JP3466870B2 - 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 a method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus having an electron source in which a plurality of electron emitting devices are arranged.

[0002]

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

The surface conduction electron-emitting device is, for example, M.
I. Elinson, Radio E-ng. Electron Phys., 10, 1290,
(1965) and other examples described later are known.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which electron emission occurs when a current is passed through a thin film having a small area formed on a substrate in parallel with the film surface. As the surface conduction electron-emitting device, in addition to the SnO2 thin film made by Elinson et al., An Au thin film [G. Dittmer: "Thin Solid Films", 9,317 (197)
2)] and In2O3 / SnO2 thin film [M. Hartwe
ll and CG Fonstad: "IEEE Trans. ED Conf.", 519
(1975)], and carbon thin films [Hiraki Araki et al .: Vacuum, Vol. 26, No. 1, 22 (1983)] and the like.

As a typical example of the device configuration of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, FIG. 23 shows a plan view of the device by M. Hartwell et al. In the figure, 3001 is a substrate, and 3004 is a conductive thin film made of metal oxide formed by sputtering. The conductive thin film 3004 is formed in an H-shaped plane shape as illustrated. An electron-emitting portion 3005 is formed by subjecting this conductive thin film 3004 to an energization process called energization forming described later. The interval L in the figure is 0.5 to 1 [mm], and the width W is
It is set to 0.1 [mm]. For convenience of illustration, the electron emitting portion 3005 is shown in a rectangular shape in the center of the conductive thin film 3004, but this is a schematic one, and the actual position and shape of the electron emitting portion is faithfully expressed. It doesn't mean that.

In the above-mentioned surface conduction electron-emitting device including the device by M. Hartwell et al., The electron-emitting portion 3005 is formed by subjecting the conductive thin film 3004 to an energization process called energization forming before electron emission. Was common. That is, the energization forming is
A constant DC voltage or a DC voltage which is boosted at a very slow rate of, for example, about 1 V / min is applied to both ends of the conductive thin film 3004 to energize the conductive thin film 3.
That is, 004 is locally destroyed, deformed, or altered to form an electron emitting portion 3005 having a high electrical resistance. A crack occurs in a part of the conductive thin film 3004 which is locally destroyed, deformed or altered. When an appropriate voltage is applied to the conductive thin film 3004 after this energization forming, electrons are emitted near the crack.

As an example of the FE type, for example, WP
Dyke & WW Dolan, "Field emission", Advance in E
lectron Physics, 8, 89 (1956) or CA Spind
t, "Physical properties of thin-film field emissio
n cathodes with molybdenium cones ", J. Appl. Phy
s., 47, 5248 (1976) are known.

As a typical example of the FE type element structure, FIG. 24 shows a sectional view of the element by the above-mentioned CA Spindt et al. In the figure, 3010 is a substrate, 3011 is an emitter wiring made of a conductive material, 3012 is an emitter cone, 3013 is an insulating layer, and 3014 is a gate electrode.
This device includes an emitter cone 3012 and a gate electrode 30.
By applying an appropriate voltage between the electrodes 14, field emission is caused from the tip of the emitter cone 3012. Further, as another element structure of the FE type, as shown in FIG.
There is also a structure in which the emitter gate electrode is arranged on the substrate substantially in parallel with the plane of the substrate, instead of the laminated structure of 4.

As an example of the MIM type, for example, C.I.
A. Mead, "Operation of tunnel-emission Devices,
J. Appl. Phys., 32,646 (1961) and the like are known.
A typical example of this MIM type element configuration is shown in FIG. The figure is a cross-sectional view, 3020 is a substrate, 3021 is a lower electrode made of metal, 3022 is a thin insulating layer having a thickness of about 100 angstroms, and 3023 is an upper electrode made of metal having a thickness of about 80 to 300 angstroms. . In the MIM type, electrons are emitted from the surface of the upper electrode 3023 by applying an appropriate voltage between the upper electrode 3023 and the lower electrode 3021.

The above-mentioned cold cathode device can obtain electron emission at a lower temperature than the hot cathode device, and therefore does not require a heater for heating. Therefore, the structure is simpler than that of the hot cathode device, and a fine device can be manufactured. Even if a large number of elements are arranged on the substrate at a high density, the problem of heat melting of the substrate is unlikely to occur. In addition, the response speed is slow because the hot cathode element operates by heating the heater, and the cold cathode element has an advantage that the response speed is fast. Therefore, research for applying the cold cathode device has been actively conducted.

For example, the surface conduction electron-emitting device has an advantage that a large number of devices can be formed over a large area because it has a simple structure and is easy to manufacture among cold cathode devices.
Therefore, for example, JP-A-64-31332 by the applicant of the present application
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication, methods for arranging and driving a large number of devices have been studied.

Regarding the application of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, for example, an image forming apparatus such as an image display device and an image recording device, a charged beam source, and the like have been studied.

Particularly as an application to an image display device, for example, as disclosed in USP 5,066,883 by the applicant of the present application, JP-A-2-257551 and JP-A-4-28137, a surface conduction type is disclosed. An image display device using a combination of an emission element and a phosphor that emits light when irradiated with an electron beam has been studied. The image display device using such a combination of the surface conduction electron-emitting device and the phosphor is expected to have better characteristics than other conventional image display devices. For example, it can be said that it is superior in that it does not require a backlight because it is a self-luminous type and that it has a wide viewing angle, even compared with liquid crystal display devices that have become popular in recent years.

A method for driving a large number of FE types is described in, for example, USP 4,904,895 by the present applicant.
Is disclosed in. As an example of applying the FE type to an image display device, for example, a flat panel display device reported by R. Meyer et al. Is known. [R. Mayer: "Recent Deve
lopment on Microtips Display at LETI ", Tech. Diges
t of 4th Int. Vacuum Micro- electronics Conf., Nag
ahama, pp. 6-9 (1991)] Further, an example in which a large number of MIM types are arranged and applied to an image display device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-55738 by the present applicant.

Among the image forming apparatus using the electron-emitting device as described above, the flat-type display device having a small depth is space-saving and light-weight, and is therefore noticed as a replacement for the cathode ray tube-type display device. ing.

Next, the structure and manufacturing method of the display panel of the image display device to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to specific examples.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing an example of a display panel portion forming a flat image display device, and a part of the panel is cut away to show the internal structure.

In the figure, 3115 is a rear plate and 3116.
Is a side wall, 3117 is a face plate, and the rear plate 3115, the side wall 3116, and the face plate 31
Reference numeral 17 forms an envelope (airtight container) for maintaining a vacuum inside the display panel.

The rear plate 3115 has a substrate 3111.
Are fixed, but N × M cold cathode elements 3112 are formed on the substrate 3111. (N and M are positive integers of 2 or more, and are appropriately set according to the target number of display pixels). The N × M cold cathode devices 3112
Are M row direction wirings 3113 and N column direction wirings 31.
Simple matrix wiring is provided by 14. A portion composed of the substrate 3111, the cold cathode device 3112, the row-direction wiring 3113, and the column-direction wiring 3114 is called a multi-electron beam source. In addition, an insulating layer (not shown) is formed between the row-direction wirings 3113 and the column-direction wirings 3114 at least at the intersecting portions to maintain electrical insulation.

A fluorescent film 3118 made of a fluorescent material is formed on the lower surface of the face plate 3117.
Phosphors (not shown) of three primary colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) are separately coated. Further, a black body (not shown) is provided between the phosphors of the respective colors forming the phosphor film 3118, and the rear plate 3115 of the phosphor film 3118 is further provided.
The metal back 311 made of aluminum etc. on the side of the
9 is formed. Also, Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to D
yn and Hv are terminals for electrical connection having an airtight structure provided for electrically connecting the display panel and an electric circuit (not shown). Dx1 to Dxm are electrically connected to the row-directional wiring 3113 of the multi-electron beam source, Dy1 to Dyn are electrically connected to the column-directional wiring 3114 of the multi-electron beam source, and Hv is electrically connected to the metal back 3119 of the face plate.

