with a high-frequency power source, the spacer substrate 11
Ti-Al nitride films were formed on both surfaces. The sputtering gas is a mixed gas of Ar: N ₂ of 1: 2 and the total pressure is 1 mTorr.
It is. The specific resistance of the nitride film was changed by adjusting the high frequency power applied to the Ti and Al targets. After being formed on the surface of the Ti-Al nitride film having a thickness of 150 nm, a 22-nm-thick nickel oxide film was further formed by a sputtering method.

In the present reference example , the surface resistance value of the high resistance film 12 was 5 × 10 ⁹ [Ω / □].

Next, the intermediate layer 13 was formed on the spacer substrate 11 on which the high resistance film 12 was formed. The electrode portions 13 serving as intermediate layers are each 350 μm thick by a screen printing method.
1 were formed on both surfaces of the spacer substrate 11 along the cut portions 14 in a stripe-shaped pattern shown in FIG. The printing paste was prepared using an Ag paste containing Ag and PbO as main components. At this time, the thickness of the intermediate layer portion 13 after formation was 8 μm.

Next, the spacer substrate 11 was cut along the cutting portion 14 using a dicing saw. At this time, the cutting speed was 5 mm / sec using a diamond cutter having a blade width of 30 μm. The width of the cut was 50 μm.

According to this embodiment , the formation of the high-resistance film and the formation of the intermediate layer can be performed collectively in a large substrate state before cutting into individual spacers. Shortening and yield improvement were obtained.

By applying this embodiment , a simple spacer can be formed, and the mass productivity has been dramatically improved.

Reference Example 2 Referring to FIG. 2, a reference example 2 according to the present invention will be described. In the present reference example , a spacer base material having a longitudinal shape was used. In FIG. 2, 22 indicates a spacer base material, and 23 indicates a cut portion. In the present reference example , the spacer base material 22 is formed by heating the rod-shaped glass into a state capable of being deformed by heating, and forming the glass by elongating the glass. The spacer substrate 22 was formed in a long plate shape having a length of about 500 mm. Further, the width of the spacer base material 22 was 4 mm (this is equal to the distance between the electron source substrate and the face plate provided with the metal back in the panel), and the glass member used was blue plate glass.

Next, a plurality of spacers were formed from the spacer base material 22 by cutting each of them to a length of 50 mm along the cut portions 23 by a scribe method using a diamond cutter.

Using the spacer prepared as described above,
A display panel on which the spacer 1020 shown in FIG. Hereinafter, this will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 19 and FIG. First, the row-direction wiring electrodes 10 are previously placed on the substrate.
13, the substrate 1011 on which the column direction wiring electrode 1014, the interelectrode insulating layer (not shown), the device electrode of the surface conduction electron-emitting device and the conductive thin film were formed, was fixed to the rear plate 1015. Next, the spacer 1020 manufactured as described above is used.
Were fixed on the row-directional wiring 1013 of the substrate 1011 at regular intervals in parallel with the row-directional wiring 1013.

Thereafter, a face plate 1017 provided with a fluorescent film 1018 and a metal back 1019 on the inner surface thereof is disposed 5 mm above the substrate 1011 via a side wall 1016, and the rear plate 1015, the face plate 101
7. The joints of the side wall 1016 and the spacer 1020 were fixed. The joint between the substrate 1011 and the rear plate 1015, the joint between the rear plate 1015 and the side wall 1016, and the joint between the face plate 1017 and the side wall 1016 are coated with frit glass (not shown).
Sealing was performed by baking at 0 ° C. to 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more.

Further, the spacer 1020 is formed on the substrate 1011.
On the row direction wiring 1013 (line width 300 [μm]), and on the face plate 1017 side, the metal back 1010.
The non-cut surfaces other than the cut surface (A) formed by cutting the spacer base material 22 were in contact with the 19 surfaces, respectively. In this reference example , as shown in FIG. 3, a frit glass 1041 is arranged between the row wiring 1013 and the spacer 1020, and simultaneously with the sealing of the airtight container,
Bonding was performed by baking in air at 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more.

In this embodiment , the fluorescent film 101
As shown in FIG. 34, as shown in FIG. 34, each color phosphor 21a adopts a stripe shape extending in the column direction (Y direction), and the black conductor 21b is used not only between the respective color phosphors (R, G, B) 21a. , A fluorescent film arranged so as to separate each pixel in the Y direction is also used, and the spacer 1020 is provided in the black conductor 21b region (line width 300 [μ]) parallel to the row direction (X direction).
m]) via a metal back 1019.
When the above-mentioned sealing is performed, each color phosphor 21a must correspond to each element arranged on the substrate 1011. Therefore, the rear plate 1015, the face plate 1017, and the spacer 1020 are located at a sufficient position. Matching was performed.

The inside of the hermetically sealed container completed as described above is evacuated by a vacuum pump through an exhaust pipe (not shown), and after reaching a sufficient degree of vacuum, the airtight container is discharged through terminals Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn outside the container. Direction wiring electrode 1013 and column direction wiring electrode 1
A multi-electron beam source was manufactured by supplying power to each element via the 014 and performing the above-described energization forming process and energization activation process.

Next, at a degree of vacuum of about 10 ⁻⁶ [Torr], an exhaust pipe (not shown) was welded by heating with a gas burner to seal the envelope (airtight container).

