JP3488967B2 - Electron emission device flat panel display device - 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, and more particularly to an electron-emitting device flat panel display device in which a plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in an image display array such as a matrix.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an FED (field emission displa) of a field emission device flat panel display device is known.
y) is known as a planar light emitting display with an array of cold cathode electron emitters that does not require heating of the cathode. For example, the light emitting principle of an FED using a spindt type cold cathode is a CRT (cathode
Similar to a ray tube), electrons are drawn into a vacuum by a gate electrode separated from the cathode and collided with a phosphor coated on a transparent anode to emit light.

However, this field emission source is
Since the manufacturing process of the spindt type cold cathode is complicated and the number of processes is large, there is a problem that the manufacturing yield is low. Further, as a surface electron source, there is an electron emitting device having a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structure. This MIM structure electron-emitting device has an Al layer as a cathode on a substrate and an A1 ₂ film with a film thickness of about 10 nm.
There is one having a structure in which an O ₃ insulator layer and an Au layer as an anode having a film thickness of about 10 nm are sequentially formed. When this is placed under a counter electrode in a vacuum and a voltage is applied between the lower Al layer and the upper Au layer and an acceleration voltage is applied to the counter electrode, some of the electrons jump out of the upper Au layer to the counter electrode. Reach

However, an electron-emitting device having a MIM structure
But the emission current is 1 × 10^-FiveA / cm ²Emission current in a degree
Ratio is 1 × 10^-3Emissions sufficient for image display
The number of daughters has not been obtained, and a flat surface using multiple elements
The panel display device is not enough yet.

[0005]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a flat panel using an electron-emitting device having a high electron emission efficiency and capable of stably emitting electrons at a low voltage. An object is to provide a display device.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a pair of rear substrates and a translucent front substrate sandwiching a vacuum space and facing each other are formed on the surface of the rear substrate on the vacuum space side. An electron supply layer formed of a metal or a semiconductor formed on the ohmic electrode, an insulator layer formed on the electron supply layer, and an electron formed of a metal thin film electrode formed on the insulator layer and facing the vacuum space. A plurality of emission elements, wherein the front substrate has a collector electrode formed on a surface of the vacuum space side thereof and a phosphor layer formed on the collector electrode, and a plurality of emission devices corresponding to the phosphor layers are provided. An electron-emitting device flat panel display device having an image display array composed of light emitting parts, each of which has a plurality of bus electrodes electrically connecting the adjacent metal thin film electrodes, It characterized by having a large consisting width than on the metal thin film electrode in between the metal thin film electrode. Thereby, the resistance value of the bus electrode can be reduced.

In the electron emission element flat panel display device, the metal thin film is formed on the rear substrate and has an insulating support portion disposed between the adjacent electron emission elements, and the bus electrodes are adjacent to each other. The electrode and the insulating support portion are erected, the distance from the back substrate to the surface of the insulating support portion on the vacuum space side, the distance from the back substrate to the surface of the metal thin film electrode on the vacuum space side and It is characterized by being substantially equal.

In the electron emission device flat panel display device, the ohmic electrodes and the bus electrodes are arranged and extend at positions orthogonal to each other.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, one electron-emitting device S of the electron-emitting device flat panel display device is displayed.
Forms an ohmic electrode 11 made of aluminum (Al), tungsten (W), or the like on a rear substrate 10 made of glass or the like, and, for example, silicon (Si) is formed thereon.
An electron supply layer 12 made of, for example, is formed, and an insulating layer 13 made of, for example, SiO _x (X = 0.1 to 2.0), and platinum (Pt), gold (Au) facing the vacuum space are formed on the electron supply layer 12. ), Etc., are laminated. In addition to glass, the material of the back substrate 10 is Al ₂ O ₃ , S
Ceramics such as i ₃ N ₄ and BN may be used. For example, on the inner surface of the back substrate, a metal ohmic electrode is formed to a thickness of about 300 nm, an electron supply layer is formed thereon to a thickness of about 5 μm, and an insulator layer is formed to a thickness of about 400 nm. A metal thin film electrode is formed thereon with a thickness of about 10 nm to complete a single electron-emitting device.

The front substrate 1 has on its inner surface a collector electrode 2 made of indium tin oxide (so-called ITO), tin oxide (SnO), zinc oxide (ZnO), etc., and is emitted from the electron-emitting device S of the rear substrate 10. Receive an electron. Phosphors 3R, G, B are coated on the transparent collector electrode 2.
As described above, the light emitting panel portion of the electron-emitting device flat panel display device of the present invention is a transparent front substrate 1.
And a pair of rear substrates 10 facing each other across the vacuum space 4 and having a plurality of electron-emitting devices S on the inner surface. The pair of back and front substrates 10 and 1 are sealed by being held by a spacer or the like across the vacuum space 4.