Further, the inside of the airtight container is kept in a vacuum of about 10 <-6> [Torr], and as the display area of the image display device increases, the rear plate due to the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the airtight container. A means for preventing the deformation or destruction of the 3115 and the face plate 3117 is required. Rear plate 3115 and face plate 31
The method of thickening 16 not only increases the weight of the image display device but also causes image distortion and parallax when the display screen is viewed from an oblique direction. On the other hand, in FIG. 26, a structural support body (called a spacer or a rib) 3120 made of a relatively thin glass plate for supporting the body pressure is provided. In this way, the space between the substrate 3111 having the multi-beam electron source formed thereon and the face plate 3116 having the fluorescent film 3118 formed thereon is usually maintained at a submillimeter to a few millimeters, and as described above, the inside of the airtight container is kept at a high vacuum. ing.

[0022]

The display panel of the conventional image display device described above has the following problems.

First, some of the electrons emitted from the vicinity of the spacer 3120 hit the spacer 3120, or the ions ionized by the action of the emitted electrons adhere to the spacer 3120, so that the spacer 3120 May cause electrostatic charge. The electrons emitted from the cold cathode element 3112 due to the charging of the spacer 3120 have their trajectories bent, reach a position different from the regular position on the phosphor, and the image near the spacer 3120 is distorted and displayed. At this time, since the spacer 3120 deviates from the original one due to an assembly error, the distance between the spacer 3120 and the cold cathode element 3112 partially approaches, and the deviation of the electron activation becomes significantly large. This further magnifies the distortion of the image.

Second, in order to accelerate the electrons emitted from the cold cathode device 3112, a high voltage of several hundreds V or more (that is, 1K) is applied between the multi-beam electron source and the face plate 3117.
Since a high electric field (V / mm or more) is applied, the spacer 3
There is concern about creeping discharge on the surface of 120. In particular, when the spacer 3120 is charged as described above, discharge may be induced. Even at this time, the spacer is displaced from its original position due to an assembly error,
Since the distance between the spacer 3120 and the cold cathode element is partially reduced, the probability that damage to the cold cathode element at the time of discharge is increased becomes high, and the deterioration is accelerated.

In order to solve this problem, the applicant of the present invention has proposed to remove a charge by allowing a minute current to flow through the spacer (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 57-118355 and 61-124031). Issue). There, a high resistance film is formed on the surface of an insulating spacer so that a minute current flows on the surface of the spacer.
The antistatic film used here is tin oxide, or a mixed thin film of tin oxide and indium oxide, a metal film, or the like.

Even in this case, the displacement of the spacers poses a problem. Electrical connections are required above and below the high resistance film in order to pass a minute current through the spacer. At this time, since the electrical connection portion is formed of a conductor, the electric field is disturbed near the spacer. When the distance between the electron emitting portion and the spacer becomes shorter due to the displacement of the spacer, the disturbance of the electric field seriously affects electron activation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and in an image forming apparatus manufacturing method having an insulating member for reinforcement between an electron source and a face plate , an assembly using the insulating member is performed. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus that can simplify the process.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus which is clear and has good color reproducibility without causing unevenness in brightness and color deviation by preventing deviation of orbits of emitted electrons.

[0029]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises the following steps. That is,
An electron source having a plurality of cold cathode electron-emitting devices having an electron-emitting portion on the substrate and a pair of device electrodes for applying a voltage to the electron-emitting portion to emit electrons; and an electron source arranged opposite to the electron-emitting portion. An acceleration electrode for applying an acceleration voltage that acts on the electrons emitted from the electron emission portion and a first groove portion.
Face plate, the electron source, and the face plate
A method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus having an insulating member disposed between the face plate and the
Disposing one end of the insulating member in the groove of No. 1
And disposed in the first groove portion of the face plate
The other end of the insulating member is disposed on the electron source.
And a step of standing on the second groove portions, distribution in the electron source
The second groove provided is a peripheral portion of the screen pattern.
Are formed using a screen printing method that causes
Is characterized in that the side surface is tapered
Image forming apparatus manufacturing method.

[0031]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the connection between the spacer and the electron source, which is the most characteristic part of this embodiment, will be described.

1 to 4 are views for explaining a display panel of the present reference embodiment 1 , FIG. 1 is a view showing a state in the vicinity of a spacer, FIG. 2 is a method for forming a groove on an electron source substrate, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an end portion of the spacer on the electron source side, and FIG.
It is a figure showing an A'section shape.

In FIG. 1, 101 and 1013 show a part of the wiring in the X direction on the electron source substrate having a matrix structure, and 1014 shows a part of the Y direction wiring of the matrix wiring. 102 is a groove portion formed in the X-direction wiring 101, 1041 is an electrical connection portion between the X-direction wiring 101 and the spacer 1020, 1020 is a spacer having a high resistance film on its surface, 1012 is a cold cathode element, 1011
Indicates an electron source substrate in which a plurality of cold cathode devices are arranged in a matrix.

[0035] In this reference embodiment, the Ag paste is coated on the X-direction wiring 1013 by a screen printing method to form a spacer groove 102. This method will be described with reference to FIG.

First, using the first screen pattern,
The wiring 1013 in the X direction as shown in FIG.
Form on 11. In this reference embodiment, each X-direction wiring 1013 is equivalently formed with a thickness of 20 μm.
Next, after heating at 150 ° C. for 15 minutes to solidify the paste, the paste is formed into a form as shown in FIG. 2B using the second screen pattern. Hereinafter, similar heat treatment and printing are repeated to form the groove portion 102 as shown in FIG. Finally, the groove portion 102 shown in FIG. 1 was formed by heating and baking at 480 ° C. for 60 minutes. The present in the reference embodiment, by utilizing the characteristics of the screen printing shape languish in screen pattern periphery for forming the groove 102,
A taper was formed on the side surface of the groove 102.

At this time, the height h1 of the X-direction wiring 101 having the groove portion 102 in FIG. 1 from the electron source substrate 105 is about 140 μm, the groove depth is about 120 μm, and the minimum groove width is about 1.
The taper angle of the groove side surface was 40 μm and about 20 °. The spacer 1020 has a thickness of about 150 μm. The side surface height h3 of the electrical connection portion 1041 between the spacer 1020 and the X-direction wiring electrode 1013 in which the groove 102 is formed is shown.
Is about 50 μm. Further, the height h2 of the X-direction wiring 1013 other than the X-direction wiring 101 in which the groove 102 is provided is about 140 μm, like the X-direction wiring 101 having the groove portion 102. Also, X-direction wiring 1013, 1
An insulating layer (not shown) is formed at the intersection of 01 and the Y-direction wiring 1014.

Next, the electrical connection between the groove 102 and the spacer 1020 will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, 301 is a high resistance film, which is coated on the surface of the spacer 1020. In this reference embodiment, the high resistance film 301 is a nickel oxide film. This nickel oxide film is formed to a thickness of about 0.03 μm by a reactive sputtering method in which a Ni target is sputtered in a mixed gas of argon gas and oxygen gas. Next, using a mask jig, aluminum was formed into a film with a thickness of about 0.5 μm to form an electrical connection portion 1041. It should be noted that this spacer 1020 is provided in the structure shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
An electrical connection with the directional wiring 101 is achieved, and at the same time, an atmospheric pressure resistant structure is realized.

[0040] Then the display panel with reference to this reference embodiment to FIG. 4, an electronic activation emitted from the cold cathode devices is described.

In FIG. 4, 401 is an electron source substrate 101.
1 shows equipotential lines between 1 and the face plate on which the phosphor is arranged, and 402 and 403 show trajectories of electrons emitted from the cold cathode device 1012. As is clear from FIG. 4, the cold cathode device 10 close to the spacer 1020.
The potential distribution in the vicinity of 12 is defined by the height of the X-direction wiring 101 having the groove 102. Therefore, the potential distribution in the vicinity of the spacer 1020 is substantially the same as that in the vicinity of the other X-direction wirings without being affected by the electrical connection portion 1041. Therefore, the electron orbit 402 from the cold cathode element 1012 close to the spacer 1020 shows an orbit similar to the electron orbit 403 emitted from another cold cathode element not adjacent to the spacer 1020. . As a result, it is possible to provide a very high-quality image with no color shift even in the vicinity of the spacer 1020.

Next, the configuration and manufacturing method of the display panel of the image display apparatus of the present reference embodiment will be described with reference to a specific example.

[0043] Figure 5 is a perspective view of a display panel used in this preferred embodiment is shown partially cut away of the panel in order to show the internal structure.

