JP3087847B1 - Method and apparatus for manufacturing electron source and method for manufacturing image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to reduce a difference between voltages applied to a plurality of conductive members arranged in a matrix. A potential is applied to a column wiring of a surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate by applying a potential by a buffer amplifier, and a potential is selected by a line selection circuit.
A potential is applied to the row wiring of the row. Thus, the conductive member is activated by the potential difference generated at both ends of the selected row of conductive members. At this time, the control circuit 106 monitors the progress of the activation by the monitor circuit 103, and the potential distribution generation circuit 1
08 gives a column wiring potential commensurate with the drop in the potential of the row wiring due to each conductive member.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron source and an image forming apparatus to which the electron source is applied, and more particularly, to an electron source having a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices and a method and apparatus for manufacturing the same.

[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, a cold cathode device is, for example, a field emission device (hereinafter referred to as an FE type).
Also, a metal / insulating layer / metal type emission device (hereinafter referred to as MIM type), a surface conduction type emission device, and the like are known.

[0003] As an example of the FE type, for example, W.M. P.
Dyke & W. W. Dolan, " Field Emi
session ", Advance in Electro
nPhysics, 8, 89 (1956) or C.I. A. Spindt, "Physicalpro
parties of thin-film field
de emission cathodes with
molybdenium cones ", J. App.
l. Phys. , 47, 5248 (1976).

As an example of the MIM type, for example,
C. A. Mead, “Operation of tun
nel-emission Devices, J. et al. Ap
pl. Phys. , 32, 646 (1961).

[0005] As a surface conduction type emission element, for example, M.I. I. Elinson, Radio Eng.
Electron Phys. , 10, 1290, (1
965) and other examples described later.

[0006] 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 an O2 thin film, those using an Au thin film [G. Dittmer: "Thin Solid Fi
lms ", 9,317 (1972)] and In ₂ O ₃ / S
nO ₂ thin film [M. Hartwell and
C. G. FIG. Fonstad: "IEEE Trans.
ED Conf. , 519 (1975)] and those using carbon thin films [Hisashi Araki et al .: Vacuum, Vol. 26, No. 1
No. 22 (1983)].

As a typical example of the device configuration of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, FIG. Hartwel
1 shows a plan view of an element according to the present invention. In FIG.
Reference numeral 1 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. An electron emission portion 3005 is formed by performing an energization process called energization forming described later on the conductive thin film 3004. The interval L in the figure is 0.5 to 1 [mm], and W is
It is set at 0.1 [mm]. 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.

M. In the above-described surface conduction electron-emitting device including the device by Hartwell et al., The electron-emitting portion 3005 is formed by subjecting the conductive thin film 3004 to an energization process called energization forming before electron emission.
It was common to form That is, the energization forming means energizing by applying a constant DC voltage to both ends of the conductive thin film 3004, or a DC voltage which is boosted at a very slow rate of, for example, about 1 V / min.
The electron emitting portion 30 in a state where the conductive thin film 3004 is locally destroyed, deformed or deteriorated, and is in an electrically high resistance state.
05 is formed. Note that a part of the conductive thin film 3004 that has been locally broken, deformed, or altered includes
Cracks occur. When an appropriate voltage is applied to the conductive thin film 3004 after the energization forming, electron emission is performed in the vicinity of the crack.

The above surface conduction electron-emitting device has an advantage that a large number of devices can be formed over a large area because the structure is simple and the production is easy. 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 applications of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, for example, image forming devices such as image display devices and image recording devices, and charged beam sources have been studied.

In particular, as an application to an image display device, as disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,066,883 by the present applicant and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-257551, a surface conduction electron-emitting device emits light by irradiation with an electron beam. An image display device using a combination of a phosphor and a phosphor 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 a liquid crystal display device that has become widespread in recent years, it can be said that it is superior in that it does not require a backlight because it is a self-luminous type and that it has a wide viewing angle.

As a background art, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
176265 and JP-A-8-248920.

[0013]

An object of the present invention according to the present invention is to realize a more preferable method of manufacturing an electron source, a method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus, or a method of manufacturing an electron source.

[0014]

To solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has the following arrangement. That is, multiple
A row wiring and a plurality of rows forming a matrix together with the row wiring.
Number of column wires, each one of the row wires and the column wires
An electrode having a plurality of electron-emitting devices connected to one of the wires
A method of manufacturing a slave source, comprising selecting one of the plurality of row wirings.
Of the electron-emitting device according to the potential applied to the row wiring.
A first potential applied to a first portion of the conductive member being a part
And a potential applied to each of the plurality of column wirings.
A second part of the conductive member that becomes a part of the electron-emitting device
And the second potential applied to the selected row arrangement.
Apply voltage to each of multiple conductive members connected to the wire
The step of applying the voltage includes the step of selecting
Of each of the plurality of conductive members connected to the set row wiring
Due to the difference of the first potential in the first portion.
A plurality of conductive members connected to the selected row wiring
To reduce the difference between the voltages applied to each of the
To the potential applied to each of the plurality of column wirings, before
The plurality of conductive members are connected to the respective second portions.
It changes according to the change in the current flowing through the column wiring. Further
Preferably, in the step of applying the voltage,
Unselected row wirings out of the number of row wirings
Applied to each of the plurality of column wirings to the selected row wiring
The current flowing through the unselected row wiring due to the potential difference from the potential
Apply the potential to suppress. More preferably, the non-selection
The potential of the row wiring is applied to each of the plurality of column wirings.
Set to be between the maximum and minimum potentials
Is done. More preferably, the selected row wirings are sequentially
Then, the step of applying the voltage is performed. More preferred
Or the conductive member connected to the selected row wiring
After the step of applying the voltage to the plurality of
Select another row wiring. More preferably, the
Select a row wiring among a plurality of row wirings, and select the selected row wiring.
The voltage is applied to the conductive member connected to the
Apply the voltage by applying at intervals
Performing the steps, and selecting another row wiring during the time interval.
With respect to the conductive member connected to the other row wiring.
The step of applying the voltage is performed. More preferably, electronic
Forms an image with a source and electrons emitted from the electron source
I do. Alternatively, the electron source is manufactured according to the method for manufacturing the electron source.
Manufacturing the electron source and the image forming member
Image forming comprising the steps of combining
Device manufacturing method.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS More specific problems will be described below.

The inventors have tried surface conduction type emission devices of various materials, manufacturing methods and structures, including those described in the above-mentioned prior art. Furthermore, research has been conducted on a multi-electron beam source in which a number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged, and on an image display device using the multi-electron beam source.

The inventors have tried a multi-electron beam source by an electric wiring method shown in FIG. 37, for example. That is, it is a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of surface conduction emission devices are two-dimensionally arranged and these devices are wired in a matrix as shown in the figure.

In the figure, 4001 schematically shows a surface conduction electron-emitting device, 4002 shows a wiring in a row direction, and 4003 shows a wiring in a column direction. The row wiring 4002 and the column wiring 4003 actually have a finite electric resistance, but in the figure, the wiring resistances 4004 and 4005
It is shown as The above-described wiring method is called simple matrix wiring.

Although a 6 × 6 matrix is shown for convenience of illustration, the size of the matrix is not limited to this. For example, in the case of a multi-electron beam source for an image display device, a desired image is displayed. Elements that are sufficient for displaying are arranged and wired.

In a multi-electron beam source in which surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a simple matrix, an appropriate electric signal is applied to the row wiring 4002 and the column wiring 4003 in order to output a desired electron beam. For example, to drive a surface conduction electron-emitting device of an arbitrary row in a matrix, a selection potential Vs is applied to a row-directional wiring 4002 of a selected row, and at the same time, a row-directional wiring 400 of an unselected row is applied.
2 is applied with a non-selection potential Vns. In synchronization with this, a driving potential Ve for outputting an electron beam is applied to the column wiring 4003. According to this method, the wiring resistance 400
If the potential drops due to 4 and 4005 are neglected, a voltage of Ve-Vs is applied to the surface conduction type emission elements of the selected row, and Ve-Vs is applied to the surface conduction type emission elements of the non-selected rows.
A voltage of Vns is applied. If Ve, Vs, and Vns are set to potentials of appropriate magnitudes, an electron beam of a desired intensity should be output only from the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the selected row, and different drive potentials are applied to each of the column wirings. If Ve is applied, each of the elements in the selected row should output a different intensity electron beam. In addition, since the response speed of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is high, if the length of time for applying the driving potential Ve is changed, the length of time for outputting the electron beam should be changed.

Therefore, various uses are considered for a multi-electron beam source in which surface conduction type emission elements are arranged in a simple matrix. For example, if a voltage signal corresponding to image information is appropriately applied, an electron for an image display device can be obtained. It is expected to be applicable as a source.

On the other hand, the present inventors have intensively studied to improve the characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and as a result, have found that it is effective to carry out the activation process in the manufacturing process.

As described above, when forming the electron-emitting portion of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, a current is applied to the conductive thin film to locally break, deform, or alter the thin film, thereby forming a crack. Processing (energization forming processing) is performed. Thereafter, by further performing the activation process, it is possible to greatly improve the electron emission characteristics.

That is, the energization activation process is a process of energizing the electron-emitting portion formed by the energization forming process under appropriate conditions to deposit a deposit such as carbon or a carbon compound in the neighborhood. For example, by applying a voltage pulse periodically in a vacuum atmosphere in which an organic substance having an appropriate partial pressure is present and the total pressure is 10 −4 to 10 −5 [torr], the electron emission portion In the vicinity, any one of single crystal graphite, polycrystal graphite, amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof is deposited to a thickness of 500 [Å] or less. However, this condition is just one example.
Needless to say, it should be appropriately changed depending on the material and the shape of the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

By performing such processing, the emission current at the same applied voltage can be typically increased by 100 times or more as compared with immediately after the energization forming. (After the activation is completed, it is desirable to reduce the partial pressure of the organic substance in the vacuum atmosphere.)
When manufacturing a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of the above-described surface conduction electron-emitting devices are wired in a simple matrix, it is desirable to carry out an activation process for each device.

As described above, when a surface conduction electron-emitting device that performs a resistance increasing process and an energizing activation process by energizing forming in a manufacturing process is applied to an image forming apparatus, there are the following problems. The problem of the activation process in the manufacturing process will be described below.

In various image forming panels to which the surface conduction electron-emitting device is applied, naturally, high-quality and high-definition images are desired. In order to realize this, for example, a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices wired in a simple matrix are used. For this reason, a very large number of element arrangements requiring several hundreds to several thousands of rows and columns are required, and it is desired that the element characteristics of each surface conduction type emission element be uniform. Further, in order to actually produce various image forming panels of high quality and high definition, it is necessary to uniformly produce a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices.

For example, as a method of manufacturing a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices by a current activation process, the present applicant has divided the surface conduction electron-emitting devices arranged in a matrix into a plurality of groups, and Were sequentially applied with a voltage for activation. That is, the activation voltage was sequentially applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting devices of M rows and N columns as shown in FIG. In the figure, EY1 to EYn and EX1 to EXn are wirings.

FIG. 39 illustrates a case where an energizing activation voltage is applied to, for example, a surface conduction electron-emitting device in the second row (shown in black in the figure). As shown in FIG. A potential source for activation was connected, and a ground level, that is, 0 (V) was connected to the other electrodes. According to this method, in principle, the energizing activation voltage is applied only to the surface conduction electron-emitting devices in the second row, and no voltage is applied or current flows to the other surface conduction electron-emitting devices. . When the activation was actually performed by this method, the uniformity of the electron emission characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device was improved.

However, it is difficult to completely eliminate variations in electron emission characteristics, and in particular, there is a problem that elements having different electron emission characteristics are distributed along one side of the matrix. Specifically, the emission characteristics of the surface conduction type emission element on the side far from the power supply end at the time of activation, that is, on the right side in FIG. 39, were inferior. When such an element is used as an electron source of an image forming apparatus, the brightness or density on one side of the image is insufficient.

The present inventors have conducted intensive studies on the cause of this problem, and have investigated the cause as follows.

In the method shown in FIG. 39 described above, the activation voltage can be applied to only one row of surface conduction electron-emitting devices in principle, but the wirings EY1 to EYn and EX1 to EX
Since the electric resistance of n is not actually 0, a potential drop occurs when a current flows. Accordingly, in FIG. 39, a model including the wiring resistance is shown in FIG. 40 (a), focusing on the surface conduction type element group in the second row by applying the activation voltage.