The light emission principle of the electron-emitting device can be explained from a diode structure in which the metal thin film electrode 15 on the front surface is a positive potential Vd and the ohmic electrode 11 on the back surface is a ground potential, as shown in FIG. When a voltage Vd is applied between the ohmic electrode 11 and the metal thin film electrode 15 to inject electrons into the electron supply layer 12, a diode current Id flows and the insulator layer 13 has a high resistance, so most of the applied electric field is It covers the insulator layer 13. Electrons are directed toward the metal thin film electrode 15 side toward the insulator layer 13
Move in. The electrons that have reached the vicinity of the metal thin film electrode 15 are
There, a strong electric field partially tunnels through the metal thin film electrode 15 and is emitted into the vacuum outside. The electrons e (emission current Ie) emitted from the metal thin film electrode 15 due to this tunnel effect are accelerated by the high acceleration voltage Vc applied to the collector electrode (transparent electrode) 2 facing each other, and are collected in the collector electrode 2. If the collector electrode is coated with the phosphor 3, the corresponding visible light is emitted.

As a material of the electron supply layer 12 of the electron-emitting device, amorphous silicon (a-Si) or hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si: H) obtained by terminating a-Si dangling bond with hydrogen (H) is used. ), And hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC: H) in which a part of Si is replaced with carbon (C) is effective, but a hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride in which a part of Si is replaced with nitrogen (N) A compound semiconductor such as a ride (a-SiN: H) is also used, and silicon doped with boron or antimony can also be used.

The insulator layer 13 is made of a dielectric material and has a thickness of 50 nm or less.
It has an extremely thick film thickness above. Insulator layer 13
As the dielectric material of_x(X is the atomic ratio
Is particularly effective, but LiO_x, LiN_x, Na
O_x, KO_x, RbO_x, CsO_x, BeO_x, MgO_x, M
gN_x, CaO_x, CaN_x, SrO_x, BaO_x, Sc
O_x, YO_x, YN_x, LaO_x, LaN_x, CeO_x, Pr
O_x, NdO_x, SmO_x, EuO_x, GdO_x, TbO_x，
DyO_x, HoO_x, ErO_x, TmO_x, YbO_x, Lu
O_x, TbO_x, DyO_x, HoO_x, ErO_x, TmO_x，
YbO_x, LuO_x, TiO_x, TiN_x, ZrO_x, Zr
N_x, HfO_x, HfN_x, ThO_x, VO_x, VN_x, Nb
O_x, NbN_x, TaO_x, TaN_x, CrO_x, CrN_x，
MoO_x, MoN_x, WO_x, WN_x, MnO_x, ReO_x，
FeO_x, FeN_x, RuO_x, OsO_x, CoO_x, Rh
O_x, IrO_x, NiO_x, PdO_x, PtO_x, CuO_x，
CuN_x, AgO_x, AuO_x, ZnO_x, CdO_x, Hg
O_x, BO_x, BN_x, AlO_x, AlN_x, GaO_x, Ga
N _x, InO_x, TiO_x, TiN_x, SiN_x, GeO_x，
SnO_x, PbO_x, PO_x, PN_x, AsO_x, SbO_x，
SeO_x, TeO_xSuch as metal oxides or metal nitrides
Good.