In the figure, 1015 is a rear plate, and 1016.
Is a side wall, 1017 is a face plate, and 1015
1017 to 1017 form an airtight container for maintaining a vacuum inside the display panel. When assembling this airtight container, it is necessary to seal the joints of the respective members so as to maintain sufficient strength and airtightness, but for example, frit glass is applied to the joints, and in the atmosphere or nitrogen atmosphere, Sealing was achieved by firing at 400-500 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes or longer. A method of evacuating the inside of the airtight container will be described later. Further, since the inside of the airtight container is held in a vacuum of about 10 <-6> [Torr], in order to prevent the airtight container from being broken due to atmospheric pressure or an unexpected impact, an atmospheric pressure resistant structure, Spacer 102
0 is provided.

The electron source substrate 1011 described above is fixed to the rear plate 1015.
N × M cold cathode elements 1012 are formed on the upper portion (N and M are positive integers of 2 or more and are appropriately set according to the target number of display pixels. For example, a high-definition television. In a display device for the purpose of displaying, N = 30
00, M = 1000 or more is desirable). The N × M cold cathode elements are arranged in a simple matrix by M row-direction wirings 1013 and N column-direction wirings 1014. Substrate 1011 and cold cathode device 101
2. A portion constituted by the row-direction wiring 1013 and the column-direction wiring 1014 is called a multi electron source.

The multi-electron source used in the image display apparatus of the present reference embodiment, if the electron source in which a simple matrix wiring cold cathode devices, is not limited to the material and shape or manufacturing method of the cold cathode elements. Therefore, for example, a surface conduction electron-emitting device or an FE type,
Alternatively, a MIN type cold cathode device or the like can be used.

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

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the multi electron source used in the display panel of FIG. On the substrate 1011
Surface conduction electron-emitting devices similar to those shown in FIG. 11 described later are arranged, and these devices are wired in a simple matrix by row-direction wiring electrodes 1013 and column-direction wiring electrodes 1014. Row-direction wiring electrode 1013 and column-direction wiring electrode 1
An insulating layer (not shown) is formed between the electrodes at the intersection of 014.
Are formed, and electrical insulation is maintained.

FIG. 7 shows a cross section taken along the line BB 'of FIG.

The multi-electron source having such a structure is
After the row wiring electrodes 1013, the column wiring electrodes 1014, the interelectrode insulating layer (not shown), and the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 of the surface conduction electron-emitting device and the conductive thin film 1104 are formed on the substrate 1011 in advance, the row direction is formed. Electric power is supplied to each element through the wiring electrode 1013 and the column-direction wiring electrode 1014 to perform energization forming processing (described later) and energization activation processing (described later).
Was manufactured by carrying out.

[0051] In this reference embodiment has a configuration for fixing the substrate 1011 of the multi electron source on the rear plate 1015 of the airtight container, if the substrate 1011 of the multi electron source has sufficient strength, airtightness The multi-electron source substrate 1011 itself may be used as the rear plate of the container.

A fluorescent film 1018 is formed on the lower surface of the face plate 1017. Since this reference embodiment is a color display device, a C film is formed on the fluorescent film 1018.
Red (R), green (G), blue (B) used in the field of RT
Are coated with three primary color phosphors. The phosphors of the respective colors are applied in stripes, for example, as shown in FIG. 8A, and the black conductor 1 is provided between the stripes of the phosphors.
010 is provided. The purpose of providing these black conductors 1010 is to prevent the display color from deviating even if the irradiation position of the electron beam is slightly deviated, and to prevent the reflection of external light to reduce the display contrast. The prevention is to prevent the fluorescent film from being charged up by the electron beam. Although graphite was used as a main component for the black conductor 1010, other materials may be used as long as they are suitable for the above purpose.

FIG. 8 shows how to separately paint the three primary color phosphors.
The arrangement is not limited to the stripe arrangement shown in FIG. 8A, and for example, a delta arrangement shown in FIG.
Other arrangements may be used.

[0054] In the present reference embodiment, the fluorescent film 10
As shown in FIG. 9, 18 adopts a stripe shape in which each color phosphor 21a extends in the column direction (Y direction), and the black conductor 21b is used not only between each color phosphor (R, G, B) 21a. , Y direction pixels are also separated from each other. The spacer 1020 described above is arranged in the row direction (X
Direction parallel to the black conductor 21b region (line width about 300
μm) via a metal back 1019. When sealing the airtight container described above, it is necessary to associate each color phosphor 21a with each element arranged on the substrate 1011. Therefore, the rear plate 1015,
The face plate 1017 and the spacer 1020 were sufficiently aligned. When creating a monochrome display panel, a monochromatic phosphor material is used as the phosphor film 1.
018, and the black conductive material does not necessarily have to be used.

Further, the rear plate 10 of the fluorescent film 1018
A metal back 1019 known in the field of CRTs is provided on the surface on the 15 side. The purpose of providing the metal back 1019 is to specularly reflect part of the light emitted by the fluorescent film 1018 to improve the light utilization rate, to protect the fluorescent film 1018 from the collision of negative ions, and to accelerate the electron beam acceleration voltage. To act as an electrode for applying the
To act as a conductive path for excited electrons. The metal back 1019 is formed by forming the fluorescent film 1018 on the face plate substrate 1017 and then forming the fluorescent film 1
The surface of 018 was smoothed, and A1 (aluminum) was vacuum-deposited on it to form a film. When a low voltage fluorescent material is used for the fluorescent film 1018,
The metal back 1019 is not used.

[0056] Although not used in this preferred embodiment, for the purpose of improving conductivity of applying and the fluorescent film of the acceleration voltage, between the face plate substrate 1017 and the fluorescent film 1018, for example, transparent to the ITO and materials Electrodes may be provided.

FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line AA 'in FIG. 5, and the reference numerals of the respective parts correspond to those in FIG.

The spacer 1020 is an insulating member 1020.
A high resistance film 1020b for the purpose of preventing electrification is formed on the surface of a, and it faces the inside of the face plate 1017 (metal back 1019 etc.) and the surface of the substrate 1011 (row direction wiring 1013 or column direction wiring 1014). A member having a low resistance film 1020c formed on the contact surface of the spacer 1020 is provided, and is fixed to the inside of the face plate 1017 and the surface of the substrate 1011 by a bonding material 1041. Further, the high resistance film 1020b is formed by the insulating member 10
A film is formed on at least a surface of the surface of 20a exposed to the vacuum in the airtight container, and via the low resistance film 1020c on the spacer 1020 and the bonding material 1041,
Inside the face plate 1017 (metal back 101
9 etc.). In the embodiment shown here, the spacer 1020 has a thin plate shape, is arranged in parallel with the row-directional wiring 1013, and is electrically connected to the row-directional wiring 1013.

As the spacer 1020, the substrate 1011 is used.
It has enough insulation to withstand a high voltage applied between the upper row-direction wiring 1013 and column-direction wiring 1014 and the metal back 1019 on the inner surface of the face plate 1017.
In addition, the spacer 1020 needs to have electrical conductivity to the extent that the surface of the spacer 1020 is prevented from being charged. This point has already been described.

Insulating member 1020a of spacer 1020
Examples thereof include quartz glass, glass having a reduced content of impurities such as Na, soda lime glass, and ceramic members such as alumina. The insulating member 10
20a preferably has a coefficient of thermal expansion close to that of the member forming the airtight container and the substrate 1011.

The high resistance film 1020b has a surface resistance value of 10 5 [Ω / □] to 10 5 [Ω / □] in consideration of the maintenance of the antistatic effect and the suppression of power consumption due to the leakage current as described above. It is preferable that it is in the range of the 14th power [Ω / □], and the above-mentioned various materials are used as the material.

The resistance film 1202c is the high resistance film 10
It is sufficient to select a material having a resistance value sufficiently lower than that of 20b, such as Ni, Cr, Au, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Al,
Cu, Pd and other metals or alloys, and Pd, Ag,
It is appropriately selected from transparent conductors such as Au and RuO2 and semiconductor materials such as polysilicon.

Further, the bonding material 1041 needs to have conductivity so that the spacer 1020 is electrically connected to the row wiring 1013 and the metal back 1019. That is, it is preferable to add a conductive adhesive, metal particles or a conductive filler, or frit glass.