In FIG. 40 (a), F1 to FN are surface conduction type emission elements, r1 to rN are wiring resistances between elements in the row wiring EX2, and ry is a surface conduction type emission element from the feeding end of each of the wirings EY1 to EYN. Up to the wiring resistance. In general, the row wiring EX2 is designed to be formed of a fixed line width, thickness, and material, and therefore, excluding manufacturing variations, r1 to r1
rN may be considered equal. In addition, each wiring EY1 to EYN
Are generally designed to be equal, it may be considered that ry of each wiring is equal.

The current flowing through the model shown in FIG. 40A will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 40B, the current supplied from the activation potential source is denoted by I, and the currents flowing through the surface conduction electron-emitting devices F1 to FN are denoted by i1 to i1, respectively.
Assuming that iN, the current I has the relationship of the sum of the element currents ik flowing through the element Fk, that is, I = Σ ｛k = 1 to N｝ ik.

Further, the wiring resistances r1 to rN of each part in the row direction
Where ir1 = irN, irp = I−Σ ｛k = 0−p−1｝ ik (where i0 =
0 and p are integers from 1 to N).

That is, the current ir1 flowing through r1 is equal to the sum of the currents flowing through the all surface conduction type emission devices, and the current ir2 flowing through r2 is calculated by summing the current flowing through the all surface conduction type emission devices to the surface conduction type emission device F1. It is equal to the value obtained by subtracting the flowing current i1. The current irN flowing through rN matches the current iN flowing through the surface conduction electron-emitting device FN. Therefore, it can be seen that a larger current flows in the row direction wiring as it approaches the power supply.

When the energization activation process is performed, changes in the device current and the electron emission current are observed with the passage of time from the start of energization. This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 41 illustrates an activation characteristic when an energization activation process is performed on one element of the surface conduction type emission element group wired in a matrix. As shown in the figure, when the energization activation process is performed, the device current (If in the diagram) and the electron emission current (Ie in the diagram) flowing through the surface conduction electron-emitting device increase with the energization, and eventually become saturated. That is, the current flowing through the surface conduction electron-emitting device increases as the energization activation process proceeds, and the largest current flows through the surface conduction electron-emitting device at the end of the energization activation process.

Accordingly, from FIGS. 40 and 41, when the activation voltage is sequentially applied line by line in units of one line, the element current If flowing through each element by the wiring resistances r1 to rN is obtained as the energization activation proceeds. It can be seen that a potential drop occurs in response to the above, and the largest potential drop occurs especially at the end of the energization activation process. At this time, the voltage distribution applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting devices arranged on the same row is as shown in FIG. FIG.
In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis represents the number of each surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the vertical axis represents the voltage applied to each surface conduction electron-emitting device. In addition,
Eac on the vertical axis is the output potential of the activation potential source. As described above, when the activation process is performed in units of one row, a large distribution occurs in the voltage applied to each element at the end of the activation. Therefore, elements having different electron emission characteristics are distributed along one side of the matrix. In particular, since the element far from the power supply end at the time of activation is not applied with a sufficient activation voltage, the ideal activation shown in FIG. 41 is not performed.
The emission characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device were poor. As a result, when the elements wired in a matrix are used for the electron source of the image forming apparatus, a phenomenon that the luminance or the density on one side of the image becomes insufficient is developed.

In the above, a description has been given of the case where the energization is activated from one side of the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate on which the simple matrix wiring is performed. However, the same problem occurs when the electrodes are taken out from both sides. FIG. 43A shows a connection diagram of an energizing circuit when electrodes are taken out from both sides, and FIG. 43B shows a distribution of applied voltages to the element at that time. As is clear from the figure, in the case of the energization treatment from both electrodes, the phenomenon that the characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device in the center part deteriorated was developed for the same reason as described in the energization treatment from one side.

In the embodiments described below, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a manufacturing method and an apparatus which can obtain uniform electron emission characteristics of an electron source in which surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a simple matrix, and a manufacturing method using the same. The electron source is explained.

Here, one embodiment of the invention relating to the present application will be described.

One of the inventions of the method of manufacturing an electron source according to the present invention is such that the plurality of conductive members are commonly connected to first portions of the plurality of conductive members which are to be at least part of the electron-emitting device. Apply a potential through the wiring,
Applying a potential to a second portion of each of the plurality of conductive members to apply a voltage to each of the plurality of conductive members, and applying a voltage to the second portion of each of the plurality of conductive members. The applied potential is applied to each of the plurality of conductive members due to a difference in potential between each of the plurality of conductive members in the wiring to which the plurality of conductive members are connected in common and the first portion of each of the plurality of conductive members is connected. The voltage is set so as to reduce the voltage difference.

Here, a voltage corresponding to a potential difference between the potential of the first portion and the potential of the second portion of the conductive member is applied to the conductive member. For example, when the potentials of the respective portions on the wiring are different, if the potentials of the second portions of the plurality of conductive members are the same, the voltage applied between the first portion and the second portion of each conductive member becomes Will be different. Therefore, according to the invention, the voltage applied between the first and second portions of each conductive member is made closer by setting the potential of the second portion to reduce the difference between the voltages. I can do it.

[0044] Here, in order to apply a substantially voltage between the first and second portions, the potential applied to the first and second portions need only be different . Either potential may be ground.

As the conductive member to be applied with the voltage and to become at least a part of the electron-emitting device, for example, a conductive member that has been subjected to a forming step of a surface-conduction type electron-emitting device can be suitably used.

Further, a conductive film can be used as the conductive member. In addition, the form of the conductive member which receives the step of applying the above-described voltage includes the first portion and the second portion.
In which a high resistance portion, for example, a gap (gap) provided between the first portion and the second portion is provided. The above-described step of applying a voltage can be particularly applied to the step of depositing a deposit at or near the interval. The step of applying the voltage is suitable when the current flowing through the conductive member increases or the current flowing through the wiring to which the conductive member is connected increases, as in the embodiment described later. .

When the electron source has a plurality of row wirings and a plurality of column wirings forming a matrix, a plurality of the conductive members, each of which has a first portion connected to one row wiring. With respect to the potential applied to the row wiring,
The above-described voltage applying step may be performed according to the potential applied to each column wiring to which the second portion of each conductive member is connected.

Further, the potential applied to the second portion may be changed according to the change in the potential applied to the first portion. In particular, when the resistance value between the first portion and the second portion of the conductive member changes according to the application of a voltage, the degree of the potential drop in the wiring also changes. Since the potential changes, it is desirable to control the potential applied to the second portion accordingly.

Here, the potential applied to the first portion does not necessarily need to be measured. For example, it can be estimated by measuring the current flowing through the conductive member. A circuit in which the second potential is automatically set according to the measured current may be used.

A potential applied to the first portion;
Alternatively, the potential applied to the second portion, or both the potential applied to the first portion and the potential applied to the second portion may be applied in a pulsed manner.

In particular, the potential applied to the wiring to which the plurality of conductive members are commonly connected and the potential applied to each of the second portions are respectively applied in a pulsed manner. It is preferable that the pulse-like potential applied to the wirings to which the conductive members are commonly connected be applied later than the pulse-like potential applied to each of the second portions.

Further, the conductive member is connected to one of a plurality of row wirings and one of a plurality of column wirings forming a matrix. And the potential applied to the first portion by the potential applied to the selected row wiring, and the potential applied to the second portion by the potential applied to the plurality of column wires. And applying a voltage to the conductive member connected to the row wiring.

In particular, in the step of applying the voltage,
A non-selected row wiring, which is a non-selected row wiring among the plurality of row wirings, is given a potential that suppresses a current flowing through the non-selected row wiring due to a potential difference from a potential applied to the column wiring. Good.

The potential applied to the unselected row wiring, the potential applied to the column wiring, or both the potential applied to the unselected row wiring and the potential applied to the column wiring are: It is preferable that the potential of the unselected row wiring is set to a potential between the maximum value and the minimum value of the potential applied to the plurality of column wirings. For example, an intermediate value between the maximum value and the minimum value is preferable.

The potential applied to the unselected row wiring, the potential applied to the column wiring, or both the potential applied to the unselected row wiring and the potential applied to the column wiring are: The ground potential may be set between the maximum value and the minimum value of the potential applied to the plurality of column wirings.

Further, it is preferable that the step of applying the voltage is performed by sequentially switching the selected row wirings. In particular, it is preferable to select a certain row wiring and to select the conductive line connected to the selected row wiring. A step of applying the voltage is performed by applying the voltage to the member at a time interval, and another row wiring is selected during the time interval and connected to the other row wiring. It is preferable to perform the step of applying the voltage to the conductive member.

Further, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus having an electron source and an image forming member for forming an image by electrons emitted from the electron source. The invention includes a step of manufacturing an electron source by a method of manufacturing an electron source, and a step of combining the electron source with the image forming member.

Further, the present invention relates to an invention of an apparatus for manufacturing an electron source.
As an aspect , a first method in which a potential is applied to a first portion of each of a plurality of conductive members to be at least a part of an electron-emitting device through a wiring to which the plurality of conductive members are commonly connected.
And a second circuit for applying a potential to a second portion of each of the plurality of conductive members, wherein the second circuit includes the second portion of each of the plurality of conductive members. Is applied to each of the plurality of conductive members due to a difference in potential of each of the plurality of conductive members to which the first portion is connected in a wiring to which the plurality of conductive members are connected in common. The invention includes an invention of an apparatus for manufacturing an electron source, which is set so as to reduce a difference between applied voltages.

Here, it is preferable to have a current monitor circuit for monitoring a current flowing through the conductive member.

Here, it is preferable that the second circuit sets the potential based on a current flowing through the conductive member.

Further, it is preferable that the second circuit controls the potential applied to the second portion in accordance with the time during which the potential is applied to the second portion.

[0062] The second circuit may include a storage unit referred to for setting a potential applied to the second portion.

Here, the second circuit is equivalent to a difference in potential between each of the plurality of conductive members connected to the first portion of each of the plurality of conductive members in the wiring to which the plurality of conductive members are connected in common. May be configured to include a circuit capable of producing a difference in the potentials of the signals. Such a configuration can be realized by, for example, sinking or supplying a current flowing through each conductive member from each point of the equivalent wiring resistance array having substantially the same resistance as the wiring. As the current flowing through each conductive member, the current flowing through the wiring is monitored, and the monitored current is divided by the number of conductive members connected to the wiring. The current can be obtained by monitoring the current flowing through the wiring, or can be obtained according to data measured in advance. The potential distribution obtained by this configuration and the offset potential can be superimposed on each other to obtain a potential to be applied to each of the second portions.

When the first circuit applies a potential from both sides of the wiring, the degree of potential drop can be suppressed.

That is, the present application also includes the following embodiment of the present invention.

A plurality of row wirings, a plurality of column wirings forming a matrix together with the plurality of row wirings, and a plurality of conductive members each connected to one of the row wirings and one of the column wirings are provided. A voltage applying device to the conductive member in the matrix device, wherein a first circuit that supplies a predetermined potential to a selected row wiring of the plurality of row wirings, and a voltage applied to each of the plurality of column wirings. A second circuit for supplying a predetermined potential, the second circuit comprising: an equivalent wiring resistance array having a resistance substantially equal to the row wiring;
A potential distribution generating circuit having a control voltage for sinking or supplying a current flowing through the conductive member at a predetermined point in the equivalent wiring resistance array.

Here, it is preferable that the second circuit has a circuit for superimposing a potential distribution generated by the potential distribution generating circuit and an offset potential. Specifically, a buffer amplifier can be used as the circuit.

The conductive member mentioned here can have various configurations. For example, it may have a pair of electrodes, and a current may flow when a different potential is applied between the electrodes.

Hereinafter, a more specific example will be described.

[0070] [First Reference Example] first energization activation device of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices is a reference example of the present invention with reference to FIG 1 will be described. Before that, the structure and manufacturing method of a display panel to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to specific examples.

(Configuration and Manufacturing Method of Display Panel) FIG. 22 shows the display panel 1 used in the present embodiment shown in FIG.
01 is a perspective view of FIG.
The part is cut away.

In the figure, 1005 is a rear plate, 1006
Is a side wall, 1007 is a face plate, 1005
1007 form an airtight container for maintaining the inside of the display panel at a vacuum. 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 rear plate 1005 has a substrate 1001
Is fixed, but the cold cathode device 1002 is provided on the substrate.
N × M are formed. (N and M are positive integers of 2 or more and are appropriately set according to the target number of display pixels. For example, in a display device for displaying high-definition television, N = 3000, M It is desirable to set a number equal to or greater than 1000. In this reference example ,
N = 3072 and M = 1024. The N × M cold cathode elements are arranged in a simple matrix by M row-directional wirings 1003 and N column-directional wirings 1004.
The portion constituted by 1001 to 1004 is called a multi-electron beam source. The manufacturing method and structure of the multi-electron beam source will be described later in detail.