In addition, LiAlO₂, Li₂SiO₃, Li₂
TiO₃, Na₂Al_{twenty two}O₃₄, NaFeO₂, Na_FourSiO
_Four, K₂SiO₃, K₂TiO₃, K₂WO_Four, Rb₂Cr
O_Four, CS₂CrO_Four, MgAl₂O_Four, MgFe₂O_Four, M
gTiO₃, CaTiO₃, CaWO_Four, CaZrO₃, S
rFe₁₂O₁₉, SrTiO₃, SrZrO₃, BaAl₂
O_Four, BaFe₁₂O₁₉, BaTiO₃, Y₃Al_FiveO₁₂, Y
₃Fe_FiveO₁₂, LaFeO₃, La₃Fe_FiveO₁₂, La₂Ti
₂O₇, CeSnO_Four, CeTiO_Four, Sm₃Fe_FiveO₁₂, E
uFeO₃, Eu₃Fe_FiveO₁₂, GdFeO₃, Gd₃Fe_Five
O₁₂, DyFeO₃, Dy₃Fe_FiveO₁₂, HoFeO₃, H
o₃Fe_FiveO₁₂, ErFeO₃, Er₃Fe_FiveO ₁₂, Tm₃F
e_FiveO₁₂, LuFeO₃, Lu₃Fe_FiveO₁₂, NiTi
O₃, Al₂TiO₃, FeTiO₃, BaZrO₃, Li
ZrO₃, MgZrO₃, HfTiO_Four, NH_FourVO₃, A
gVO₃, LiVO₃, BaNb₂O₆, NaNbO₃, S
rNb₂O₆, KTaO₃, NaTaO₃, SrTa₂O₆，
CuCr₂O_Four, Ag₂CrO_Four, BaCrO_Four, K₂MoO
_Four, Na₂MoO_Four, NiMoO_Four, BaWO_Four, Na₂WO
_Four, SrWO_Four, MnCr₂O_Four, MnFe₂O_Four, MnTi
O₃, MnWO_Four, CoFe₂O_Four, NnFe₂O_Four, FeW
O_Four, CoMoO_Four, CoTiO₃, CoWO_Four, NiFe
₂O_Four, NiWO_Four, CuFe₂O_Four, CuMoO_Four, CuT
iO₃, CuWO_Four, Ag₂MoO_Four, Ag₂WO_Four, ZnA
l₂O_Four, ZnMoO_Four, ZnWO_Four, CdSnO₃, Cd
TiO₃, CdMoO_Four, CdWO_Four, NaAlO₂, Mg
Al₂O_Four, SrAl₂O_Four, Gd₃Ga_FiveO₁₂, InFeO
₃, MgIn₂O_Four, Al₂TiO_Five, FeTiO₃, MgT
iO₃, Na₂SiO₃, CaSiO₃, ZrSiO_Four, K₂
GeO₃, Li₂GeO₃, Na₂GeO₃, Bi₂Sn
₃O₉, MgSnO₃, SrSnO₃, PbSiO₃, Pb
MoO_Four, PbTiO₃, SnO₂-Sb₂O₃, CuSe
O_Four, Na₂SeO₃, ZnSeO₃, K₂TeO₃, K₂T
eO_Four, Na₂TeO₃, Na₂TeO_FourMetal complex acid such as
Compounds, FeS, Al₂S₃, MgS, ZnS, etc.
Thing, LiF, MgF₂, SmF₃Such as fluoride, HgC
l, FeCl₂, CrCl₃Chlorides such as AgBr, C
uBr, MnBr₂Bromide, PbI₂, CuI, F
eI₂Iodide, or metal such as SiAlON
Even oxynitride is effective as a dielectric material for the insulator layer 13.
is there.

Further, as the dielectric material of the insulating layer 13, carbon such as diamond or fullerene (C _2n ), or A
l ₄ C ₃ , B ₄ C, CaC ₂ , Cr ₃ C ₂ , Mo ₂ C, MoC, NbC, SiC, TaC,
Metal carbides such as TiC, VC, W ₂ C, WC and ZrC are also effective. Fullerenes (C _2n ) consist of carbon atoms only
Spherical cage molecules represented by ₆₀ include C _{32 to} C ₉₆₀ , and in the above formula, _x in O _x and N _x represents an atomic ratio. Less than,
the same.

The thickness of the insulating layer is 50 nm or more, preferably about 100 to 1000 nm. As the material of the metal thin film electrode 15 on the electron emission side, metals such as Pt, Au, W, Ru, and Ir are effective, but Al, Sc, Ti, V, C.
r, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Y,
Zr, Nb, Mo, Tc, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, L
n, Sn, Ta, Re, Os, Tl, Pb, La, C
e, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, D
y, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, etc. can also be used.

As a method for forming these thin films, a sputtering method is particularly effective, but a vacuum vapor deposition method or a CVD method.
(Chemical vapor deposition) method, laser ablation method, MBE (molecular beam epitaxy) method, and ion beam sputtering method are also effective. Thus, in each electron-emitting device, when a DC voltage is applied between the metal ohmic electrode and the metal thin-film electrode on the back substrate so that the metal thin-film electrode is positive, electrons are emitted through the metal thin-film electrode. By applying a high voltage of, for example, about 5 kV between the metal thin film electrode and the transparent collector electrode of the front substrate, the emitted electrons are accelerated and collide with the phosphor coated on the front substrate. That energy causes the phosphor to emit light.

In order to actually construct a flat display by utilizing this electron emission and phosphor light emission, ~ 3. Since such restrictions arise, it is necessary to solve these problems. 1. The phosphors on the front substrate correspond to the three primary colors of light R, G,
You have to paint on B separately. R, G, B on the front substrate
It is necessary to apply phosphors of three colors, but since three colors are put in one pixel, R, G, B are alternately painted separately along the line that is the same as the ohmic electrode direction when laminated to the back substrate. There must be.

2. When displaying an image, for example, an electron-emitting device corresponding to a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix must be formed. When an image is displayed by simple matrix driving, it is necessary to form electrode thin films including a metal ohmic electrode and a bus electrode, which form an electron-emitting device, in stripes on the back substrate, and make the electrodes orthogonal to each other. The intersection of the ohmic electrode and the bus electrode is one pixel, but its size is determined by the relationship between the screen size and the display definition. The pixel pitch has a size including the R, G, and B light emitting portions, but the basic unit is the cell pitch.

