JP3320206B2 - Electron emitting element, electron source, and method of manufacturing image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron emitting device, an electron source, and a method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus such as a display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, two types of electron emitting devices, a thermionic electron source and a cold cathode electron source, are known. The cold cathode electron sources include a field emission type (hereinafter abbreviated as FE type), a metal / insulating layer / metal type (hereinafter abbreviated as MIM type), and a surface conduction type electron emission element.

[0003] As an example of the FE type, WP Dyk
e & WW Dolan, "Field emissi
on ", Advance in Electron P
physics, 8, 89 (1956) or C.I.
A. Spindt, "PHYSIACL Proper
ties of thin-film field e
mission cathodes with mol
ybdenum cones ", J. Appl. Phys.
s., 47, 5248 (1976) and the like.

As an example of the MIM type, CA Me
ad, "The tunnel-emission a
mplifier, J. Appl. Phys., 32,
646 (1961).

[0005] Examples of the above-mentioned surface conduction electron-emitting device include MI Elinson, Radio Eng.
Electron Pys., 10, (1965).

The above-mentioned surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which electrons are emitted by passing a current through a small-area thin film formed on a substrate in parallel with the film surface. Examples of the surface conduction type electron-emitting device include a device using a SnO ₂ thin film by the above-mentioned E. Elinson, and a device using an Au thin film [G. Dittme].
r: "Thin Solid Films", 9, 31
7 (1972)], using an In ₂ O ₃ / SnO ₂ thin film [M. Hartwell and CG Fons]
tad: "IEEE Trans. ED Conf.
, 519 (1975)], a carbon thin film [Hisashi Araki et al .: Vacuum, Vol. 26, No. 1, p. 22 (19
83)] have been reported.

[0007] A typical device configuration of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices is described in the aforementioned M.A. Hartwell (M. Ha
(rtwell) is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 28, reference numeral 201 denotes a substrate; 202, a conductive film formed of a metal oxide thin film or the like formed by sputtering in an H-shaped pattern; Emission unit 203
Is formed. Incidentally, the element electrode interval L in FIG. 28 is 0.5.
１1.0 mm and W ′ are set to 0.1 mm. Further, since the position and shape of the electron-emitting portion 203 are unknown, they are shown as a schematic diagram.

Conventionally, in these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, as described above, before the electron emission, the electron-emitting portion 203 is generally formed by applying a current to the conductive film 202 by an energization process called energization forming. Met.

That is, the energization forming means that a direct current voltage or a very slowly increasing voltage, for example, about 1 V / min is applied to both ends of the conductive film 202 and energized to locally destroy, deform or deform the conductive film. The purpose is to form the electron-emitting portion 203 that has been altered and is in an electrically high-resistance state. Note that, for example, the electron emission section 203 is
Has a crack generated in a part thereof, and electrons are emitted from the vicinity of the crack. The surface conduction type electron-emitting device that has been subjected to the energization forming process applies a voltage to the conductive film 204 and causes a current to flow through the device, thereby forming the electron-emitting portion 2.
03 to emit electrons.

The above-described surface conduction electron-emitting device has an advantage that a large number of such devices can be arrayed and formed over a large area because the structure is simple and its manufacture is easy. Therefore, various applications that can make use of such advantages are being studied. For example, a charged beam source, a display device, and the like can be given.

As an example in which a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged and formed, a surface-conduction electron-emitting device is arranged in parallel, called a ladder-type arrangement, as will be described later. An electron source in which rows each connected by a common wiring are arranged in a large number of rows (for example, JP-A-64-31332, JP-A-1-283)
749, JP-A-1-257552 and the like).

Further, in particular, in image forming apparatuses such as display apparatuses, in recent years, flat panel display apparatuses using liquid crystal have been
Although it has become widespread in place of T, flat panel display devices using this liquid crystal are not self-luminous, and therefore have problems such as having to have a backlight. It has been desired. An example of a self-luminous display device is a display device in which an electron source in which a number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged and a phosphor that emits visible light by electrons emitted from the electron source are combined. Forming apparatus (US Pat. No. 5,066,883).

[0014]

However, the behavior of the surface-conduction type electron-emitting device used in the above-mentioned electron source and image forming apparatus in a vacuum is hardly known, and a more stable and controlled electron emission device is known. Further improvement in characteristics and electron emission efficiency has been desired.

Here, the above-mentioned efficiency refers to a current (hereinafter, referred to as an element current If) applied to a voltage between a pair of element electrodes of a surface conduction electron-emitting element, and a current (hereinafter, referred to as an element current If) emitted. , Emission current Ie) ((If / Ie) × 100 [%]). That is, it is desirable that the device current If is as small as possible, while the emission current Ie is as large as possible.

Further, it has been found that, in the case of the surface conduction type electron-emitting device, when electrons are continuously emitted for a long time, contamination accumulated excessively in the vicinity of the electron-emitting portion deteriorates the electron-emitting characteristics (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 6-1994). This is considered to be due to the fact that oil coming from the evacuation system is decomposed and contaminated, and its shape, material, composition and the like cannot be controlled, thus deteriorating the characteristics.

As described above, if stable and controlled electron emission characteristics and improved efficiency are achieved, for example, in an image forming apparatus using a fluorescent pair as an image forming member, low current, bright, high definition, and high quality are obtained. In addition to the realization of the image forming apparatus, for example, a flat television, it is expected that the drive circuit and the like of the image forming apparatus will be inexpensive as the current is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is mainly concerned with an electron-emitting device having stable and controlled electron emission characteristics and high electron emission efficiency, and an electron source and an image using the same. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus such as a display device.

Still another object of the present invention is to make the characteristics uniform among a plurality of electron-emitting devices by controlling the above-mentioned electron emission characteristics.

[0020]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention, which achieves the above objects, is directed to a method of manufacturing an electron-emitting device having a conductive film including an electron-emitting portion between opposing electrodes in an atmosphere in which a carbon compound is present. At the time, the pause time T of the applied voltage pulse is applied to the conductive film including the electron emission portion formed between the electrodes.
(Seconds) is T with respect to the partial pressure P (torr) of the carbon compound.
A method of applying a voltage pulse satisfying a relationship of> 10 ⁻⁸ / P.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an electron source having an electron-emitting device and emitting electrons in response to an input signal, wherein the electron-emitting device is manufactured by the above manufacturing method. This is a method for manufacturing an electron source.

Further, according to the present invention, in a method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus having an electron source and an image forming member and forming an image in response to an input signal, the electron source is manufactured by the above manufacturing method. A method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail.

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the electron emission efficiency and the electron emission amount of the electron-emitting device by the activation process, and to further control the activation process condition and the voltage pulse application condition, thereby further improving the electron emission efficiency. This is an invention based on the finding that the electron emission efficiency and the amount of electron emission can be improved.

Here, the activation treatment is a treatment step of driving an electron-emitting device in an atmosphere in which a carbon compound is present to deposit carbon or a carbon compound on the device.

First, generally, when a certain organic substance is assumed to be a hard sphere molecule (molecular weight M, radius d) in a vacuum, the hard sphere molecule completely covers the surface of the certain substance with its first layer. The time t (second) required for the time t = 1.
It is expressed by 7 × 10 ⁻²³ × ((MT ′) ^1/2 / SPd ² ). Here, M is the molecular weight of the carbon compound (organic substance), S is the probability of adsorption of the carbon compound (organic substance) onto the conductive film at the temperature T ′, and P is the partial pressure (t) of the carbon compound (organic substance).
orr) and d indicate the radius when the carbon compound (organic substance) is assumed to be a hard sphere.

That is, as can be seen from the above relational expression, the time required for a certain organic substance molecule to coat a certain substance surface is inversely proportional to the partial pressure P of the organic substance.

It is assumed that the process of the activation process by driving the element corresponds to the pause time of the voltage pulse applied to the element (hereinafter, referred to as a “pause time”).
At pulse T, the organic substance molecules adsorbed on the element substrate surface are decomposed during the pulse ON time (corresponding to the pulse width) to form a carbon film. A value larger than the above t is more effective.

FIG. 1 shows the emission current I when the pulse OFF time is variously changed during the activation process.
e shows the experimental results of the device current If, and the electron emission efficiency. In this case, the imprinting voltage pulse uses a rectangular wave having a peak value of 14 V (the ON voltage is 14 V and the OFF voltage is 0 V).
Its pulse width is 30 microseconds. Further, the atmosphere of the activation treatment is performed at a degree of vacuum of 1 × 10 ⁻⁶ torr.
1 × 10 ⁻⁷ torr of carbon compound is present, and this carbon compound is considered to be due to an oil bag generated from a rotary pump.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the pulse O
The longer the FF time, the greater the Ie and efficiency. In addition, regarding the efficiency, a maximum constant value is obtained particularly when the pulse OFF time is longer than a certain time (about 1 second or longer in FIG. 1).

As described above, the present inventor has determined that the pulse OFF time T based on various experimental data on the change in device characteristics due to the change in pulse OFF time in the activation process.
Has found that when the partial pressure P of the organic substance (carbon compound) is larger than a certain multiple of the reciprocal, the activation treatment can significantly improve the electron emission efficiency and the electron emission amount of the electron-emitting device. In an activation process using an organic substance (carbon compound) by an oil bag from a vacuum pumping system such as a rotary pump or an activation process using a known organic substance (carbon compound) such as acetone, which will be described later, T It has been found that satisfying the condition of> 10 ^-8 / P can further improve the electron emission efficiency and the electron emission amount of the electron-emitting device. In an activation treatment performed by applying a pulse voltage to the conductive film including the electron-emitting portion under an atmosphere in which a carbon compound is present,
T represents the pulse OFF time (second) of the pulse voltage, and P represents the partial pressure (torr) of the carbon compound.

FIG. 2 shows the partial pressure P of the carbon compound and the pulse OF of the voltage pulse in the range of T> 10 ⁻⁸ / P.
The relationship with the F time T is shown.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, if the partial pressure P of the carbon compound at the time of the activation process is large, the pulse OFF time T for obtaining a large Ie and efficiency can be shortened. This leads to a reduction in time.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

First, a method for manufacturing an electron-emitting device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (a), 3 (b) and 3 (c). FIG. 3 is an element cross-sectional view showing the manufacturing method in the order of steps.

The method for manufacturing an electron-emitting device according to the present invention includes the following steps: (A) First, a forming process is performed on a conductive film disposed between a pair of device electrodes on a substrate.