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

FIGS. 19 and 3 completed as described above.
In the image display device using the display panel as shown in FIG. 1, a scanning signal and a modulation signal are not shown in each cold cathode element (surface conduction type emission element) 1012 through terminals Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn outside the container. The electrons are emitted by applying the signals from the signal generation means of
In No. 9, the emission electron beam is accelerated by applying a high voltage through the high voltage terminal Hv to cause electrons to collide with the fluorescent film 1018 to excite and emit the phosphors 21a of each color (R, G, B in FIG. 34). The image was displayed with. The applied voltage Va to the high voltage terminal Hv is 3 [kV] to 10 [k].
V], and the applied voltage Vf between the wirings 1013 and 1014 was 14 [V].

In this embodiment , workability is improved because a plurality of spacers are formed from a large base material.

[0168] Also, the image forming apparatus fabricated in the present Example has sufficient atmospheric pressure resistant structure, also after evacuation time and the sealing of the airtight container described above, buckling collapse of the spacer such as And had a sufficient holding function as a spacer. Also, no distortion or the like was observed in the displayed image. In this embodiment , as shown in FIG. 3, the spacer 1012 is in contact with the row wiring 1013 via the frit glass 1041, but the frit glass 1041 is arranged on the metal back 1019 side. The spacer 1012 is brought into contact with this, and
Even when the spacer 1012 was directly in contact with 013, the same effect as that of the present embodiment was obtained.

Example 1 A first example will be described with reference to FIG. In this example, a spacer base material having a longitudinal shape was used. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 22 denotes a spacer base material, and reference numeral 23 denotes a cut portion. Reference numeral 12 denotes a high-resistance film formed on both surfaces of the spacer substrate 22, and reference numeral 13 denotes an intermediate layer. In the present embodiment, the spacer base material 22 is formed by heating a rod-shaped glass into a semi-molten glass state by heating, and drawing the glass out of a slit by a heating and stretching method. About 500mm
And a spacer base material 22 was formed. Also,
The width of the spacer base material 22 was 4 mm (this is equal to the distance between the electron source substrate and the face plate provided with the metal back in the panel), and the glass member used was blue plate glass.

Next, high resistance films 12 were formed on both surfaces of the spacer base material 22 formed as described above as follows.

A Cr target was used instead of Ti in Reference Example 1 , and a Cr—Al nitride film was
It was formed to a thickness of 00 nm. The sputtering gas was the same as in Reference Example 1, and the high frequency power of Cr and Al was adjusted to obtain a nitride film. Further, a chromium oxide film is formed on the Cr-Al nitride film surface.
A film having a thickness of nm and a nitride film were continuously formed by the same apparatus. However, a mixed gas of Ar and oxygen was used as a sputtering gas. In this embodiment, the surface resistance of the high resistance film 12 is 5 × 10
¹⁰ [Ω / □].

Next, the intermediate layer 13 was formed on the spacer base material 22 on which the high resistance film 12 was formed. The electrode portion 13 serving as an intermediate layer was manufactured by pressing the spacers 22a and 22b against a paste layer obtained by extending an electrode material paste on a substrate to a predetermined thickness, and transferring the electrode paste to the spacer base material 22. Note that Ag and PbO were used as electrode material pastes.
Was used as the main component. On each side of the spacer base material 22, after the paste material is transferred, the binder component is evaporated by temporarily baking at 120 ° C. for 10 minutes, and then baking using a belt furnace at a maximum temperature of 480 ° C. for 20 minutes. Thus, an intermediate layer was produced. In this embodiment, the thickness of the electrode portion 13 was 8 μm.

Next, a plurality of spacers were formed from the spacer base material 22 by cutting each along the cut portion 23 to a length of 50 mm by using a scribe method with a diamond cutter.

By using the spacer prepared as described above,
A display panel on which the spacer 1020 shown in FIG. Hereinafter, this will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 19 and 5. First, the row-direction wiring electrodes 10 are previously placed on the substrate.
13, the substrate 1011 on which the column direction wiring electrode 1014, the interelectrode insulating layer (not shown), the device electrode of the surface conduction electron-emitting device and the conductive thin film were formed, was fixed to the rear plate 1015. Next, the spacer 1020 manufactured as described above is used.
Were fixed on the row-directional wiring 1013 of the substrate 1011 at regular intervals in parallel with the row-directional wiring 1013.

Thereafter, a face plate 1017 having a fluorescent film 1018 and a metal back 1019 provided on the inner surface thereof is disposed 5 mm above the substrate 1011 via a side wall 1016, and the rear plate 1015 and the face plate 101 are disposed.
7. The joints of the side wall 1016 and the spacer 1020 were fixed. The joint between the substrate 1011 and the rear plate 1015, the joint between the rear plate 1015 and the side wall 1016, and the joint between the face plate 1017 and the side wall 1016 are coated with frit glass (not shown).
Sealing was performed by baking at 0 ° C. to 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more.

The spacer 1020 is provided on the substrate 1011.
On the row direction wiring 1013 (line width 300 [μm]), and on the face plate 1017 side, the metal back 1010.
On 19 surfaces, respectively, the non-cut surfaces other than the cut surface (A) formed by cutting the spacer base material 22 were in contact with each other. In this embodiment, as shown in the figure, a conductive filler or a conductive frit glass 1041 in which a conductive material such as a metal is mixed is interposed between the row direction wiring 1013 and the spacer 1020, and the above-described hermetic seal is provided. At the same time as the sealing of the container, the container was baked at 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more in the air to bond and electrically connect.