3. When a phosphor for a color CRT is used, the electron acceleration voltage must be 5 kV or more in order to obtain a certain level of emission brightness. Actual CRT
Applies about 20 kV as an acceleration voltage. The problem here is the distance between the metal thin film electrode and the transparent collector electrode of the front substrate. After sealing the front substrate and the back substrate facing each other, the inside is evacuated, but if a high voltage is applied while the distance between the substrates is short, a discharge phenomenon occurs between the metal thin film electrode and the transparent collector electrode, and electron emission occurs. The element is destroyed. Therefore, the distance between the metal thin film electrode and the transparent collector electrode needs to be 1 mm or more. If the screen size is small, there is no problem if a spacer for gap formation is installed on the peripheral edge of the panel to hold the front substrate and the rear substrate, but from about 5 inches or more, it is only necessary to retain the spacer only on the peripheral portion of the panel. The strength of both boards cannot be taken sufficiently,
There arises a problem that the substrates are broken or the two substrates are bent so as to come into contact with each other in the center. Therefore, we also form a partition wall that has a spacer effect inside the screen. The problem is how often the partition is installed and how large it is. In any case, the aperture ratio is reduced, and it is not easy to produce a partition wall having a height of 1 mm.

Therefore, an electron-emitting device flat panel display device of the embodiment having a partition also inside was devised, which is shown in FIG. The flat panel display device of the embodiment includes a pair of translucent front substrate 1 and rear substrate 10 made of glass or the like, and a partition R on the rear substrate 10 side.
The R and the second partition FR on the front substrate 1 side are in contact with each other, and the two substrates face each other across the vacuum space 4.

A plurality of ohmic electrodes 11 extending in parallel are formed on the inner surface of the rear substrate 10 on the vacuum space 4 side. In order to form a color display panel, the ohmic electrodes 11 are in groups of three in accordance with red, green and blue R, G and B color signals, and a predetermined signal is applied to each. A plurality of electron-emitting devices S are formed on the ohmic electrode 11, and the electron-emitting devices S are arranged in a matrix. On a part of the metal thin film electrode of the adjacent element,
A plurality of bus electrodes 16 are provided that are electrically connected to each other, extend vertically to the ohmic electrode, and are extended, and each extend in parallel. The intersection of the ohmic electrode 11 and the bus electrode 16 corresponds to the electron-emitting device S. Therefore,
As a driving method of the display device of the present invention, a simple matrix method or an active matrix method can be applied.

As shown in FIG. 3, the electron-emitting device S comprises an electron supply layer 12, an insulator layer 13 and a metal thin film electrode 15 which are sequentially formed on the ohmic electrode 11. The metal thin film electrode 15 faces the vacuum space 4. In particular, an insulating support portion 17 that surrounds each of the electron-emitting devices S and divides into a plurality of electron-emitting regions is formed. This insulating support 17
Supports the bus electrode 16 and prevents disconnection. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, an insulating support part or a substance having high electric resistance is preliminarily provided on the peripheral portion other than the electron-emitting device in the same thickness as the final thickness when the electron-emitting device is formed in the subsequent process. The film is formed in advance.

Further, in this embodiment, the partition RR on the rear substrate side is formed on the insulating support 17 so as to project from the rear substrate 10 to the vacuum space 4. The partition walls RR are arranged at predetermined intervals. In FIG. 2, the partition RR
Is formed between them for each electron-emitting device S,
The partition walls RR may be formed at intervals between, for example, every two or three electron-emitting devices S. In addition, in FIG.
Although R is continuously formed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the ohmic electrode 11, it may be formed intermittently, leaving an upper area including a portion in contact with the second partition FR on the front substrate 1 side. As a result, the extending direction of the bus electrode 16 can be aligned with the phosphor layers 3R, 3G, 3B. In any case, the partition RR is formed between the electron-emitting devices S.

Further, it is preferable that the partition RR is formed such that the upper bottom area thereof is larger than the lower bottom area in contact with the rear substrate. That is, it is preferable that the partition wall RR is formed so as to have an overhang portion projecting in a direction substantially parallel to the back substrate on the upper portion thereof. Further, in FIG. 2, the bus electrode 1 provided on the metal thin film electrode 15 of the rear substrate 10
Although the shape of 6 is formed in a simple linear shape, the bus electrode 16 is not in a linear shape, and as shown in FIG. 17, the width on the metal thin film electrode between the metal thin film electrodes 15 of the electron-emitting device, for example, Width greater than 20 μm, eg 300 μ
It is preferable to form so as to have m, that is, to be thicker between the electron-emitting devices than on the device. As a result, the resistance value of the bus electrode can be reduced. Further, as shown in FIG. 18, the bus electrode 16 is thickened between the metal thin film electrodes 15 of the electron-emitting device S to reduce the width on the metal thin film electrode so as to be along the edge of the metal thin film electrode. Alternatively (FIG. 18 (a)), the metal thin film electrode can be formed so as to meander along the edge (FIG. 18 (b)).