1) After sufficiently washing the substrate 1 with a detergent, pure and organic solvent, an electrode material is deposited by a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, or the like, and then an element is formed on the substrate 1 by a photography technique. The electrodes 5 and 6 are formed (FIG. 3A).

2) An organic metal solution is applied to the substrate 1 on which the device electrodes 5 and 6 are provided and left to form an organic metal thin film. After that, the organic metal thin film is heated and baked,
Further, the conductive film 2 is formed by patterning by lift-off, etching or the like (FIG. 3B). In addition, here, the explanation has been made by the application method of the organic metal solution, but the present invention is not limited to this, and is formed by a vacuum evaporation method, a sputtering method, a chemical vapor deposition method, a dispersion coating method, a dipping method, a spinner method, or the like. It may be done.

3) Next, a forming process is performed.

The forming process is a process for forming a portion of the conductive film 2 having a changed structure by locally destroying, deforming, or altering the conductive film 2. Between the steps 6 and 6, there is an energization forming process in which an electric power is supplied from a power supply (not shown) to form the electron-emitting portion 3 having a changed structure in the conductive film 2 (FIG. 3 (c)). As described above, a portion where the conductive film 2 is locally broken, deformed or deteriorated by the energization forming and the structure is changed is called an electron emission portion.

The electrical processing after the forming processing can be performed in a measurement and evaluation apparatus as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the measurement and evaluation apparatus will be described.

In FIG. 4, 31 is a power supply for applying a voltage to the device, 30 is an ammeter for measuring a device current If flowing through a conductive film between device electrodes, and 34 is an electron emission portion of the device. An anode electrode for capturing the emission current Ie to be emitted; 33, a high-voltage power supply for applying a voltage to the anode electrode 34; 32, an ammeter for measuring the emission current Ie emitted from the electron emission portion of the device; 35 is a vacuum device, and 36 is an exhaust pump. In addition, the exhaust pump 36
It consists of a normal high vacuum device system including a turbo pump and a rotary pump, and an ultra high vacuum device system including an ion pump and the like.

In the vacuum device 35, an element to be subjected to the above-described electrical treatment in a manufacturing process or an electron-emitting element to be evaluated for its characteristics is arranged. Reference numerals 5 and 6 denote device electrodes, 4 denotes a conductive film including an electron-emitting portion, and 3 denotes an electron-emitting portion.

The vacuum device 35 is equipped with a device such as a vacuum gauge (not shown) so that the device can be measured and evaluated under a desired vacuum.

The entire vacuum apparatus or the element substrate is
It can be heated to 200 ° C. by a heater (not shown).

The voltage of the anode electrode ranges from 1 kV to 10 kV.
kV, the distance H between the anode electrode and the element is 2 mm to 8 m
It is measured in the range of m.

In the above-mentioned forming process, there are a case where a pulse with a constant pulse height is applied and a case where a voltage pulse is applied while increasing the pulse height, and an example of a voltage waveform of the energization forming is shown in FIG. 5 (a),
It is shown in (b).

The voltage waveform is particularly preferably a pulse waveform. FIG. 5A shows an example in which a pulse having a pulse peak value of a constant voltage is applied continuously, and FIG.
Shows an example in which a voltage pulse is applied while increasing the pulse peak value.

First, the case where the pulse peak value is a constant voltage (FIG. 5A) will be described.

In FIG. 5A, T1 and T2 are the pulse width and pulse interval of the voltage waveform, respectively, and T1 is 1
Microsecond to 10 milliseconds, T2 is 10 microsecond to 10
And 0 ms, peak value of the triangular wave (the peak voltage for the energization forming) is appropriately selected depending on the form of the electron-emitting device to create a suitable vacuum degree, for example, under a vacuum atmosphere of about 10 ^-5 torr Apply for a few seconds to tens of minutes. The pulse waveform applied between the device electrodes is not limited to a triangular wave, and a desired waveform such as a rectangular wave may be used.

Next, a case where a voltage pulse is applied while increasing the pulse peak value (FIG. 5B) will be described.

In FIG. 5B, T1 and T2 are the same as those in FIG. 5A, but the peak value of the triangular wave (peak voltage during energization forming) is, for example, about 0.1 V steps. It is applied in an appropriate vacuum atmosphere.

In this case, the energization forming process is terminated at a voltage that does not cause local destruction or deformation of the conductive film 4 during the pulse interval T2, for example, at a voltage of about 0.1 V. If is measured, and the resistance value is obtained. When, for example, a resistance of 1 M ohm or more is indicated, the energization forming is terminated.

(B) The method further includes a step of performing an activation process.

4) An activation process is performed on the element on which the forming process has been performed as described above.
At a desired degree of vacuum, as in the energization forming, it is a process step of repeating the application of a pulse with a peak value of a constant voltage.By such a process step, from an organic substance existing in a vacuum,
Carbon or a carbon compound is deposited on the device, and the device current If and the emission current Ie change significantly.

Here, the above-mentioned carbon or carbon compound refers to graphite (including both single crystal and polycrystal), amorphous carbon (including amorphous carbon) from the results of TEM, Raman, and the like. And the thickness of the deposit is preferably 500 Å or less, more preferably 300 Å or less.

The above activation treatment in the manufacturing method of the present invention comprises the steps of: applying an applied voltage pulse to the conductive film including the electron-emitting portion formed between the electrodes in the above-described process under an atmosphere containing a carbon compound. Is longer than the partial pressure P (torr) of the carbon compound, T> 10 ^-8 / P
A step of applying a voltage pulse satisfying the following relationship:

In the following, the activation process characterizing the present invention will be described in detail.

In the manufacturing method of the present invention, the element after the above-mentioned forming treatment is placed, for example, in an atmosphere in which an organic substance is present, and is repeatedly turned ON and OFF as shown in FIG. The pulse OF satisfying the relationship of T> 10 ⁻⁸ / P according to the partial pressure P of the organic substance in the inside
A pulse voltage having an F time T is applied to the conductive film of the device. The pulse waveform includes a rectangular wave, trapezoidal wave, triangular wave, sine wave and the like.

Further, the voltage in the ON state of the applied voltage pulse (pulse ON voltage) is preferably a voltage equal to or higher than the voltage control type negative resistance characteristic region, and particularly preferably 8 V or higher. In addition, as the pulse OFF voltage,
2 V or less, preferably 0 V.

That is, FIG. 7 shows that the activation process is performed by applying a pulse voltage that is sufficiently higher than the forming process voltage (high resistance activation process), and that the activation process is performed more sufficiently than the forming process voltage. 5 shows a time change of the device current If and the emission current Ie when a low pulse voltage is applied (low resistance activation processing). The high-resistance activation process and the low-resistance activation process are classified with a start voltage (VP) indicating a voltage-controlled negative resistance described later as a boundary.

As is clear from FIG. 7, the tendency of increase of If is smaller and the tendency of increase of Ie is larger in the high resistance activation processing than in the low resistance activation processing. Further, in the low resistance activation processing, the increase tendency of If is remarkably large as compared with the high resistance activation processing, but Ie hardly increases.

As described above, the activation process is preferably a high resistance activation process, and the ON voltage of the applied voltage pulse is preferably a voltage higher than the voltage control type negative resistance characteristic region.

FIG. 8 shows the morphological change of each element in the case where the above-described high resistance activation processing was performed (FIG. 8A) and the case where the low resistance activation processing was performed (FIG. 8B). A schematic diagram (cross-sectional view) is shown. In addition, observation is performed by FESEM, TEM, or the like.

First, a high resistance activation process (FIG. 8A)
Then, the above-mentioned carbon or carbon compound (61 in FIG. 8) mainly includes a part of the part 3 where the structure of the conductive film 4 has changed, and a part of the part 3 5 and 6 are deposited mainly toward the device electrode 5 on the high potential side. Furthermore, when this is observed at a high magnification, the fine particles at the portion 3 are also deposited around and around the fine particles. Also, depending on the distance between the device electrodes, there is also a case where the film is deposited on the device electrodes.

On the other hand, low resistance activation processing (FIG. 8B)
In this case, the above-mentioned carbon or carbon compound is mainly deposited on the portion 3 of the conductive film 4 where the structure has changed. Furthermore, when this is observed at a high magnification, it is also found that the fine particles at the portion 3 are deposited around and around the fine particles.

The atmosphere and the degree of vacuum during the activation process will be described below.

First, the atmosphere at the time of the activation treatment is set in an atmosphere in which an organic substance is present. For the organic substance, a hydrocarbon polymer coming from an oil bag of a pump oil caused by an evacuation system, Alternatively, a conventionally known organic material can be used by controlling its partial pressure, for example,
Organic acids such as alkane, alkene, alkyne aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, amines, phenols, carboxylic acids, sulfonic acids, etc., and derivatives of these organic materials No.

Specifically, methane, ethane, ethylene,
Acetylene, propylene, butadiene, n-hexane,
1-hexene, n-octane, n-decane, n-dodecane, benzene, nitrobenzene, toluene, o-xylene, benzonitrile, chloroethylene, trichloroethylene, methanol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, glycerin, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, Preferred examples include propanal, acetone, ethyl methyl ketone, diethyl ketone, methylamine, ethylamine, ethylenediamine, phenol, formic acid, acetic acid, and propionic acid.

The activation treatment in the presence of the above-mentioned organic substance comprises:
Preferably, the element to be subjected to the activation treatment is held in a vacuum atmosphere containing no oil component, and thereafter, the above-described organic material is introduced as a gas, which is further performed. There is an appropriate condition range depending on the adsorption residence time of the compound on the substrate, etc., but 10 ⁻² to
It is preferably set to rr to 10 ^-7 torr. The degree of vacuum at the time of the activation treatment is 10 ⁻² torr to 10 ⁻⁷ torr.
It can be set at torr and strongly depends on the organic compound partial pressure suitable for activation.

The electron-emitting device manufactured as described above is
Preferably, it is operated and driven in a vacuum atmosphere having a higher vacuum degree than the energization forming processing or the activation processing, and more preferably, after heating at 80 to 150 ° C., the vacuum atmosphere having the higher vacuum degree Operated below. Note that the vacuum atmosphere having a degree of vacuum higher than the degree of vacuum in the energization forming process or the activation process is, for example, a degree of vacuum of about 10 ⁻⁶ torr or more, and more preferably, the carbon and the carbon compound are fresh. An ultra-high vacuum system that hardly accumulates on In such an ultra-high vacuum system, it is possible to suppress further deposition of carbon and carbon compounds, and therefore, the device current If and the emission current I
e is stable.