In the present embodiment , the substrate 1001 of the multi-electron beam source is fixed to the rear plate 1005 of the airtight container.
If 1 has sufficient strength, the substrate 100 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 1007, a fluorescent film 1008 is formed. Since the present reference example 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 shifting even if the electron beam irradiation position is slightly shifted, and to prevent the reflection of external light to prevent the display contrast from lowering. And preventing charge-up of the fluorescent film by the electron beam. Black conductor 1
For 010, graphite was used as a main component, but other materials may be used as long as they are suitable for the above purpose.

The method of applying the three primary color phosphors is not limited to the stripe arrangement shown in FIG. 23A, but may be, 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 1008, and a black conductive material may not be necessarily used.

A metal back 1009 known in the field of CRTs is provided on the surface of the fluorescent film 1008 on the rear plate side.
Is provided. The purpose of providing the metal back 1009 is
A part of the light emitted from the fluorescent film 1008 is specularly reflected to improve the light utilization rate, or the fluorescent film 1008
8 to protect it, to act as an electrode for applying an electron beam acceleration voltage, and to act as a conductive path for excited electrons of the fluorescent film 1008. The metal back 1009 was formed by forming a fluorescent film 1008 on the face plate substrate 1007, 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 1008, the metal back 1009 is not used.

Although not used in this embodiment , for the purpose of applying an accelerating voltage and improving the conductivity of the fluorescent film, a gap between the face plate substrate 1007 and the fluorescent film 1008 was formed.
For example, a transparent electrode made of ITO may be provided.

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.
03, Dy1 to Dyn are the column direction wirings 1004 of the multi-electron beam source, and Hv is the metal back 1 of the face plate.
009 electrically.

In order to evacuate the inside of the hermetic container, after the hermetic container is assembled, 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].

The basic configuration and manufacturing method of the display panel according to the reference example of the present invention have been described above.

Next, a method of manufacturing the multi-electron beam source used for the display panel of the above-described reference example 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 in the image display device according to the reference example 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 or FE
Or a cold cathode device such as an MIM type can be used.

However, in a situation where a display device having a large display 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 reference example , a surface conduction electron-emitting device in which the electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is 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 Emission Device) Typical configurations of a surface conduction electron-emitting device in which an electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film include a planar type and a vertical type. Kinds are given.

(Flat-Type Surface-Conduction-Type Emitting Element) First, the element configuration and manufacturing method of a flat-type surface-conduction-type emission element will be described. FIGS. 24 (a) and 24 (b) are a plan view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, for explaining the configuration of a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device. In the figure, 1101 is a substrate,
1102 and 1103 are device electrodes, 1104 is a conductive thin film, 1105 is an electron emitting portion formed by energization forming, and 1113 is a thin film formed by energization activation.

As the substrate 1101, for example, various glass substrates such as quartz glass or 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 element electrodes 1102 and 1103 provided on the substrate 1101 so as to be parallel to the substrate surface are formed of a conductive material. For example, N
i, Cr, Au, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Cu, Pd,
A material such as Ag or the like, an alloy of these metals, a metal oxide such as In ₂ O ₃ —SnO ₂ , or a semiconductor such as polysilicon may be appropriately selected and used. . 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 spacing L is usually designed by selecting an appropriate value from the range of several hundreds of angstroms to several hundreds of micrometers. It is in the range of ten micrometers. Further, regarding the thickness d of the device electrode,
Usually, an appropriate numerical value is selected from the range of several hundred angstroms to several micrometers.

A fine particle film is used for 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.

Specifically, the setting is made in the range of several angstroms to several thousand angstroms, and the most preferable 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 , CeB ₆ ,
Borides such as YB ₄ , GdB ₄ , etc., Ti
Carbides including C, ZrC, HfC, TaC, SiC, WC, etc., nitrides including TiN, ZrN, HfN, etc., semiconductors including Si, Ge, etc., carbon, etc. 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 within the range of 10 ³ to 10 ⁷ [Ohm / □].

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. In the example of FIGS. 24A and 24B, the layers are stacked in the order of the substrate, the element electrode, and the conductive thin film from the bottom, but in some cases, the substrate, the conductive thin film, and the element electrode are stacked from the bottom. , Can be stacked in this order.

The electron-emitting portion 1105 is a crack-like portion formed in a part of the conductive thin film 1104, and has an electrically higher resistance 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, they are schematically shown in FIGS. 24 (a) and 24 (b).

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 500 [Å] or less, but 300 [Å] or less. Is more preferred.

Since it is difficult to accurately show the actual position and shape of the thin film 1113, FIGS. 24 (a) and 24 (b)
Is schematically shown. FIG. 24A shows an element from which a part of the thin film 1113 has been removed.

The basic configuration of the preferred device has been described above. In the reference example , the following device was 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 [micrometer].

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

Next, a description will be given of a method of manufacturing a suitable flat surface conduction electron-emitting device. FIG. 25 (a) to (d)
Is a cross-sectional view for explaining the manufacturing process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the notation of each member is the same as that in FIG.

1) First, as shown in FIG. 25A, device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are formed on a substrate 1101.

Before 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 deposition method, for example, a vacuum film forming technique such as a vapor deposition method or a sputtering method may be used.) Thereafter, the deposited electrode material is patterned by using a photolithography / etching technique, and as shown in FIG. The illustrated pair of device electrodes (1102 and 110)
Form 3).

2) Next, as shown in FIG. 25B, a conductive thin film 1104 is formed.

In the formation, first, FIG.
The substrate is coated with an organic metal solution, 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. (Specifically, in this reference example , Pd was used as a main element.
In the reference example , a dipping method is used as a coating method, but other methods such as a spinner method and a spray method may be used. In addition, as a method of forming a conductive thin film made of a fine particle film, other than the method of applying the organometallic solution used in the present reference example , for example, a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, a chemical vapor deposition method, or the like. May be used.

3) Next, as shown in FIG. 25C, a forming power supply
The electron emitting portion 1105 is formed by applying an appropriate voltage during the period 03 and performing the energization forming process.

The energization forming process is a process for forming the conductive thin film 1.
104 is energized, and a part of it is appropriately destroyed, deformed,
Alternatively, it is a process of altering the structure to change the structure into a structure suitable for emitting electrons. Here, the conductive thin film 1
A fine particle film is used as 104. In a portion of the conductive thin film made of the fine particle film which has been changed to a structure suitable for emitting electrons (that is, the electron emitting portion 1105), 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 describe the energization method in more detail. When forming a conductive thin film made of a fine particle film, a pulse-like voltage is preferable. In the case of this reference example , a triangular 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 the reference example , for example, 10 ⁻⁵ [to
In a vacuum atmosphere of about [rr], for example, the pulse width T1 is 1 millisecond, and the pulse interval T2 is 10 milliseconds.
The peak value Vpf was increased by 0.1 [V] per pulse. Then, every time 5 triangular waves are applied, 1 is applied.
The monitor pulse Pm was inserted at each time. The monitor pulse voltage Vpm was set to 0.1 [V] so as not to adversely affect the forming process. Then, the electric resistance between the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 is 1 ×
When the current reaches 10 ⁶ [Ohm], that is, the current measured by the ammeter 1111 when the monitor pulse is applied is 1 × 10 6
^-7 [A] At the stage of the following, the energization related to the forming process was terminated.

The above method is a preferred method for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present reference example , and the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, for example, the material and film 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. 25D, an appropriate voltage is applied between the element electrodes 1102 and 1103 from the activating power supply 1112, and an energizing activation process is performed to perform electron emission characteristics. Make improvements.

The energization activating process is a process of energizing the electron emitting portion, particularly the electron emitting portion 1105 formed by the energizing forming process, under appropriate conditions to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity thereof. That is. In the figure, a deposit made of carbon or a carbon compound is schematically shown 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 reference example , the energization activation process is performed by applying a rectangular wave of a constant voltage periodically. 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-described 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, 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. The anode electrode 1114 is connected to a DC high voltage power supply 1115 and an ammeter 1116. (Note that 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 the voltage is applied from the activation power supply 1112, the ammeter 1116 measures the emission current Ie to monitor the progress of the energization activation process.
12 is controlled. An example of the emission current Ie measured by the ammeter 1116 is shown in FIG. 27B. When the pulse voltage is started to be applied from the activation power supply 1112, the emission current Ie increases with the passage of time, but eventually saturates. And hardly increase. 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 flat surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 25E was manufactured.

(Vertical Type Surface Conduction Emission Element) Next, another typical configuration of a surface conduction electron-emitting element in which the electron-emitting portion or its periphery is formed of 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 cross-sectional view for explaining the basic structure of the vertical type. In FIG.
202 and 1203 are device electrodes, 1206 is a step forming member, 1204 is a conductive thin film using a fine particle film, 1205
Are electron-emitting portions formed by an energization forming process;
213 is a thin film formed by the activation process.

The difference between the vertical type and the flat type described above is that one of the device electrodes (1202) is provided on the step forming member 1206, and the conductive thin film 1204 is provided on the side surface of the step forming member 1206. It is in the point of coating. Therefore, the element electrode interval L in the planar type shown in FIG. 24A 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 29D are cross-sectional views for explaining a manufacturing process.
Is the same as

1) First, as shown in FIG. 29A, an element electrode 1203 is formed on a substrate 1201.

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 laminating SiO2 by sputtering, for example, but other film forming methods such as vacuum deposition or printing 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.
The device electrode 1203 is exposed.

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, as in the case of the flat type, an energization forming process is performed to form an electron-emitting portion.
(A process similar to the planar energization forming process described with reference to FIG. 25C may be performed.) 7) Next, as in the case of the planar type, an energization activation process is performed, and the electron emission section is performed. Carbon or a carbon compound is deposited in the vicinity. (A process similar to the planar energization activation process described with reference to FIG. 25D may be performed.) As described above, FIG.
A vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in (f) was manufactured.

(Characteristics of Surface Conduction Emission Element Used in Display Device) The element structure and manufacturing method of the planar and vertical surface conduction electron-emitting devices have been described above. Next, the characteristics of the element used in the display device will be described. Is 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 in 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.

Third, since the response speed of the current Ie emitted from the element is faster than the voltage Vf applied to the element, the amount of charge of the electrons emitted from the element 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.

In addition, by using the second characteristic or the third characteristic, the light emission luminance can be controlled, so that a gradation display can be performed. (Structure of a Multi-Electron Beam Source in which Many Devices are Wired in a Simple Matrix) Next, a structure of a multi-electron beam source in which the above-described surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged on a substrate and wired in a simple matrix will be described.

FIG. 31 is a plan view of the multi-electron beam source used for the display panel of FIG. On the substrate, surface conduction type emission elements similar to those shown in FIGS. 24A and 24B are arranged, and these elements are arranged in a simple matrix by row-direction wiring electrodes 1003 and column-direction wiring electrodes 1004. Wired. 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. 32 is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ 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 and an energization activation process.

<Structure of Current Activation Device> The structure and the manufacturing method of the display panel have been described above. Next, the energization activation of the surface conduction electron-emitting device mentioned in this description will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, it is assumed that a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are wired in a matrix on the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 to be activated, and the forming process has already been completed. The substrate 101 is connected to a vacuum exhaust device (not shown), and 10 ^-4 to 10 ^-5 (Torr)
r) It is evacuated to about. Furthermore, they are connected to an external electric circuit via row direction wiring terminals Dx1 to Dxm and column direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dyn. A line selection circuit 102 for selecting an activation line selects a row-direction wiring according to an instruction from the timing generation circuit 105, and applies a selection potential of a power supply 104 to the selected row-direction wiring.
The current monitor circuit 103 monitors a current flowing in the selected row when a selection potential is applied to the selected row direction wiring. The current monitor circuit 103 includes a detection resistor Rmon
And a measuring amplifier for measuring a potential difference generated between both ends of the resistor, thereby detecting a current If and outputting it to the control circuit 106 as an activation current value 109. The resistance value of the detection resistor Rmon is set to a sufficiently small value so that the voltage applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device is not affected by the voltage drop due to the flow of the device current If. The power supply 104 generates a potential difference to be applied to the row wiring of the electron source in accordance with a command value from the control circuit 106.

The buffer amplifier circuit 107 drives the terminals Dy1 to Dyn of the column direction wiring of the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 at a timing synchronized with the control clock Hscan signal from the timing control signal 105. The input value of the buffer amplifier, that is, the potential amplitude value for driving the terminals Dy1 to Dyn is determined by the potential distribution generating circuit 108.