In this embodiment, the fluorescent film 101 is used.
As shown in FIG. 34, as shown in FIG. 34, each color phosphor 21a adopts a stripe shape extending in the column direction (Y direction), and the black conductor 21b is used not only between the respective color phosphors (R, G, B) 21a. , A fluorescent film arranged so as to separate each pixel in the Y direction is also used, and the spacer 1020 is provided in the black conductor 21b region (line width 300 [μ]) parallel to the row direction (X direction).
m]) via a metal back 1019.
When the above-mentioned sealing is performed, each color phosphor 21a must correspond to each element arranged on the substrate 1011. Therefore, the rear plate 1015, the face plate 1017, and the spacer 1020 are located at a sufficient position. Matching was performed.

The inside of the airtight container completed as described above is evacuated by a vacuum pump through an exhaust pipe (not shown), and after reaching a sufficient degree of vacuum, the airtight container is discharged through terminals Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn. Direction wiring electrode 1013 and column direction wiring electrode 1
A multi-electron beam source was manufactured by supplying power to each element via the 014 and performing the above-described energization forming process and energization activation process.

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

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

FIGS. 19 and 5 completed as described above.
In the image display device using the display panel as shown in FIG. 1, a scanning signal and a modulation signal are not shown in each cold cathode element (surface conduction type emission element) 1012 through terminals Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn outside the container. The electrons are emitted by applying the signals from the signal generation means of
In No. 9, the emission electron beam is accelerated by applying a high voltage through the high voltage terminal Hv to cause electrons to collide with the fluorescent film 1018 to excite and emit the phosphors 21a of each color (R, G, B in FIG. 34). The image was displayed with. The applied voltage Va to the high voltage terminal Hv is 3 [kV] to 10 [k].
V], and the applied voltage Vf between the wirings 1013 and 1014 was 14 [V]. At this time, a two-dimensional array of light emitting spots including light emitting spots due to electrons emitted from the cold cathode element 1012 located near the spacer 1020 is formed at two-dimensional intervals, and a clear color image with good color reproducibility can be obtained. Was. This means that the intermediate layer 13 of the spacer 1020
Good electrical connection was made with the metal back 1019 and the wiring 1013. As a result, even if the spacer 1020 was installed as in this embodiment, no electric field disturbance affecting the electron trajectory occurred. ing.

In this embodiment, the formation of the high-resistance film and the formation of the intermediate layer can be performed collectively in the state of a large substrate before cutting into individual spacers. Yield improvement was obtained.

The above-described image forming apparatus manufactured in this embodiment has a sufficient atmospheric pressure resistance structure.
Even when the air-tight container was evacuated and after sealing, the spacer did not buckle or collapse, and had a sufficient holding function as a spacer. Also, no distortion or the like was observed in the displayed image. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
3, the conductive frit glass 1041 is placed on the metal back 1019 side, and a spacer 1012 is brought into contact with the metal frit glass 1041, and a spacer is placed on the row wiring 1013. Even when 1012 is directly contacted, the same effect as that of the present embodiment is obtained.

In this embodiment, as described above, a conductive substance-containing solution such as an Ag-containing paste is spread on another substrate, and the end of the spacer substrate is immersed in this solution. After transferring the solution to the spacer base material side, the intermediate layer is formed by heating, but the method of forming such an intermediate layer is not limited to the present embodiment, and the bottom layer and the side surface of the spacer base material may be formed. This is an effective method in that the intermediate layer does not easily peel off at the boundary portion, that is, at the edge portion of the spacer base material.

In the present embodiment, the intermediate layer is formed by the above-described transfer and heating on the base material prepared by the heating and stretching method. The method of forming the intermediate layer by the combination is not limited to this embodiment, but is a more effective method in the following points. That is, in the base material prepared by the heat stretching method, the edge portions of the upper and lower contact surfaces of the spacer generally have a curvature shape due to the heating process.
For this reason, when the above-mentioned transfer method is used at the time of forming the intermediate layer, the transfer liquid is uniformly transferred to the substrate as compared with the substrate having a right-angled cross-sectional shape, so that the intermediate layer can be more accurately formed. It can be manufactured. At the same time, it is possible to supply spacers with an excellent yield.

( Reference Example 3 ) In this reference example , a connection portion is provided in a part of the spacer, and the upper and lower intermediate layers are more reliably connected electrically. The present embodiment is particularly effective in an image forming apparatus having a reduced pixel size. In order to achieve high definition, when the amount of conductive frit used for the above-described spacer connection is reduced, or when the connection portion is formed only by electrical contact without using a conductive frit, in the substrate cutting portion, It is possible to improve a connection failure that rarely occurs. This situation will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a rarely occurring defective state, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a normal state. 6 and 7
In the figure, 31 is a face plate substrate, 32 is an electron source substrate, 33 is a spacer substrate, 34 is a high resistance film, 35 is an intermediate layer, 36 is a conductive connecting portion, and 37 is a wiring on the electron source substrate. In FIG. 6, the intermediate layer on one side is not connected to the conductive connecting portion, which is defective. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the present reference example , and 51 is a contact hole.