Next, basic characteristics of the electron-emitting device manufactured by the above-described manufacturing method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 9 shows the emission current Ie and the device current If measured by the measurement and evaluation device shown in FIG.
5 shows a typical example of the relationship between element voltages Vf.
FIG. 9 shows the emission current Ie in arbitrary units because the emission current Ie is significantly smaller than the element current If.

As is clear from FIG. 9, the electron-emitting device manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention has three characteristic properties with respect to the emission current Ie.

First, the emission current Ie of the present device rapidly increases when a device voltage higher than a certain voltage (referred to as a threshold voltage, Vth in FIG. 9) is applied. Ie is hardly detected. That is, it is a nonlinear element having a clear threshold voltage Vth with respect to the emission current Ie.

Second, since the emission current Ie depends on the device voltage Vf, the emission current Ie can be controlled by the device voltage Vf.

Thirdly, the amount of charge discharged to the anode electrode 34 depends on the time during which the device voltage Vf is applied. That is, the amount of charge captured by the anode electrode 34 can be controlled by the time during which the device voltage Vf is applied.

As shown in FIG. 9, the element current If
In both cases, there are a characteristic that monotonically increases with respect to the element voltage Vf (referred to as MI characteristic) (solid line in FIG. 9) and a voltage-controlled negative resistance characteristic (referred to as VCNR characteristic) (dashed line in FIG. 9). However, the characteristics of these device currents depend on the manufacturing method, vacuum atmosphere conditions in a vacuum device, and the like. In the present invention,
A more preferred embodiment is an embodiment exhibiting the MI characteristic.

The electron-emitting device manufactured as described above
Basically, it has a configuration as described below, and is roughly classified into two types: a flat surface conduction electron-emitting device and a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device.

First, the plane type surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are a schematic plan view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, showing the basic structure of a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device. In FIG. 10, 1 is a substrate, 5
Reference numerals 6 and 6 denote device electrodes, 4 denotes a conductive film, and 3 denotes an electron-emitting portion.

Examples of the substrate 1 include quartz glass, glass having a reduced impurity content such as Na, blue plate glass, a glass substrate obtained by laminating SiO ₂ formed on a blue plate glass by sputtering or the like, and ceramics such as alumina. No.

The material of the opposing device electrodes 5 and 6 is as follows.
A general conductor material is used, for example, Ni, Cr, A
metals or alloys such as u, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Al, Cu, Pd, and Pd, Ag, Au, RuO ₂ , Pd
-It is appropriately selected from a printed conductor made of a metal such as Ag or a metal oxide, glass, or the like, a transparent conductor such as In ₂ O ₃ —SnO _2, or a semiconductor conductor material such as polysilicon.

The element electrode interval L1, the element electrode length W1, the shape of the conductive film 4 and the like are appropriately designed according to the application form of the electron-emitting device. The element electrode interval L1 is preferably several hundred angstroms. It is several hundred micrometers, more preferably several micrometers to several tens micrometers due to the voltage applied between the device electrodes and the electric field strength capable of emitting electrons.

The order of lamination of the conductive film 4 and the device electrodes 5 and 6 is not limited to the mode shown in FIG.
The conductive film 4 and the opposing device electrodes 5 and 6 may be stacked in this order.

In order to obtain good electron emission characteristics, the conductive film 4 is particularly preferably a fine particle film composed of fine particles. The thickness of the conductive film 4 depends on the step coverage on the device electrodes 5 and 6, the device electrodes 5 and 6. The resistance value is appropriately set depending on the resistance value between 6 and the above-described energization forming conditions and the like, preferably from several Angstroms to several thousand Angstroms, particularly preferably from 10 Angstroms to 500 Angstroms, and the resistance value is from 10 ³ to 500 Angstroms. 10 ⁷ ohms /
□ is the sheet resistance value.

The material constituting the conductive film 4 is P
d, Ru, Ag, Au, Ti, In, Cu, Cr, F
e, metal such as Zn, Sn, Ta, W, Pb, PdO, S
oxides such as nO ₂ , In ₂ O ₃ , PbO, Sb ₂ O ₃ ,
HfB ₂ , ZrB ₂ , LaB ₆ , CeB ₆ , YB ₄ , G
borides such as dB ₄ , TiC, ZrC, HfC, TaC,
Carbides such as SiC and WC; nitrides such as TiN, ZrN, and HfN; semiconductors such as Si and Ge; and carbon.

The fine particle film described here is a film in which a plurality of fine particles are aggregated, and has a fine structure not only in a state in which the fine particles are individually dispersed and arranged, but also in a state in which the fine particles are adjacent to each other or overlap each other ( (Including islands), and the particle size of the fine particles is from several Angstroms to several thousand Angstroms, preferably 10 Angstroms to 200 Angstroms.

The electron-emitting portion 3 is, for example, a high-resistance crack formed in a part of the conductive film 4 and depends on the film thickness, film quality and material of the conductive film 4 and the manufacturing method such as the above-described energization forming. Formed. Further, the conductive fine particles may have a particle diameter of several Å to several hundred Å. The conductive fine particles contain some or all of the elements of the material constituting the conductive film 4. The electron emitting portion 3 and the conductive film 4 in the vicinity of the electron emitting portion 3 contain carbon or a carbon compound.

Next, the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the basic structure of a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device. Members denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 10 are the same as those in FIG.

The substrate 1, the device electrodes 5 and 6, the conductive film 4,
The electron-emitting portion 3 is made of the same material as the above-mentioned flat surface-conduction type electron-emitting device, but the step forming portion 21 is formed by a vacuum deposition method, a printing method, a sputtering method, or the like. The step-forming portion 21 is formed of an insulating material such as SiO _2, and has a film thickness of several hundred angstroms to several tens of micrometers corresponding to the device electrode interval L1 of the above-described flat surface conduction electron-emitting device. Yes, it is appropriately set according to the manufacturing method of the step forming portion, the voltage applied between the device electrodes, and the electric field strength capable of emitting electrons, but is preferably several hundred angstroms to several micrometers.

Since the conductive film 4 is formed after the device electrodes 5 and 6 and the step forming portion 21 are formed, the conductive film 4 is laminated on the device electrodes 5 and 6. Although the electron-emitting portion 3 is shown in a straight line in the step forming portion 21 in FIG.
The shape and position are not limited to these depending on the preparation conditions and the above-described energization forming conditions.

The electron-emitting device manufactured by the above-described manufacturing method of the present invention has the above-mentioned three characteristic properties. Therefore, the electron-emitting device has a plurality of electron-emitting devices in accordance with an input signal. It is possible to easily control the arranged electron source, the image forming apparatus, and the like, so that the invention can be applied to various fields.

Next, the basic structure of an electron source and an image forming apparatus using the electron-emitting devices produced by the manufacturing method of the present invention will be described.

An electron source and an image forming apparatus are preferably constructed by arranging a plurality of electron-emitting devices formed by the manufacturing method of the present invention on a substrate. The method of arranging the electron-emitting devices on the substrate is, for example, an electron-emitting device in which a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in parallel and both ends of each device are connected by wiring as described in the conventional example. Are arrayed (referred to as a row direction), and electrons are controlled and driven by a control electrode (referred to as a grid) provided in a space above the electron source in a direction perpendicular to the wiring (referred to as a column direction). And n Y wires on m X wirings to be described below.
The directional wiring is provided via an interlayer insulating layer, and the X-directional wiring is provided on a pair of device electrodes of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, respectively.
An arrangement method in which Y-direction wirings are connected is exemplified. This is hereinafter referred to as a simple matrix arrangement.

First, the simple matrix will be described in detail.

According to the above-mentioned three basic characteristics of the electron-emitting device according to the present invention, even in the surface-conduction electron-emitting device arranged in a simple matrix, the electrons emitted from the surface-conduction electron-emitting device are: Above the threshold voltage, it is controlled by the peak value and width of the pulse voltage applied between the opposing element electrodes. On the other hand, below the threshold voltage, almost no emission occurs. According to this characteristic, even when a large number of electron-emitting devices are arranged, if the pulse-like voltage is appropriately applied to each device, a surface conduction electron-emitting device is selected according to an input signal, The electron emission amount can be controlled.

Hereinafter, the structure of the electron source substrate formed based on this principle will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
In the figure, 71 is a substrate on which a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged (hereinafter, referred to as an electron source substrate), 72 is an X-direction wiring, 73 is a Y-direction wiring, 74 is a surface conduction electron-emitting device, and 75 is a connection It is. The surface conduction electron-emitting device 7
4 may be either the above-mentioned flat type or vertical type.

In FIG. 12, the electron source substrate 71 is the above-mentioned glass substrate or the like, and the number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices to be installed and the design shape of each device are appropriately set according to the application. You.

The m X-directional wirings 72 are DX1, DX
2,. . , DXm, and a conductive metal formed by a vacuum deposition method, a printing method, a sputtering method, or the like. Further, the material, the film thickness, and the wiring width are set so that a substantially uniform voltage is supplied to many surface conduction electron-emitting devices.

The Y-direction wiring 73 is DY1, DY
2,. . , DYn, and the X-direction wiring 7
As in the case of 2, it is formed by a vacuum evaporation method, a printing method, a sputtering method, or the like, and is made of a conductive metal or the like having a desired pattern so that a substantially uniform voltage is supplied to many surface conduction electron-emitting devices. , Material, film thickness, wiring width, etc. are set.

An interlayer insulating layer (not shown) is provided between the m X-directional wirings 72 and the n Y-directional wirings 73 and electrically separated to form a matrix wiring. still,
m and n are both positive integers.

The interlayer insulating layer (not shown) is, for example, SiO ₂ formed by a vacuum deposition method, a printing method, a sputtering method, or the like, and is provided on the entire surface of the substrate 71 on which the X-direction wiring 72 is formed or on a part thereof. In particular, the X-directional wiring 72 and Y
In order to withstand the potential difference at the intersection of the direction wiring 73,
The material and manufacturing method are appropriately set. The X-direction wiring 72 and the Y-direction wiring 73 are respectively drawn out as external terminals.