The ohmic electrode 11 is made of Au, Pt, Al, W, or any other material generally used for IC wiring, or a three-layer structure of chromium, nickel, and chromium.
An alloy of 1 and Nd, an alloy of Al and Mo, and an alloy of Ti and N can also be used, and the thickness is a uniform thickness that supplies substantially the same current to each element. Although not shown in FIG. 2, SiO _x and Si are provided between the rear substrate 10 and the ohmic electrode 11.
N _x, Al ₂ O _3, an insulator layer, such an insulating material such as AlN may be formed. The insulator layer has a function of preventing adverse effects from the glass rear substrate 10 on the device (elution of impurities such as an alkaline component and unevenness of the substrate surface).

From the principle of electron emission, the material of the metal thin film electrode 15 is a material having a small work function φ, and the thinner the better. In order to increase the electron emission efficiency, the material of the metal thin film electrode 15 is preferably a metal of group I or group II of the periodic table, such as Cs or R.
b, Li, Sr, Mg, Ba, Ca, etc. are effective, and further,
It may be an alloy thereof. In addition, the metal thin film electrode 15
From the viewpoint of ultra-thinning, the material is preferably a highly conductive and chemically stable metal, and is preferably Au, Pt, Lu, Ag, Cu alone or an alloy thereof. It is also effective to coat or dope these metals with the above-mentioned metals having a low work function.

As the material of the bus electrode 16, Au, P
A material such as t, Al, or Cu that is generally used for IC wiring may be used, and a thickness sufficient to supply approximately the same potential to each element, 0.1 to 50 μm is suitable. However, if the resistance value is acceptable, the material used for the metal thin film electrode can be used without using the bus electrode. On the other hand, a transparent front substrate 1 such as a transparent glass which is a display surface
The transparent collector electrode 2 made of ITO is integrally formed on the inner surface (the surface facing the rear substrate 10) of which the high voltage is applied. In addition, black stripes,
When a back metal is used, these can be used as the collector electrode without providing ITO.

A plurality of front ribs (second partition walls) FR are formed on the collector electrode 2 so as to be parallel to the ohmic electrode 11. On the collector electrode 2 between the extending front ribs, phosphor layers 3R, 3G, 3B made of phosphors corresponding to R, G, B are formed so as to face the vacuum space 4, respectively. ing. Thus, the distance between the back substrate and the front substrate is fixed at the boundary of each phosphor (for example, 1
mm) is provided with front ribs (second partition walls) FR. A front rib (second partition) F is formed in a direction orthogonal to a rear rib (partition) RR provided on the rear substrate 10.
Since R and R are provided on the front substrate 1, it is ensured that the phosphors on the front substrate are divided into R, G, and B corresponding to the three primary colors of light.

As described above, the electron-emitting device flat panel display device of the embodiment has an image display array which is arranged in a matrix and has a plurality of light emitting pixels each of which includes red R, green G and blue B light emitting portions. is doing. of course,
A monochrome display panel can also be formed by using all of the RGB light emitting parts as monochromatic light emitting parts. Next, the manufacturing process of the electron-emitting device flat panel display device will be described. <Manufacturing of Back Substrate> As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of ohmic electrodes 11 are formed in a plurality of parallel stripes on an insulating substrate such as glass by a patterning process.
As a material for the ohmic electrode, any material can be used as long as it has a low electric resistance and can be formed as a film, but aluminum and tungsten are particularly preferable. As an example of the stripe size, the width is 160 μm, the thickness is 0.3 μm, and the line interval is 300 μm.

As a method of forming the striped ohmic electrode 11, for example, there is a method of forming a film only on the ohmic electrode portion by using a mask, or after forming an electrode film on the entire surface of the substrate, various etching is performed on the ohmic electrode portion. It is also possible to leave only. Alternatively, a screen printing method or a photosensitive paste method may be used. In the insulating support part process,
As shown in FIG. 5, on the produced ohmic electrode surface, an electrically insulating insulating support portion 17 is formed by removing a portion to be an electron-emitting device in a later step as an opening 17a. The material of the insulating support portion 17 is, for example, polyimide. Opening 1
7a exposes the ohmic electrode 11. The thickness of the insulating support portion 17 is finally set to be approximately the same as the thickness of the electron-emitting device, and is 5 μm in the embodiment.