In this embodiment , the progress of energization activation is indicated by the amount of current flowing during activation, that is, the current monitor circuit 103.
Is detected by detecting the activation current 109 which is the output data of. Then, the control circuit 106 starts the activation together with the energization activation start command.
The voltage distribution of the elements in the column direction that changes according to the progress of activation is sequentially corrected. That is, the device current flowing through each device is estimated using the output of the current monitor circuit 103, and this value is set in the potential distribution generating circuit 108 as the set current value 110. The potential distribution generating circuit 108 has a setting current value 110
The potential distribution occurring in the column direction of the element is calculated according to the above equation, and is generated as a potential. The calculated potential is stored in the buffer amplifier 1
07 is applied to the column direction electrode of the device. Thereby, in each element, the voltage distribution generated by the element current and the wiring resistance is corrected, and the difference between the voltages applied to each element is suppressed. By updating the data of the potential distribution generating circuit 108 successively in accordance with the progress of the activation, the voltage distribution is corrected until the end of the activation.

<Line Selection Circuit> Next, the line selection circuit 102 will be described with reference to FIG.

This circuit includes m switching elements (SWX1 to SWXm) inside. Each switching element selects either the output potential of the power supply 104 or 0 [V] (ground level). Are electrically connected to the terminals Dx1 to Dxm of the surface conduction type emission element substrate 101. Each switching element operates based on the control signal Vscan output from the timing generation circuit 105. However, in practice, it can be easily configured by combining switching elements such as FETs and relays. In FIG. 2, the first line (Sx
The line 1) is selected, the output potential of the power supply 104 is applied only to the row direction wiring Dx1, and the other lines are connected to ground and given a potential of 0 [V].

<Potential Distribution Generating Circuit> FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of potential distribution generating circuit 108.

As described above, this circuit 108 is used to correct the voltage drop caused by the element current flowing through each element and the row-directional wiring resistance (corresponding to r1 to rN in FIG. 40) due to the progress of the activation. It operates to automatically calculate the compensation potential amount to be applied from the direction and output it to the buffer amplifier 107.

In order to perform such an operation, the potential distribution generating circuit 108 includes an equivalent wiring resistance array 301 and a constant current circuit 302.

The equivalent wiring resistance array 301 is a resistance array having a value equivalent to the wiring resistance on a certain row wiring of the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 having a simple matrix configuration (FIG. 4).
0). The resistances rd1 to rdN are set to the same values r1 to rN as the wiring resistance of each part of the row wiring. Although a method of manufacturing an electrode formed on the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 will be described later, in this reference example , since the electrode is designed to be formed with a constant line width, thickness, and material, manufacturing variations may be reduced. Except that rd1 to rdN are equal. Therefore, the equivalent wiring resistance array 301 can be configured by arranging simulated resistors having the same actual resistance value on the array. Alternatively, an equivalent line resistance array 301 may be formed by forming an extra line of one line at the end of the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 and extracting it.

The constant current circuit 302 is composed of a transistor and a resistor R, and is composed of a total of n corresponding to the column direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dyn of the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101. Each constant current circuit operates so as to sink a current amount of (base input potential−0.6 + V) / R 2. Note that the bases of the transistors of the constant current circuit 302 are shared, and a set current value 303 is applied as an input potential. Therefore, all the constant current circuits operate so that the current set values are the same.

[0153] Continuing <activation>, using the device of this reference example, the steps of activating the surface-conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 will be described with reference to FIG. 1, 4 and 5. The activation is performed so that the device currents of all the devices become the target values. The target current value at this time is obtained in advance from the required electron emission amount and the like. In the present reference example , the current monitor circuit 1 is set so that the device current of each device on the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 is finally 2 mA.
The energization activation process was performed while monitoring the 03 output.

The activation flow will be described below.

In FIG. 1, when the control circuit 106 receives an activation start command, the control circuit 106 executes the timing generation circuit 105 and the power
04 is controlled.

First, the set current value 110 is set so that the column wiring terminals Dy1 to Dyn are at the ground potential, and the activation potential Eac is sequentially applied to the row wiring terminals Dx1 to Dxm in a pulse shape. This pulse has, for example, a pulse width of 1
Milliseconds, pulse height 18V. As a result, a pulse potential is sequentially applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 in units of rows, and activation is started in units of lines.

In this embodiment , the row-direction wiring terminals Dx
A case where n elements on one line are activated will be described below.

Paying attention to the surface conduction type element group on the first row to which the activation voltage is applied, the surface conduction type emission element group 401 is represented by a model including the wiring resistance, and this element group is activated. This will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG.
Fn is a surface conduction type emission device on the row direction wiring terminal Dx1 line, r1 to rn are wiring resistances of respective parts in the row wiring EX1, and Ry is a wiring resistance from a feeding end of each of the wirings Dy1 to Dyn to the surface conduction emission device. It is. Here, since the row wiring is designed to be formed of a fixed line width, thickness, and material, it is considered that r1 to rN are equal except for manufacturing variations. In addition, since each wiring is designed to be equal, it is considered that Ry of each wiring is equal. Although the equivalent resistance value of the surface conduction electron-emitting device changes (decreases) before and after the activation,
The equivalent resistance of each element is much higher than the value of y, and here, Ry is almost ignored. The equivalent resistance value of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is designed to be larger than r1 to rN.

The control circuit 106 controls the line selection circuit 102 via the timing generation circuit 105 to activate the surface conduction type emission element group 401, and activates the activation potential Eac.
Is connected to the row direction wiring terminal Dx1. Thereby, the activation potential Eac is applied to the terminal Dx1.

On the other hand, Dy1 to Dyn terminals, which are the other electrode terminals of the elements on the Dx1 line, are connected to the buffer amplifier 1
07. The buffer amplifier 107 operates to sink the activation currents i1 to in from the elements F1 to FN, and the output potential amplitude is determined by the potential distribution generating circuit 108.

The potential distribution circuit 108 includes the equivalent wiring resistance array 301 and the constant current circuit 302 as described above. Each resistance value rd1 of the equivalent wiring resistance array 301
rdn is set equal to the wiring resistance values r1 to rn of the row wiring Dx1. The n constant current sources CI1 to CIn forming the constant current circuit 302 are
One element F1 to FN is equivalently replaced with an element current flowing through the element as the activation proceeds.

Here, when the energization is activated, the electrical characteristics of the element change as shown in FIG. That is, at the start of activation, almost no element current flows, and the element current flows and saturates with energization. At this time, when the terminal potential of the element group on the row wiring Dx1 is monitored, Gy is affected by the wiring resistances r1 to rn.
The 1-Gyn potential changes. This potential change increases with the progress of the activation and becomes the largest at the end of the activation. For example, activation current 2 mA / 1 element, r1 to rn = 10 m
When Ω and n = 1000, at the terminal Gyn of the Fn element farthest from the power supply end, ΔV = １ ／ × 1000 × 1001 × 2mMAX10mΩ
A potential change of as much as ≒ 10 V will occur.

Therefore, the same potential distribution as this potential distribution is generated by the voltage distribution generating circuit 108, and the terminals Dy1 to Dyn are connected by the outputs Sy1 to Syn of the buffer amplifier 107 so as to cancel the difference between the voltages applied to the respective elements. Drive.

That is, as the activation proceeds, each of the elements F1 to F1
The potential drop distribution of the terminals Gy1 to Gyn due to the current flowing through Fn is reproduced by the outputs By1 to Byn of the potential distribution generating circuit 108. Assuming that the activation of each of the elements F1 to Fn proceeds almost uniformly, the element currents i1 to in flowing through each element are almost equal, and the current value is determined by using the current amount I detected by the current monitor circuit 103, iave = i1 = i2 =... = in = I / n (1)

Therefore, if this iave is set as a set current value in the potential distribution generating circuit 108, the output By1 to Byn of the potential distribution generating circuit 108 will be applied to each of the elements F1 to Fyn.
The same distribution as the potential drop distribution of the terminals Gy1 to Gyn by the current flowing through n occurs. Therefore, if this potential amount is applied to the terminals Dy1 to Dyn by the outputs Sy1 to Syn of the buffer amplifier 107, the voltage applied between the terminals of the elements F1 to Fn is kept constant regardless of the element number and the progress of activation. be able to.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show the distribution of potentials applied to both ends of the elements F1 to Fn at the start and end of activation. FIG. 5A shows a potential distribution immediately after the start of activation. The horizontal axis indicates element numbers F1 to Fn, and indicates the position of the element. The vertical axis indicates the terminal potential at both ends of the element. Immediately after the start of activation, the current flowing through each element is small as described above. Therefore, the activation potential Eac = 18 V applied from the power supply 104 is applied from the terminals Gy1 to Gy of each element.
n. Also, since the activation current hardly flows, the set current value of the potential distribution generating circuit 108 is also substantially 0, and the outputs By1 to Byn of the potential distribution generating circuit 108 and the outputs Sy1 to Syn of the buffer 107 are also substantially 0V.
As a result, a constant applied voltage of 18 V is applied to each element, and activation proceeds.

FIG. 5B shows a potential distribution at the end of activation. At the start and end of activation, the current flowing through each element is approximately 2 mA as described above. Therefore, when the activation potential Eac = 18 V applied from the power supply 104 is applied to the terminals Gy1 to Gyn of each element, the activation potential Eac is reduced due to a potential drop due to wiring resistance. At this time, if the set current value of the potential distribution generating circuit 108 is 2 mA, the outputs By1 to Byn of the potential distribution generating circuit 108 and the output S of the buffer 107 are output.
The distribution of y1 to Syn is the same as the distribution of Gy1 to Gyn. As a result, a constant applied voltage of 18 V is applied to each element to activate the element.

That is, when the device current increases as the activation proceeds, the distribution of the potential applied to the device constantly changes due to the influence of the wiring resistance. At this time, the control circuit 106 obtains an element current value from the current value detected by the current monitor circuit 103 according to the above equation (1) in accordance with the progress of the activation, and sets the current value corresponding to the value to the potential. The current is set as the set current value of the distribution generating circuit 108. Thus, the potential distribution generating circuit 1
By sequentially updating the 08 outputs By1 to Byn, all the elements are activated at a constant voltage from the start to the end of activation. Then, when the element current of each element reaches 2 mA, the activation ends.

The potential distribution generating circuit 10 described in the present reference example
In No. 8, since the responses of the outputs By1 to Byn are very fast when the set current is updated, the distribution can be updated each time a pulse voltage is applied from the power supply 104.

FIG. 15 shows a case where activation is completed in a procedure in which the activation is completed for each line and the line is advanced.
5 is an example of a control procedure performed by the control circuit 106. FIG.
Shows the procedure for one line. Usually, since the substrate 101 has a plurality of lines, this control procedure is repeated for the number of lines.

In FIG. 15, first, an average element current iave is calculated from the input value from the current monitor (step S3401). In the state before the activation, as shown in FIG. 5A, the device current has a very small value, so that the first pulse may be started with iave ≒ 0, or may be obtained experimentally. An initial value may be used.
Next, the set current value 110 is updated according to the obtained element current value (step S3402). In this state, the activation potential is applied to the selected line (step S340).
3). When the predetermined activation procedure is completed for the selected line, the activation for this line ends (step S3404-YES). If there is a next line, a line switching signal is output to select the next line. On the other hand, if the activation of the selected line is not completed, step S34
Returning to 01, the activation current value corresponding to the activation potential applied in step S3403 is read from the current monitor 103, the set current value is updated, and the next pulse is applied to the selected line. This is repeated until the activation is completed.

In the above description, the activation of the elements on the row wiring Dx1 has been described. However, the activation of the elements on other lines can be repeated in the same manner. Thus, the activation of all the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrates 101 is completed.

In addition, upon activation, after the activation of the elements on a certain line is completely completed, not only the method of switching the line selection circuit 102 to activate the other activation lines, but also
The energization activation may be performed at the same time while a plurality of activation lines are sequentially switched. In this case, the activation progress may vary from line to line. Therefore, the average element current for each line is sequentially stored in a memory or the like, and the potential is calculated using the average element current stored in the memory when the line is switched. By performing the activation while updating the output of the distribution generation circuit 108 at high speed, uniform activation is realized. In FIG. 15, 1
Although the activation is completed for each line, if the activation is to be performed in parallel on a plurality of lines while sequentially switching the lines, it is necessary to output a line switching signal between step S3403 and step S3404.

A plurality of lines may be driven simultaneously in order to quickly terminate the activation of the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101. In this case, since the current monitor circuit 103 detects the sum of the device currents for a plurality of lines, it is necessary to consider the estimation of the set current value given to the potential distribution generation circuit 108.

In the present embodiment , the activation is performed in the direction in which a current flows from the terminal Dx1 to the terminals Dy1 to Dyn, with the output of the power supply 104 being positive, but the polarity is reversed with respect to the terminals Dy1 to Dy1. Activation may be performed so that a current flows from Dyn to the terminal Dx1 side. In this case, since the potential distribution is also reversed, the same effect can be obtained by setting the buffer amplifier 107 as an inverting buffer amplifier of (-1) times so as to source current.