Further, the electrodes (not shown) opposed to the surface conduction electron-emitting device 74 are connected to the m X-directional wirings 72 and the n Y-directional wirings 73 by vacuum evaporation, printing, sputtering, or the like. It is electrically connected to the formed connection 75 made of a conductive metal or the like.

Here, m X-directional wires 72 and n Y wires
The directional wiring 73, the connection 75, and the conductive metal of the opposing element electrode may have the same or a different part of the constituent elements or all of the constituent elements. The material is appropriately selected from the same materials as described above. In addition, when the wiring to these device electrodes is the same as the device electrode and the wiring material, these may be collectively referred to as device electrodes.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device is provided on the substrate 7.
1 or on an interlayer insulating layer (not shown).

As will be described later in detail, a scanning signal for scanning a row of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 74 arranged in the X direction in accordance with an input signal is applied to the X-direction wiring 72. And a scanning signal applying means (not shown) for performing the operation.

On the other hand, the Y direction wiring 73 is provided with a modulation signal (not shown) for applying a modulation signal for modulating each of the rows of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 74 arranged in the Y direction in accordance with an input signal. It is electrically connected to the modulation signal generating means.

Further, the driving voltage applied to each element of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is supplied as a difference voltage between the scanning signal and the modulation signal applied to the element.

With the above-described configuration, individual electron-emitting devices can be selected and driven independently with only a simple matrix wiring.

Next, an image forming apparatus used for display and the like using the electron sources having the simple matrix arrangement prepared as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 13, 14, and 15. FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the basic configuration of a display panel of an image forming apparatus, FIG. 14 is a view showing a fluorescent film, and FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a driving circuit in which the image forming apparatus displays an image in accordance with an NTSC television signal. FIG.

In FIG. 13, reference numeral 71 denotes an electron source substrate on which the electron-emitting device is manufactured as described above, 81 denotes a rear plate on which the electron source substrate 71 is fixed, and 86 denotes a fluorescent film 84 on the inner surface of a glass substrate 83. And a face plate on which a metal back 85 and the like are formed. Reference numeral 82 denotes a support frame. The rear plate 81, the support frame 82, and the face plate 86 are coated with frit glass or the like, and
By baking at 00 to 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more, sealing is performed to form the envelope 88.

In FIG. 13, 74 corresponds to the electron-emitting device in FIG. 12, and 72 and 73 are X-direction wiring and Y-direction wiring connected to a pair of device electrodes of the surface conduction electron-emitting device. is there.

As described above, the envelope 88 is formed by the face-plate 86, the support frame 82, and the rear plate 81.
Although the rear plate 81 is provided mainly for the purpose of reinforcing the strength of the substrate 71, if the substrate 71 itself has a sufficient strength, the separate rear plate 81 is unnecessary, and The support frame 82 may be directly sealed, and the envelope 88 may be constituted by the face plate 86, the support frame 82, and the substrate 71. Although not shown, a supporter called a spacer is further provided between the festival plate 86 and the rear plate 81 to form an envelope 88 having sufficient strength against atmospheric pressure. You can also.

FIG. 14 shows a fluorescent film. The fluorescent film 84 is composed of only a phosphor in the case of a monochrome, but is composed of a black conductive material 91 called a black stripe or a black matrix and a phosphor 92 depending on the arrangement of the phosphor in the case of a color fluorescent film. . The purpose of providing the black stripes and the black matrix is to make the three-color phosphors necessary for color display black by separating the coating portions between the phosphors 92 so as to make the color mixture and the like inconspicuous. The purpose is to suppress a decrease in contrast due to external light reflection. The material of the black stripe is not limited to the commonly used material containing graphite as a main component, as long as it is conductive and has little light transmission and reflection.

Here, as a method of applying the phosphor on the glass substrate 83, a precipitation method or a printing method is used regardless of monochrome or color.

A metal back 85 is usually provided on the inner side of the fluorescent film 84. The purpose of the metal back is to improve the brightness by mirror-reflecting the light emitted from the phosphor toward the inner surface side to the face plate 86 side, to act as an electrode for applying an electron beam acceleration voltage, This is to protect the phosphor from damage due to collision of negative ions generated in the enclosure. The metal back can be produced by performing a smoothing process (usually called filming) on the inner surface of the phosphor film after producing the phosphor film, and then depositing Al by vacuum deposition or the like.

The face plate 86 is further provided with a fluorescent film 8.
A transparent electrode (not shown) may be provided on the outer surface side of the fluorescent film 84 in order to increase the conductivity of the phosphor 4.

When the above-mentioned sealing is performed, in the case of color, the phosphors of each color must correspond to the electron-emitting devices, so that it is necessary to perform sufficient alignment.

The envelope 88 is connected to an exhaust pipe (not shown) to
The degree of vacuum is set to about 0 ^-7 torr, and sealing is performed. Further, a getter process may be performed in order to maintain the degree of vacuum of the envelope 88 after sealing. This is because the getter disposed at a predetermined position (not shown) in the envelope 88 is heated by a heating method such as resistance heating or high-frequency heating immediately before or after the envelope 88 is sealed. This is a process for forming a deposited film.

The getter is usually made of Ba or the like as a main component, and is, for example, 10 ^-5 to 10 ^-7 ton by the adsorption action of the deposited film.
rr is maintained.

Next, referring to the block diagram of FIG. 15, a schematic configuration of a drive circuit for performing a television display based on an NTSC television signal in a display panel constituted by using the above-described electron sources having the simple matrix arrangement will be described. Will be explained.

In FIG. 15, 101 is the display panel, 102 is a scanning circuit, 103 is a control circuit,
104 is a shift register, 105 is a line memory, 10
6 is a synchronization signal separation circuit, 107 is a modulation signal generator, Vx
And Va are DC voltage sources.

The function of each unit will be described below. First, the display panel 101 is connected to an external electric circuit via terminals Dox1 to Doxm, terminals Doy1 to Doyn, and a high voltage terminal Hv. Among them, the terminal Dox1
To Doxm, the electron sources provided in the display panel, that is, the group of surface conduction electron-emitting devices arranged in a matrix of M rows and N columns are sequentially driven one row (N element) at a time. Operation signal is applied. On the other hand, terminal D
To oy1 to Doyn, a modulation signal for controlling the output electron beam of each element of the surface conduction electron-emitting device in one row selected by the scanning signal is applied. The high voltage terminal Hv is connected to the DC voltage source Va by, for example, 10 kV.
This is an accelerating voltage for applying sufficient energy to the electron beam output from the surface conduction electron-emitting device to excite the phosphor.

Next, the scanning circuit 102 will be described.

The scanning circuit 102 includes M switching elements (schematically indicated by S1 to Sm in the figure) therein, and each switching element includes an output voltage of the DC voltage source Vx or 0 V (ground level) is selected, and the terminal Dox1 of the display panel 101 is selected.
~ Doxm. S1 to Sm
Each of the switching elements operates based on the control signal Tscan output from the control circuit 103. However, in practice, the switching elements can be easily configured by combining switching elements such as FETs.

In this embodiment, the driving voltage applied to the non-scanning element is determined by the DC voltage source Vx based on the characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device (threshold voltage of electron emission). Is set so as to output a constant voltage that is equal to or lower than the threshold voltage.

The control circuit 103 has a function of matching the operation of each part so that an appropriate display is performed based on an image signal input from the outside, and a synchronization signal separating circuit 106 described below. Sync signal T sent from
Based on sync, for each part, Tscan, Ts
ft and Tmry control signals are generated.

The synchronizing signal separating circuit 106 is a circuit for separating a synchronizing signal component and a luminance signal component from an NTSC system television signal input from the outside. As is well known, a frequency separating (filter) circuit is provided. If used, it can be easily configured. As is well known, the synchronization signal separated by the synchronization signal separation circuit 106 is composed of a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal, but is shown here as a Tsync signal for convenience of explanation. On the other hand, the luminance signal component of the image separated from the television signal is referred to as D for convenience.
Although shown as an ATA signal, this signal is input to the shift register 104.

The shift register 104 is for serially / parallel converting the DATA signal input serially in time series for each line of an image, and is based on a control signal Tsft sent from the control circuit 103. Works. That is, the control signal Tsft may be rephrased as a shift clock of the shift register 104. The data for one line of the serial / parallel-converted image (corresponding to the drive data for N elements of the electron-emitting devices)
The shift register 104 outputs as N parallel signals Id1 to Idn.

The line memory 105 appropriately outputs Id1 according to the control signal Tmry sent from the control circuit 103.
ＩIdn is stored. The stored content is I'd
1 to I′dn and input to the modulation signal generator 107.

The modulation signal generator 107 is a signal source for appropriately driving and modulating each of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices in accordance with each of the image data I'd1 to I'dn. Is applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device in the display panel 101 through the terminals Doy1 to Doyn.

As described above, the electron-emitting device according to the present invention has the following basic characteristics with respect to the emission current Ie. That is, as described above, electron emission has a definite threshold voltage Vth, and electron emission occurs only when a voltage equal to or higher than Vth is applied.

For a voltage equal to or higher than the electron emission threshold voltage, the emission current changes in accordance with the change in the voltage applied to the element. Note that the value of the threshold voltage Vth of electron emission and the degree of change of the emission current with respect to the applied voltage may be changed by changing the material, configuration, and manufacturing method of the electron-emitting device. I can say that.

That is, when a pulse-like voltage is applied to the present electron-emitting device, for example, when a voltage lower than the electron emission threshold voltage is applied, electron emission does not occur, but a voltage higher than the electron emission threshold voltage is applied. When electrons are applied, electrons are emitted. At that time, first, it is possible to control the intensity of the output electron beam by changing the peak value Vm of the pulse. Second, it is possible to control the total amount of charges of the output electron beam by changing the pulse width Pw.

Therefore, as a method of modulating the electron-emitting device in accordance with the input signal, a voltage modulation method, a pulse width modulation method, and the like can be mentioned.
As the modulation signal generator 107, a voltage modulation type circuit that generates a voltage pulse of a fixed length but modulates the peak value of the pulse appropriately according to input data is used.

In order to implement the pulse width modulation method,
The modulation signal generator 107 generates a voltage pulse having a constant peak value, and uses a circuit of a pulse width modulation system that appropriately modulates the width of the voltage pulse according to input data.

Through the series of operations described above, television display can be performed using the display panel 101. Although not particularly described in the above description, the shift register 10
The line memory 105 and the line memory 105 may be of a digital signal type or an analog signal type. In short, the serial / parallel conversion and storage of the image signal may be performed at a predetermined speed.