The opening of the portion to be the electron-emitting device has a width larger than the electrode and is 200 μm, and the length in the longitudinal direction is 440.
μm. Regarding the width of the opening, the ohmic electrode 11 may be in direct contact with SiO _x (X = 0.1 to 2.0) which is formed in a later step, taking into consideration the positional deviation at the time of overlapping the masks. It was designed so that it does not exist. In this insulating support portion step, silicon as an electron supply layer material is formed in a thickness of 5 μm for each electron-emitting device in a subsequent step, and finally, a metal thin film is electrically continuously formed in a direction orthogonal to the metal ohmic electrode direction. It is necessary to form an electrode or a bus electrode for electrically connecting the island-shaped metal thin film electrode, but if the insulating support 17 other than this electron-emitting device is not provided, the electron supply layer material Due to the step difference of 5 μm in thickness of the silicon layer, the probability that the uppermost continuous metal thin film electrode or the bus electrode is broken becomes very high. If the line is broken even at one place, all the lines in the display panel become defective, but this is eliminated.

The insulating support portion 17 may be formed by screen printing, for example. The reason why the formation of the insulating support portion is included in this step is that the influence of heat is not applied to the next step. By applying heat before manufacturing the device, the device is not affected by extra heat. Next, in the partition wall forming step, as shown in FIG. 6, the insulating support portion 1 is formed so that the plurality of electrically insulating rear ribs RR further protruding from the rear substrate 10 are orthogonal to the extending direction of the ohmic electrode 11.
Formed over 7. That is, at least a part of the ohmic electrode 11 is exposed between the rear ribs RR. In the direction orthogonal to the metal ohmic electrode,
The size of the rear rib RR formed on the insulating support portion 17 between the electron-emitting devices is, for example, 100 μm in width and height (thickness).
10 μm. A screen printing method, for example, may be used to form the rear rib RR.

The following effects can be achieved as the effect of this rear rib RR. It is impossible to form a partition wall continuously extending in the same direction as the ohmic electrode 11 toward the rear substrate because the metal thin film electrode is broken. When the back substrate and the front substrate are attached to each other only by the front ribs FR, there is no problem in terms of arrangement, but since the front rib FR having a height of 1 mm directly contacts the metal thin film electrodes, the probability that the metal thin film electrodes on the back substrate will also be disconnected Will be very high.
However, if an insulating rear rib RR orthogonal to the ohmic electrode 11 is provided, the front rib FR of the front substrate abuts the rear rib RR of the rear substrate, so that the bus electrode cannot be disconnected. In addition, since the partition walls are formed from both the back substrate and the front substrate, the height of each partition wall can be low, which has the effect of facilitating the manufacturing and increasing the strength after bonding. Furthermore, after the bonding, the inside of the chamber is evacuated to form a vacuum space 4, and then a process equivalent to the CRT of sealing is performed. However, since the front ribs FR and the rear ribs RR are orthogonal to each other, all the spaces are continuous. Therefore, there is also an effect that this vacuum exhaust can be easily performed.

The cross section of the rear rib RR may be a rectangular parallelepiped, but the length of the portion in contact with the insulating support portion 17 (lower bottom) in the electrode direction is shorter than that of the upper surface (upper bottom), and the cross section in the electrode direction is smaller. A trapezoid is more preferable. That is,
An overhang portion 18 protruding in a direction parallel to the substrate is formed on the rear rib RR along the extension direction of the rear rib RR. In addition to screen printing, the overhang portion 18 can be formed as an undercut of the rear rib RR by using a method such as a photolithography method.

As an example of the partition wall material, a non-photosensitive polyimide is formed on the ohmic electrode 11 of the rear substrate to a predetermined thickness by, for example, a spin coating method, and a photoresist mask of photoresist is formed on the ohmic electrode 11. The pattern shape of the rear rib RR is etched by using a technique such as active ion etching. By etching the polyimide film with an alkaline solution as an etchant, the rear ribs RR are undercut.

Heretofore, what has been referred to as polyimide includes a substance in a precursor state before imidization, and it becomes a true polyimide when it is cured by post-baking at about 300.degree. However, as a material instead of polyimide, any insulating material can be used as long as the lower supporting material is not etched, and an electrically insulating substance that can maintain strength before the film formation of the electron supply layer material can be used.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, in a step of forming an electron supply layer, silicon of an electron supply layer material is deposited on each exposed portion of the ohmic electrode 11 through a mask 31 to form at least one layer. The electron supply layer 12 is formed. Although the portion that should become the electron-emitting device when the insulating support 17 is formed is left as an opening, the mask 31 has a similar opening, and the width of the opening 24 of the insulating support 17 is 24 mm.
Silicon is deposited to a thickness of 0 μm and a length of 480 μm.
The thickness is 5 μm. The height of the silicon layer 12 portion substantially matches the height of the insulating support portion 17, and the step is eliminated. However, although some swells are seen at the boundary, the mask 31
Is on the rear rib RR having a height of 10 μm, silicon diffuses, a clear step is not formed, and a smooth curve is formed. Silicon may be formed by either vapor deposition or sputtering.