As described above, according to the activation device of the present embodiment , the electron emission characteristics of all the elements are made uniform. As a result, a high-quality image display device with little variation in brightness or density using this electron source substrate has been realized.

[0177] About the second reference example] The second energization activation device of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices is a reference example of the present invention by FIG. 6 will be described.

In FIG. 6, the surface conduction electron-emitting device 601
Is different from the substrate 101 in FIG. 1 in that row wiring terminals Dx1 to Dxm are provided on both sides. As shown in FIG. 6, terminals Dx1 to Dxm drawn from both sides are connected by the same line and are connected to a line selection circuit 602.

The operation and activation procedure of the whole apparatus are the first.
Although the description is the same as that of the reference example , the description is omitted because the potential distribution applied to the element at the time of activation is different due to the difference in the method of extracting the wiring terminals, and the driving method is slightly different from that of the first reference example. .

FIG. 43A shows an equivalent circuit when energizing the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 601 as in this embodiment . In FIG. 43A, the distribution of the element applied potential when the element on the second line is activated is shown in FIG.
It becomes as shown in. In other words, in the case of both-side extraction, the profile becomes symmetric.

Therefore, in FIG. 6, the column direction wiring terminals Dy
The amount of potential distribution to be applied to 1 to Dyn may also be left-right symmetric. Therefore, the potential distribution circuit 608 calculates 1 to (n /
2) If it is composed of a resistor array and a constant current source, the potential distribution can be redefined. If the output impedance of the buffer 607 output is made sufficiently small, the buffer amplifier 60
The circuit can be simplified by preparing (n / 2) 7 and driving by connecting and driving terminals (for example, Dy1 and Dyn, Dy2 and Dyn-1) having a symmetrical potential distribution. For example, referring to FIG. 4, the output Sy1 of the first column from the buffer amplifier is sequentially connected to terminals Dy1 and Dyn, the output Sy2 of the second column is connected to terminals Dy2 and Dyn-1, and so on. , The output Syj in the j-th column is the terminals Dyj and D
yn-j + 1. If n is an odd number, the (n +
The output of the 1) / 2nd column is connected only to the terminal Dy (n + 1) / 2.

FIG. 7 shows a potential distribution of each element when the driving shown in the second reference example is performed. As described above, a symmetrical potential distribution profile was obtained. Further, the column-direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dyn drive potentials Sy1 to Syn also change with the progress of activation, and compensation is performed so that a constant activation voltage is always applied to each element.

[0183] As described above, the apparatus of this reference example,
An electron source having uniform electron emission characteristics of all devices can be manufactured.

[Third Reference Example ] An energization activation device for a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to a third reference example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 8, the surface conduction electron-emitting device 80 is shown.
1 is the same as the substrate 101 of FIG. 1, and the operation and activation procedure of the whole apparatus are almost the same as those of the first reference example , so that the description is omitted.

In this embodiment , the potential distribution circuit 808
The output is not applied to the column direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dyn as it is, but the driving method is slightly different from that of the first reference example .

As in the first reference example , attention is paid to the surface conduction type element group in the first row to which the activation voltage is applied, and the surface conduction type emission element group 901 is represented by a model including the wiring resistance. The manner in which this group of elements is activated will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 9, F1 to Fn are row direction wiring terminals Dx1.
Surface conduction type emission elements on the line, r1 to rn are row wirings E
The wiring resistance and Ry of each part in X1 are the wirings Dy1 to Dy.
yn is the wiring resistance from the feeding end to the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

Control circuit 806 controls line selection circuit 802 via timing generation circuit 105 to activate surface conduction electron-emitting element group 901 and activates activation potential Eac.
Is connected to the row direction wiring terminal Dx1. As a result, the terminal Dx1 is driven by the activation potential Eac.

On the other hand, the Dy1 to Dyn terminals as the other column direction terminals of the elements on the Dx1 line are driven by the buffer amplifier 807. In this case, the buffer amplifier 807 operates to sink the activation currents i1 to in from the respective elements F1 to FN, and the output potential amplitude is determined by the potential distribution generating circuit 808. This operation is the first
This is the same as the reference example .

Also in the present embodiment , the potential distribution generated by the progress of activation is generated by the potential distribution generating circuit 108, and the buffer amplifier 80 is controlled so as to cancel the potential distribution.
Dy1 to Dyn terminals were driven by seven outputs Sy1 to Syn. At this time, the potential value By1 output from the potential distribution circuit 108
ＢByn is not applied to the terminal as it is, but is applied by adding the set offset value 812 by the buffer amplifier 807. The set offset value 812 is also added to the activation potential and applied as the amplitude of the power supply 804.

The reason for applying the offset potential as described above is as follows. That is, when the activation is performed in units of rows, the distribution of the potential drop occurring in the column direction on the same row is compensated by the applied potential from the column direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dyn. Applied potentials from the direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dyn are applied not only to the energization activation lines but also to the elements of the lines that are not energization activation, since the surface conduction type emission device has a simple matrix configuration. Needless to say, since the column-direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dyn are as small as several volts at the maximum, there is no problem even if this potential is applied to the element of the line that is not energized.
However, it is desirable to alleviate the problem of temperature change and temperature distribution of the substrate due to application of a potential to the element of the line on which the energization is not activated. Therefore, the column wiring terminal D
Driving was performed by adding an offset voltage so as to minimize the absolute value of the potential applied from y1 to Dyn.

At this time, the value of the offset potential to be applied was determined as follows. The difference between the maximum potential and the minimum potential generated at each terminal at the output of the potential distribution circuit 808 is calculated as a potential drop 81
Calculated as 1. Specifically, in FIG. 9, the potential drop amount of the outputs By1 to Byn of the potential distribution generating circuit 808 is calculated by the following formula: potential drop amount 811 = By1 potential−Byn potential. Therefore, the offset potential 812 = １ ／ × the amount of potential drop 811 was determined and applied. Thereby, the column direction wiring terminal Dy1
ＤDyn could be reduced to half the absolute value of the potential applied from the first reference example .

FIG. 10 shows the potential distribution of each element when the driving shown in this embodiment is performed. FIG. 10A shows a potential distribution immediately after activation. At this time, as described in the first reference example , almost no element current flows, so there is almost no voltage distribution, and the offset potential value 821 is almost 0V.
Therefore, this is almost the same as FIG. 5A of the first reference example . However, when activation proceeds and a potential drop occurs, an offset potential 821 is generated, and at the end of activation, a potential distribution profile as shown in FIG. 10B is obtained. As shown in the figure, the state of the voltage distribution of each element is the same as that of FIG. 5B of the first reference example , but the drive potential Sy1 applied to the column direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dyn is shown.
, The offset potential is applied to 電位 Syn, and the absolute value of the drive potential is reduced. Along with this,
The potential applied from the row direction wiring terminal Dx1 is also 18V + V
It can also be seen that it is changing to off.

By applying a voltage based on the addition of the offset potential used in the present embodiment , a surface conduction electron-emitting device having uniform characteristics can be obtained and the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate can be activated similarly to the first embodiment. It was possible to further reduce the power input during the conversion. The method of determining the offset potential is not limited to the method described above, and the power value applied to the entire surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate may be minimized.

[0195] The First Embodiment FIG. 11 for the first energization activation device of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In FIG. 11, the surface conduction electron-emitting device 1
101 is the same as the substrate 101 in FIG. 1, and the operation and activation procedure of the entire apparatus are almost the same as those of the first reference example , so that the description is omitted.

In the present embodiment, the configuration of the current monitor circuit 1103 and the configuration of the potential distribution circuit 808 are slightly different, and therefore, will be described. That is, the column direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dy1
current monitor circuit 11 between yn and the buffer amplifier 1107
03, the element current flowing through each element at the time of activation is individually monitored.

As in the first reference example , attention is paid to the surface conduction type element group in the first row to which the activation voltage is applied, and the surface conduction type emission element group 1201 is represented by a model including the wiring resistance. The manner in which this element group is energized will be described with reference to FIG.

Also in the present embodiment, a potential distribution generated by the progress of activation is generated by potential distribution generating circuit 1108, and Dy1 to Dyn are output by buffer amplifier 1107 outputs Sy1 to Syn so as to cancel the potential distribution.
Drive the terminal. At this time, the configuration of the constant current circuit 302 constituting the potential distribution circuit 1108 was slightly changed from that of the reference example . That is, the setting current values of the n constant current sources constituting the constant current circuit 302 are changed so that they can be set independently. In terms of the circuit, the circuit of FIG. 3 is modified so that the base potentials of the transistors constituting the constant current source can be set independently. As a result, as shown by a potential distribution circuit 1108 in FIG. 12, the set current values 1110 corresponding to the n constant current sources are applied from the outside, so that they can be driven independently.

At the same time, the current monitor circuit 1103 was changed so that the element current flowing through each element could be monitored individually. That is, the current monitor circuit 1103 is composed of a detection resistor Rmon and a measurement amplifier that measures a voltage generated between both ends of the detection resistor Rmon, thereby detecting the current If and outputting the detected n activation current values 1109. . Note that the resistance value of the detection resistor Rmon is equal to the element current I
The value is set to a sufficiently small value so as to suppress the influence of the potential drop due to the flow of f on the applied potential to the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

By changing the configuration of the constant current circuit 302 constituting the voltage distribution circuit 1108 in such a manner that the set current of each column can be individually set, the terminals Gy1 to Gyn associated with the progress of activation are changed. The potential drop distribution can be more accurately reproduced by the outputs By1 to Byn of the potential distribution generating circuit 108. In the reference examples described above, it is assumed that the activation of each of the elements F1 to Fn proceeds almost uniformly, and the element currents i1 to in flowing through the respective elements are assumed to be substantially equal, and the activation of each element is performed from the activation current for one line. The output current of the potential distribution generating circuit 108 is controlled by estimating the value of the flowing current. However, as shown in this embodiment, a more accurate potential distribution can be reproduced by individually monitoring the activation current of each element.
The activation current value of each element is set as a set current value, and the constant current sources Cl1 to C
ln, the outputs Sy1 to Sy of the buffer amplifier 1107
With n, a potential corresponding to the potential distribution in the line being activated is applied to the Dy1 to Dyn terminals. That is,
In the first reference example , the average value iave is used as the element current.
Was used, but the device current measured for each device was applied instead. By doing so, each of the elements F1 to F
The voltage applied between the n terminals could be kept constant irrespective of the position of the element or the progress of activation.

The output of the buffer amplifier 1107 is 0 V
Otherwise, the current value detected by the current monitor circuit 1103 does not always match the element current flowing through each element. This will be described. Although not shown in FIG. 12, as described above, the column direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dy
Since the surface conduction electron-emitting device has a simple matrix configuration, the applied potential from n is applied not only to the energization activation line but also to the device on the line on which energization is not activated.
Therefore, the current Ix in the x-th column detected by the current monitor circuit 1103 is: Ix = the element current flowing when 18 V is applied to the element Fx + the element (m
(-1) when the Syx potential is applied. The first term of the above equation is a true element current, and the current of the second term is generated as an error. Actually, the difference between the Syx potential and the non-selected line is small, and the current of the second item is small, so it can be ignored. However, for more accurate measurement, measurement should be performed in the following steps. (1) All the row direction wiring terminals Dx1 to Dxm are set to 0V, and the column direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dyn are driven by Sy1 to Syn. The current Ia measured at this time is the current (m) flowing when the Syx potential is applied to all the elements connected to Dyx.
). (2) One of the row direction wiring terminals is selected, and the column direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dyn are driven by Sy1 to Syn. The current Ib measured at this time is "the current flowing when the Syx potential is applied to the element (m-1) connected to the element current + Dyx which is not activated and which is connected to the element current flowing when 18 V is applied to the element Fx".

[0203] Since the element current flowing when 18 V is applied to the element Fx is calculated as Ib-Ia by the two measurements, more accurate control can be performed by calculating the potential distribution using this value.

[ Second Embodiment] An activation device for a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

Also in FIG. 13, the surface conduction electron-emitting device 1
Reference numeral 301 is the same as that of the substrate 101 in FIG. 1, and the operation and activation procedure of the entire apparatus are almost the same as those in the first reference example, and a description thereof will be omitted. The configuration of the current monitor circuit 1303 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the column direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dyn
Current monitor circuit 1303 between the circuit and buffer amplifier 1307
To individually monitor the element current flowing through each element at the time of activation. However, the configuration of the potential distribution circuit 1308 is slightly different from that of the first embodiment. That is, the control circuit 1306 calculates the potential distribution amount from the activation current value flowing through the element by calculation, and transfers a digital output value corresponding to the potential distribution obtained from the calculation result to the potential distribution generating circuit. Designed.