Further, the connection terminals Dx1 to DxM and Dy1 to DyN and Hv of the external circuit are electric connection terminals having an airtight structure provided for electrically connecting the display panel and an electric circuit (not shown). . Dx1 to DxM are electrically connected to the row direction wiring 1013 of the multi electron beam source, Dy1 to DyN are electrically connected to the column direction wiring 1014 of the multi electron beam source, and Hv is electrically connected to the metal back 1019 of the face plate.

To evacuate the inside of the airtight container to a vacuum, after assembling the airtight container, an exhaust pipe (not shown) and a vacuum pump are connected, and the inside of the airtight container is reduced to 10 −7 [To
Evacuate to a vacuum degree of about [rr]. Then, the exhaust pipe is sealed, but in order to maintain the degree of vacuum in the airtight container, a getter film (not shown) is formed at a predetermined position in the airtight container immediately before or after the sealing. The getter film is, for example, B
It is a film formed by heating a getter material containing a as a main component with a heater or high-frequency heating and vapor deposition, and the inside of the airtight container is 1 × 10 −5 due to the adsorption action of the getter film.
The degree of vacuum is raised to the power of 1 × 10 −7 [Torr].

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

Generally, the voltage applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device 1012 of the present invention, which is a cold cathode device, is 12 to 16.
[V], metal back 1019 and cold cathode device 101
2 is about 0.1 [mm] to 8 [mm], and the voltage between the metal back 1019 and the cold cathode element 1012 is 0.
It is about 1 [kV] to 10 [kV].

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

Next, a method of manufacturing the multi-electron beam source used for the display panel of the above-mentioned reference mode will be described. The multi-electron beam source used in the image display device of the present invention is not limited in the material, shape or manufacturing method of the cold cathode device as long as it is an electron source in which cold cathode devices are wired in a simple matrix. Therefore, for example, a surface conduction electron-emitting device, an FE type, or an MI
A cold cathode device such as an M type can be used. However, in the situation where a display device having a large display screen and being inexpensive is demanded, the surface conduction electron-emitting device is particularly desirable among these cold cathode devices. That is, in the FE type, since the relative position and shape of the emitter cone and the gate electrode greatly influence the electron emission characteristics, an extremely high precision manufacturing technique is required, which achieves a large area and a reduction in manufacturing cost. This is a disadvantageous factor. In this respect, the surface conduction electron-emitting device has a relatively simple manufacturing method, so that it is easy to increase the area and reduce the manufacturing cost. Further, the inventors have found that among the surface conduction electron-emitting devices, those in which the electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film have particularly excellent electron-emitting characteristics and can be easily manufactured.
Therefore, it can be said that it is most suitable for use in a multi-electron beam source of a high-luminance and large-screen image display device. Therefore, in the display panel of the above reference embodiment, the surface conduction electron-emitting device in which the electron emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of the fine particle film is used. Therefore, the basic configuration, manufacturing method, and characteristics of a suitable surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described first, and then the structure of a multi-electron beam source in which many devices are wired in a simple matrix will be described. (Preferable Element Configuration of Surface Conduction Emitting Element and Manufacturing Method) There are two types of typical configurations of the surface conduction type emitting element in which the electron emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film. To be

(Plane Type Surface Conduction Type Emitting Element) First, the element structure and manufacturing method of the plane type surface conduction type emitting element will be described.

FIG. 11 is a plan view (a) and a sectional view (b) for explaining the structure of a flat surface conduction electron-emitting device.

In the figure, 1101 is a substrate, 1102 and 110
3 is a device electrode, 1104 is a conductive thin film, 1105 is an electron emission portion formed by energization forming processing, 1113.
Is a thin film formed by energization activation treatment.

As the substrate 1101, for example, various glass substrates such as quartz glass and soda lime glass, various ceramics substrates such as alumina, or the above-mentioned various substrates, an insulating layer made of, for example, SiO 2 is provided. A laminated substrate or the like can be used. Also, the substrate 1
The device electrodes 1102 and 1103 provided on the substrate 101 so as to face each other in parallel with the substrate surface are made of a conductive material. For example, Ni, Cr, Au, Mo, W,
Metals such as Pt, Ti, Cu, Pd, Ag, etc.,
Alternatively, an appropriate material may be selected from alloys of these metals, metal oxides such as In2O3-SnO2, semiconductors such as polysilicon, and the like. The electrodes 1102 and 1103 can be easily formed by using, for example, a film forming technique such as vacuum deposition and a patterning technique such as photolithography and etching, but other methods (for example, a printing technique) are used. It doesn't matter even if it is formed.

The shapes of the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are appropriately designed according to the application purpose of this electron-emitting device.
Generally, the electrode interval L is designed by selecting an appropriate value from the range of several hundred angstroms to several hundreds of micrometers, but it is preferable that the electrode interval L is several micrometers or more for application to a display device. It is in the range of 10 micrometers. In addition, as for the thickness d of the device electrode, an appropriate numerical value is usually selected from the range of several hundred angstroms to several micrometers.

A fine particle film is used for the conductive thin film 1104. The fine particle film described here refers to a film (including an island-shaped aggregate) containing a large number of fine particles as a constituent element. When the fine particle film is microscopically examined, usually, a structure in which individual fine particles are arranged apart from each other, a structure in which the fine particles are adjacent to each other, or a structure in which the fine particles overlap each other are observed. The particle diameter of the fine particles used in this fine particle film is in the range of several angstroms to several thousand angstroms, but the range of 10 angstroms to 200 angstroms is particularly preferable. Further, the film thickness of the fine particle film is appropriately set in consideration of various conditions as described below. That is,
Necessary conditions for making good electrical connection with the device electrode 1102 or 1103, necessary conditions for favorably performing the energization forming described later, and necessary electric resistance of the fine particle film itself for obtaining an appropriate value described later. Conditions. Specifically, it is set within the range of several angstroms to several thousand angstroms, and among these, 1 is preferable.
It is between 0 Å and 500 Å.

Materials that can be used for forming the fine particle film include, for example, Pd, Pt, Ru, Ag, and A.
u, Ti, In, Cu, Cr, Fe, Zn, Sn, T
Metals such as a, W, Pb, PdO, Sn
O2, In2O3, PbO, Sb2O3 and other oxides, HfB2, ZrB2, LaB6, CeB6, YB
4, boride such as GdB4, TiC, Zr
Carbides such as C, HfC, TaC, SiC, and WC, nitrides such as TiN, ZrN, and HfN, semiconductors such as Si and Ge, carbon, and the like can be given. It is appropriately selected from the inside.

As described above, the conductive thin film 1104 is formed of a fine particle film, and its sheet resistance value is
It was set to fall within the range of 10 3 to 10 7 [Ω / □].

The conductive thin film 1104 and the device electrode 110
It is desirable that 2 and 1103 are electrically connected well, and therefore they have a structure in which some of them overlap each other. In the example of FIG. 11, the overlapping is such that the substrate 1101, the element electrodes 1102 and 1103, and the conductive thin film 1104 are stacked in this order from the bottom, but in some cases, the substrate, the conductive thin film, and the element electrode are stacked from the bottom. It does not matter if they are stacked in order.

The electron emitting portion 1105 is a crack-like portion formed in a part of the conductive thin film 1104, and has an electrically higher resistance than the surrounding conductive thin film. The cracks are formed by subjecting the conductive thin film 1104 to a later-described energization forming process.
Fine particles having a particle diameter of several angstroms to several hundred angstroms may be arranged in the cracks. In addition,
Since it is difficult to accurately and accurately show the actual position and shape of the electron-emitting portion, the electron-emitting portion is schematically shown in FIG.

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

The thin film 1113 is made of single crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and has a film thickness of 500 [angstrom] or less, but 300 [angstrom] or less. Is more preferable.

Since it is difficult to precisely illustrate the actual position and shape of the thin film 1113, it is schematically shown in FIG. In the plan view (a), the thin film 11
A device in which a part of 13 is removed is shown.

The basic structure of the preferable element has been described above. In the reference embodiment, the following element was used.

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

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

Next, a method of manufacturing a suitable flat surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. 12 (a) to (e)
11A and 11B are cross-sectional views for explaining the manufacturing process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the notation of each member is the same as that in FIG.