When the digital signal type is used, it is necessary to convert the output signal DATA of the synchronization signal separation circuit 106 into a digital signal.
Needless to say, if an A / D converter is provided at the output unit 06, it is easily possible. In connection with this, it goes without saying that the circuit used for the modulation signal generator 107 is slightly different depending on whether the output signal of the line memory 105 is a digital signal or an analog signal.

That is, in the case of a digital signal, in the voltage modulation method, for example, the modulation signal generator 107
A D / A conversion circuit may be used, and an amplification circuit and the like may be added as necessary. Further, in the pulse width modulation method, the modulation signal generator 107 includes, for example, a high-speed oscillator, a counter (counter) for counting the number of waves output from the oscillator, furthermore, an output value of the counter and an output of the memory. If you use a circuit that combines a comparator that compares values,
A person skilled in the art can easily configure. If necessary, an amplifier may be added to amplify the pulse width modulated signal output from the comparator to the drive voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

On the other hand, when the analog signal type is used,
In the voltage modulation method, the modulation signal generator 107 includes:
For example, an amplifier circuit using an operational amplifier or the like may be used, and a level shift circuit or the like may be added as needed. In the pulse width modulation method, for example, a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) may be used, and if necessary, an amplifier for amplifying the voltage up to the drive voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device may be added. good.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention completed as described above, each electron-emitting device emits electrons by applying a voltage through the external terminals Dox1 to Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, and the high-voltage terminal Hv An image can be displayed by applying a high voltage to the metal back 85 or a transparent electrode (not shown) to accelerate the electron beam, collide the electron beam with the fluorescent film 84, and excite and emit the phosphor.

The configuration described above is a schematic configuration necessary for producing an image forming apparatus used for display or the like. For example, detailed portions such as materials of each member are not limited to those described above. Instead, it is appropriately selected so as to be suitable for the use of the image forming apparatus. As an example of an input signal, NTSC
Although the method was mentioned, it is not limited to this, and other PA
Various methods such as L and SECAM may be used. Furthermore, a TV signal composed of a larger number of scanning lines than these, for example, a high-quality TV system such as the MUSE system may be used.

Next, the basic configuration of the electron source and the image forming apparatus having the ladder-type arrangement described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 16, reference numeral 110 denotes an electron source substrate, 1
Reference numeral 11 denotes an electron-emitting device, and 112 denotes a common wiring for wiring the electron-emitting devices Dx1 to Dx10. A plurality of electron-emitting devices 111 are arranged on the substrate 110 in parallel in the X direction (this is called an element row). A plurality of these element rows are arranged to form an electron source.

Such an electron source is provided between common lines (between Dx1 and Dx2, between Dx3 and Dx4, between Dx5 and Dx5
By appropriately applying a drive voltage between x6, between Dx7 and Dx8, and between Dx9 and Dx10, each element row can be driven independently. That is, a voltage equal to or higher than the threshold voltage of electron emission is applied to the element rows from which electron beams are to be emitted,
A voltage lower than the electron emission threshold voltage may be applied to the element rows that do not emit an electron beam. In addition, one common wiring is made the same wiring between each element row (for example, Dx2 and Dx3, Dx4 and Dx5, Dx6 and Dx
7, Dx8 and Dx9 are the same wiring).

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a display panel structure of an image forming apparatus provided with a ladder type electron source. 1
20 is a grid electrode, 121 is a hole through which electrons pass, 122 is Dox1, Dox2,..., Doxm
The external terminal 123 made of G1, G2,..., Gn connected to the grid electrode 120, and the external terminal 110 made up of the electron source substrate shown in FIG. The same reference numerals in FIGS. 16 and 17 indicate the same components.

The display panel of FIG. 17 is greatly different from the image forming apparatus of the simple matrix arrangement (FIG. 13) in that a grid electrode 120 is provided between the electron source substrate 110 and the face plate 86. ing.

In FIG. 17, a grid electrode 120 is provided between the substrate 110 and the face plate 86. The grid electrode 120 modulates the electron beam emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device. These electrodes are provided in stripes perpendicular to each element row in the ladder arrangement. In addition, in order to allow an electron beam to pass through, one circular hole 121 is provided for each element. Have been. Note that the shape and the installation position of the grid electrode are not necessarily limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. 17, but may be arranged around or near the electron-emitting device. A mode in which a passage port is provided may be used.

The outer terminal 122 and the outer grid terminal 123 are electrically connected to a control circuit (not shown).

In the above-described image forming apparatus, the modulation signals for one line of an image are simultaneously applied to the grid electrode columns in synchronization with the sequential driving (scanning) of the element rows one column at a time. By controlling the irradiation of the beam to the phosphor, an image can be displayed line by line.

According to the above-described concept of the present invention, an image forming apparatus suitable as a display device for a television conference system or a computer as well as a television broadcast display device is provided. Further, it can be used as an image forming apparatus as an optical printer including a photosensitive drum and the like.

[0155]

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following examples.

Example 1 A method of manufacturing an electron-emitting device of this example is described by referring to FIGS. 10A and 10B and FIGS.
The method will be described below in order using (c). In this example, as shown in FIG. 18, four surface conduction electron-emitting devices of FIG. 10 were prepared.

Step-a Using a cleaned blue plate glass as the substrate 1, a silicon oxide film having a thickness of 0.5 μm is formed on the blue plate glass by a sputtering method, and further, a pattern of a device electrode and a gap between the device electrodes is formed. Was formed as a photoresist (RD-2000N-41, manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.), and Ti having a thickness of 50 Å and Ni having a thickness of 1000 Å were sequentially deposited by a vacuum evaporation method. Next, the photoresist pattern was dissolved with an organic solvent, the Ni / Ti deposited film was lifted off, and the device electrode interval L1 was 3 microns and the device electrode width W1 was 30.
Element electrodes 5 and 6 of 0 μm were formed (FIG. 3A).

Step-b: Using a mask having an inter-element electrode gap L1 and an opening in the vicinity thereof, a 1000 Å thick Cr film is deposited and patterned by vacuum evaporation, and an organic P
The d (ccp4230 manufactured by Okuno Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) solution was spin-coated with a spinner and heated and baked at 300 ° C. for 10 minutes. As described above, a conductive film made of fine particles containing Pd as a main element and having a thickness of 100 Å and a sheet resistance value of 2 × 10 ⁴ ohm / □ was formed.

The fine particle film described here is a film in which a plurality of fine particles are gathered, as described above, and has a fine structure not only in a state where the fine particles are individually dispersed and arranged, but also when the fine particles are adjacent to each other. Alternatively, it refers to a film in an overlapped state (including an island shape), and the particle size refers to the diameter of the fine particles whose particle shape can be recognized in the above state.

Step-c Next, the Cr film and the baked conductive film were etched with an acid etchant to form a conductive film 2 having a desired pattern (FIG. 3B).

Through the above steps, four devices having a conductive film between the device electrodes were formed on the substrate.

Step-d Next, the substrate was set in the measurement and evaluation apparatus shown in FIG. 4, and the inside of the apparatus was evacuated with a vacuum pump to 2 × 10 ^-5 ton.
After the degree of vacuum was rrr, a voltage Vf was applied between the device electrodes 5 and 6 of each of the above four devices from the power supply 31,
An energization process (forming process) was performed to form a locally deformed (cracked) portion 3 in the conductive film 2 (FIG. 3C).

FIG. 5B shows a voltage waveform of the forming process.

In FIG. 5 (b), T1 and T2 are the pulse width and pulse interval of the voltage waveform, and in this embodiment, T1 is 1
The forming process was performed by increasing the peak value of the rectangular wave (peak voltage at the time of forming) in steps of 0.1 V in milliseconds and T2 of 10 milliseconds.

At the same time, a resistance measuring pulse voltage of 0.1 V was inserted between the pulse intervals T2 during the forming process, and the resistance was measured. The end of the forming process
The time when the value measured by the resistance measurement pulse became about 1 M ohm or more, and at the same time, the application of the voltage to the device was terminated. The forming voltage VF of each element was 5.1 V and 5.0 V.

Step-e Subsequently, each of the devices subjected to the forming process was activated.

[0167] In this embodiment, the activation treatment, for the two elements of the four element (referred element A), after the forming process, FIG. 4 of the apparatus a vacuum degree of 1 × 10 the ^- A pulse voltage having a peak value of 14 V, a pulse width of 100 microseconds, and a repetition frequency of 1 Hz is applied between the device electrodes 5 and 6 at ⁵ torr.
It was performed by applying for minutes.

The activation process was performed while detecting the device current If and the emission current Ie. That is, in the evaluation apparatus of FIG. 4, the distance H between the anode electrode 34 and the electron-emitting device is 4 mm, the potential of the anode electrode is 1 kV, and the pulse voltage is applied between the device electrodes 5 and 6 of the four devices. The measurement was performed while measuring the device current If applied and the emission current Ie captured by the anode electrode at that time.

On the other hand, the remaining two elements (referred to as element B) among the above four elements were used as comparative samples.
For the element A, the repetition frequency of the pulse voltage is set to 1
The test was performed under the same conditions as in the above-mentioned element A except that the frequency was set to 00 Hz.

FIG. 27 shows Ie and I during this activation process.
The time change of f is shown. In FIG. 27, A-Ie and A-
If indicates an emission current and an element current of the element A, and B
-Ie and B-If indicate the emission current and the device current of the device B, respectively.

As can be seen from FIG. 27, elements A and B
In both cases, it was observed that Ie and If rapidly increased in the early stage of the activation process, and thereafter, the increasing tendency was observed to increase, albeit at a slower rate.
Was larger than the element B.

Next, with respect to the electron-emitting devices (elements A and B) prepared as described above, the degree of vacuum was set to 1 × 10 ⁻⁶ torr higher than the degree of vacuum at the time of the activation treatment, and Under the same conditions except that the repetition frequency was set to 100 Hz, driving (steady driving) was continuously performed in the above-described evaluation apparatus.

FIG. 10 also shows the time change of Ie and If during the steady driving.

As can be seen from FIG. 10, the device A
Is that Ie (A-Ie) decreases, but Ie
Larger than (B-Ie) and If (A-If)
Is smaller than If (B-If) of the element B.
As a result, the device A has a higher Ie than the device B.
And high efficiency.