Next, a method of manufacturing the spacer with a contact hole will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a state in which an intermediate layer portion and a high resistance film are formed on a spacer base material made of alumina. In FIG. 9, 61 is a spacer base material, 63 is an intermediate layer portion, 6
Reference numeral 4 denotes a cut portion, and 65 denotes a contact hole.

First, the spacer base material 61 was formed by firing a green sheet mainly composed of alumina formed by a doctor blade method. In the present reference example , a spacer base material 61 having a size of 30 mm × 100 mm and a thickness of 0.2 mm was used.

Next, a high-resistance film was formed on both surfaces of the spacer substrate 61. In this reference example , the high resistance film was manufactured as follows. A Ta target was used instead of Ti in Reference Example 1, and a Cr—Al nitride film was formed on quartz glass to a thickness of 80 nm.
Thick formed. The sputtering gas was the same as in Reference Example 1, and T
The high frequency powers of a and Al were adjusted to obtain a nitride film. Further, an amorphous carbon film having a thickness of 3 nm was formed on the surface of the Ta-Al nitride film by a plasma CVD method using methane gas as a raw material to obtain a high-resistance film.

In this embodiment , the surface resistance of the high-resistance film was 1 × 10 ¹⁰ [Ω / □].

Next, a contact hole was formed in a predetermined portion of the spacer substrate 61 where the high resistance film was formed. A method for forming a contact hole in this reference example will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B,
The substrate in the contact hole portion is removed from both sides using a YAG laser to form a contact hole. Here, the contact hole 65 preferably has a conical shape, but is not limited thereto. Next, as shown in FIGS. 10 (c) and (d), the intermediate layer 63 was deposited by sputtering to a thickness of 300 nm on each side to form the state shown in FIG.

Although the contact holes are formed by irradiating laser from both sides in this embodiment , the contact holes can be formed by irradiating from one side.

Next, as in Reference Example 1, the wafer was cut along a cutting portion 64 using a dicing saw, and each was cut into a 20 mm × 4 mm.
A spacer having a size of mm was produced.

Next, a plurality of spacers were manufactured by cutting each piece to a length of 50 mm by using a scribe method using a diamond cutter.

Also in this reference example , the formation of the high-resistance film and the formation of the intermediate layer can be performed at a time, so that the workability of the setting is improved, and the production time of the spacer is shortened and the yield is improved. Further, in the present reference example , as shown in FIG. 8, even if the intermediate layer on one side and the conductive connection portion are not in contact with each other, the electrical connection is made via the contact hole 65,
The yield was further improved without impairing the function of the spacer.

( Reference Example 4 ) In this reference example , by forming grooves in a part of the spacer substrate in advance, the electrical connection between the upper and lower intermediate layers and the conductive connection portions can be more reliably established. This reference example of San
As in the case of the third embodiment, the present invention is effective in an image forming apparatus having a reduced pixel size. This situation will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a connection failure state, where 81 is a face plate substrate, 82 is an electron source substrate,
83 is a spacer substrate, 84 is a high resistance film, 85 is an intermediate layer,
86 is a conductive connecting portion, and 87 is a wiring on the electron source substrate. In FIG. 11, the intermediate layer on one side on the face plate substrate 81 side and the conductive connection portion are not connected, which is defective. FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 are explanatory views of the present reference example , where 101 is a spacer substrate, 102 is a groove, and 103 is a cutting line. The spacer of FIG. 12 shows a state of the spacer obtained by cutting the spacer base material of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 13, the spacer substrate 101
By forming the groove 102 in a part of the spacer base material in advance, a taper is formed in the spacer base material, and the connectivity between the intermediate layer 85 and the conductive connection part 86 is improved as shown in FIG. This reference
Also in the example , it is possible to improve the poor connection that rarely occurs in the substrate cutting portion.

[0202] The spacer in this reference example was manufactured as follows. The spacer substrate 101 shown in FIG.
An alumina member was molded by using a mold having a convex portion corresponding to 02 and then fired. In the present reference example , the size of one spacer base material is 55 × 70 m.
m, the thickness was 0.3 mm, and the depth of the groove was 50 μm. The grooves 102 were formed on both surfaces of the spacer substrate 101 along the cuts 103. With this spacer base material, using the same method as in Reference Example 1, the high-resistance film, after the intermediate layer 125 are sequentially produced, further along the cutting portion 103 in the same manner as in Reference Example 1, using a dicing saw And cut to produce a plurality of spacers having a size of 50 mm × 6 mm.

[0203] In this reference example, since performed collectively high-resistance film formed and an intermediate layer formed similarly to the other Reference Examples and Examples is improved workability settings, manufacturing time shorter spacer, improved yield was gotten. In this embodiment , the intermediate layer 8 is formed at the groove as described with reference to FIG.
Since the connection between the conductive connection portion 86 and the conductive connection portion 86 can be made, the connection failure is hardly caused, and the yield is further improved.

A spacer manufactured by this method was used as a reference example.
2. Used in the same image forming apparatus as described in Example 1 .
However, in this reference example , the face plate substrate 81
The contact surface of the spacer with the electron source substrate 82 was at the above-mentioned cut surface as shown in FIG. The image forming apparatus in the present reference example had a sufficient atmospheric pressure resistant structure and had a sufficient holding function as a spacer. Also, a good color image can be displayed, which means that
This means that the intermediate layer has a good electrical connection between the metal back on the face plate side and the wiring on the electron source substrate side.