(1) First, as shown in FIG.
The device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are formed on the substrate 1101. In forming the device electrodes 1102 and 1103, the substrate 1101 is thoroughly washed in advance with a detergent, pure water, and an organic solvent, and then the device electrode material is deposited. As a method of depositing this material, for example, a vacuum film forming technique such as a vapor deposition method or a sputtering method may be used. Then, the deposited electrode material is patterned by using the photolithography / etching technique to form the pair of device electrodes (1102 and 1103) shown in FIG.

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

In forming this conductive thin film,
First, the substrate of (a) is coated with an organic metal solution, dried, heated and baked to form a fine particle film, and then patterned into a predetermined shape by photolithography and etching. Here, the organometallic solution is a solution of an organometallic compound whose main element is the material of the fine particles used for the conductive thin film. Specifically, Pd was used as the main element in this reference embodiment. Although the dipping method is used as the coating method in the reference embodiment, other methods such as a spinner method or a spray method may be used.

[0090] Furthermore, as a deposition method of the conductive thin film made with the minute particles, other than the method by coating an organic metal solution used in this preferred embodiment, for example, vacuum vapor deposition or sputtering,
Alternatively, a chemical vapor deposition method or the like may be used.

(3) Next, as shown in FIG. 7C, the forming power supply 1110 to the device electrodes 1102 and 11
An appropriate voltage is applied during the period 03 to carry out energization forming processing to form the electron emitting portion 1105. This energization forming process is a conductive thin film 1 made of a fine particle film.
This is a process of energizing 104 to appropriately destroy, deform or alter a part of it to change it into a structure suitable for electron emission. Appropriate cracks are formed in the thin film in the portion of the conductive thin film made of the fine particle film that has changed to a structure suitable for electron emission (that is, the electron emitting portion 1105). The electron emitting portion 110
After the formation, the electric resistance measured between the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 is significantly increased as compared with that before the formation.

In order to describe the energization method during forming in more detail, FIG. 13 shows a forming power supply 11
An example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from 10 is shown.

When forming a conductive thin film made of a fine particle film, a pulsed voltage is preferable, and in the case of the present reference mode, a triangular wave having a pulse width T1 as shown in FIG. The pulse was continuously applied at the pulse interval T2. At that time, the peak value Vpf of the triangular wave pulse was sequentially increased. Further, monitor pulses Pm for monitoring the formation state of the electron emitting portion 1105 were inserted between the triangular wave pulses at appropriate intervals, and the current flowing at that time was measured by the ammeter 1111.

[0094] In this preferred embodiment, in the -5 [torr] about a vacuum atmosphere of for example 10, for example, the pulse width T1 1 [ms], the pulse interval T2 10
[Millisecond], and the peak value Vpf is 0.1 for each pulse.
The voltage was increased by [V]. The monitor pulse Pm was inserted once every five pulses of the triangular wave were applied.
Here, the voltage Vpm of the monitor pulse is set to 0.1 [V] so as not to adversely affect the forming process. Then, when the electric resistance between the element electrodes 1102 and 1103 reaches 1 × 10 6 [ohm], that is, when the monitor pulse is applied, the current measured by the ammeter 1111 is 1 × 10 −7 [ohm]. A] At the stage when it became below, the energization related to the forming process was terminated.

[0095] The above method is a preferable method for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of this preferred embodiment, for example, fine particle film material and film thickness, or change the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device such as a device electrode interval L In that case, it is desirable to appropriately change the energization conditions accordingly.

(4) Next, as shown in FIG.
From the activation power source 1112 to the device electrodes 1102 and 1103
Appropriate voltage is applied between the two to perform energization activation treatment,
The electron emission characteristics are improved. This energization activation process is
This is a process of energizing the electron emitting portion 1105 formed by the energization forming process under appropriate conditions to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity thereof.
(In the figure, a deposit made of carbon or a carbon compound is schematically shown as the member 1113.) Note that by performing the energization activation treatment, the emission current at the same applied voltage is typically compared to that before the activation. Specifically, it can be increased 100 times or more.

Specifically, 10 to the power of minus 2 to 10
By periodically applying a voltage pulse in a vacuum atmosphere within a range of minus 5 [torr], carbon or a carbon compound originating from an organic compound existing in the vacuum atmosphere is deposited. The deposit 1113 is one of single crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, and amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and has a thickness of 500 [angstroms] or less, more preferably 300 [angstroms] or less.

In order to explain in more detail the energization method in the energization activation, FIG. 14A shows the activation power supply 1
An example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from 112 is shown. Ginseng
In the embodiment, the energization activation process is performed by periodically applying a rectangular wave of a constant voltage. Specifically, the rectangular wave voltage Vac is 14 [V] and the pulse width T3 is 1 [millisecond. ],
The pulse interval T4 was set to 10 [millisecond]. An energization conditions described above is a preferred condition for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of this preferred embodiment, when changing the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, it is desirable to appropriately change the conditions accordingly.

Reference numeral 1114 shown in FIG. 12D is an anode electrode for capturing the emission current Ie emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device, to which a DC high voltage power supply 1115 and an ammeter 1116 are connected. When the activation process is performed after the substrate 1101 is incorporated in the display panel 1, the fluorescent surface of the display panel 1 is used as the anode electrode 1114. Then, while the voltage is applied from the activation power supply 1112, the emission current Ie is measured by the ammeter 1116 to monitor the progress of the energization activation process, and the activation power supply 111 is detected.
2 control the operation. An example of the emission current Ie measured by the ammeter 1116 is shown in FIG.

When the pulse voltage is started to be applied from the activation power supply 1112 in this way, the emission current I changes with time.
e increases, but eventually saturates and hardly increases. In this way, when the emission current Ie is almost saturated, the voltage application from the activation power supply 1112 is stopped, and the energization activation process ends.

[0102] Incidentally, the energization conditions described above is a preferred condition for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of this preferred embodiment, when changing the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, it is to appropriately modify the condition accordingly desirable.

As described above, the plane type surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 12 (e) was manufactured.

(Vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device) Next, another typical structure of the surface conduction electron-emitting device in which the electron emitting portion or its periphery is formed of a fine particle film,
That is, the structure of the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described.

FIG. 15 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the basic structure of the vertical type.

In the figure, 1201 is a substrate, 1202 and 1203 are element electrodes, 1206 is a step forming member, and 120
Reference numeral 4 is a conductive thin film using a fine particle film, 1205 is an electron emitting portion formed by an energization forming process, and 1213 is a thin film formed by an energization activation process.

This vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device is different from the above-mentioned plane type electron-emitting device in that one of the device electrodes (1202) is provided on the step forming member 1206 and the conductivity is reduced. Thin film 1204 forms the step forming member 12
The side surface of 06 is covered. Therefore, the element electrode interval L in the planar element of FIG. 11 is set as the step height Ls of the step forming member 1206 in the vertical type. The substrate 1201, the device electrodes 1202 and 120
3. For the conductive thin film 1204 using the fine particle film, the materials listed in the description of the planar type can be similarly used. Further, the step forming member 1206 includes
For example, an electrically insulating material such as SiO2 is used.

Next, a method for manufacturing a vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. 16A to 16F are cross-sectional views for explaining the manufacturing process, and the notation of each member is the same as in FIG.
Is the same as

(1) First, as shown in FIG.
A device electrode 1203 is formed on the substrate 1201.

(2) Next, as shown in FIG. 10B, an insulating layer for forming the step forming member is laminated. The insulating layer may be formed by stacking, for example, SiO2 by a sputtering method.
For example, another film forming method such as a vacuum vapor deposition method or a printing method may be used.

(3) Next, as shown in FIG. 10C, the device electrode 1202 is formed on the insulating layer.

(4) Next, as shown in FIG. 10D, a part of the insulating layer is removed by using, for example, an etching method to expose the device electrode 1203.

(5) Next, as shown in FIG. 7E, a conductive thin film 1204 using a fine particle film is formed. For formation, a film forming technique such as a coating method may be used as in the case of the flat type.

(6) Next, as in the case of the flat type,
The energization forming process is performed to form the electron emission portion (the same process as the planar energization forming process described with reference to FIG. 12C may be performed).

(7) Next, as in the case of the flat type,
The energization activation process is performed to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity of the electron emission portion (the same process as the planar energization activation process described with reference to FIG. 12D may be performed).