The device A after the activation process has Ie = 1.
3 microA, If = 1.1 milliA, the electron emission efficiency is 0.12%, and after the above-mentioned steady driving at 100 Hz, Ie
= 1.0 microA, If = 1.0 milliA, and the electron emission efficiency was 0.10%.

On the other hand, the element B after the activation process has Ie =
0.4 microA, If = 0.8 milliA, the electron emission efficiency is 0.05%,
In one minute, Ie = 0.6 microA, If = 1.2 milliA, and the electron emission efficiency was 0.05%.

In this example, as a result of observing each of the electron-emitting devices A and B with an electron microscope, it was found that both of the devices A and B were in the direction of voltage application to the devices during the activation process. In particular, the coating is formed mainly on the high potential side from a part of the deformed (cracked) portion of the conductive film 4.

Further, when observed with a higher magnification FESEM, it appeared that this coating was also formed around the metal fine particles and between the fine particles. Moreover, comparing the devices A and B, the device A had more films formed mainly on the high potential side than a part of the deformed portion of the conductive film 4.

Further observation by TEM, Raman and the like confirmed that this film was a carbon film composed of graphite and amorphous carbon.

As described above, the device A according to the present embodiment is
It is considered that the electrically cut carbon film that contributes to the emission current Ie is formed more, and the carbon film that contributes to the device current If is formed less. Therefore, by employing the activation process of the present invention, an electron-emitting device having high emission current Ie and high efficiency could be produced.

(Embodiment 2) This embodiment is similar to Embodiment 1 described above.
5 shows an example in which the activation treatment was performed in an acetone atmosphere in the activation treatment in FIG.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19, a material source 41 such as an ampule or a gas cylinder having an organic material is connected to the measurement and evaluation apparatus shown in FIG. In the activation process, an organic material is introduced as a gas into the device to activate the device. The introduction amount of the organic material can be adjusted by the opening and closing amount of the needle valve 40 and the exhaust amount of the exhaust pump while measuring the degree of vacuum with a vacuum gauge. In FIG. 19, reference numeral 42 denotes a valve, 43 denotes a dry pump, 44 denotes a magnetic levitation turbo pump, and 35 denotes a vacuum device.

Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing the electron-emitting device of this embodiment will be described in detail.

First, in the same manner as in steps a to c of Example 1, one element having the conductive film 2 between the element electrodes 5 and 6 as shown in FIG. Formed on top.

Next, the above-mentioned element was placed in the measurement and evaluation apparatus shown in FIGS. 4 and 19, and the inside of the apparatus was evacuated with a vacuum pump, and after the degree of vacuum reached 2 × 10 ^-8 torr. Similarly to the first embodiment, the voltage waveform shown in FIG.
The forming process was performed by increasing the peak value of the rectangular wave (peak voltage at the time of forming) in steps of 0.1 V in milliseconds and T2 of 10 milliseconds.

At the same time, a resistance measuring pulse voltage of 0.1 V was inserted between the pulse intervals T2 during the forming process to measure the resistance. The end of the forming process
The time when the value measured by the resistance measurement pulse became about 1 M ohm or more, and at the same time, the application of the voltage to the device was terminated. The forming voltage VF of this element was 5.1 V.

As described above, a locally deformed (cracked) portion was formed in the conductive film 2 (FIG. 3C).

Next, a voltage was applied between the device electrodes 5 and 6 for 10 minutes in an atmosphere in which acetone was introduced at about 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ torr, and the device was activated. Treatment. At this time, the introduction of the organic material (acetone) into the apparatus was adjusted by an introduction system using a needle valve (FIG. 19) so that the pressure in the apparatus became almost constant. The voltage of the activation process is a pulse voltage of a rectangular wave shown in FIG. 6, and T1 (pulse ON time)
Is 100 microseconds and T3 (pulse OFF time) is 1
In seconds, the peak value of the rectangular wave is 14V.

As in the first embodiment, the activation process was stopped for 10 minutes while detecting the device current If flowing through the device and the emission current Ie. Incidentally, also in the element of this embodiment,
The presence of the same carbon coating as in Example 1 was confirmed.

Thereafter, while performing voltage application driving, about 1
Evacuation was performed to 10 ^-8 torr, the organic material in the atmosphere in the apparatus was evacuated, and the electron-emitting device was driven in a vacuum atmosphere having a degree of vacuum higher than the degree of vacuum during the activation process. If and emission current Ie were stabilized at a constant level (FIG. 20).

The characteristics of the electron-emitting device obtained as described above were measured by the measurement and evaluation apparatus shown in FIG.
4 was 1 kV, the distance H between the anode electrode 34 and the electron-emitting device was 4 mm, the degree of vacuum was 1 × 10 ⁻⁸ torr,
Pulse width 100 microseconds, repetition frequency 60Hz,
It was driven steadily by a rectangular wave having a peak value of 14 V and measured.

As a result, in the electron-emitting device of this example, the device current was 1.0 mA, the emission current was 1.0 microA, the electron emission efficiency was 0.1%, the emission current was large, and the efficiency was high. Device.

(Embodiment 3) This embodiment is similar to the embodiment shown in FIG.
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device as shown in FIG.

The method for manufacturing the electron-emitting device of this embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.

Step-a A quartz substrate was used as the insulating substrate 1, and after sufficiently washing it with an organic solvent, Ni was laminated on the surface of the substrate 1 by 1000 Å by vacuum evaporation and patterned by photolithography and etching processes. Then N
The lower device electrode 5 made of i was formed (FIG. 21A).

Step-b On the lower device electrode 5, a SiO ₂ layer 21 was
A 2 micron layer was formed by the D method (FIG. 21B).

Step-c Further, a thickness of 100 μm was formed on the SiO ₂ layer 21 by a lift-off method.
Upper element electrode 6 made of 0 angstrom Ni
(Deposited by vacuum evaporation) was formed (FIG. 21C).

Step-d Thereafter, using the upper element electrode 5 as a mask, the SiO ₂ layer 21 is partially removed by dry etching,
An iO ₂ layer end face 22 was formed to form a step forming layer 21 (FIG. 21D). The width of the above-mentioned device electrodes 5 and 6 (corresponding to W1 of the flat surface conduction electron-emitting device in FIG. 10) was set to 500 microns.

Step-e Next, an organic palladium (ccp-4230, manufactured by Okuno Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) solution was applied using a spin coater.
A heat treatment is performed at 00 ° C. for 10 minutes so that the conductive film 2 made of fine particles mainly composed of palladium oxide (PdO) is formed on the end face 22 of the step forming layer 21 located between the device electrodes 5 and 6.
(FIG. 21E). Here, the width W2 of the conductive film 2 (corresponding to W2 of the planar surface conduction electron-emitting device in FIG. 10) was set to 300 microns. The fine particle film described here is a film in which a plurality of fine particles are aggregated, and has a fine structure not only in a state where the fine particles are individually dispersed and arranged, but also in a state where the fine particles are adjacent to each other.
Alternatively, it refers to a film in an overlapping state (including an island shape).

Step-f Next, a voltage is applied between the device electrodes 5 and 6 so that the conductive film 2
Was subjected to an energizing process (forming process) to form a locally deformed portion 3 in the conductive film (FIG. 21 (f)).

Here, the forming process in this embodiment uses a voltage having a waveform shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 5B, the pulse width T1 is 1 millisecond, and the pulse interval T2 is 10 milliseconds. The peak value (peak voltage at the time of forming) of the triangular wave was increased to 8 V at a voltage increasing rate of 0.1 V / sec. Further, the forming process is performed at about 1 × 10 ^−6.
The test was performed under a torr vacuum atmosphere.

The deformed portion 3 formed as described above has a cracked structure in which mesh-like palladium containing palladium as a main component is cut, and palladium fine particles are dispersed and arranged inside. The average particle size of the fine particles was 30 angstroms.

Step-g Next, a partial pressure of a hydrocarbon compound is contained at 1 × 10 ⁻⁷ torr.
Under a vacuum atmosphere of 1 × 10 ⁻⁶ torr, the device electrodes 5 and 6
An activation process was performed by applying a pulse voltage in between. still,
The presence of the hydrocarbon compound depends on the oil bag generated from the rotary pump. Incidentally, the vacuum pumping system was a turbo molecular pump, and a rotary pump was used at 2 o'clock pumping.

The voltage pulse waveform at this time uses the rectangular waveform shown in FIG.
The pulse ON time T1 was set to 0.1 microsecond, the repetition frequency was set to 1 Hz, and the pulse OFF time T3 was set to 1 second.

The activation process was completed in 100 seconds. In the device of this example, the presence of a carbon coating similar to that of device A of Example 1 was confirmed.

The electron-emitting device manufactured as described above was connected to the anode electrode 34 under a high vacuum of 1 × 10 ⁻⁸ torr using the measurement and evaluation apparatus (FIG. 4) used in Example 1. The distance H between the electron-emitting devices was 4 mm, the potential of the anode electrode was 1 kV, the device voltage was applied between the device electrodes 5 and 6, and the device current If and the emission current Ie flowing at that time were measured.

As a result, at a device voltage of 16 V, the device current If is 1.0 mA, the emission current Ie is 1.0 microA, the electron emission efficiency is 0.1%, and the emission current is large.
It exhibited high efficiency and stable characteristics.

(Embodiment 4) This embodiment shows an example of an electron source and an image forming apparatus in which a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a simple matrix as described above.

FIG. 22 is a plan view of a part of the electron source. FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ in FIG. 22, and FIGS. However, in FIGS. 22, 23, 24, and 25, the same reference numerals indicate the same components. Here, 1 is a substrate, 72 is an X-direction wiring (also referred to as a lower wiring) corresponding to Dxm in FIG.
Y is a Y-direction wiring corresponding to yn (also referred to as an upper wiring), 4 is a conductive film including an electron-emitting portion, 5 and 6 are device electrodes, 141 is an interlayer insulating layer, and 112 is a device electrode 5 and a lower wiring 72. Contact hole for electrical connection.

Next, the manufacturing method will be described with reference to FIGS.
25 and (e) to (h) of FIG.