In the present embodiment , only the part of the spacer is tapered by the convex portion of the mold. However, the same effect can be obtained even if the taper is formed over the entire area of the spacer. Further, it can be formed on one of the face plate and the element substrate side.

In the present embodiment , the groove is formed by a mold, but a part of the substrate is formed by a sandblasting method or a laser in which a part of the substrate is removed by spraying an abrasive onto the sheet substrate to form a groove. It is also possible to apply a method of forming a groove by removing.

Reference Example 5 This reference example is characterized in that a groove for cutting is formed in the spacer substrate in advance. This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the spacer base material of the present reference example , wherein 111 is a spacer substrate, 112 is a tapered groove, 132 is a cut portion, and 125 is an intermediate layer.

In this embodiment , first, the spacer base material was manufactured by a sheet forming method. At this time, a tapered groove 112 was formed on the spacer substrate 111 by forming a triangular projection on the doctor blade. A plurality were formed in the direction. The size of the spacer substrate is 80 mm square, the thickness of the substrate is 0.2 mm, and the depth of the groove is about 50 μm.
m, and the groove width was about 50 μm. Next, a groove portion 112 by the high-resistance film on both surfaces of the spacer base material 111, after another sequentially formed at the respective same manner as in Reference Example 1 The intermediate layer 125 in the groove portion 112 as shown in FIG. 14, pressurizing
At the cutting portion 132 of each to form individual spacers.

In this embodiment , the grooves for cutting were formed by using a doctor blade. However, as shown in FIG. 15, a plurality of through holes or a plurality of By processing the grooves in advance, the separation processing can be performed in the same manner.

Further, in this embodiment , the grooves are formed on one side, but may be formed on both sides as shown in FIG.

[0211] In this reference example , the other reference examples and
Since the formation of the high-resistance film and the formation of the intermediate layer can be performed collectively in the same manner as in the Examples, the workability of the setting was improved, and the production time of the spacer was shortened and the yield was improved.

The spacer produced by the above method was used in the same image forming apparatus as that described in Reference Example 2 and Example 1 . However, in this reference example , the abutting surface of the spacer on the face plate substrate and the electron source substrate was the cut surface described above. The image forming apparatus in this reference example had a sufficient atmospheric pressure resistance structure and had a sufficient holding function as a spacer. Also, a good color image can be displayed, which means that the intermediate layer has a good electrical connection between the metal back on the face plate side and the wiring on the electron source substrate side.

Further, in the above reference example , particularly when the cutting groove is tapered, the electrical connection between the upper and lower intermediate layers and the conductive connecting portion can be more reliably achieved.

Reference Example 6 Here, as another reference example , an example in which the method of Reference Example 1 is applied to a configuration in which an intermediate layer is formed only on one side of a spacer will be described.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing this configuration.
1 is a face plate substrate, 122 is an electron source substrate, 12
3 is a spacer substrate, 125 is an intermediate layer, 126 is a conductive connecting portion, and 127 is a wiring on the electron source substrate. In FIG. 17, the intermediate layer 125 is provided only on one side and the electron source substrate 12
2 are electrically connected to the wiring 127 formed through the conductive connection portion 126. Further, the spacer substrate 123 is fixedly held by the conductive connection portion 1 provided on the electron source side substrate 122.
26.

FIG. 18 shows a spacer substrate in the case where this embodiment is applied to this structure. Reference numeral 131 denotes a spacer substrate, 132 denotes a line indicating the position of the groove 112 in FIG. It is. Also, 133
Is an intermediate layer.

In this configuration, the same effect can be obtained.

The present invention can be applied to any of the cold cathode type electron emitting devices other than the surface conduction type electron emitting device. As a specific example, there is a field emission type electron-emitting device in which a pair of opposing electrodes are formed along a substrate surface forming an electron source as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-27447 by the present applicant.

The present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus using an electron source other than the simple matrix type. For example, in an image forming apparatus in which a surface conduction electron-emitting device is selected by using a control electrode as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-257551 by the present applicant, the above-described space is provided between an electron source and a control electrode. This is a case where a branch member is used.

According to the concept of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to an image forming apparatus suitable for display, but may be used as an alternative light source such as a light emitting diode of an optical printer including a photosensitive drum and a light emitting diode. Alternatively, the above-described image forming apparatus can be used. In this case, by appropriately selecting the above-mentioned m row-directional wirings and n column-directional wirings, the present invention can be applied not only to a linear light emitting source but also to a two-dimensional light emitting source.

Further, according to the concept of the present invention, the present invention can be applied to a case where a member to be irradiated with electrons emitted from an electron source is a member other than an image forming member, such as an electron microscope. . Therefore, the present invention can be embodied as an electron beam generator that does not specify a member to be irradiated.

FIG. 35 shows a display panel using the above-described surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron beam source so that image information provided from various image information sources such as television broadcasting can be displayed. It is a figure for showing an example of the constituted multifunctional display.

In the figure, reference numeral 2100 denotes a display panel;
01 is a display panel driving circuit, 2102 is a display controller, 2103 is a multiplexer, 2
104 is a decoder, 2105 is an input / output interface circuit, 2106 is a CPU, 2107 is an image generation circuit,
108, 2109 and 2110 are image memory interface circuits, 2111 is an image input interface circuit, 2112 and 2113 are TV signal receiving circuits, and 2114 is an input unit.