[0039] Then, in the insulating layer forming step, as shown in FIG. 8, SiO _x (X on the entire surface of the silicon layer 12 =
0.1 to 2.0) and an insulator layer 13 having a thickness of about 0.4 μm.
Are formed by a vapor deposition method, a sputtering method, or the like. Since SiO _x has an insulating property, there is no problem even if it is formed as a solid and uniform film. On the contrary, it also serves to electrically separate the electron-emitting devices from each other. Further, it also has an effect of alleviating a step caused by the film formation of each substance. This appears as an effect that the metal thin film electrode finally formed on the surface and the bus electrode formed thereon are not broken due to the step.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the metal thin film electrode 1
5 is formed on the insulator layer 13 for each electron-emitting device. As long as it is in the direction orthogonal to the ohmic electrode, it may be continuous instead of each electron-emitting device, but in actual film formation, vapor deposition or sputtering is often used. A mask having a large number of stripe slits must be processed, and is difficult to use in terms of mask strength in handling. Therefore, the mask 32 is formed in the same manner as when the silicon electron supply layer 12 is formed.
Using, the metal thin film electrodes 15 are individually formed on the electron-emitting devices. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
Are formed as individual island electrodes to be connected by bus electrodes. The strength of the mask 32 having an opening corresponding to each electron-emitting device is more secured than that of a mask having a large number of stripe slits. When a continuous stripe shape can be formed or a stripe shape can be formed by another film forming method such as etching, an individual metal thin film electrode for each electron-emitting device using a mask as described above is used. There is no need to be particular about film formation.

The metal thin film electrode may be made of any material as long as it has a low work function, but platinum or gold is preferable. The thickness at the time of film formation is about 10 nm, and the film formation method is preferably vapor deposition or sputtering, but the etching method may be used as described above. In the next bus electrode forming step, as shown in FIG. 11, the bus electrode 16 is formed on a part of the metal thin film electrode 15.
Are formed using the mask 33 by a vapor deposition method, a sputtering method, or the like. A bus electrode 16 is provided to ensure electrical continuity between the metal thin film electrodes. The bus electrode 16 may be made of any material as long as it has a low electric resistance, but it is needless to say that a metal having a low resistivity such as Al, Cu, Au is desirable.

Since the bus electrode 16 conducts in the direction orthogonal to the ohmic electrode 11, the bus electrode 16 may be provided linearly in that direction as shown in FIG. 12, but the conduction is further ensured and the resistance is lowered. For this reason, the metal thin film electrodes 15 have a thin line width, and the space between the metal thin film electrodes 15 is thickened to secure the aperture ratio on the metal thin film electrodes 15. For example,
As shown in FIG. 17, the bus electrode 16 has a width of 300 μm between the metal thin film electrodes 15 of the electron-emitting device and a width of 20 μm on the metal thin film electrode.

It is to be noted that, except for the exposed surface of the metal thin film electrode 15, a second grid is formed on the bus electrode 16 and the insulator layer 13.
If an insulating layer (not shown) is formed, the bus electrodes are covered, and unnecessary short circuits can be prevented. <Preparation of Front Substrate> First, as shown in FIG. 13, a transparent collector electrode 2 is formed on a transparent front substrate 1 such as glass. The transparent collector electrode 2 may have a high visible light transmittance and a low electric resistance.
TO is the best choice. This transparent collector electrode 2 is
A film is formed on the entire surface of the front substrate to a thickness of 4 μm.

Next, as shown in FIG. 14, a black stripe BM is formed on the transparent collector electrode. This black stripe BM, when attached to the back substrate,
A portion of the back substrate corresponding to the electron-emitting device is an opening 19, and a light-absorbing substance is provided in a lattice pattern on the other portion. For example, the vertical and horizontal widths are 100 μm each, and the thickness is 1 μm. For this, CdTe may be formed by screen printing.

Next, as shown in FIG. 15, the front ribs (second partition walls) FR are formed on the front substrate 1 so as to be parallel to the ohmic electrodes when the front and rear substrates are bonded together.
To form. The width is about 100 μm and the height is 1 mm. Insulating material is used. The insulating material may be uniformly formed on the black stripe BM to have a film thickness of 1 mm and formed by a method such as a sand blasting method in which fine solid particles are sprayed or a method such as screen printing to increase the thickness. The front rib (second partition) FR has an effect of creating a distance between the rear substrate and the front substrate, and an effect of a separating partition at the time of applying a phosphor in a subsequent step.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 16, 3R, 3G, and 3B phosphors are alternately applied between the front ribs FR. As the phosphor, for example, one used in a CRT is formed into a film having a thickness of about 20 μm. <Laminating Step> The rear substrate and the front substrate manufactured as described above are brought into contact with the partition RR on the side of the rear substrate 10 and the second partition FR on the side of the front substrate 1 so that the two substrates sandwich the vacuum space 4 from each other. The substrates are laminated so as to face each other, the periphery of the substrates is sealed, the space between the two substrates is evacuated to a vacuum, and then the getter installed inside is scattered by induction heating, and finally the exhaust port is sealed. This is because the impurity gas generated after sealing is adsorbed.