As in the first reference example , attention is paid to the surface conduction type element group in the first row to which the activation voltage is applied, and the surface conduction type emission element group 1401 is represented by a model including the wiring resistance. The manner in which this element group is energized will be described with reference to FIG.

Also in the present embodiment, Dy1 to Dy are output by buffer amplifier 1307 outputs Sy1 to Syn so as to cancel the potential distribution caused by the progress of activation.
Drive the n terminal. Here, the potential distribution circuit 1308 is set to n
And a D / A converter 1402 and a latch circuit 1403. As a result, the digital setting output values 1310 corresponding to the n D / A converters can be applied from the outside and driven independently. The digital set output value 1310 is set as the potential drop distribution calculated by the control circuit 1306. An independent potential is set for each D / A converter, and all outputs are synchronously updated by the latch CLK1311.

The current monitor circuit 1303 can individually monitor the element current flowing through each element as in the first embodiment. That is, the current monitor circuit 1303 is composed of a detection resistor Rmon and a measurement amplifier that measures a voltage generated at both ends of the detection resistor Rmon.
The detected n activation current values 1309 are output.

In the present embodiment, the distribution of the device potential generated as the activation proceeds is calculated as follows. That is, each of the elements F1 to F
When element current values i1 to in flowing through n are obtained, potentials By1 to be output to output terminals of potential distribution generating circuit 1308 are obtained.
Byn is obtained by using the wiring resistance values r1 to rn, and By1 = −r1 × Σ ｛k = 1 to n｝ ik By2 = −r2 × Σ ｛k = 2 to n｝ ik + By1 Byn = −rn × in + Byn-1 + Byn-2 + ... + By1

The device current flowing as the activation proceeds is measured, and the control circuit 1306 calculates each output potential By1 according to the above equation.
To Byn are sequentially updated, and the corresponding digital output data is transferred to the latch circuit 1403 of the potential distribution circuit 1308. When a series of operations of element current measurement → operation of output data → transfer of data to the latch circuit is completed, the control circuit 1306 applies a latch clock 1311 to all the latch circuits 1310 in order to update D / A data. And update the data synchronously. As a result, the potential distribution generating circuit 1308 connects the terminals Gy1 to Gy of the elements F1 to Fn.
The same potential distribution as the amount of potential distribution occurring in n is generated. When the number n of elements becomes large, a series of operations of element current measurement → operation of output data → data transfer may take a long time. Therefore, processing is performed in parallel for each element, thereby reducing time. I can do it.

By compensating the activation potential distribution generated in the device at the time of activation by the method described above, the electron emission characteristics of all the devices were made uniform. Further, in the present embodiment, since the set output value is a digital value and the constant current circuit and the equivalent wiring resistance array are not used, the distribution of the wiring resistance in the line to be energized and the equivalent wiring resistance The activation voltage can be prevented from becoming non-uniform due to the characteristics of each line, such as a difference in the distribution of resistance values in the array.

[ Fourth Reference Example ] Next, the energization activation of a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to a fourth reference example will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

Also in FIG. 16, the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 is the same as the substrate 101 of FIG. 1, and the operation and activation procedure of the entire device are almost the same as those of the first reference example, and therefore description thereof is omitted. . However, the potential distribution circuit 160
The configuration of 8 is designed so that the control circuit transfers the digital output value corresponding to the potential distribution to the potential distribution generating circuit, as in the second embodiment. For this purpose, the control circuit 1606 sends the potential distribution generation circuit 1608
, A latch clock 111 is output. Other configurations are the same as in the first reference example .

In this embodiment , the control circuit 16
Reference numeral 06 indicates the progress of energization activation based on the amount of current flowing during activation, that is, the activation current 109 that is output data of the current monitor circuit 103. Then, the control circuit 160
Reference numeral 6 starts activation together with a command to start energization, and, as will be described in detail later, sequentially corrects the potential distribution of elements in the column direction which changes according to the progress of activation. That is, the control circuit 1606 estimates the element current flowing through each element using the output of the current monitor circuit 103, and calculates the potential distribution generated in the column direction of the element from this value. The calculated potential setting value 110 is transferred to the potential distribution generating circuit 1608, and applied to the column electrode of the element through the buffer amplifier 107. By this driving method, the voltage distribution generated in each element by the activation current and the row-direction wiring resistance is corrected, and a constant voltage is applied to both ends of all the elements on the activation line. By updating the data of the potential distribution generating circuit 1608 sequentially according to the progress of the activation, the potential distribution is corrected until the end of the activation.

<Potential Distribution Generating Circuit> FIG. 17 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of the potential distribution generating circuit 1608 and a block diagram for explaining a state in which a certain line is activated by using the circuit.

A potential distribution generating circuit 1608 is provided in the column direction to compensate for a potential drop caused by an element current flowing through each element and a row-direction wiring resistance (corresponding to r1 to rN in FIG. 40) due to the progress of activation. A compensation potential amount to be applied is generated and output to the buffer amplifier 107.

In this embodiment , the buffer amplifier 1 is designed to cancel the voltage distribution caused by the activation.
07 output (Sy1 to Syn) and surface conduction type emission element group 1
01 Dy1 to Dyn terminals are driven.

The potential distribution generating circuit 1608 has n D / Ds.
It comprises an A converter 302 and a latch circuit 303. Digital setting output values 110 corresponding to the n D / A converters are independently set from outside. In particular,
The control circuit 1606 calculates the potential drop distribution amount by calculation and sets it as the digital set output value 110. Each D /
An independent potential amount is set for the A converter, and the latch CL
All outputs are synchronously updated by K111.

<Activation Process> Next, a procedure for activating the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 using the apparatus of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
7, and will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b). The activation is performed so that all the device currents reach the target value. The target current value at this time is obtained in advance from the required electron emission amount and the like. In the present reference example , the energization activation process was performed while monitoring the output of the current monitor circuit 103 so that the device current of each device on the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 finally became 2 mA.

The activation flow will be described below.

Upon receiving the activation start command, the control circuit 1606 controls the timing generation circuit 105 and the power supply 104 in order to carry out the energization processing on a row-by-row basis.

First, the set current value 101 is set so that the column direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dyn are at the ground potential, while the activation potential E is sequentially applied to the row direction wiring terminals Dx1 to Dxm.
ac is applied in pulse form. This pulse is, for example, a pulse having a pulse width of 1 millisecond and a pulse height of about 18V.
As a result, a pulse voltage is sequentially applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 in units of rows, and activation starts in units of lines.

In this embodiment , the row-direction wiring terminals Dx
The activation when activating n elements on one line will be described below.

Paying attention to the surface conduction type element group on the first row to which the activation voltage is applied, the surface conduction type emission element group 301 is represented by a model including the wiring resistance, and this element group is activated. This will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 17, F
1 to Fn are surface conduction type emission elements on the row direction wiring terminal Dx1 line, r1 to rn are wiring resistances of respective parts in the row wiring EX1, and Ry is a wiring from a feeding end of each of the wirings Dy1 to Dyn to the surface conduction type emission element. Resistance. Here, the row wiring is designed so as to be formed of a constant line width, thickness, and material, and therefore it is considered that r1 to rN are equal except for variations in manufacturing. Also, since each wiring was designed equally, the R
y is considered equal. Although the equivalent resistance value of the surface conduction electron-emitting device changes (decreases) before and after the activation, Ry
, The equivalent resistance of each element is much larger, and the effect of Ry is almost ignored. The equivalent resistance value of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is designed to be larger than r1 to rN.

In order to activate the surface conduction type emission element group 301, the control circuit 1606 controls the line selection circuit 102 via the timing generation circuit 105 to activate the activation potential Ea.
c is applied to the row direction wiring terminal Dx1 via the power supply 104 and the current monitor circuit 103. As a result, the terminal Dx1 is driven by the activation potential Eac.

On the other hand, Dy1 to Dyn terminals, which are the other electrode terminals of the elements on the Dx1 line, are connected to the buffer amplifier 1
07. The buffer amplifier 107 operates to sink or source the activation currents i1 to in from the respective elements F1 to FN, and the output potential amplitude is determined by the potential distribution generating circuit 1608.

When the energization is activated, the electric characteristics of the element change as shown in FIG. That is, at the start of activation, almost no element current flows, and the element current flows and saturates with energization. At this time, when the terminal potential of the element group on the row wiring Dx1 is monitored, Gy1 to Gy are affected by the wiring resistances r1 to rn.
The n potential changes. This potential change increases with the progress of the activation and becomes the largest at the end of the activation. For example, activation current 2 mA / element, r1 to rn = 5 mΩ, n = 10
00, the terminal Gyn of the Fn element farthest from the feeding end
ΔV = １ ／ × 1000 × 1001 × 2 mA × 5 mΩ}
A potential difference of as much as 5 V will occur.

Therefore, the same potential distribution as this potential distribution is generated in the potential distribution generating circuit 1608, and the terminals Dy1 to Dyn are driven by the outputs Sy1 to Syn of the buffer amplifier 107 so as to cancel the voltage distribution generated in each element.

That is, as the activation proceeds, each of the elements F1 to F1
The potential drop distribution of the terminals Gy1 to Gyn due to the current flowing through Fn is reproduced by the outputs By1 to Byn of the potential distribution generating circuit 108. Assuming that the activation of each element F1 to Fn proceeds almost uniformly, element currents i1 to in flowing through each element
Are substantially equal, and the current value is calculated using an activation current I (109) detected by the current monitor circuit 103. iave = i1 = i2 =... = In = I / n (n is the number of elements in the column direction) Is represented by

The control circuit 1606 uses this iave as the value of the current flowing through each element, calculates the amount of potential drop at each element terminal, and sets it in the potential distribution generating circuit 1608. Thereby, the same potential drop distribution as the element terminals Gy1 to Gyn of the elements F1 to Fn is realized in the outputs By1 to Byn of the potential distribution generating circuit 1608. When this potential is applied to the terminals Dy1 to Dyn by the outputs Sy1 to Syn of the buffer amplifier 107, the voltage applied between the terminals of the elements F1 to Fn can be made constant regardless of the element number and the progress of activation.

In the present reference example , the distribution of the potentials of the element terminals generated as the activation proceeds is calculated as follows.

It is assumed that almost all the elements proceed simultaneously, and the activation current I (109) detected by the current monitor circuit 103 is used to calculate the element current values i1 to in flowing through the elements F1 to Fn, iave = i1 = i2 =... = in = I / n (1)

At this time, the potentials By1 to Byn to be output to the output terminals of the potential distribution generating circuit 108 are equal to the wiring resistances r1 to r1.
By using rn ≒ r, By1 = −r1 × Σ ｛k = 1 to n｝ ik ≒ −r × n × iave ≒ −r × I By2 = −r2 × Σ ｛k = 2 to n｝ ik + By1 ≒ −r × (n−1) / n × I + (− r × I) (2)... Byn = −rn × in + Byn−1 + Byn−2... + By1 × −r × 1 / n × I +. (n−1) / n × I + (− r × I) ≒ −1 / 2 × r × (n + 1) × I

As the activation progresses, control circuit 1606
Measures the activation current, and calculates each output potential By1
Byn is calculated sequentially. Subsequently, the control circuit 1606
Transfers digital output data corresponding to the output potentials By1 to Byn to the latch circuit 303 of the potential distribution circuit 1608. When a series of operations of element current measurement → calculation of output data → transfer of data to the latch circuit is completed, the control circuit 1
Reference numeral 606 applies the latch clock 110 to all the latch circuits 303 to update the D / A data, and updates the data synchronously. Thereby, the potential distribution generating circuit 1
608 generates the same potential distribution as the amount of potential distribution generated at the terminals Gy1 to Gyn of the elements F1 to Fn.

FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b) show, as in the first embodiment , voltages applied to both ends of the elements F1 to Fn at the start and end of activation in this embodiment . It shows a voltage distribution. FIG. 5A shows a voltage distribution immediately after the start of activation. The horizontal axis indicates element numbers F1 to Fn, and indicates the position of the element. The vertical axis indicates the terminal voltage at both ends of the element. Immediately after the start of activation, the current flowing through each element is small as described above. Therefore, the activation potential Eac = 18 V applied from the power supply 104 is applied to the terminals Gy1 to Gyn of each element. Further, since the activation current hardly flows, the set current value of the potential distribution generating circuit 108 is also substantially 0, and the outputs By1 to Byn of the potential distribution generating circuit 1608 and the outputs Sy1 to Syn of the buffer 107 are also substantially 0 V. As a result, a constant applied voltage of 18 V is applied to each element, and activation proceeds.