When the present display device receives a signal containing both video information and audio information, such as a television signal, it naturally reproduces the audio simultaneously with the display of the video. Descriptions of circuits, speakers, and the like relating to reception, separation, reproduction, processing, storage, and the like of information are omitted.

Hereinafter, the function of each unit will be described along the flow of the image signal.

First, the TV signal receiving circuit 2113 is a circuit for receiving a TV image signal transmitted using a wireless transmission system such as radio waves or spatial optical communication. The format of the received TV signal is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, various systems such as the NTSC system, the PAL system, and the SECAM system. A TV signal (for example, a so-called high-definition TV such as a MUSE system) composed of a larger number of scanning lines is suitable for taking advantage of the display panel suitable for a large area and a large number of pixels. Signal source. The TV signal received by the TV signal receiving circuit 2113 is output to the decoder 2104.

The TV signal receiving circuit 2112 is a circuit for receiving a TV image signal transmitted using a wired transmission system such as a coaxial cable or an optical fiber. As with the TV signal receiving circuit 2113, the type of the TV signal to be received is not particularly limited, and the TV signal received by this circuit is also output to the decoder 2104.

Further, the image input interface circuit 21
Reference numeral 11 denotes a circuit for taking in an image signal supplied from an image input device such as a TV camera or an image reading scanner.
4 is output.

An image memory interface circuit 2110 is a circuit for taking in an image signal stored in a video tape recorder (hereinafter abbreviated as VTR). The taken image signal is output to a decoder 2104.

An image memory interface circuit 2109 is a circuit for taking in an image signal stored in a video disk, and the taken image signal is outputted to a decoder 2104.

The image memory interface circuit 2108 is a circuit for taking in an image signal from a device storing still image data, such as a so-called still image disk.
Output to 104.

Also, the input / output interface circuit 210
Reference numeral 5 denotes a circuit for connecting the display device to an external computer, a computer network, or an output device such as a printer. Image data and text
It is possible not only to input and output graphic information, but also to input and output control signals and numerical data between the CPU 2106 included in the display device and the outside in some cases.

The image generating circuit 2107 is provided with image data, character / graphic information input from outside via the input / output interface circuit 2105, or a CPU.
A circuit for generating display image data based on the image data and character / graphic information output from 2106. Within this circuit, for example, a rewritable memory for storing image data and character / graphic information, a read-only memory for storing image patterns corresponding to character codes, and a processor for image processing And other circuits necessary for generating an image.

The display image data generated by this circuit is output to the decoder 2104, but may be output to an external computer network or printer via the input / output interface circuit 2105 in some cases.

The CPU 2106 mainly performs operations related to operation control of the display device and generation, selection, and editing of a display image.

For example, a control signal is output to multiplexer 2103, and image signals to be displayed on the display panel are appropriately selected or combined. In this case, a control signal is generated for the display panel controller 2102 in accordance with the image signal to be displayed, and the display frequency, the scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced), the number of scanning lines on one screen, and the like are displayed. The operation of the device is appropriately controlled.

Further, image data and character / graphic information are directly output to the image generating circuit 2107, or an external computer or memory is accessed via the input / output interface circuit 2105 to access the image data or character / graphic information. Enter graphic information. Note that the CPU 2106
May, of course, relate to work for other purposes. For example, it may directly relate to a function of generating and processing information, such as a personal computer or a word processor.

Alternatively, as described above, the computer may be connected to an external computer network via the input / output interface circuit 2105 to perform operations such as numerical calculations in cooperation with external devices.

The input unit 2114 is connected to the CPU 21.
06 is for the user to input commands, programs, data, and the like. For example, in addition to a keyboard and a mouse, a joystick, a barcode reader,
Various input devices such as a voice recognition device can be used.

Also, the decoder 2104 has the 2107
2 to 3113 are circuits for inversely converting various image signals input from 3113 to three primary color signals or a luminance signal and an I signal and a Q signal. It is to be noted that the decoder 2104 desirably includes an image memory therein, as indicated by a dotted line in FIG. This includes, for example, the MUSE method,
This is for handling a television signal that requires an image memory when performing the inverse conversion. Further, the provision of the image memory facilitates the display of a still image, or enables image processing and editing including image thinning, interpolation, enlargement, reduction, and synthesis in cooperation with the image generation circuit 2107 and the CPU 2106. This is because there is an advantage that it can be easily performed.

The multiplexer 2103 is connected to the C
A display image is appropriately selected based on a control signal input from the PU 2106. That is, the multiplexer 2103 selects a desired image signal from the inversely converted image signals input from the decoder 2104 and outputs the selected image signal to the drive circuit 2101. In that case, by switching and selecting an image signal within one screen display time, it is possible to divide one screen into a plurality of areas and display different images depending on the areas, as in a so-called multi-screen television. .

The display panel controller 2
Reference numeral 102 denotes a circuit for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 2101 based on a control signal input from the CPU 2106.

First, as a signal related to the basic operation of the display panel, for example, a signal for controlling an operation sequence of a drive power source (not shown) for the display panel is output to the drive circuit 2101.

Further, as a signal related to the display panel driving method, a signal for controlling, for example, a screen display frequency and a scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced) is output to the driving circuit 2101.

In some cases, a control signal related to image quality adjustment such as brightness, contrast, color tone, and sharpness of a display image may be output to the drive circuit 2101.