The ohmic electrode and the bus electrode on the rear substrate are connected to ground and a positive voltage, respectively, and the transparent electrode on the front substrate is connected to a positive voltage of several kV, so that a pair of light-transmitting members as shown in FIG. A flat panel display device including a transparent front substrate 1 and a rear substrate 10 is completed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an electron-emitting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic partial perspective view showing an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a schematic partial enlarged cross-sectional view of the electron emission device flat panel display device according to the present invention taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic partial enlarged cross-sectional view of a partition wall in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a substrate in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device manufacturing process of an example according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic partial enlarged cross-sectional view of a partition in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a substrate in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device manufacturing process of an example according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device manufacturing process of an example according to the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a schematic partial plan view of a substrate in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a schematic partial plan view of a bus electrode pattern on a substrate in a process of manufacturing an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Translucent front substrate 2 collector electrode 3R, 3G, 3B phosphor layer 4 vacuum space 10 Back substrate 11 Ohmic electrode 12 Electron supply layer 13 Insulator layer 15 Metal thin film electrode 16 bus electrodes 17 Insulating support 18 Overhang part RR partition wall FR second partition

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Atsushi Yoshizawa 6-1, 1-1 Fujimi, Tsurugashima City, Saitama Pioneer Co., Ltd. Research Institute (72) Takashi Nakama 6-1, 1-1 Fujimi, Tsurugashima City, Saitama Prefecture No. Pioneer Co., Ltd., Research Institute (72) Inventor Nobuyasu Negishi 6-1, 1-1 Fujimi, Tsurugashima City, Saitama Prefecture Pioneer Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Takashi Yamada 6-1, Fujimi, Tsurugashima City, Saitama Prefecture No. 1 Pioneer Co., Ltd. within the Research Institute (72) Inventor Shingo Iwasaki 6-1-1 Fujimi, Tsurugashima City, Saitama Prefecture Pioneer Co., Ltd. Within the Research Institute (72) Hiroshi Ito 6-1-1 Fujimi, Tsurugashima City, Saitama Prefecture No. 1 Pioneer Co., Ltd. Research Institute (72) Inventor Kiyohide Ogasawara Fuji, Tsurugashima City, Saitama Prefecture 6-1-1 No. 1 in Pioneer Corporation Research Laboratory (56) Reference JP-A-9-320456 (JP, A) JP-A-9-259795 (JP, A) JP-A-2-126532 (JP, A) ) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01J 31/12 H01J 1/30

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pair of a rear substrate and a translucent front substrate, which face each other across a vacuum space, and each are formed on an ohmic electrode formed on a surface of the rear substrate on the side of the vacuum space. An electron-supplying layer made of a metal or a semiconductor; an insulator layer formed on the electron-supplying layer; and a plurality of electron-emitting devices formed on the insulator layer and including a metal thin-film electrode facing the vacuum space. An image display array having a collector electrode formed on the surface of the front surface on the side of the vacuum space and a phosphor layer formed on the collector electrode, and comprising a plurality of light emitting parts corresponding to the phosphor layer. And a plurality of bus electrodes electrically connecting the adjacent metal thin film electrodes, each of which is formed on the back substrate.
And an insulating property disposed between the adjacent electron-emitting devices.
The bus electrode has a supporting portion and the bus electrode is adjacent to the metal thin film electrode.
Is installed on the pole and the insulating support part, and
To the surface of the insulating support on the side of the vacuum space
However, the metal thin film electrode on the vacuum space side from the back substrate is
An electron-emitting device flat panel display device characterized in that the distance to the surface of the pole is substantially equal . 2. The bus electrode is placed between the metal thin film electrodes.
And has a width larger than that on the metal thin film electrode.
Electron emission device flat panel display apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that. Wherein said ohmic electrodes and the bus electrodes of the electron-emitting device a flat panel display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the extending is arranged in a position perpendicular to each other. 4. Excluding the exposed portion of the metal thin film electrode,
Bus electrode and a grid covering the bus electrode on the insulator layer
A second insulating layer having a striped shape.
The electron-emitting device flat panel device according to any one of
Display device. 5. The back substrate is made of glass, and the glass is
A third insulator layer between the substrate and the ohmic electrode
The battery according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that
Sub-emitter flat panel display device.