FIG. 5B shows a potential distribution at the end of activation. At the start and end of activation, the current flowing through each element is approximately 2 mA as described above. Therefore, the activation potential Eac applied from the power supply 104 (18 at the application end)
When V) is applied to the terminals Gy1 to Gyn of each element, the voltage decreases due to the potential drop of the wiring resistance. At this time, if the set current value of the potential distribution generating circuit 1608 is 2 mA, the outputs By1 to Byn of the potential distribution generating circuit 1608 and the buffer 1
The distribution of the 07 outputs Sy1 to Syn is the same as the distribution of Gy1 to Gyn. As a result, a constant applied voltage
Activation is performed by applying 18V.

That is, when the device current increases as the activation proceeds, the distribution of the voltage generated at the device end is constantly changed due to the effect of the wiring resistance. At this time, the control circuit 1606 calculates the outputs By1 to Byn of the potential distribution generating circuit 1608 from the activation current values I sequentially detected by the current monitor 103 according to the above equation (2) in accordance with the progress of the activation. , DD of latch circuit 303 included in potential distribution generating circuit 1608
1 to DDn, the calculated values By1 to By
The value corresponding to yn is sequentially updated and set. Thus, all elements are activated at a constant voltage from the start to the end of activation. Then, when the element current of each element reaches 2 mA, the activation ends.

FIG. 21 shows a case where activation is completed in a procedure of completing the activation for each line and proceeding with the line.
It is an example of the control procedure by the control circuit 1606. FIG.
Shows one line. Usually, since the substrate 101 has a plurality of lines, this control procedure is repeated for the number of lines. In FIG. 21, first, a digital value corresponding to the potential distributions By1 to Byn is calculated from the input value from the current monitor 103 (step S2701).
Next, the obtained values are set in the latch circuits DD1 to DDn (step S2702). In this state, the latch clock is output to the potential distribution generating circuit (step S270).
3). This is repeated until the above-described activation end condition is satisfied. If the condition is satisfied, the activation of this line ends (step S2704-YE).
S). If there is a next line, a line switching signal is output to select the next line. On the other hand, if the activation of the selected line has not been completed, the process returns to step S2701, reads the activation current value corresponding to the activation voltage applied in step S2703 from the current monitor 103, and repeats from step 2701 again. Note that the clock output in step 2703 may be a signal of a predetermined frequency generated based on a clock that governs the operation of the control circuit 1606 itself.

With the method described above, the activation voltage distribution generated at the time of activation can be corrected, and the electron emission characteristics of all the elements are made uniform.

In the above description, the row wiring Dx
Although the activation of the element on the first line has been described, the same can be applied to the activation of the element on another line. Thus, the activation of all the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrates 101 is completed.

When activating a plurality of lines, as described above, the method of switching the line selection circuit 102 after completely activating elements on a certain line to activate the other activation lines (simultaneously). In addition to the activation of each line, the activation may be performed simultaneously while a plurality of activation lines are sequentially switched. In this case, since there is a possibility that the activation progress varies from line to line, the average element current for each line is sequentially stored in a memory or the like. When the line is switched, activation is performed while updating the output of the potential distribution generating circuit 1608 at high speed using the average element current stored in the memory. At this time, if the row direction wiring resistances r1 to rN slightly change for each line, these values are also stored in a memory or the like, and when the potential distribution is updated, the values are appropriately read out together with the average element current value for each line to perform the calculation. May be used.

When the number n of elements increases, a series of operations from activation current measurement → output data calculation → data transfer may take a long time. Time can be reduced. In this embodiment , the potential distribution generating circuit 1608 is composed of the same number of D / A converters as the number n of wirings in the column direction of the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101. 5 (a), (b)
As shown in (1), the number of D / A converters may be thinned out, and the potential value to be applied to the thinned column direction wiring terminal may be defined by resistance division. As a result, the number of D / A converters can be reduced, and the calculation time and cost can be reduced.

In the present embodiment , the activation is performed in the direction in which a current flows from the terminal Dx1 to the terminals Dy1 to Dyn, with the output of the power supply 104 being positive, but the polarity is reversed and the terminals Dy1 to Dyn are activated. Activation may be performed so that current flows to the terminal Dx1. In this case, since the potential distribution is also reversed, the same effect can be expected by setting the buffer amplifier 107 as a (−1) -fold inverted buffer amplifier so as to source current.

In this reference example , Ry in FIG.
The influence of the column-direction wiring resistance indicated by the symbol (2) was ignored because the size of the column-direction wiring was sufficiently smaller than the equivalent resistance of the surface conduction electron-emitting device. However, when the size of the extraction wiring or the like becomes large and cannot be ignored, the potential drop due to the resistance in the column direction may be compensated.

As described above, according to the energization activation device of this embodiment , the activation overcurrent is monitored and the distribution of the activation voltage of each element in one line is corrected, so that all the elements are activated. The electron emission characteristics are made uniform. As a result, a high-quality image display device with less variation in luminance or density can be realized using the electron source substrate.

[ Fifth Reference Example ] An apparatus for activating a conduction type of a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to a fifth reference example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 18 as well, the surface-conduction emission element substrate 501 is the same as the substrate 101 in FIG. 6, and the operation and activation procedure of the entire device are almost the same as those in the reference example 4 and therefore will not be described.

In the fifth reference example , the method of driving the line selection circuit 502 of the surface conduction electron-emitting device 501 is the fourth method.
This is different from that of the reference example and will be described.

The driving method of the line selection circuit 502 will be described with reference to FIG.

The line selection circuit 502 has m switching elements (SWx1 to SWxm) inside, and each switching element selects either the output potential of the power supply 504 or the output potential of the variable power supply 513. Terminals Dx1 to Dx of the surface conduction type emission element substrate 101
m. Each switching element controls the control signal Vs output from the timing generation circuit 105.
Although it operates based on can, it can actually be easily configured by combining switching elements such as FETs and relays.

In FIG. 19, the line of the first row (Sx1) is selected, the output potential of the power supply 504 is applied only to the row wiring Dx1, and the other lines (Sx2 to Sxm) are set to the output potential of the variable power supply 513. It is connected. Variable power supply 51
The output potential of No. 3 is set by the non-selection potential setting value 512 output from the control circuit 506.

In this embodiment , the non-selection potential, which is the potential applied to the non-selection lines (Sx2 to Sxm) to which the activation voltage is not applied, is set to a potential other than the ground level. The reason is described below.

When energization is activated on a row-by-row basis, the distribution of the potential drop occurring in the column direction on the same row is determined by the column-direction wiring terminal Dy.
The purpose of the method of manufacturing an electron source according to the present embodiment is to compensate by an applied potential from 1 to Dyn. However, since the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate has a simple matrix configuration, the column-direction wiring terminals The applied potentials from Dy1 to Dyn are applied not only to the energization activation line, but also to the elements of the line on which energization is not activated. Of course, the column direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dy
Although n is as small as several volts at the maximum, it is desirable to reduce an increase in power consumption due to application of a potential to an element on a line on which energization is not activated. Therefore, lines that are not energized (non-activated lines) are bundled, and a non-selection potential is set on the bundled lines so that the absolute value of the voltage applied to both ends of the elements connected to these lines is minimized. A value of 512 was applied.

At this time, the non-selection potential setting value 512 was determined by the control circuit 506 as follows. Potential distribution circuit 8
The difference between the maximum potential and the minimum potential generated at each terminal by the 08 output is calculated as a potential drop amount. Specifically, in FIG. 18, the maximum potential distribution amount of the outputs By1 to Byn of the potential distribution circuit 508 is calculated by the following expression: maximum potential distribution amount = By1 potential−Byn potential. Thus, the non-selection potential setting value 512: Voff = − ／ × the maximum potential distribution amount was determined.

[0255] The present also in the reference example, the first reference example as well as the potential distribution circuit 108 outputs the activation current value 509 of the current monitoring circuit 503 (I), the following using the wiring resistance values R1 to Rn ≒ r Can be calculated as follows.

By1 = −r1 × Σ ｛k = 1 to n｝ ik ≒ −r × n × iave ≒ −r × I... Byn = −rn × in + Byn−1 + Byn−2. / n × I +... -r × (n−1) / n × I + (− r × I) ≒ −1 / 2 × r × (n + 1) × I Therefore, the non-selection potential setting value 512 is Voff = −1 / 2 × maximum potential distribution amount = − ／ (By1 potential−Byn potential) = − ／ × r × (n−1) × I

When driving is performed by setting the potential of the non-selected line in this way, (Voff-By1) to (Voff-Byn), ie, １ ／ × r × (N-5) × IＩ × r × (n
+3) × I 2 voltage is applied.

If the non-selection potential setting value 512 is at the ground level, (Voff-By1) to (Voff-Byn) are rxI to 1/2 × r × (n + 1) at both ends of the element on the non-selection line. × I 2, the absolute value of the voltage applied to both ends of the element connected to the non-selected line was almost halved by applying the above-mentioned non-selected potential setting value 512 to the non-selected line.
(Normally, n is as large as 1000 or more.) FIG.
(A) and (b) show changes in the drive potential waveform applied to each terminal of the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 501 immediately after the start of activation and at the end of consolidation.

FIG. 20A shows the state immediately after the start of activation.
(B) is a driving potential waveform of each terminal at the time of completion of activation.

As described above, each element has a driving voltage of 18 V,
The pulse is driven with a pulse width of 1 ms. FIG. 20 (a),
The waveform (a) in (b) shows a drive waveform to the terminal Dx1 for activation, which is driven by the power supply 504 (drive potential 18 V, pulse width 1 ms). Waveform (b) is
Terminals Dx2 to Dx of non-selected lines not activated
m, which is the drive waveform to the non-selection potential setting value 512
The non-selection potential 512 driven by the variable power supply 513 set by the formula (1) is represented by Voff. Waveforms (c) and (d)
Shows a driving waveform of the column direction terminal of the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 501, which is driven by the buffer amplifier 507. The waveform (c) shows the driving waveform of the terminal Dy1 having the smallest potential drop, and the waveform (d) shows the driving of the terminal Dy having the largest potential drop.
yn shows a driving waveform.

Immediately after the start of activation shown in FIG. 20A, the activation current does not flow so much. Therefore, the amount of potential drop at the wiring resistance is small, and the amount of compensation potential and the non-selection potential set value Voff are also small. On the other hand, activation proceeds, and a large activation current flows at the end of activation. For this reason, the amount of potential drop due to the wiring resistance also increases, and FIG.
As shown in the figure, the compensation potential amount and the non-selection potential set value Voff
Also increases. That is, the distribution of the compensation potential changes successively with the progress of activation, and the set voltage = 18 V is always applied to each element.

Each element is pulse-driven as described above. At this time, the output of the pulse potential of the line selection circuit 502 is started later than the change of the pulse output of the buffer amplifier 507 that generates the potential distribution. When the output of the pulse ends, the pulse output of the buffer amplifier 507 is output. Since the pulse output is terminated before the change of, this will be described. This time difference is shown in FIG.
In (a) and (b), it is indicated by Δt. Δt is several μ
sec.

The time difference Δt is to cope with a problem that a delay occurs between channels in output timing due to variation in output of the buffer amplifier for each amplifier. That is, the pulse voltage output of the line selection circuit 502 is used as the buffer amplifier 507 for generating the potential distribution.
May be started before the pulse output changes.
In this case, if a delay occurs between the channels at the output timing, there occurs a moment when only a part of the elements on the selected line is applied with a sufficient drive voltage. At this moment, all the elements on the selected line are not driven, and the flowing activation current is small. The buffer amplifier applies a potential calculated on the assumption that all elements on the selected line are sufficiently driven. Therefore, in this case, a drive voltage higher than the set voltage is applied to the element, which may cause non-uniform characteristics.

Therefore, the pulse potential output from line selection circuit 502 is applied to buffer amplifier 507 for generating a potential distribution.
Are started later than the change in the pulse output of the buffer amplifier 507, and finished before the change in the pulse output of the buffer amplifier 507. In this case, the influence of the output timing variation of the buffer amplifier can be avoided.

As in the present embodiment , by making the potential applied to the non-selected lines closer to the potential of the column wiring, it is possible to further reduce the power applied when the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate is activated. . The method of determining the offset potential is not limited to the method described above, and the power value applied to the entire surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate may be minimized.

As described above, according to the activation device of this embodiment , the activation current is monitored and the distribution of the activation voltage of each element in one line is corrected, so that all the elements are activated. The electron emission characteristics are made uniform. As a result, a high-quality image display device with less variation in luminance or density can be realized using the electron source substrate.