As described above, the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 16 (f) was manufactured.

[0116] Figure 27 is a diagram showing a manufacturing process of the display panel of the present reference embodiment.

(Characteristics of Surface Conduction Type Emitting Element Used for Display Device) As described above, regarding the planar type and vertical type surface conduction type emitting elements,
The element structure and manufacturing method have been described. Next, characteristics of the element used in the display device will be described.

[0118] Figure 17, the elements used in the display device of this preferred embodiment, (emission current Ie) vs. (device applied voltage Vf) characteristic,
And typical examples of (device current If) vs. (device applied voltage Vf) characteristics are shown. Note that the emission current Ie is significantly smaller than the device current If and is difficult to be illustrated on the same scale, and these characteristics are changed by changing design parameters such as the size and shape of the device. Therefore, 2
The graphs of the books are shown in arbitrary units.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device used in this display device has the following three characteristics regarding the emission current Ie.

First, when a voltage larger than a certain voltage (which is called a threshold voltage Vth) is applied to the element, the emission current Ie rapidly increases. On the other hand, when the voltage is less than the threshold voltage Vth, the emission current Ie increases. Ie is hardly detected. That is, it is a non-linear element having a clear threshold voltage Vth with respect to the emission current Ie.

Secondly, since the emission current Ie changes depending on the voltage Vf applied to the device, the emission current Ie at the voltage Vf.
You can control the size of.

Thirdly, since the response speed of the current Ie emitted from the device is fast with respect to the voltage Vf applied to the surface conduction type electron-emitting device, the electrons emitted from the device depend on the length of time for which the voltage Vf is applied. It is possible to control the charge amount of

Due to the above-mentioned characteristics, the surface conduction electron-emitting device could be suitably used for the display device. For example, in a display device in which a large number of elements are provided corresponding to the pixels of the display screen, by utilizing the first characteristic, it is possible to sequentially scan the display screen for display. That is, a voltage equal to or higher than the threshold voltage Vth is appropriately applied to the driven element according to the desired light emission luminance, and the threshold voltage Vth is applied to the non-selected element.
Apply a voltage less than th. Then, by sequentially switching the elements to be driven, it is possible to sequentially scan the display screen for display.

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

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a drive circuit for performing television display based on an NTSC television signal.

In the figure, a display panel 1701 corresponds to the above-mentioned display panel, and is manufactured and operates as described above. In addition, the scanning circuit 1702 scans the display line, and the control circuit 1703 scans the scanning circuit 170.
A signal or the like to be input to 2 is generated. Shift register 170
4 shifts the data for each line, and the line memory 17
05 inputs the data for one line from the shift register 1704 to the modulation signal generator 1707. The sync signal separation circuit 1706 separates the sync signal from the NTSC signal.

The function of the display drive circuit shown in FIG. 18 will be described in detail below.

First, the display panel 1701 has terminals Dx1 to Dx.
It is connected to an external electric circuit via xM, terminals Dy1 to DyN, and high-voltage terminal Hv. Of these, the terminal Dx1
To DxM, a multi-electron beam source provided in the display panel 1701, that is, cold cathode elements matrix-wired in a matrix of M rows and N columns are sequentially driven row by row (N elements). A scanning signal is applied. On the other hand, the terminals Dy1 to DyN are applied with a modulation signal according to the image signal for controlling the output electron beam of each of the N elements for one row selected by the scanning signal. Further, for example, 5 [KV] is applied to the high voltage terminal Hv from the DC voltage source Va.
DC voltage is supplied, which is an accelerating voltage for giving enough energy to excite the phosphor to the electron beam output from the multi-electron source.

Next, the scanning circuit 1702 will be described. The circuit has M switching elements (in the figure,
Each of the switching elements selects either one of the output voltage of the DC voltage source Vx or 0 [V] (ground level) and the display panel 1701 of the display panel 1701. It is electrically connected to the terminals Dx1 to DxM. Each of the switching elements S1 to SM has a control signal TSC output from the control circuit 1703.
It operates on the basis of AN, but actually FET
It can be easily configured by combining switching elements such as the above. The DC voltage source Vx
Is set to output a constant voltage based on the characteristics of the electron-emitting device illustrated in FIG. 17 so that the drive voltage applied to the non-scanned device becomes equal to or lower than the electron-emission threshold voltage Vth voltage. .

The control circuit 1703 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. Based on a synchronizing signal TSYNC sent from a synchronizing signal separation circuit 1706, which will be described below, control signals TSCAN, TSFT and TMRY are generated for each unit. The synchronization signal separation circuit 1706 is a circuit for separating a synchronization signal component and a luminance signal component from an externally input NTSC television signal, and as is well known, a frequency separation (filter) circuit is used. It can be easily configured. The sync signal separated by the sync signal separation circuit 1706 is
As is well known, it is composed of a vertical synchronizing signal and a horizontal synchronizing signal, but it 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 a DATA signal for convenience, but the signal is input to the shift register 1704.

The shift register 1704 is for serially / parallel-converting the DATA signals serially input in time series for each line of the image, and is based on the control signal TSFT sent from the control circuit 1703. Works. That is, the control signal TSFT shift register 1
In other words, it can be said that it is a shift clock of 704. The serial / parallel converted image data for one line (corresponding to driving data for n electron-emitting devices) is output from the shift register 1704 as N signals Id1 to IdN.

The line memory 1705 is a storage device for storing data for one line of an image for a required time, and stores the contents of Id1 to IdN as appropriate in accordance with the control signal TMRY sent from the control circuit 1703. The contents thus stored are output as Id1 'to IdN',
It is input to the modulation signal generator 1707.

The modulation signal generator 1707 is responsive to each of the image data Id1 'to IdN' to generate an electron emission element 10.
15 is a signal source for appropriately driving and modulating each of the output signals, and its output signal is supplied to the display panel 17 through terminals Dy1 to DyN.
It is applied to the electron-emitting device 1015 in 01.

As described with reference to FIG. 17, the present invention
The surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the reference embodiment has an emission current Ie
It has the following basic characteristics. That is, there is a clear threshold voltage Vth for electron emission (8 [V] in the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the reference embodiment described later), and electron emission occurs only when a voltage equal to or higher than the threshold Vth is applied. Further, for a voltage equal to or higher than the electron emission threshold Vth, the emission current Ie also changes according to the change in voltage as shown in the graph of FIG. From this, when applying a pulsed voltage to this element,
For example, no electron emission occurs even if a voltage below the electron emission threshold Vth is applied, but when a voltage above the electron emission threshold Vth is applied, an electron beam is output from the surface conduction electron-emitting device. At that time, the intensity of the output electron beam can be controlled by changing the pulse peak value Vm. Further, it is possible to control the total amount of charges of the electron beam output by changing the pulse width Pw. Therefore, a voltage modulation method, a pulse width modulation method, or the like can be adopted as a method of modulating the electron-emitting device according to the input signal. When carrying out the voltage modulation method, as the modulation signal generator 1707, a circuit of a voltage modulation method that generates a voltage pulse of a fixed length and appropriately modulates the peak value of the pulse according to the input data is used. be able to. When implementing the pulse width modulation method,
As the modulation signal generator 1707, a pulse width modulation type circuit that generates a voltage pulse having a constant crest value and appropriately modulates the width of the voltage pulse according to input data can be used.

The shift register 1704 and the line memory 1705 may be of digital signal type or analog signal type. That is, serial / parallel conversion and storage of the image signal may be performed at a predetermined speed. When using the digital signal type, it is necessary to convert the output signal DATA of the sync signal separation circuit 1706 into a digital signal.
An A / D converter may be provided at the output section of 6. In this regard, the circuit used for the modulation signal generator is slightly different depending on whether the output signal of the line memory 115 is a digital signal or an analog signal. That is, in the case of the voltage modulation method using the digital signal, the modulation signal generator 1707 is
For example, a D / A conversion circuit is used, and an amplification circuit or the like is added if necessary. In the case of the pulse width modulation method, the modulation signal generator 1707 includes, for example, a high-speed oscillator, a counter for counting the number of waves output from the oscillator, and a comparator for comparing the output value of the counter with the output value of the memory. (A circuit in which the comparator 9 is combined is used. If necessary, an amplifier for voltage-amplifying the pulse-width-modulated modulation signal output from the comparator to the drive voltage of the electron-emitting device can be provided.