The drive circuit 2101 is a circuit for generating a drive signal to be applied to the display panel 2100. The drive circuit 2101 is a circuit for generating an image signal input from the multiplexer 2103 and the display panel controller 21.
02 operates based on a control signal input from the control signal F.02.

The function of each unit has been described above. With the configuration illustrated in FIG. 35, the present display device can display image information input from various image information sources on the display panel 2.
100 can be displayed.

That is, various image signals including television broadcasts are inversely converted by the decoder 2104, appropriately selected by the multiplexer 2103, and input to the drive circuit 2101. On the other hand, the display controller 2102 generates a control signal for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 2101 according to the image signal to be displayed. The drive circuit 2101 applies a drive signal to the display panel 2100 based on the image signal and the control signal.

Thus, the display panel 2100
Displays an image. A series of these operations is C
It is totally controlled by the PU 2106.

In the present display device, the image memory built in the degoder 2104, the image generation circuit 21
07 and the CPU 2106 involve not only displaying a selected one of a plurality of pieces of image information but also enlarging, reducing, rotating, moving, edge emphasizing, thinning out, and interpolating the displayed image information. , Color conversion,
It is also possible to perform image processing such as image aspect ratio conversion and the like, and image editing such as synthesis, deletion, connection, replacement, and fitting. Although not specifically mentioned in the description of the present embodiment, a dedicated circuit for processing and editing audio information may be provided as in the above-described image processing and image editing.

Therefore, the present display device is a television broadcast display device, a video conference terminal device, an image editing device that handles still and moving images, a computer terminal device, an office terminal device such as a word processor,
It is possible to combine functions such as game machines with one unit,
Extremely wide range of applications for industrial or consumer use.

FIG. 35 shows only an example of the configuration of a display device using a display panel using a surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron beam source, and it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this. No. For example, FIG.
Circuits related to functions unnecessary for the intended use among the five constituent elements may be omitted. Conversely, additional components may be added depending on the purpose of use. For example, when the present display device is applied to a videophone, it is preferable to add a television camera, an audio microphone, a lighting device, a transmission / reception circuit including a modem, and the like to the components.

In the present display device, in particular, since the display panel using the surface conduction electron-emitting device as the electron beam source can be easily made thin, the depth of the entire display device can be reduced. In addition, the display panel using the surface conduction electron-emitting device as the electron beam source is easy to enlarge the screen, has high brightness, and has excellent viewing angle characteristics. It is possible to display well.

[0254]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus having a spacer having a more improved holding function.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus in which the deviation of the electron trajectory caused by the spacer is extremely reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, an image forming apparatus capable of forming a high-quality image can be provided.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus including a method of forming a spacer with further improved workability and yield.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a spacer base material used for forming a spacer.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another example of a spacer base material used for forming a spacer.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a spacer formed from the spacer base material of FIG. 2 is arranged in an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a view showing still another example of a spacer base material used for forming a spacer.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example in which a spacer formed from the spacer base material of FIG. 4 is arranged in an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a defective connection state of a spacer in the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a normal connection state of spacers in the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a spacer having a contact hole is arranged in an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of a spacer base material for forming the spacer of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining a part of the method of producing the spacer of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining another example of a defective connection state of the spacer in the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining another example of a normal connection state of the spacer in the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a spacer substrate for forming the spacer of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a view showing still another example of the spacer base material used for forming the spacer.

FIG. 15 is a view showing still another example of the spacer base material used for forming the spacer.

FIG. 16 is a view showing still another example of the spacer base material used for forming the spacer.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating another example in which spacers are arranged in the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 18 is a view showing an example of a spacer base material for forming the spacer of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of an image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a part of a display panel is cut away.

FIG. 20 is a plan view of a substrate of the multi-electron beam source used in the example.

FIG. 21 is a partial cross-sectional view of the substrate of the multi-electron beam source used in the example.

FIG. 22 is a plan view illustrating a phosphor array of a face plate of a display panel.

FIG. 23 is an AA ′ diagram of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
It is sectional drawing.

FIG. 24A is a plan view of a planar type surface conduction electron-emitting device used in an example, and FIG. 24B is a cross-sectional view thereof.

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view showing a step of manufacturing the planar type surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an applied voltage waveform during the energization forming process.

FIG. 27A is a diagram showing an applied voltage waveform at the time of the activation process, and FIG. 27B is a diagram showing a change in emission current Ie.

FIG. 28 is a sectional view of a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device used in an example.

FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 30 is a graph showing typical characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the example.

FIG. 31 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a drive circuit of an image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a ladder-type electron source.

FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a panel structure in an image forming apparatus including a ladder-shaped electron source.

FIG. 34 is a view for explaining another configuration example of the phosphor.

FIG. 35 is a block diagram of a multi-function image display device.

FIG. 36 is a view for explaining an example in which a conductive film is arranged on a spacer surface.

FIG. 37 is a view showing an example of a conventional surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 38 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional FE element.

FIG. 39 is a view showing an example of a conventional MIM element.

FIG. 40 is a perspective view in which a part of a display panel of the image display device is cut away.