In addition, by applying a predetermined non-selection potential to a line that has not been activated, it is possible to reduce an increase in power consumption due to application of a voltage to an element on the non-selection line.

The output of the pulse potential for line selection is started later than the change in the pulse output of the activation potential from the buffer amplifier, and the pulse output for line selection is changed to the output of the activation potential from the buffer amplifier. By ending before the pulse output, even if there is a variation in the output timing from the buffer amplifier, the influence can be avoided.

Sixth Embodiment Referring to FIG. 33, a description will be given of a conduction activation device for a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

Also in FIG. 33, the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 701 is the same as 101 in FIG. 1, and the operation and activation procedure of the whole device are almost the same as those of the fourth embodiment , so that the description is omitted.

Unlike the fourth and fifth reference examples , the sixth reference
In the example , there is no current monitor circuit connected to the line selection circuit 702 of the surface conduction electron-emitting device 701. Instead, a distribution value memory 712 storing a distribution potential value to be generated in the potential distribution generating circuit 708 is provided, and this data can be transferred to the potential distribution generating circuit 708 by a command from the control circuit 706. I have. The reason will be described.

Activation elapsed time in FIGS. 27B and 41
As shown in the change of the activation current, during the activation process,
The element current increases with conduction and eventually saturates. 4th
In the fifth reference example , the energization activation process is performed while monitoring the device current with a current monitor circuit so that the device current of each device on the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 finally becomes 2 mA. Was. However, when the reproducibility of the activation process is high and the change in the activation elapsed time and the activation current are almost the same when activating any element of the surface-conduction emission element substrate 701, the activation of the current monitor circuit The activation end can be determined based on the activation energizing time without monitoring the activation progress.

The present embodiment describes a method of compensating for a potential drop generated in the line direction due to wiring resistance when performing the activation method for determining the end of activation based on the activation elapsed time.

As in the fourth and fifth embodiments , the activation was performed by applying an activation voltage having a pulse width of 1 ms, a pulse period of 10 ms, and a pulse height of 18 V. At this time, the activation was performed for 30 minutes so that the activation element current was obtained at 2 mA / element. At this time, the change of the activation elapsed time-activation current as shown in FIG. Was measured in advance. In accordance with the equations (1) and (2) of the fourth reference example, the amount of voltage to be output from the potential distribution generating circuit 708 is calculated from the activation current value at a certain activation elapsed time, and stored in the distribution value correction memory 712. Stored.

The distribution value correction memory 712 is addressed by the activation elapsed time t and the column wiring numbers 1 to n.
Is output as a set output value 710, and the value of the D / A converter of the corresponding potential distribution circuit 708 is set. As a result, an independent compensation potential amount is set for each D / A converter, and all outputs are synchronously updated by the latch CLK.

FIG. 34 shows an example of the correction potential value stored in the distribution value correction memory 712. In FIG. 34, the distribution value correction memory 712 stores the activation elapsed time t =
The compensation potential amount for each minute was stored. Activation elapsed time t = 0
, The correction potential values of the column-directional wiring numbers 1 to n are all 0 V, and after one minute, from -0.1 V to -0.3 V.
After 29 minutes, a compensation potential from -0.5V to -3.0V is generated. That is, the distribution value correction memory 712 stores compensation potential data for the number of column wirings of n × 30.

FIG. 35 shows that when activation was performed for 30 minutes,
One minute after the start of activation and 29 minutes immediately before the end, the device F1
3 shows a distribution of voltages applied to both ends of Fn. In FIGS. 35B and 35C, the horizontal axis indicates element numbers F1 to Fn, and indicates the position of the element. The vertical axis indicates the element voltage across the element. As shown in FIG. 35B, immediately after the start of activation, the current flowing through each element is small as described above. Therefore, the activation potential Eac applied from the power supply 704
= 18V is applied to the terminals Gy1 to Gyn of each element.
Also, almost no activation current flows. Each value of the distribution value correction memory 712 is also substantially 0 V, the set current value of the potential distribution generating circuit 108 is also substantially 0, and the outputs By1 to Byn of the potential distribution generating circuit 108 and the output sy of the buffer 107 are output.
1 to Syn also become almost 0V. In the activation elapsed time 29 minutes shown in FIG.
Each value of 12 generates the largest compensation potential. As a result, a constant applied voltage of 18 V is applied to each element, and activation proceeds.

In the above description, the distribution value correction memory 712 stores the compensation potential amount every activation elapsed time t = 1 minute. However, since the change of the activation current per unit time in the activation elapsed time-activation current profile is not always constant, the interval of the activation elapsed time t for addressing the distribution value correction memory 712 is adjusted according to the actual profile. You can also. That is,
In the time domain where the change in the activation current per unit time is large, the interval of the activation elapsed time t for addressing the distribution value correction memory 712 is reduced, and in the time domain where the change in the activation current per unit time is small, the distribution value correction memory 712 is used.
By increasing the interval of the activation elapsed time t for addressing, the capacity of the memory can be saved and voltage compensation with high controllability can be realized.

According to each of the above embodiments, when a surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate in which surface conduction electron-emitting devices are wired in a matrix is manufactured by activation, the effect of potential drop due to wiring resistance and activation current. In this way, the voltage applied to the elements prevents unevenness due to non-uniformity of the voltage applied to the elements, and energization such that an electron source in which a large number of surface conduction type emission elements are arranged in a simple matrix can obtain uniform electron emission characteristics. Activation can be realized. As a result, a high-quality image display device with less variation in luminance or density using this electron source substrate has been realized.

Further, by applying a predetermined non-selection potential to a line that has not been activated, the controllability is further increased. Increase in power consumption due to application of a voltage to the power supply can be reduced.

In addition, the output of the pulse potential of the line selection is started with a delay after the change of the pulse output of the column wiring potential, and the pulse output of the line selection is ended before the output of the pulse of the column wiring potential. Thus, it is possible to avoid the influence of the variation in the output (connection) timing of the potential.

[0282]

As described above, according to the present invention, a suitable electron-emitting device can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an energization activation device according to a first reference example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a line selection circuit used in a first reference example ;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a voltage distribution generating circuit used in the first reference example .

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a driving example of the first reference example in which an element on a certain line is energized and activated;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a drive voltage distribution of each element when an element on a certain line is energized and activated in the first reference example ;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an energization activation device according to a second reference example of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a drive voltage distribution of each element when an element on a certain line is energized and activated in the second reference example ;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an energization activation device according to a third reference example of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a driving example in which the elements on one line are energized and activated as a third reference example .

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a drive voltage distribution of each element when an element on a certain line is energized and activated in the third reference example .

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a power activation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[12] In the first embodiment, is a diagram illustrating a driving example that energization activation elements on a certain line.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a current activation device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a driving example in which an element on a certain line is energized and activated in the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a control procedure in a case where activation is completed in a procedure of completing activation for each line and proceeding the line.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an energization activation device according to a fourth reference example of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a driving example of the fourth reference example in which an element on a certain line is energized and activated.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of an activation device for a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to a fifth reference example .

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a line selection circuit used in the activation device of the fifth reference example .

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a drive voltage waveform applied to each terminal of a surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate in a fifth reference example .

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of a control procedure in a case where activation is completed in a procedure of completing activation for each line and proceeding the line.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of an image display device according to an embodiment or a reference example of the present invention, in which a part of a display panel is cut away.

FIG. 23 is a plan view illustrating a phosphor array of a face plate of a display panel.

FIGS. 24A and 24B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the embodiment .

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 a current forming process.

FIG. 27 shows an applied voltage waveform (a) in the energization activation process;
It is a figure showing change (b) of emission current Ie.

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

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 embodiment .

FIG. 31 is a plan view of a substrate of the multi-electron beam source used in the embodiment .

FIG. 32 is a partial cross-sectional view of a substrate of the multi-electron beam source used in the embodiment .

FIG. 33 is a block diagram of an energization activation device used in the embodiment .

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing the contents of a memory used in the embodiment .

FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating the progress of activation in the embodiment .

FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating a conventional technique.

FIG. 37

FIG. 38

FIG. 39

FIG. 40

FIG. 41

FIG. 42

FIG. 43A

FIG. 43B is a diagram illustrating an example of a problem.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01J 9/02

Claims (14)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of row wirings and a plurality of row wirings;
A plurality of column wirings constituting the trics, and
A plurality of wires connected to one of the wires and one of the column wires
A method of manufacturing an electron source having an electron- emitting device, the method comprising:
Of a conductive member that becomes a part of the electron-emitting device depending on the position.
And the first potential applied to the portion of the plurality of column wirings.
Depending on the potential applied to each, a part of the electron-emitting device
And a second potential applied to a second portion of the conductive member.
Accordingly, steps have a step of applying a voltage to each of the plurality of conductive members connected to the selected row wirings, applying the voltage, the plurality of conductive connected to the selected row wirings Element
The due to the difference of the first potential in each of the first portion, so as to reduce the difference between the voltages applied to each of the plurality of conductive members connected to the selected row wirings, the plurality of Potential applied to each column wiring
For each of the second portions of the plurality of conductive members.
A method of manufacturing an electron source, wherein the method changes according to a change in a current flowing through a connected column wiring . 2. In the step of applying a voltage, a potential difference between a potential applied to each of the plurality of column wirings and an unselected row wiring that is an unselected one of the plurality of row wirings. 2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a potential for suppressing a current flowing through the unselected row wiring is applied by the method. 3. The potential of the unselected row wiring is set to be between a maximum value and a minimum value of a potential applied to each of the plurality of column wirings. 3. The method for manufacturing an electron source according to item 2 . 4. A method of sequentially switching the selected row wiring,
The step of applying the voltage is performed.
The method for manufacturing an electron source according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein after the step of applying the voltage to the conductive member connected to the selected row wiring is completed, another row wiring of the plurality of row wirings is selected. Item 5. The method for manufacturing an electron source according to Item 4 . 6. A method of selecting a certain row wiring among the plurality of row wirings, and applying the voltage to the conductive member connected to the selected row wiring at a time interval. Performing a step of applying, during said time interval,
5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein a step of selecting another row wiring and applying the voltage to the conductive member connected to the other row wiring is performed. 7. An electron source and electrons emitted from the electron source.
Image forming member having an image forming member for forming an image by
A method of manufacturing an electron source, the method comprising manufacturing an electron source according to claim 1.
Manufacturing an electron source by a method, and combining the electron source and the image forming member
And a method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus. 8. A plurality of row wirings and said plurality of row wirings,
The multiple column wirings that make up the matrix,
One of the plurality of row wirings and one of the plurality of column wirings
An apparatus for manufacturing an electron source having a plurality of electron-emitting devices to be connected , the method comprising selecting a row wiring among the plurality of row wirings and selecting the selected row wiring.
Part of the electron-emitting device connected to the row wiring
A row selection means for applying a potential to the first portion of the conductive member, said plurality in synchronization with the selected row line by said row selection means
Of the electron-emitting devices connected to each of the column wirings.
Applying a potential to a second portion of the conductive member serving as a portion.
With this, the connection to the row wiring selected by the row selection means is established.
The first portion of each of the plurality of conductive members connected to the first portion;
Column potential applying means for applying a voltage between the second portion and the second portion
And a plurality of rows connected to the row wiring selected by the row selection means.
Potential at said first portion of each of a number of conductive members
Due to the difference between the selected row wiring
The difference between the voltages applied to each of the plurality of conductive members is
As described above, the plurality of column potentials are relaxed by the column potential applying means.
The potential applied to the respective column wiring, before Symbol plurality of conductive portions
Flow through the column wiring connected to each said second portion of material.
Control means to control the change according to the change in the current
And a step of manufacturing the electron source. Wherein said column potentials applying means to claim 8, characterized in that it comprises the equivalent wiring resistance array having a row wire and substantially equal resistance, and a control current circuit to sink or source a predetermined current An apparatus for manufacturing the electron source according to the above. 10. A circuit according to claim 1, further comprising a current monitor circuit for monitoring a current flowing through said conductive member.
10. The apparatus for manufacturing an electron source according to 8 or 9 . Wherein said current monitoring circuit includes electron source manufacturing apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that monitoring the current flowing through each of the conductive members. 12. The electron source according to claim 8, wherein the column potential applying means sets a potential to be applied based on a current flowing through the conductive member. apparatus. Wherein said column potentials applying means includes a latch circuit for storing a digital value corresponding to a current value flowing through the conductive member, D / A converter for converting the digital value stored in the latch circuit into a current value The apparatus for manufacturing an electron source according to any one of claims 8 to 12 , comprising: 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the row selection means electrons according to any one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that from both sides of the selected row distribution <br/> line applies an electric potential Source manufacturing equipment.