JP3105275B2 - Method for manufacturing plasma display panel - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a plasma display panel for displaying by utilizing visible light or ultraviolet light emitted by excited atoms generated by plasma discharge, and more particularly, to a method of forming a discharge electrode prior to display discharge. Aging treatment (forming) to activate and obtain good display characteristics
It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a display panel is provided in a display device and functions together with a drive circuit and other peripheral parts to selectively emit light from a plurality of pixels to display characters, figures, and the like. These are roughly classified into a light-emitting type and a non-light-emitting type. The light-emitting display panel has been applied to computers, televisions, and other display devices in various ways, together with non-light-emitting display panels such as liquid crystal display panels. There is a plasma display panel (PDP) that has high performance such as a high contrast ratio and is suitable for reduction in size and weight. Among them, the DC plasma display panel has an advantage that it is easy to increase the size because of its simple structure.

FIG. 2 is an external view schematically showing a configuration example of a DC plasma display panel. In the figure, a part of the panel is cut away for easy understanding of the internal structure of the panel.

This plasma display panel performs display by plasma discharge, and is disposed opposite to each other at a small interval to form a discharge space inside, for example, a light-transmitting front plate 1 and an insulating front plate 1. A back plate 2 is provided. A plurality of striped anodes 3 (anodes) are arranged in parallel on the facing surface of front plate 1, and striped cathodes 4 (cathodes) are arranged on the facing surface of back plate 2 in a direction intersecting anode 3. A plurality are arranged in parallel. A plurality of partitions 5 are formed between the front plate 1 and the back plate 2 along the anodes 3 to divide a discharge space. Further, a discharge for display discharge for plasma discharge is formed inside the discharge space. Gas is sealed at a predetermined gas pressure. When operating the plasma display panel of FIG. 2, when a driving signal from another driving circuit or the like is applied between a predetermined anode 3 and a predetermined cathode 4, carriers move between the electrodes. Due to this carrier movement, on the electrode intersection, ie, pixel (unit cell)
The upper discharge gas is excited, and the pixel emits light. If the light emission of such pixels is selectively performed by adjusting the drive signal, desired characters, figures, and the like can be displayed.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a configuration of a conventional method of manufacturing a plasma display panel.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state of discharge at the time of aging processing in the case of manufacturing the plasma display panel of FIG. In the figure, the same elements as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

A configuration example of a conventional plasma display panel manufacturing method will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4.

For example, according to the conventional method for manufacturing a plasma display panel shown in FIG. 3, the plasma display panel shown in FIG.
It is manufactured through the following steps (I) to (III) corresponding to No. 4.

(I) Step 101 First, an anode 3 is formed on a front plate 1 such as a transparent glass using a transparent conductive material or the like.
For example, the cathode 4 is formed using Ni or the like. The partition 5 is formed on either the front plate 1 or the back plate 2.

(II) Steps 102 and 103 Next, the front plate 1 and the back plate 2 are arranged so that the respective electrodes cross each other and face each other, and a shield material such as lead glass is used. The double-sided plate is sealed to form a discharge space, and the gas inside the discharge space is exhausted (step 102). In the discharge space, a discharge gas for display discharge for plasma discharge composed of, for example, a rare gas is filled at a predetermined filling gas pressure (step 103).

(III) Step 104 Step By the steps 101 to 103 which have been performed so far,
Although the desired structure of the plasma display panel can be obtained, it is necessary to perform an aging process because the discharge electrodes are not sufficiently activated in this state.

The aging process in this case is described, for example, in the technical report of the Institute of Television Engineers of Japan, 12 [49] (198).
8) p. 43-48 "DC using LaBa cathode printed
As described in "Plasma display", prior to the display discharge, the surface of the discharge electrode is activated by a discharge different from the display discharge to remove (forming) impurities on the surface and the like.

That is, as can be seen from the plasma display panel of FIG. 2, the cathode 4 is a discharge electrode for generating carriers, and the surface of the cathode 4 is exposed to a discharge space. Therefore, there is a high correlation between the characteristics of the material for forming the cathode 4 and the display quality and life of the panel, and it is important to control the surface state of the cathode 4. For example, FIG. 5 shows an example of the surface state of the cathode 4 after the completion of the step (II). In addition, FIG.
It is sectional drawing of the cathode 4 before the aging process in the manufacturing method of the conventional plasma display panel.

As can be seen from FIG. 5, for example, a binder 6 (for example, lead glass) for connecting the cathode material adheres to the surface of the cathode 4 or oxidation or oxidization due to the components of the shielding material used at the time of sealing. Oxide 7 formed by melting binder 6 contained in the cathode material may adhere. Therefore, for example, as described in the above document,
Before putting the plasma display panel into practical use, forming is performed by aging treatment to remove the binder 6 and the oxide 7 on the surface of the cathode 4 by discharging.
It is necessary to uniformly activate the entire surface. If such impurities on the surface of the cathode 4 remain without being removed, intensive discharge will occur only in the activated portion of the surface of the cathode 4 during display discharge, and a large amount of current will flow. The display quality is degraded due to shrinkage or the occurrence of bright spots.

In order to prevent such inconvenience, an aging process is carried out. For example, as shown schematically in FIG. 4, an applied voltage (V) and a resistor (R) are provided as appropriate and the anode 3 and the cathode 4 are provided. A predetermined voltage and current aging signal is applied for a certain period of time. Then, a discharge occurs between the anode 3 and the cathode 4 (usually in a region indicated by a dot in FIG. 4), and the surface of the cathode 4 is activated.

As described above, by performing aging treatment, which is a necessary condition for obtaining good display quality and extending the life, and uniformly activating the discharge electrode surface, a desired plasma display panel can be manufactured. Ends. In the plasma display panel manufactured by the conventional manufacturing method, since the aging treatment is performed, the discharge electrodes are activated, and good display quality and long life are obtained.

[0016]

However, the method for manufacturing a plasma display panel having the above-described structure has the following problems.

For example, in the conventional manufacturing method, at the time of the aging treatment, the discharge is spread over the entire electrode surface (opening) of the pixel portion as shown by the dotted region in FIG. In order to cause a discharge and improve the uniformity of the surface activation, it is necessary to lower the gas pressure of the discharge gas and increase the resistance between the electrodes.

That is, as can be understood from the mechanism of plasma discharge, the discharge during the aging process causes the movement of charged particles (carriers) between the anode 3 and the cathode 4 to cause a current to flow. The particles are ions and electrons formed by ionization of the discharge gas. Therefore, when the pressure of the sealing gas is reduced, the number of atoms in the discharge gas decreases, the number of ions and electrons decreases, and the resistance between the electrodes increases.
This makes it impossible to flow the current of the aging signal by discharging only a part of the opening, and the discharging occurs over the entire opening.

However, when the resistance between the electrodes is increased by lowering the gas pressure of the discharge gas to increase the uniformity of activation due to aging, the carrier density related to the charge transfer between the electrodes during display discharge is reduced. As a result, the discharge current with respect to the driving voltage is reduced, and the luminance is reduced. Thus, only a low luminance is obtained in practical use.

On the other hand, in order to secure the carriers at the time of display discharge and to improve the luminance, it is necessary to increase the pressure of the filling gas. As the resistance decreases, the current of the aging signal sufficiently flows between the electrodes only by discharging at a specific portion of the opening (for example, a hatched portion in FIG. 4), and the binder 6 and the oxide on the surface of the cathode 4 Since the current is conducted even if no discharge occurs in the portion where the metal 7 is attached, even if the aging treatment is performed, the binder 6 and the oxide 7 remain on the surface of the cathode 4 as shown in FIG. I will. Here, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the cathode surface after the aging treatment by the conventional manufacturing method corresponding to before the aging treatment in FIG.
This shows the forming effect when 00 Torr is set. Therefore, as can be seen from FIG. 6, in the normal aging treatment by the conventional manufacturing method, the entire cathode surface does not become involved in the discharge, and even after the aging treatment, the surface of the cathode 4 has, for example, The oxide 7 remains, and in some cases, the binder 6 remains, so that the oxide 7 is not uniform and is only locally activated.

The above-mentioned problems generally occur during the aging process in a normal plasma display panel manufacturing process. In particular, a plasma display having a large area (dot area) of one pixel (unit cell) is required. The effect is more remarkable in the panel, and the display luminance is further reduced because the discharge at the time of the aging process is spread over the entire dot.

In order to solve such a problem, it is conceivable to take measures, for example, by increasing the signal level of the aging signal (for example, increasing the discharge current). It is expected that a level setting that is considerably higher than the level needs to be performed. Then
For example, sputtering by ions or the like on the cathode 4 increases, and the cathode 4 is deteriorated before display discharge. Also,
If the conditions for setting the signal level are relaxed in order to eliminate such an adverse effect on the panel structure, local activation cannot be avoided. Therefore, a sufficient solution cannot be provided even by setting the signal level of the aging signal.

The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a plasma display panel which solves the problems of the prior art that the uniform activation of discharge electrodes and the increase in display luminance are not compatible. is there.

[0024]

To solve the previous SL problems SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The first aspect of the present invention, plasma display
In the method for manufacturing a panel, a first panel
And forming a second discharge electrode on the surface of the second panel plate.
And the first and second discharge electrodes are paired.
The first and second panel boards are arranged so as to face each other, and
The first and second panel boards are sealed to seal the first and second panels.
Forming a discharge space between the two discharge electrodes;
The first discharge gas for aging,
Pressure in the discharge space, and at the time of display discharge.
Applying a voltage different from the voltage to be applied to the first and
Step of applying aging treatment by applying between two discharge electrodes
And after the aging treatment, sealed in the discharge space.
Exhausting the aging discharge gas,
Discharge gas for display discharge of the same type as discharge gas for charging
Is different from the first gas pressure and suitable for display discharge.
At the second filling gas pressure, after filling in the discharge space,
Sealing the discharge space. Second departure
Akira manufactures the plasma display panel of the first invention
In the method, the aging process includes the display discharge.
Voltage higher than the voltage applied during the first and second
Applied between the discharge electrodes, and the first sealed gas pressure is
2 is set lower than the filling gas pressure.

[0025]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the method of manufacturing a plasma display panel is configured as described above.
For example, by setting the first sealing gas pressure of the aging discharge gas to be sealed during the aging process to a value suitable for the aging process, the discharge during the aging process spreads over the entire opening of the discharge electrode, and the surface of the discharge electrode is reduced. It is activated uniformly. After discharging the aging discharge gas , the display discharge gas is set to a value suitable for display discharge .
By encapsulating at a sealing gas pressure of 2, carriers during display discharge are secured, and high display luminance is obtained. Therefore,
The above problem can be solved.

[0026]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 7A and 7B are views showing one manufacturing process in the manufacturing method of the embodiment, and FIG. 7A is a manufacturing target of the embodiment and has the same structure as that of FIG. FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of the panel, and FIG. 2B is a partial cross-sectional view of the plasma display panel of FIG.

According to the plasma display panel manufacturing method of this embodiment, a plasma display panel having the same structure as that of FIG.
08, and is manufactured through the following steps (i) to (vi) corresponding to 08.

(I) Process of Step 201 First, for example, an ITO film (Indium Tin O 2) which is a transparent conductive material is formed on a front plate 21 made of a transparent glass or the like.
An anode film 22 is formed by vacuum evaporation or the like, and a plurality of striped anodes 22 are formed in parallel. Simultaneously, a cathode material made of, for example, Ni or the like is paste-printed and screen-printed on the insulating back plate 23 to form a plurality of striped cathodes 24 in parallel. Further, a plurality of partition walls 25 extending in a direction intersecting with the cathodes 24 are formed in parallel on the back plate 23 by, for example, overprinting by a screen printing method. Here, for example, the cell area (cathode width × anode width) is 0.94 mm × 0.32 mm.
The distance between 2 and cathode 24 is 0.16 mm.

(Ii) Steps 202 and 203 Next, a shield material made of, for example, lead glass or the like is formed in the vicinity of one of the front plate 21 and the back plate 23, or the outer edge of both electrode formation surfaces. 26 is applied (step 202). Thereafter, the front plate 21 and the back plate 23 are overlapped in an arrangement in which the electrodes intersect and face each other (step 203).

(Iii) Step of Step 204 After the front plate 21 and the back plate 23 are overlaid, a high-temperature heat treatment is performed while, for example, evacuation of the inside thereof (a place serving as a discharge space), and the molten shielding material 26 is melted. To seal the front plate 21 and the back plate 23. In the process up to this point, for example, an exhaust hole 27 is provided in a part of the back plate 23 as shown in FIG.

(Iv) Step 205 Step After the front plate 21 and the back plate 23 are sealed, the temperature is returned to room temperature, and the discharge space between the face plates sealed by the hardened shield material 26 and brought into a vacuum state is, for example, exhaust holes. 27, for example, He-Xe (5%) as a discharge gas for aging, a first sealed gas pressure suitable for aging, for example, 200 T
Enclose with orr.

(V) Step 206 Step After the aging discharge gas is sealed in the discharge space, the anode 2
For example, a constant voltage of 260 V is applied as an aging signal between the cathode 2 and the cathode 24 for 2 hours to perform an aging process. Applied voltage 260V at this time, higher than the driving voltage during the display discharge (e.g. 230V), and the charged gas pressure of the gas sealed is low Ino, the aging process, the cathode 24
Discharge occurs on the entire surface of the opening, and impurities such as the binder 6 and the oxide 7 on the surface of the cathode 24 are removed (formed) by ion gas, heat, and the like due to the discharge.

(Vi) Steps 207 and 208 After the aging process, the discharge gas sealed for aging is exhausted from the inside of the discharge space through the exhaust hole 27 (step 207). Thereafter, as a discharge gas for display discharge, for example, H
Refill e-Xe (5%) at a second filling gas pressure suitable for display discharge, for example, 400 Torr (step 20).
8).

After this, if the sealing process of the exhaust hole 27 is performed, the manufacture of the plasma display panel desired in this embodiment is completed.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are views showing the state of the cathode surface before and after the aging process in the manufacturing method of this embodiment, and FIG. 8A is a cross section of the cathode surface before the aging process. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the cathode surface after the aging treatment. In the figure, the same elements as those in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As can be seen from FIGS. 8A and 8B,
According to the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, after the aging sealing gas is sealed at an appropriate first sealing gas pressure (for example, 200 Torr) corresponding to the aging process, the aging process is performed, and then the discharge gas for display discharge is applied. The display appropriate for the discharge
Refilling was performed at a second filling gas pressure (for example, 400 Torr). For this reason, the gas pressure at the time of the aging process is low, the discharge at the time of the aging process spreads over the entire opening, the aging process is performed effectively, and the surface of the cathode 24 can be uniformly activated. That is, before the aging process, FIG.
As shown in (a), the binder 6 and the oxide 7 adhering to the surface of the cathode 24 are removed from the surface. Moreover,
Since the sealed gas pressure at the time of display discharge can be set to a value corresponding to the display luminance, good display luminance can be obtained in the display discharge of the plasma display panel after manufacture.

In particular, in the plasma display panel manufactured by the manufacturing method of this embodiment, when He-Xe (5%) is used as a discharge gas at the time of display discharge, the conventional 20
Compared to the case of sealing at 0 Torr,
The display brightness at the time of display discharge is improved to 35 [cd / m ² ] in the present embodiment, while the display brightness at the time of display discharge is 20 [cd / m ² ] in the prior art. .

According to the manufacturing method of this embodiment, aging
The same type of discharge gas for
Only one kind of discharge gas is needed
In addition, labor is saved and controllability is improved. In addition, since the discharge gas for the display discharge is refilled after the discharge gas during the aging process is once exhausted, impurities such as the binder 6 and the oxide 7 generated by the aging process are removed from the discharge space. It can contribute to further improvement of display quality.

The above embodiment is not limited to various modifications or
Applicable . As a modification or application example,
For example, there is the following.

(A) The method of manufacturing the plasma display panel described in the above embodiment and the structure of the plasma display panel to be manufactured can be variously modified. In the above SL embodiment, as a discharge gas for aging and for display discharge, it is used those same type, it is also possible to use a different discharge gases. For example, instead of He-Xe (5%) as the aging sealing gas,
NeAr (several%) or the like may be used. In this case, the pressure of the sealed gas is appropriately set according to the discharge gas used. For example, Ne is used as a discharge gas during the aging process.
When Ar (several%) is used, the filling gas pressure is 160 Torr.
r.

In the above embodiment, after the aging treatment is performed by filling the aging discharge gas, the aging discharge gas is once exhausted, and then the display discharge discharge gas is refilled. After performing aging treatment with a discharge gas filled at a gas pressure suitable for the treatment, the same, same or different discharge gas is applied to the discharge gas under such conditions that the gas pressure for display discharge is reached. also acceptable that that form a display discharge a discharge gas added to
Noh . In this case, the process of enclosing the discharge gas can be simplified, and effects such as a reduction in the number of steps in the manufacturing process and a reduction in the manufacturing time can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, the filling gas pressure during the aging process was set to 200 Torr, and the filling gas pressure during the display discharge was set to 400 Torr. Can be set. For example, the setting of the filling gas pressure in the above embodiment is such that under the condition that the distance between the cathode and the anode is constant, the discharge is not biased in the range where the discharge starting voltage does not become high, and the discharge occurs over the entire opening and the electrode is generated. The pressure at which the surface is uniformly activated is found, and this is determined by the gas pressure during aging (for example, the lower gas pressure of 200 Torr).
r), and for the display discharge, the gas pressure is increased. As far as the discharge starting voltage is not increased, a sealing gas pressure as high as possible (for example, a higher gas pressure of 400 Torr) is found, and the sealing gas pressure during the display discharge is determined. Although the gas pressure is used, various setting methods including such a case are possible.

In the plasma display panel of the above embodiment, the partition wall 25 is formed from the back plate 23 side. However, the partition wall 25 may be formed from the front plate 21 side, for example. Various settings, modifications, and changes are possible, such as a structure in which a phosphor layer is provided in consideration of color display or the like, as appropriate.

[0044] (b) In the above embodiment has been described taking the case of a DC type plasma display panel, upper
The above-described embodiment can be widely applied to other structures, and the position and type of the discharge electrode to be subjected to the aging process can be appropriately changed depending on the structure of the panel.

[0045]

As described in detail above , the first and second embodiments are described .
According to the second aspect of the invention, the same type of aging discharge gas and
And Table示放electrostatic discharge gas. Thus enclosed by the first and second charged gas pressure suitable for each aging process and display discharge, for example, low during the aging process the
The discharge in the first fill gas pressure, discharge impurities electrode surface can be effectively removed, and can uniformly activate the discharge electrode surface, display by generation of life shortening or bright spots due to concentration of the discharge Quality degradation can be prevented. On the other hand , at the time of the display discharge, the display discharge is performed under the high second filling gas pressure, and a good display luminance is obtained. And for aging
And the same type of discharge gas for display discharge
So only one kind of discharge gas needs to be prepared
In addition, labor is saved and controllability is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a plasma display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view schematically showing a configuration example of a DC plasma display panel.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing one configuration example of a conventional method for manufacturing a plasma display panel.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state of a discharge during an aging process in a case where the plasma display panel in FIG. 2 is manufactured.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a cathode surface before an aging process in a conventional plasma display panel manufacturing method.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a cathode surface after aging processing by a conventional manufacturing method corresponding to before the aging processing in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a manufacturing process diagram in the manufacturing method of the example.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state of a cathode surface before and after an aging process in the manufacturing method of the example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Front plate 22 Anode 23 Back plate 24 Cathode 25 Partition wall 26 Shielding material 27 Exhaust hole

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first discharge electrode is provided on a surface of a first panel plate.
And forming a second discharge electrode on the surface of the second panel plate.
So that the first and second discharge electrodes face each other.
The first and second panel boards are arranged, and the first and second panel boards are arranged.
To seal between the first and second discharge electrodes.
Forming a discharge space in the first step, and discharging the aging discharge gas into a first discharge gas suitable for aging treatment.
Enclosing in the discharge space at an encapsulation gas pressure, and applying a voltage different from the voltage applied at the time of display discharge for a predetermined time.
Aging treatment by applying a voltage between the first and second discharge electrodes
And after the aging treatment and before being sealed in the discharge space.
Exhausting the aging discharge gas, and a display discharge of the same type as the aging discharge gas.
The gas is different from the first sealed gas pressure and is subjected to a display discharge.
Sealed in the discharge space at a suitable second fill gas pressure
After plasma display panel, characterized in that and a step for sealing the discharge space
Manufacturing method. 2. The method according to claim 2, wherein the aging process includes a step of:
Voltage higher than the voltage applied during the first and second
Applied between the discharge electrodes, and the first sealed gas pressure is
2. The filling pressure is set lower than the filling gas pressure of 2.
The method for manufacturing a plasma display panel according to claim 1.