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

In the image display device to which the present invention is applicable, which has the above-mentioned structure, the electron emission elements are electron-emitted by applying a voltage to the electron-emission elements via the terminals Dx1 to DxM and Dy1 to DyN. Occurs. Metal back 1019 or transparent electrode (not shown) via high-voltage terminal Hv
A high voltage is applied to the electron beam to accelerate the electron beam. The accelerated electrons collide with the fluorescent film 1018 and emit light to form an image.

The configuration of the image display apparatus described here is an example of the image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied, and various modifications can be made based on the idea of the present invention. Although the NTSC system has been mentioned as the input signal, the input signal is not limited to this, and the PAL, SECAM system, and other TV signals (high-definition TV including the MUSE system) composed of a larger number of scanning lines than these systems. Can also be adopted. Incidentally, such a circuit configuration can be similarly applied to the display panel formed in each of the reference modes described later.

Reference Embodiment 2 Next, the arrangement and configuration of the spacers of Reference Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, in FIG.
The same parts as those described above are designated by the same numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0140] Figure 19 is a diagram showing a view of the vicinity of the reference embodiment 2 of the spacer 1020 of the present invention.

Reference numeral 501 is a contact hole, 503 is a groove for positioning the spacer, 504 is a groove portion formed in the electron source substrate 1011, 505 is a driving electrode of the cold cathode element, 101
5 is an electron source substrate, 502 is a bonded substrate, 101, 1
013 is an X-direction wiring, 1014 is a Y-direction wiring, 1012
Is a cold cathode device, 1020 is a spacer, and 1041 is an electrical connection portion between the spacer 1020 and the X-direction wiring 101.

[0142] The present reference embodiment 2 features, the electron source substrate 101
5, the groove portion 504 for forming the groove 503 for positioning the spacer 1020 is formed. The book
In the reference mode 2, the Y-direction wiring 1014 is formed on the back surface of the electron source substrate 1015, and is connected to the cold cathode device 1012 through a through hole (contact hole) 501. Further, 505 is a driving electrode for connecting the X-direction wirings 101 and 1013 and the cold cathode device 1012, and 506 is Y.
It is a driving electrode connected to a through hole 501 connecting the directional wiring and the cold cathode element 1012.

Further, a groove portion 504 for positioning the spacer is provided.
It is formed using the present reference embodiment 2, a sand blaster method to its depth and 200 [mu] m. FIG. 20 shows a part of the mask pattern used at this time.

In FIG. 20, reference numeral 601 indicates a non-etched portion, 602 indicates an opening for forming the groove 504, and 603 indicates an opening for forming the through hole 501. In this reference embodiment 2, the thickness of the electron source substrate 1015 using a glass of 350 .mu.m, after processing to a depth of 200μm by using a mask pattern shown in FIG. 20 from one side, only the opening 603 of the through hole from the back The through hole 501 was processed by using another mask pattern (not shown) that was provided. Hereinafter, after the Y direction wiring 1041 is formed by using the screen printing method, the driving electrodes 505 and 506 of the cold cathode element are formed by using the sputtering method, and the Y direction wiring 1014 and the driving electrode 506 of the cold cathode element are formed. Electrical connection was made. In the reference embodiment 2, the contact hole 501 has a diameter of 300 μm. Further, the groove portion 503 formed on the electron source substrate has a width of 200 μm, and its side surface is processed into a taper shape having an angle of about 10 °.

Next, the electron source substrate 1015 and the bonded substrate 502 were bonded to each other using a glass frit (not shown). Hereinafter, the X-direction wirings 101 and 1013 were formed by using the same method as in the above-described reference embodiment 1, and the spacer positioning groove portion 503 was formed. The spacer positioning groove 503 has an opening diameter of 240 μm and the electron source substrate 101.
The height from 5 was 150 μm, and the side taper was about 15 °.

[0146] using the display panel manufactured in this preferred embodiment 2 to produce an image forming apparatus, it was driven in the same manner as in Reference Embodiment 1 described above, high-quality image display without Similarly color shift as in Reference Embodiment 1 Became possible.

( Reference Embodiment 3) FIG. 21 is a view for explaining the reference embodiment 3 of the present invention.
The structure is the same as that of the reference embodiment 1 except that an insulating spacer is used as the spacer 701.

[0148] Also in this preferred embodiment 3, the spacer 701
It is possible to provide a good image forming apparatus in which the electron beam is not significantly deflected in the vicinity of the spacer 701 due to the positional deviation of the spacer 701.

Reference Embodiment 4 In this reference embodiment 4, an example in which a planar field emission (FE) type electron-emitting device is used as an electron-emitting device will be shown.

FIG. 22 is a top view of an electron source provided with a planar FE type electron emitting device, and 3101 is an electron emitting portion, 31
Reference numerals 02 and 3103 denote a pair of element electrodes for applying a potential to the electron emission portion 3101. Reference numerals 3104 and 3105 denote X-direction wirings. A spacer positioning groove 3108 is formed on the X-direction wiring 3105. Also, 3106 and 310
Reference numeral 7 is a Y-direction wiring.

The electron emission from this electron-emitting device is carried out by applying a voltage between the device electrodes 3102 and 3103 so that electrons are emitted from the sharp tip of the electron-emitting portion 3101. The electrons thus emitted are
The phosphor is accelerated by an accelerating voltage (not shown) applied between the electron source and the phosphor (not shown) and collides with the phosphor to cause the phosphor to emit light. When the display panel of Reference Embodiment 3 is used and driven in the same manner as in Reference Embodiment 1, two-dimensionally formed light emission spot rows are formed, the beam does not protrude to adjacent pixels, and light is emitted with high efficiency. An image display device that can be obtained was obtained.

[0152] Embodiment 1 of the present embodiment (Embodiment 1) is the same as the reference embodiment 1 described above,
The difference is that the groove is provided on the face plate side.

FIG. 28 is a view showing a case where the positioning groove 4006 for the spacer 4007 is provided on the face plate side.

In FIG. 28, 4001 is a face plate side glass substrate, 4002 is a metal back, and 400 is a metal back.
3 is a phosphor and 4004 is an ITO electrode. Again 400
5 is a black stripe, 4006 is a groove, 4007 is a spacer, 4008 is a high resistance film, 4009 is an electrical connection part, and 4010 is a conductive connection part.

In the first embodiment, the above-described reference embodiment 1 is used.
In, the groove portion 4006 was formed on the black stripe 4005 by the multiple printing method using the plurality of masks used to form the groove portion 102 on the electron source substrate. here,
The constituent material of the conductive connecting portion 4010 for firmly connecting the spacers 4007 and simultaneously achieving electrical connection will be described.

As the conductive material, a material in which a conductive filler is dispersed in frit glass and a binder is added to form a paste can be preferably used. At this time, the conductive filler can be obtained by forming a metal film on the surface of a glass sphere such as soda lime glass or silica having a diameter of 5 to 50 μm by a plating method or the like. At the time of this manufacturing, the conductive connection portion is formed by applying the paste-like screen printing or coating with a dispenser and baking. In the first embodiment, the spacer 40 is applied after applying a conductive connecting member to the groove of the black stripe 4006 using a dispenser and calcination.
The spacer 4007 was held and fixed by baking 07 for 10 minutes at 420 ° C. while pressing it against the conductive connecting portion. The electrical connection portion 4009 was formed by aluminum (Al) vapor deposition.

[0157] Hereinafter, the spacer 4 in the same manner as in Reference Embodiment 1 described above, the groove 102 formed on the electron source substrate
007 was pressed to bond the face plate substrate and the electron source substrate to each other to form an image forming apparatus.

In the first embodiment as well, since the positional deviation of the spacer 4007 is reduced, the spacer 4007 is reduced.
Due to the displacement of position 7, the electron trajectory is not significantly deflected in the vicinity of the spacer 4007.

In the first embodiment, the connection of the spacer using the groove and the conductive frit is performed only on the face plate side substrate, but the connection strength should be similarly improved on the electron source substrate side. You can This example is shown in FIG.
Will be described with reference to.