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 22, 61, 83, 101, 123, 131 Spacer substrate 12, 34, 84 High resistance film 13, 35, 63, 85, 125, 133 Intermediate layer portion 14, 64, 103, 132 Cutting portion 23 Cutting surface 31 , 81, 121 Face plate substrate 32, 82, 122 Electron source substrate 33 Spacer substrate 36, 86, 126 Conductive connection part 37, 87, 127 Wiring part 51, 65 Contact hole 102 Groove part 1012 Electron source 1015 Rear plate 1017 Face plate 1016 Support frame 1020 Spacer 1 Insulating substrate 11 High resistance film 1018 Fluorescent film 1019 Metal back 1701 Display panel 1702 Scan circuit 1703 Control circuit 1704 Shift register 1705 Line memory 1706 Synchronous signal separation circuit 1707 Modulation signal generator 2 00 display panel 2101 drive circuit 2102 display panel controller 2103 multiplexer 2104 decoder 2105 input / output interface circuit 2106 CPU 2107 image generation circuit 2108, 2109, 2110 image memory interface circuit 2111 image input interface circuit 2112, 2113 TV signal reception circuit 2114 input section 3001 Insulating substrate 3002 Thin film for forming electron emission portion 3003, 3101 Electron emission portion 3004 Thin film including electron emission portion 3102, 3103 Device electrode

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-8-241049 (JP, A) JP-A-8-241670 (JP, A) JP-A-8-241666 (JP, A) JP-A-2-257551 (JP) , A) JP-A-4-28137 (JP, A) JP-A-64-31332 (JP, A) U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,883 (US, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01J 31/15 H01J 29/86 H01J 29/87 H01J 31/12

Claims (16)

(57) [Claims] 1. A container constituted by a member including a first substrate and a second substrate arranged at an interval from each other, an image forming means arranged inside the container, and the space formed by the member. an image forming apparatus comprising a spacer for holding the front
The spacer is formed by cutting a spacer base material,
A plate-like spec with a conductive film along the longitudinal direction of the non-cut surface
And the plate-like spacer is in contact with the first substrate or the second substrate via the conductive film .
Forming equipment . 2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of plate-like spacers include the space.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is formed from a substrate.
Place. Wherein the spacer is formed by the said conductive film is provided on an end portion of the spacer base material corresponding to the contact portion between the first substrate or the second substrate is cut into
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 which is composed of a. Wherein said spacer is of formed by the the surface of the spacer base material provided with the conductive film is cut into
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 comprising been. 5. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein a first conductive film is provided on a surface of the spacer substrate, and an end of the spacer substrate which is in contact with the first substrate or the second substrate. wherein providing the second conductive film of lower resistance than the first conductive film, said first and second conductive film is formed by cutting the spacer base material formed claims 2. The image forming apparatus according to 1. 6. are arranged electron-emitting devices on the first substrate, wherein the second substrate is disposed an image forming member for forming an image by irradiation of electrons from the electron-emitting devices Image according to any one of claims 1 to 5
Image forming device. 7. A plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged in a matrix with a plurality of row-direction wirings and a plurality of column-direction wirings are arranged on said first substrate, and said second substrate is provided with said plurality of electron-emitting devices. claims and emitters are arranged to emit light by irradiation of the electrodes and the electron accelerating electrons from the electron-emitting devices 1-5
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. Wherein said spacer is claims is brought into contact with said acceleration electrode and the row-directional wiring or said column-direction wirings
8. The image forming apparatus according to 7. 9. A first group spaced apart from each other.
A container composed of a member including a plate and a second substrate;
The image forming means and the interval are arranged inside the container.
And a spacer for holding the image forming apparatus.
Is cut from the spacer base material and the longitudinal direction of the non-cut surface
Forming a plate-like spacer having a conductive film along
And the step of connecting the plate-shaped spacer through the conductive film.
Contacting the first substrate or the second substrate.
Manufacturing method of an image forming apparatus. 10. The step of forming the plate-like spacer,
Forming a plurality of plate-like spacers from the spacer base material
The method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of: 11. The step of forming the plate-like spacer,
A contact portion with the first substrate or the second substrate
Forming a conductive film at the end of the spacer base material,
A contract including a step of forming a plate-shaped spacer by cutting
A method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus according to claim 9. 12. A step of forming said plate-like spacer.
Form a conductive film on the surface of the spacer substrate,
Including the step of forming a plate-shaped spacer by cutting
A method for manufacturing the image forming apparatus according to claim 9. 13. A step of forming said plate-like spacer.
Forms a first conductive film on the surface of the spacer substrate.
Contacting the first substrate or the second substrate.
The first conductive material is provided at an end of the spacer base material corresponding to a contact portion.
Forming a second conductive film having a lower resistance than the conductive film;
Spacer substrate on which the first and second conductive films are formed
Including the step of forming a plate-shaped spacer by cutting
A method for manufacturing the image forming apparatus according to claim 9. 14. An electron-emitting device is provided on said first substrate.
And the second substrate is provided with the electron-emitting device.
An image forming member for forming an image by irradiation of these electrons is provided.
Claims according to any one of claims 9 to 13
Manufacturing method of an image forming apparatus. 15. A plurality of rows arranged in a row on the first substrate.
Lines and a plurality of which are matrix-wired by a plurality of column direction wiring
An electron-emitting device is disposed, and the second substrate includes:
An electrode for accelerating electrons from the electron-emitting device;
10. A luminous body which emits light by irradiation is arranged.
A method for manufacturing the image forming apparatus according to claim 13.
Law. 16. The spacer is provided in the row direction wiring.
Or contacting the column wiring and the acceleration electrode
Item 16. A method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus according to Item 15.