Step-a Using a soda lime glass as the substrate 1, a 0.5 micron thick silicon oxide film was formed on the cleaned soda lime glass by a sputtering method. Further, Cr having a thickness of 50 angstroms and Au having a thickness of 6000 angstroms are sequentially laminated thereon by vacuum evaporation, and then a photoresist (AZ137) is formed.
0, manufactured by Hoechst Co., Ltd.), spin-coated with a spinner, baked, and then exposed and developed with a photomask image to form a lower wiring 72.
Then, the Au / Cr deposited film was wet-etched to form a lower wiring 72 having a desired shape (FIG. 24A).

Step-b Next, an interlayer insulating layer 141 made of a silicon oxide film having a thickness of 1.0 μm was deposited by RF sputtering (FIG. 2).
4 (b)).

Step-c A photoresist pattern for forming the contact hole 112 was formed in the silicon oxide film deposited in the above step b, and the interlayer insulating layer 141 was etched using the photoresist pattern as a mask to form the contact hole 112 (FIG. 24). (C)). Here, etching is performed by RIE (Reactive Ion Etchin) using CF ₄ and H ₂ gas.
g) The method was used.

Step-d Thereafter, a pattern of a gap between the device electrode 5 and the device electrode is formed by photoresist (RD-2000N-41, manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.), and Ti having a thickness of 50 Å and a thickness of 1000 are formed by vacuum evaporation. Angstrom Ni was sequentially deposited.

Next, the photoresist pattern was dissolved with an organic solvent, and the Ni / Ti deposited film was lifted off to form device electrodes 5 and 6 having a device electrode interval G of 3 μm and a device electrode width W1 of 300 μm ( FIG. 24D).

Step-e After forming a photoresist pattern of the upper wiring 73 on the device electrodes 5 and 6, Ti having a thickness of 50 angstroms and Au having a thickness of 5000 angstroms are sequentially deposited by vacuum deposition, and unnecessary lift-off is performed. The portion was removed to form an upper wiring 73 having a desired shape (FIG. 25E).

Step-f Next, a 1000 Å-thick Cr film 121 is deposited and patterned by vacuum evaporation, and organic P
A solution d (ccp4230, manufactured by Okuno Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) was spin-coated with a spinner and heated and baked at 300 ° C. for 10 minutes.

The conductive film 2 composed of fine particles containing Pd as a main element thus formed had a thickness of 100 angstroms and a sheet resistance of 5 × 10 ⁴ Ω / □.

As described above, the fine particle film described herein is a film in which a plurality of fine particles are aggregated, and has a fine structure not only in a state where the fine particles are individually dispersed and arranged, but also when the fine particles are adjacent to each other. Alternatively, it refers to a film in an overlapping state (including an island shape), and the particle size refers to the diameter of the fine particles whose particle shape can be recognized in the above state (FIG. 25).
(F)).

Step-g The Cr film 121 and the baked conductive film 2 were etched with an acid etchant to form a desired pattern (FIG. 25 (g)).

Step-h A pattern was formed such that a resist was applied to portions other than the contact hole 112, and 50 Å thick Ti and 5000 Å thick Au were sequentially deposited by vacuum evaporation. Unnecessary portions were removed by lift-off to bury the contact holes 112 (FIG. 25H).

By the above steps, the lower wiring 7 is formed on the substrate 1.
2, interlayer insulating layer 141, upper wiring 73, device electrodes 5, 6,
The conductive film 2 and the like were formed.

Next, an example of an electron source manufactured using the element substrate manufactured in the above steps and an image display device using the same will be described with reference to FIGS.

After fixing the substrate 1 on which a large number of planar surface conduction electron-emitting devices have been manufactured as described above on the rear plate 81, the face plate 86 (on the inner surface of the glass substrate 83) is placed 5 mm above the substrate 1. A fluorescent film 84 and a metal back 85 are formed on the support frame 82, and frit glass is applied to the joint between the face plate 86, the support frame 82, and the rear plate 81.
Sealing was performed by baking at a temperature of 00 ° C. to 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more. The fixing of the substrate 1 to the rear plate 88 was also performed using frit glass. In FIG. 13, reference numeral 74 denotes an electron-emitting device, and reference numerals 72 and 73 denote device wirings in the X and Y directions, respectively.

The fluorescent film 84 is made of only a phosphor in the case of monochrome, but in this embodiment, the phosphor has a stripe shape (FIG. 14A), and a black stripe is formed first. Each color phosphor is applied to the gap,
A fluorescent film 84 was produced. Here, as a material of the black stripe, a commonly used material mainly containing graphite was used, and a slurry method was used as a method of applying a phosphor on the glass substrate 83.

A metal back 85 is usually provided on the inner side of the fluorescent film 84. This metal back was produced by performing a smoothing treatment (usually called filming) on the inner surface of the phosphor film after producing the phosphor film, and then vacuum-depositing Al.

In the face plate 86, a transparent electrode (not shown) may be provided on the outer surface side of the fluorescent film 84 in order to further enhance the conductivity of the fluorescent film 84. In this embodiment, a metal back is used. Was omitted because only sufficient conductivity was obtained.

At the time of the above-mentioned sealing, in the case of color, the phosphors of each color must correspond to the electron-emitting devices, so that sufficient alignment was performed.

The atmosphere in the glass container (envelope) 88 completed as described above is evacuated by a vacuum pump through an exhaust pipe (not shown) to reach a sufficient degree of vacuum. By applying a voltage between the electrodes 5 and 6 of the electron-emitting device 74 through Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn to form the conductive film 2, a locally deformed (cracked) portion was formed in the conductive film. .

In this embodiment, the voltage waveform of the forming process is the waveform shown in FIG. 5B, T1 is 1 ms, T2 is 10 ms, and about 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ torr.
r under a vacuum atmosphere.

The locally deformed (cracked) portion thus formed was in a state in which fine particles containing palladium as a main component were dispersed and arranged, and the fine particles had an average particle size of 30 angstroms.

Next, the degree of vacuum in the envelope 88 is set to 2 × 10 ^−5.
Torr, and a rectangular wave voltage having a peak value of 14 V, which is the same as the above-described forming process, is applied to the external terminals Dox1 to Doxm.
And Doy1 to Doyn, the voltage was applied between the electrodes 5 and 6 of the device to activate each device.

The rectangular wave voltage is applied by setting the pulse width to 100 microseconds, the repetition frequency to 1 Hz, and
The measurement was performed while measuring the device current If and emission current Ie flowing at this time.

Through the above steps, an electron source having a large number of electron-emitting devices arranged on a substrate was manufactured.

Next, the gas was evacuated to a degree of vacuum of about 10 ^-6 torr, and an exhaust pipe (not shown) was welded by heating with a gas burner to seal the envelope.

Finally, in order to maintain the degree of vacuum after sealing, gettering was performed by a high-frequency heating method.

The above-described drive circuit was mounted on the display panel manufactured as described above, and the image display device of this example was completed. In the image display device according to the present embodiment, the external terminals Dox1 to Doxm and Doy1 to Doy are connected to the respective electron-emitting devices.
n, a scanning signal and a modulation signal are applied from a signal generation means (not shown) to emit electrons, and a high voltage of several kV or more (5 kV in this embodiment) is applied to the metal back 89 through a high voltage terminal Hv. An image was displayed by accelerating the electron beam, colliding with the fluorescent film 88, and exciting and emitting light.

Further, the image display device of the present embodiment exhibited a luminance required for a television, and an emission current capable of coping with 100 fL to 150 fL.

(Embodiment 5) FIG. 26 shows a display panel using the above-described surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron source, for example, an image provided from various image information sources such as television broadcasting. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display device configured to display information.

In FIG. 26, reference numeral 500 denotes a display panel;
Reference numeral 501 denotes a display panel driving circuit, 502 denotes a display controller, 503 denotes a multiplexer, 504.
Is a decoder, 505 is an input / output interface circuit, 5
06 is a CPU, 507 is an image generation circuit, and 508 and 5
09 and 510 are image memory interface circuits, 511 is an image input interface circuit, 512 and 513 are TV signal receiving circuits, and 514 is an input unit. When the present display device receives a signal including both video information and audio information, such as a television signal, it naturally reproduces audio simultaneously with the display of video. A description of circuits, speakers, and the like related to reception, separation, reproduction, processing, storage, and the like of audio information that is not directly related to features will be omitted.

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

First, the TV signal receiving circuit 513 is a circuit for receiving a TV image signal transmitted using a wireless transmission system such as radio waves or spatial optical communication.

[0243] The system of the received TV signal is not particularly limited. For example, the NTSC system, the PAL system,
Various systems such as the SECAM system may be used. Also, a TV signal (for example, MUSE) composed of more scanning lines than these.
A so-called high-definition TV including a system is a signal source suitable for taking advantage of the display panel suitable for a large area and a large number of pixels.

The TV signal received by the TV signal receiving circuit 513
The signal is output to decoder 504.

The TV signal receiving circuit 512 is a circuit for receiving a TV image signal transmitted using a wired transmission system such as a coaxial cable or an optical fiber. Similarly to the above, the format of the TV signal to be received is not particularly limited, and the TV signal received by this circuit is also output to the decoder 504.

The image input interface circuit 51
Reference numeral 1 denotes a circuit for capturing an image signal supplied from an image input device such as a TV camera or an image reading scanner. The captured image signal is output to the decoder 504.

An image memory interface circuit 510 is a circuit for taking in an image signal stored in a video tape recorder (hereinafter abbreviated as VTR). The taken image signal is output to a decoder 504.

An image memory interface circuit 509 is a circuit for taking in an image signal stored in a video disk, and the taken image signal is outputted to a decoder 504.

The image memory interface circuit 508 is a circuit for taking in an image signal from a device that stores still image data, such as a so-called still image disk.
Is input to

The input / output interface circuit 505
Is a circuit for connecting the display device to an external computer or a computer network or an output device such as a printer, and performs not only input / output of image data and character / graphic information, but also in some cases. It is also possible to input and output control signals and numerical data between the CPU 506 of the display device and the outside.

The image generation circuit 507 receives image data and character / graphic information input from the outside via the input / output interface circuit 505 or the CPU 5.
This is a circuit for generating display image data based on the image data and character / graphic information output from the controller 06. Within this circuit, for example, a rewritable memory for storing image data and character / graphic information, a read-only memory for storing image patterns corresponding to character codes, and a processor for performing image processing And other necessary circuits for generating an image.

The display image data generated by the present circuit is output to the decoder 504, but may be output to an external computer network or printer via the input / output interface circuit 505 in some cases.