In FIG. 29, 1020 is a spacer, 3
01 is a high resistance film, 101 is a wiring having a groove portion 102, 1
Reference numeral 041 indicates an electrical connection portion, and reference numeral 4010 indicates a conductive connection portion. In this form, the spacer 1020 can be more firmly connected to the substrate by the conductive connecting portion 4010.

In FIG. 29, when the conductive connecting portion 4010 is provided without forming the groove 102, the peripheral electric field is disturbed by the conductive connecting portion 4010, and the trajectory of electrons emitted from the electron-emitting device is changed. In the first embodiment, the electric field in the vicinity of the electron emission portion is determined by the wiring 101 having the groove 102, but the influence given to the electron trajectory can be reduced.

As another form, it is also possible to omit the connecting portion by providing grooves on both the face plate side substrate and the electron source substrate side.

FIG. 30 is a view showing a state on the side of the face plate, and portions common to FIG. 28 described above are indicated by the same numbers. Here, the spacer 400 is formed by the groove 4006.
By preventing the displacement of position 7, the atmospheric pressure resistant structure can be formed without the conductive connecting portion 4010 of FIG. In this configuration, the step of forming the connection portion (conductive connection portion 4010) of the spacer 4007 can be omitted.

(Other Embodiments) The embodiments of the present invention can be applied to any electron-emitting device among cold cathode electron-emitting devices other than SCE. As a specific example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 63-63 by the present applicant
There is a field emission type electron-emitting device in which a pair of opposing electrodes are formed along the surface of a substrate forming an electron source as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 274047.

Further, the embodiments of the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus using an electron source other than the simple matrix type. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-25752 by the present applicant
This is the case where the above-mentioned supporting member is used between the electron source and the control electrode in the image forming apparatus for selecting the surface conduction electron-emitting device using the control electrode as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 51-51.

Further, according to the idea of the present invention, it is not limited to an image forming apparatus suitable for display, but as an alternative light emitting source such as a light emitting diode of an optical printer including a photosensitive drum and a light emitting diode. Also, the above-described image forming apparatus can be used. At this time, by appropriately selecting the above-mentioned M row-direction wirings and N column-direction wirings, it can be applied not only as a line-shaped light emitting source but also as a two-dimensional light-emitting source.

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

The image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may have the following forms. (1) An image forming apparatus that is provided with an accelerating electrode for accelerating electrons emitted from an electron source, and irradiates a target with electrons emitted from a cold cathode element according to an input signal to form an image. In particular, the target is a phosphor. (2) The cold cathode device is a cold cathode device having a conductive film including an electron emitting portion between a pair of electrodes, and is particularly preferably a surface conduction electron-emitting device. (3) The electron source is a simple matrix-shaped electron source having a plurality of cold cathode elements arranged in a matrix by a plurality of row-direction wirings and a plurality of column-direction wirings. (4) The electron source has a plurality of rows of cold cathode elements in which a plurality of cold cathode elements arranged in parallel are connected at both ends (referred to as row direction), and a direction orthogonal to this wiring (column direction) Call)
A control electrode (also referred to as a grid) disposed above the cold cathode element forms a ladder-shaped electron source for controlling electrons from the cold cathode element. (5) Further, according to the idea of the present invention, it is not limited to an image forming apparatus suitable for display, but as an alternative light source such as a light emitting diode of an optical printer including a photosensitive drum and a light emitting diode. The image forming apparatus described above can also be used. Further, at this time, the above-mentioned M row-direction wirings and N
By appropriately selecting the column-direction wiring of the book, it can be applied not only as a line-shaped light emitting source but also as a two-dimensional light emitting source. In this case, the image forming member is not limited to a substance that directly emits light such as a phosphor used in the following embodiments, and a member that forms a latent image by charging with electrons may be used. .

As described above, according to the image display device of this embodiment, the spacer positioning groove is formed on the electron source substrate, and the spacer is embedded in the groove when the image forming panel is formed. As a result, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus in which the displacement of the spacer is small. As a result, it is possible to prevent the positional deviation between the position where the electron beam emitted from the electron source collides with the phosphor and the phosphor that should emit light from becoming large in the vicinity of the spacer, and it is possible to prevent the protrusion to adjacent pixels and the loss of brightness. A clear image can be formed.

Further, the same effect can be exhibited in an electron generator having a multi-type planar electron source that does not specify an electron irradiation target.

[0171]

According to the present invention as described above, according to the present invention, electrostatic
Insulating member for reinforcement between child source and face plate
In the method of manufacturing the image forming apparatus having the above, there is an effect that the assembling process using the insulating member can be simplified.
It

Further, according to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to form a clear image with good color reproducibility without unevenness in brightness or color shift by preventing the orbit shift of emitted electrons.

[0173]

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a partially cutaway view of the electron source substrate of a display panel of the reference embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a method of forming a positioning groove on a substrate of the display panel according to the first reference embodiment.

3 is an enlarged view of the positioning groove and the spacer end of the reference embodiment 1.

4 is a diagram illustrating a potential near positioning groove of the reference embodiment 1.

5 is a perspective view showing a partially cutaway of the display panel of the image display device of Reference Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an electron source substrate of the present reference embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line BB ′ of FIG.

8 is a plan view illustrating the phosphor arrangement of a face plate of a display panel of the present reference embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of a phosphor.

10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of the display panel of FIG.

Figure 11 is a plan view of a flat type surface conduction electron-emitting device used in this preferred embodiment (a), a sectional view (b).

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating applied voltage waveforms during energization forming processing.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an applied voltage waveform (a) and a change in emission current Ie (b) during energization activation processing.

15 is a sectional view of a vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device used in this preferred embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 17 is a graph showing typical characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the reference embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a drive circuit of an image display device which is a reference embodiment of the present invention.

19 is a partially cutaway view of the electron source substrate of a display panel of Reference Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a view showing a part of a mark pattern used for forming a groove portion for positioning a spacer.

21 is a partially cutaway view of the electron source substrate of a display panel of the reference embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a top view of an electron source including a planar FE type electron-emitting device.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a conventionally known surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a conventionally known FE type element.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of a conventionally known MIM type element.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view in which a part of a display panel of a conventional image display device is cut away.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a manufacturing process of the display panel of the present embodiment.

FIG. 28 is an enlarged view of a positioning groove and a spacer end portion provided in the face plate according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 29 is an enlarged view of the positioning groove on the substrate side and the end portion of the spacer according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 30 is an enlarged view of a positioning groove and a spacer end portion according to another mode of the first embodiment.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --Continued front page (56) References JP-A-8-315723 (JP, A) JP-A-7-282743 (JP, A) JP-A-7-181902 (JP, A) JP-A-9- 309028 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01J 31/12 H01J 9/24-9/26 H01J 29/87

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electron source comprising an electron emitting portion on a substrate, and a plurality of cold cathode type electron emitting elements having a pair of element electrodes for applying a voltage to the electron emitting portion to emit electrons. An accelerating electrode and a first groove, which are arranged so as to face the emitting portion and apply an accelerating voltage acting on the electrons emitted from the electron emitting portion
A face plate having a portion, the electron source and the flap.
A method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus , comprising: an insulating member disposed between a base plate and an insulating member , wherein the insulating member is provided in the first groove portion of the face plate.
The step of disposing one end of the material, and the step of disposing the end of the material in the first groove of the face plate.
The other end of the insulating member is connected to the electron source.
And a step of standing up in the second groove portion, wherein the second groove portion provided in the electron source is a screen.
Screen printing method in which the shape is dull around the pattern
The side surface is tapered because it is formed using
And a method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus. 2. The method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second groove is formed on a wiring on the substrate of the electron source. 3. The second groove portion is formed in a concave portion provided in the substrate of the electron source.
A method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus according to item 1 . 4. The surface-emitting electron-emitting device, wherein the electron-emitting device is composed of a pair of opposing device electrodes and a thin film including an electron-emitting portion extending between the pair of device electrodes. method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The insulating member has a high resistance film on its surface,
It has a high resistance film and a conductive connecting portion which makes an electrical connection with an electrode portion arranged in the electron source, and the conductive connecting portion is provided in the second groove portion on the substrate having the electron emitting element. substantially equal, manufacturing of the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it has a less height
Build method . 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first groove portion of the face plate is provided in a black stripe arranged between phosphors .
Manufacturing method . 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the insulating member is connected to the first groove portion of the face plate via a conductive member .
Manufacturing method .