The CPU 506 mainly controls the operation of the display device and performs operations related to generation, selection, and editing of a display image. For example, the CPU 506 outputs a control signal to the multiplexer 503 and outputs an image to be displayed on the display panel. Select and combine signals as appropriate.

At that time, a control signal is generated for the display panel controller 502 in accordance with the image signal to be displayed, and the screen display frequency, scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced), and scanning of one screen are performed. The operation of the display device such as the number of lines is appropriately controlled.

Also, image data and character / graphic information are directly output to the image generation circuit 507, or an external computer or memory is accessed via the input / output interface circuit 505 to access the image data or character / graphic information. Enter graphic information.

The CPU 506 may, of course, be involved in work for other purposes, such as a personal computer or a word processor.
It may be directly related to the function of generating and processing information.
Alternatively, as described above, a work such as a numerical calculation may be performed in cooperation with an external device by connecting to an external computer network via the input / output interface circuit 505.

The input unit 514 is connected to the CPU 506.
This is for the user to input commands, programs, or data, for example, and it is possible to use various input devices such as a joystick, a barcode reader, and a voice recognition device in addition to a keyboard and a mouse. .

The decoder 504 is a circuit for inversely converting various image signals inputted from the above-mentioned 507 to 513 into three primary color signals or a luminance signal and an I signal and a Q signal. As shown by the dotted line in FIG.
4 is preferably provided with an image memory therein, for example, in order to handle a television signal which requires an image memory at the time of inverse conversion such as the MUSE method.

The provision of an image memory facilitates the display of a still image, or the image generation circuit 5
07 and the CPU 506 to cope with image thinning, interpolation,
This is because there is an advantage that image processing and editing including enlargement, reduction, and composition can be easily performed.

The multiplexer 503 is connected to the CP
A display image is appropriately selected based on a control signal input from U506. That is, the multiplexer 503
Selects a desired image signal from the inversely converted image signals input from the decoder 504, and selects a driving circuit 501
Output to In that case, by switching and selecting an image signal within one screen display time, it is possible to divide one screen into a plurality of areas and display different images depending on the areas, as in a so-called multi-screen TV. .

Also, the display panel controller 5
Reference numeral 02 denotes a circuit for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 501 based on a control signal input from the CPU 506. First, for example, a signal for controlling an operation sequence of a drive power source (not shown) for the display panel is output to the drive circuit 501 as one related to the basic operation of the display panel.

[0262] The display panel driving method includes, for example, a screen display frequency and a scanning method (for example, interlace or non-interlace).
Is output to the drive circuit 501.

In some cases, a control signal relating to image quality adjustment such as brightness, contrast, color tone, and sharpness of a display image may be output to the drive circuit 501.

The drive circuit 501 is a circuit for generating a drive signal to be applied to the display panel 500. The drive circuit 501 converts the image signal input from the multiplexer 503 and the control signal input from the display panel controller 502. It operates on the basis of:

The function of each unit has been described above. With the configuration illustrated in FIG. 26, the present display device can display image information input from various image information sources on the display panel 500.

That is, various image signals such as television broadcasts are inversely converted by the decoder 504, appropriately selected by the multiplexer 503, and input to the drive circuit 501. On the other hand, the display controller 502 controls the driving circuit 50 according to an image signal to be displayed.
1 to generate a control signal for controlling the operation.

The driving circuit 501 applies a driving signal to the display panel 500 based on the image signal and the control signal. Thus, an image is displayed on the display panel 500.

A series of these operations are controlled by the CPU 506 as a whole.

In the present display device, not only the image memory and image generation circuit 507 incorporated in the decoder 504 but also the information selected from the information are displayed. , Shrink, rotate,
It is also possible to perform image processing such as movement, edge emphasis, thinning, interpolation, color conversion, image aspect ratio conversion and the like, and image editing such as synthesis, erasure, connection, replacement, insertion, and the like.

Although not particularly described in the description of this embodiment, a dedicated circuit for processing and editing audio information may be provided as in the above-described image processing and image editing.

Accordingly, the present display device is a television broadcast display device, a video conference terminal device, an image editing device that handles still images and moving images, a computer terminal device, an office terminal device including a word processor, a game terminal, and the like. It is possible to combine the functions of a single machine, etc., and has a very wide range of applications for industrial or consumer use.

FIG. 26 shows only an example of the configuration of a display device using a display panel using a surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron source, and it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this. No. For example, among the components shown in FIG. 26, circuits relating to functions that are not necessary for the purpose of use may be omitted. On the contrary, depending on the purpose of use, components may be further added depending on the purpose of use.

For example, when the present display device is applied as a video telephone, it is preferable to add a transmission / reception circuit including a television camera, an audio microphone, a lighting device, and a modem to the components.

In the present display device, in particular, it is easy to reduce the thickness of the display panel using a surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron source, so that the depth of the display device can be reduced.

In addition, a display panel using a surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron source is easy to enlarge a screen, has high luminance, and has excellent viewing angle characteristics. Therefore, the present display device is full of realism and powerful. Images can be displayed with good visibility.

[0276]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An electron-emitting device having a simple manufacturing process and high efficiency can be provided, and can be applied to a large-area substrate having a large number of devices. Further, a high-quality image forming apparatus having good gradation can be provided. effective.

That is, by controlling the voltage pulse application condition of the activation process, it is possible to obtain an electron-emitting device having a larger amount of electron emission and a higher electron emission efficiency. However, an excellent electron-emitting device can be obtained. Further, according to the present invention, there is also an effect that an element having excellent operation stability such that the pulse width dependency does not easily occur can be obtained.

As described above, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus such as an image display apparatus having a plurality of elements, which has high efficiency, excellent durability, high operation stability, and is suitable for gradation display.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a relationship between a voltage pulse application condition and a characteristic change in an activation process of a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a relationship between a voltage pulse application condition and a partial pressure of an organic substance in an activation process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an example of a method for manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an apparatus for measuring and evaluating a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a voltage waveform in a forming process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a voltage waveform in an activation process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the activation processing time dependence of the device current If and the emission current Ie of the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a morphological change due to an activation process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view showing basic characteristics of a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view (a) and a sectional view (b) of a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view showing another embodiment of the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an electron source in a simple matrix arrangement.

FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of a display panel of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a fluorescent film used for a display panel.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a drive circuit showing an example in which an image forming apparatus performs drive display in accordance with an NTSC television signal.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an electron source in a ladder arrangement.

FIG. 17 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another mode of the display panel of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 18 is a view showing a surface conduction electron-emitting device in an example.

FIG. 19 is an apparatus diagram for explaining a method of introducing a carbon compound in the activation treatment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of the activation process time dependence of the device current If and the emission current Ie in the activation process performed by introducing a carbon compound.

FIG. 21 is a sectional view illustrating the method for manufacturing the surface conduction electron-emitting device of FIG.

FIG. 22 is a plan view of the electron source in the example.

FIG. 23 is a partial cross-sectional view of an electron source according to an example.

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the method of manufacturing the electron source in the example.

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the method of manufacturing the electron source in the example.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an example of a change in characteristics during activation processing and display driving in the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a schematic plan view showing a conventional electron-emitting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,201 Substrate 5,6 Device electrode 2,4,202,204 Conductive film 3,203 Electron emission section 31,33 Power supply 30,32 Ammeter 34 Anode electrode 35 Vacuum device 36 Exhaust pump 21 Step forming section 40 Needle valve Reference Signs List 41 Carbon compound material source 42 Valve 43 Dry pump 61 Carbon or carbon compound 71, 110 Electron source substrate 72 X direction wiring 73 Y direction wiring 74, 111 Electron emitting element 75 Connection 81 Rear plate 82 Support frame 83 Glass substrate 84 Fluorescent film 85 Metal back 86 Face plate 88 Envelope 91 Black conductive material 92 Phosphor 101 Display panel 102 Scanning circuit 103 Control circuit 104 Shift register 105 Line memory 106 Synchronous signal separation circuit 107 Modulation signal generator 112 Common wiring 120 Modulation (grid) Pole 121 vessel terminals 141 interlayer insulating layer 112 a contact hole for vessel terminals 123 modulation electrodes of the electron passing holes 122 element wiring

Claims (10)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method for manufacturing an electron-emitting device having a conductive film including an electron-emitting portion between opposed electrodes, the method comprising: forming an electrode between the electrodes in an atmosphere in which a carbon compound is present;
A voltage pulse is applied to the conductive film including the electron-emitting portion so that the pause time T (second) of the applied voltage pulse satisfies the relationship of T> 10 ⁻⁸ / P with respect to the partial pressure P (torr) of the carbon compound. A method for manufacturing an electron-emitting device, comprising the steps of: 2. The voltage pulse according to claim 1, wherein the peak value of the voltage pulse is greater than or equal to a voltage control type negative resistance characteristic region.
3. The method for manufacturing an electron-emitting device according to item 1. 3. The carbon compound is an alkane, alkene, alkyne aliphatic hydrocarbon, aromatic hydrocarbon,
The method for manufacturing an electron-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the method is at least one selected from alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, amines, phenols, carboxyls, organic acids such as sulfonic acids, and derivatives of these carbon compounds. 4. The method for manufacturing an electron-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the carbon compound is a pump oil of a vacuum exhaust device or a decomposition compound thereof. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of applying a voltage pulse to the conductive film includes the step of depositing carbon or a carbon compound on the conductive film. 6. The deposit of carbon or carbon compound is graphite or amorphous carbon,
6. The method for manufacturing an electron-emitting device according to claim 5, wherein the method is a mixture thereof. 7. A method of manufacturing an electron source having an electron-emitting device and emitting electrons in response to an input signal, wherein the electron-emitting device is manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 1. A method of manufacturing an electron source. 8. A plurality of electron-emitting devices having a plurality of electron-emitting devices in which both ends of each of the plurality of electron-emitting devices are connected by wiring, and modulation means for modulating an electron beam emitted from the electron-emitting device. 7. A method of manufacturing an electron source for emitting electrons according to an input signal, wherein the electron-emitting device is manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 1. Method. 9. A plurality of electron-emitting devices connected and arranged to m X-directional wires and n Y-directional wires electrically insulated from each other, and emit electrons according to an input signal. A method for manufacturing an electron source, wherein the electron-emitting device is manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 1. 10. A method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus having an electron source and an image forming member and forming an image in response to an input signal, wherein the electron source is any one of claims 7 to 9. And a method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus.