JPH08124478A - Electron source, image forming device using same, and their manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To uniform the electron emission characteristic of each element by performing forming in the presence of an organic material during the process of forming electron emitting portions simultaneously in the conductive thin films of plural electron emitting elements. CONSTITUTION: An electron emitting element comprises a substrate 1, an electron emitting portion 2, a thin conductive film 3, and element electrodes 4, 5. Quartz glass, glass containing decreased amounts of impurities such as Na, or a ceramic, is used in the substrate 1. Ni, Cr, Au, Mo, W or other metals or alloys, or printed conductors, etc., are used to form the element electrodes 4, 5. The thin film metals or alloys, or printed conductors, etc., are used to form the element electrodes 4, 5. The thin film 3 is preferably a particle film consisting of particles. The constituent material of the film is Pb, Pt, Ag, Au or other metals, or oxides such as PdO, SnO2 , or other substances. In a forming process in which the electron emitting portion 2 is formed, forming is performed in the presence of an organic material, etc. The organic material used is acetone or n-hexane, etc.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron source using a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices, an image forming apparatus such as a display device or an exposure device using the electron source, and an electron source and an image forming apparatus. Regarding manufacturing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which electron emission occurs when a current is passed through a conductive thin film formed on an insulating substrate in parallel with the film surface.

As a typical example of the structure of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, a conductive thin film such as a metal oxide which connects between a pair of device electrodes provided on an insulating substrate is referred to as forming in advance. The thing which formed the electron emission part by the electricity supply process is mentioned. Forming is usually performed by applying a voltage to both ends of the conductive thin film, and the structure is changed by locally destroying, deforming or degrading the conductive thin film, and the electron emitting portion in an electrically high resistance state is formed. Is a process for forming. The electron emission is performed from the vicinity of the crack generated in the electron emitting portion by applying a voltage to the conductive thin film in which the electron emitting portion is formed and flowing a current.

Since the surface conduction electron-emitting device has a simple structure and is easy to manufacture, it has an advantage that a large number of arrays can be formed over a large area. Therefore, various applications for utilizing this feature are being researched. For example, it can be used for an image forming apparatus such as a display device.

Conventionally, as an example in which a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are formed in an array, surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in parallel and both ends (both device electrodes) of each surface conduction electron-emitting device are wired. An electron source in which a plurality of rows connected by (also called common wiring) are arranged (also referred to as a ladder arrangement) is disclosed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-31332 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-23).
83749, 1-257552). Further, particularly in the case of a display device, a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices can be used as a self-luminous display device that can be a flat panel display device similar to a display device using liquid crystal and does not require a backlight. A display device has been proposed (US Pat. No. 5,066,883) in which an arranged electron source is combined with a phosphor that emits visible light when irradiated with an electron beam from the electron source.

In order to obtain a high-quality, high-definition image on a large screen in a display device using the surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices, the number of rows and columns of the surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices is several hundreds, respectively. It is necessary to arrange a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices, which is several thousand. Therefore, it is desired that the electric characteristics of each surface conduction electron-emitting device be uniform and easy to control.

[0007]

However, the conventional electron source using the surface conduction electron-emitting device has the following problems.

That is, when the forming process is performed, the conductive thin films of a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are simultaneously energized, but at this time, due to the voltage drop caused by the wiring resistance, each surface conduction electron is emitted. A gradient was generated in the forming voltage applied to each emitting element, the shape of the crack formed by forming also changed, and the element characteristics were likely to be non-uniform.

The above problem will be described in more detail. 13 and 14 are explanatory views thereof, both of which (a) is an equivalent circuit diagram including a surface conduction electron-emitting device, a wiring resistance and a power source, and (b) shows each surface conduction electron-emitting device. It is a figure which shows the electric potential of a positive electrode and a negative electrode.

FIG. 13A shows a circuit in which _n surface-conduction electron-emitting devices D _{1 to} D _n connected in parallel and a power supply VE are connected through wiring, and the positive electrode of the power supply and the device D are connected.
_{1 is connected to} the high potential side, and the low potential side of the power source is connected to the negative electrode of the element D ₁ . Further, the common wiring connecting the respective elements in parallel has a resistance component of r between the adjacent elements as shown in the figure. In the image forming apparatus, pixels that are targets of electron beams are usually arranged at equal pitches. Therefore, the surface conduction electron-emitting devices are also arranged spatially at equal intervals, and the wiring connecting them has the same resistance value between the devices unless the film thickness varies in manufacturing. Further, the elements D _{1 to} D _n have substantially the same resistance value R _d .

In the circuit diagram of FIG. 13 (a), FIG. 13 (b) shows the positive and negative potentials of each element. In the figure, the horizontal axis represents the element number and the vertical axis represents the potential. As is clear from this figure, the voltage drop due to the wiring resistance r is
It does not occur uniformly, and becomes steeper as it approaches element D ₁ on both the positive electrode side and the negative electrode side. This is because the current flowing through the wiring resistance r is larger as it is closer to D ₁ .

As is clear from this figure, in the case of the circuit as shown in FIG. 13A, a smaller voltage is applied to the element farther from the element (D ₁ ) to which power is applied.

On the other hand, FIG. 14 shows a case where the positive and negative electrodes of the power supply are connected from both sides (elements D ₁ and D _n ends in this figure) of the element row connected in parallel. In the case of such a circuit, the potential on the high potential side and the potential on the low potential side are as shown in FIG. Therefore, the voltage applied to each element becomes smaller toward the center of the element row.

The degree of distribution of the applied voltage for each element as shown in the above two examples is determined by the total number n of elements connected in parallel,
Although it varies depending on the ratio of the element resistance R _d to the wiring resistance r (= R _d / r) or the connection position of the power source, generally, the distribution becomes more significant as n increases and R _d / r decreases. The distribution of the voltage applied to the element is larger in the connection method of FIG. 13 than in FIG. Although different from the above two examples, even in the case of a simple matrix wiring as shown in FIG. 7 which will be described later, the voltage drop caused by the wiring resistance of each of the X-direction wiring 102 and the Y-direction wiring 103 causes application to each element. Distribution of voltage occurs.

In practice, when the forming process is performed in the manufacturing process, if the elements have the same shape, the elements are formed with the same effective voltage. Therefore, the voltage drop causes the elements to be formed sequentially from the power-on end.
The electric resistance of the surface conduction electron-emitting device changes before and after forming, and generally depends on the material of the device and the shape of the electrode, but generally the resistance after forming is 10 times or more compared to that before forming. Therefore, the value of the current flowing through the element decreases as it is formed, and the value of the current flowing through the wiring changes. Since the rate of change in the current value flowing through the wiring is small in the initial stage of forming, the applied voltage required to form the remaining elements sequentially increases due to the voltage drop. On the other hand, in the latter stage when more than half of the elements have been formed, the value of the current flowing through the elements becomes extremely small, and the rate of decrease in the current flowing through the elements increases as the forming progresses, so the voltage drop in the wiring decreases drastically. The voltage value applied to the remaining elements rapidly increases. That is, in the latter stage, the power input terminal voltage required for forming decreases contrary to the initial stage.

FIG. 15 shows the applied voltage required for forming each element in order from the power input end when forming is performed in the circuit of FIG. 13 (a). When power is applied from one side in this way, the elements at the power input end are formed in order, and the applied voltage required at the power input end gradually increases up to the elements near the center, and then reverses toward the other end. Gradually decreases.

FIG. 16 shows the applied voltage required when forming is performed in the circuit of FIG. 14 (a). As shown in this figure, when power is applied from both sides, elements are formed in order from the power input end on both sides, and the applied voltage required at the power input end gradually increases up to the elements near 1/4 on both sides. After that, the elements in the central portion to be finally formed are successively reduced in size.

As described above, when forming a device row in which a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged through wiring, the voltage value required to be applied to the wiring terminals is not uniform, and the positions of the devices to be sequentially formed are not uniform. Need to change.

However, it is actually difficult to detect the position of the element to be formed in real time. It is also possible to detect the current value that changes in microseconds and control the applied voltage.However, due to variations in wiring resistance and element resistance, the amount of change in current value with respect to the forming position cannot be accurately estimated, and accurate control is possible. It is difficult.

Therefore, in the actual manufacturing process, the voltage value applied from the external power source is constant in the state of being increased in the initial stage, so that an excessive voltage is applied to the element formed in the latter stage. .

In forming, a crack is formed in a conductive thin film by energization to provide an electron emitting portion. However, when an applied voltage is different for each element, a variation in current also occurs, and a temperature rise due to Joule heat in the conductive thin film occurs. Will change. It is considered that crack formation due to energization occurs at a position where the temperature profile shows a peak due to Joule heat. Therefore, if the temperature rises between the elements are different, distributions among the elements occur in the shape, such as the position and width of the cracks formed as a result. In this case, in particular, the distribution is remarkably generated in the element formed in the latter stage.

The above problem causes the following inconveniences. (1) The number of elements that can be connected in common is practically limited. (2) In order to reduce the wiring resistance, it is necessary to use a relatively expensive material such as Au or Ag, which increases the raw material cost. (3) In order to reduce the wiring resistance, it is necessary to form the wiring electrode thickly, which increases the time required for the manufacturing process such as the formation and patterning of the electrode and the cost of the equipment. (4) When a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are formed through the common wiring, a distribution occurs in the electron emission characteristics. (5) When the image display device is constructed, the luminance is distributed.

The object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and even if a plurality of elements are simultaneously formed through a common wiring formed without using the above-mentioned expensive materials and complicated processes, a uniform electron can be formed in each element. An object of the present invention is to provide an electron source capable of forming an emission part and consequently displaying a uniform image.

[0024]

The invention according to claims 1 to 5 is a method of manufacturing an electron source in which a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are formed on a substrate. It is characterized by the presence of an organic substance.

The inventions of claims 6 to 10 are an electron source manufactured by the above manufacturing method.

[0026] The inventions of claims 11 and 12 are an image forming apparatus using the above electron source.
Is a method of manufacturing the image forming apparatus.

As described above, the present invention relates to an electron source using a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices, an image forming apparatus using the same, and manufacturing methods thereof, and surface conduction electron suitable for them. The constitution and operation of each invention will be further described below together with an example of the emitting device.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device is classified into a flat type and a vertical type, and any surface conduction electron-emitting device can be used in the present invention. First, the basic structure of the planar surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are views showing the basic structure of a flat surface conduction electron-emitting device.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a substrate, 2 is an electron emitting portion,
Reference numeral 3 is a conductive thin film, and 4 and 5 are device electrodes.

As the substrate 1, for example, quartz glass, Na
Examples thereof include glass having a reduced content of impurities such as blue glass, soda lime glass, a laminated body obtained by laminating SiO ₂ on soda lime glass by a sputtering method, and ceramics such as alumina.

As the material of the device electrodes 4 and 5 facing each other,
Common conductor materials are used, such as Ni, Cr, Au,
Metals or alloys such as Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Al, Cu, Pd and Pd, Ag, Au, RuO ₂ , Pd-Ag
A printed conductor composed of a metal or a metal oxide and glass, a transparent conductor such as In ₂ O ₃ —SnO ₂ and a semiconductor conductor material such as polysilicon are appropriately selected.

The element electrode interval L, the element electrode length W, the shape of the conductive thin film 3 and the like are designed according to the applied form.

The device electrode spacing L is preferably several hundred Å to several hundred μm, and more preferably several μm to several depending on the voltage applied between the device electrodes 4 and 5 and the electric field strength capable of emitting electrons. It is 10 μm.

The device electrode length W is preferably several μm to several hundred μm, and the device electrode thickness d is several hundred Å to several μm, considering the resistance value of the electrodes and electron emission characteristics.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 1 has the device electrodes 4, 5 and the conductive thin film 3 laminated in this order on the substrate 1. The conductive thin film 3 and the device electrodes 4 and 5 may be laminated in this order.

The conductive thin film 3 is particularly preferably a fine particle film composed of fine particles in order to obtain good electron emission characteristics. The thickness of the conductive thin film 3 depends on the step coverage of the device electrodes 4 and 5 and the device. It is appropriately selected depending on the resistance value between the electrodes 4 and 5 and the forming conditions described later. The thickness of the conductive thin film 3 is preferably several Å to several thousand Å, particularly preferably 10 Å to 500 Å, and its resistance value is 10
The sheet resistance value is ³ to 10 ⁷ Ω / □.

Examples of the material forming the conductive thin film 3 include Pd, Pt, Ru, Ag, Au, Ti, In and C.
Metals such as u, Cr, Fe, Zn, Sn, Ta, W and Pb, PdO, SnO ₂ , In ₂ O ₃ , PbO and Sb ₂ O
Oxides such as ₃ , HfB ₂ , ZrB ₂ , LaB ₆ , CeB
Boride such as ₆ , YB ₄ , GdB ₄ , TiC, ZrC, H
Carbides such as fC, TaC, SiC, WC, TiN, Zr
Examples thereof include nitrides such as N and HfN, semiconductors such as Si and Ge, and carbon.

The fine particle film is a film in which a plurality of fine particles are aggregated, and its fine structure is not only in a state where the fine particles are individually dispersed and arranged but also in a state where the fine particles are adjacent to each other or overlap each other (island shape). Including). In the case of a fine particle film, the particle diameter of the fine particles is preferably several Å to several thousand Å, particularly preferably 10 Å to 200 Å.

A crack is included in the electron emitting portion 2, and the electron is emitted from the vicinity of the crack. The electron emitting portion 2 including the crack and the crack itself are formed depending on the film thickness of the conductive thin film 3, the film quality, the material, the forming conditions described later, and the like. Therefore, the position and shape of the electron emitting portion 2 are not limited to the position and shape as shown in FIG.

The crack may have conductive fine particles having a particle size of several Å to several hundred Å. The conductive fine particles are the same as some or all of the elements of the material forming the conductive thin film 3. Further, the electron emitting portion 2 including a crack and the conductive thin film 3 in the vicinity thereof may contain carbon and a carbon compound.

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the basic structure of a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device, in which 21 is a step forming member,
Other reference numerals that are the same as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same members.

The substrate 1, the electron emitting portion 2, the conductive thin film 3 and the device electrodes 4 and 5 are made of the same material as that of the above-mentioned plane type surface conduction electron emitting device.

The step forming member 21 is formed by, for example, a vacuum vapor deposition method,
It is made of an insulating material such as SiO ₂ attached by a printing method, a sputtering method or the like. The film thickness of the step forming member 21 corresponds to the device electrode distance L (see FIG. 1) of the planar surface conduction electron-emitting device described above. It is set by the voltage applied between 5 and the electric field strength capable of emitting electrons, but is preferably several hundred Å to several tens of μm, and particularly preferably several hundred Å to several μm.

Since the conductive thin film 3 is usually formed after the device electrodes 4, 5 are formed, it is laminated on the device electrodes 4, 5, but the device electrodes 4, 5 are formed after the conductive thin film 3 is formed. It is also possible to make it so that the device electrodes 4 and 5 are laminated on the conductive thin film 3. Further, as described in the description of the planar surface conduction electron-emitting device, the formation of the electron-emitting portion 2 depends on the film thickness of the conductive thin film 3, the film quality, the material, the forming conditions to be described later, and the like. The position and shape are not limited to the position and shape shown in FIG.

The following description is based on the above-mentioned planar surface conduction electron-emitting device and vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device.
A plane type will be described as an example, but a vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device may be used instead of the plane type surface conduction electron-emitting device.

Various methods can be considered as a method of manufacturing the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and one example thereof will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same members.

1) After the substrate 1 is thoroughly washed with a detergent, pure water and an organic solvent, a device electrode material is deposited by a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method or the like, and then a device is formed on the surface of the substrate 1 by a photolithography technique. The electrodes 4 and 5 are formed (FIG. 3A).

2) The element electrode 4 is formed by applying an organic metal solution on the substrate 1 on which the element electrodes 4 and 5 are provided and leaving it to stand.
And the device electrode 5 are connected to form an organometallic thin film.
The organic metal solution is a solution of an organic compound whose main element is a metal that is a constituent material of the conductive thin film 3 described above. Then, the organometallic thin film is heated and baked to form the conductive thin film 3 patterned by lift-off, etching, etc. (FIG. 3B). In addition, although the description has been given here by using the coating method of the organic metal solution, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, a chemical vapor deposition method, a dispersion coating method, a dipping method, a spinner method, or the like can be used. A film can also be formed.

3) Subsequently, energization processing called forming is performed. When power is supplied from a power source (not shown) between the device electrodes 4 and 5, the electron emitting portion 2 having a changed structure is formed at the site of the conductive thin film 3 (FIG. 3C). By this energization treatment, the electroconductive thin film 3 is locally destroyed, deformed or altered, and the electron emission portion 3 is a portion whose structure is changed.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the voltage waveform of forming.

The voltage waveform is preferably a pulse waveform,
There are a case of continuously applying a voltage pulse whose pulse peak value is a constant voltage (FIG. 4A) and a case of applying a voltage pulse while increasing the pulse peak value (FIG. 4B).

First, the case where the pulse peak value is a constant voltage will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 4A, T ₁ and T ₂ are the pulse width and pulse interval of the voltage waveform, for example, T ₁ is 1 μm.
sec to 10 msec, T ₂ 10 μsec to 100 m
csec, the peak value (peak voltage during forming) is appropriately selected according to the form of the surface conduction electron-emitting device described above, and is applied for several seconds to several tens of minutes in a vacuum atmosphere with an appropriate degree of vacuum. The voltage waveform to be applied is not limited to the illustrated triangular wave, and a desired waveform such as a rectangular wave can be used.

Next, the case of applying the voltage pulse while increasing the pulse crest value will be described with reference to FIG.

T ₁ and T ₂ in FIG. 4B are shown in FIG.
Similar to (a), the crest value (peak voltage during forming) is increased by, for example, about 0.1 V step,
Application is performed in an appropriate vacuum atmosphere similar to the description of FIG.

During the pulse interval T ₂ , the conductive thin film 3 is
(See FIGS. 1 and 2) The element current is measured at a voltage that does not locally destroy, deform, or alter the properties, for example, a voltage of about 0.1 V to obtain a resistance value, and for example, when a resistance of 1 MΩ or more is exhibited. Finish forming.

4) Next, it is preferable to perform an activation process on the element which has completed the forming process.

The activation step is, for example, 10 ^-4 to 10 ^-5 t.
As with the description in the forming step, it means a process of repeating the application of pulses with a pulse peak value of a constant voltage at a degree of vacuum of about orr, which is used to remove carbon and carbon compounds from an organic substance existing in a vacuum atmosphere. By depositing on the emission part 2 (see FIGS. 1 and 2), the state of the device current and the emission current can be remarkably improved. It is effective to perform this activation step while measuring the device current and the emission current, for example, and to end it when the emission current is saturated, because it is effective. The pulse peak value in the activation step is preferably the peak value of the driving voltage.

The carbon and the carbon compound are graphite (both single crystal and polycrystalline) and amorphous carbon (amorphous carbon and a mixture thereof with polycrystalline graphite). The deposited film thickness is preferably 500 Å or less, more preferably 300 Å or less.

5) More preferably, the surface conduction electron-emitting device thus produced is operated and driven in a vacuum atmosphere having a vacuum degree higher than the vacuum degree in the forming step and the activation step. In addition, more preferably, operation is performed after heating at 80 ° C. to 150 ° C. in a vacuum atmosphere having a higher degree of vacuum.

The vacuum atmosphere having a higher degree of vacuum than that of the forming step and the activation treatment is, for example, about 10 ^−6.
It is a vacuum degree having the above vacuum degree, and more preferably,
It is an ultra-high vacuum system, and the degree of vacuum is such that carbon and carbon compounds are not newly deposited.

By the step 5), further deposition of carbon and carbon compounds is suppressed, and the device current and the emission current are stabilized.

The basic characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device thus obtained will be described below.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a measurement / evaluation system for measuring the electron emission characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device. First, this measurement / evaluation system will be described.

5, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same members. Further, 51 is a power supply for applying a device voltage V _f to the device, 50 is an ammeter for measuring a device current I _f flowing through the conductive thin film 3 between the device electrodes 4, 5 ′, and 54 is an electron emitting portion. An anode electrode for capturing the emitted emission current I _e , 53 is a high voltage power source for applying a voltage to the anode electrode 54, 52 is an ammeter for measuring the emission current I _e , 55 is a vacuum device, 56 is an exhaust pump.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device, the anode electrode 54 and the like are installed in a vacuum device 55.
Is equipped with necessary equipment such as a vacuum system (not shown),
The surface conduction electron-emitting device can be measured and evaluated under a desired vacuum.

The exhaust pump 56 is composed of a normal high vacuum system such as a turbo pump and a rotary pump, and an ultra high vacuum system such as an ion pump.
The entire vacuum device 55 and the substrate 1 of the surface conduction electron-emitting device can be heated up to about 200 ° C. by a heater. It should be noted that this measurement / evaluation system uses a vacuum device 55 for the display panel and the inside thereof at the stage of assembling the display panel (see 201 in FIG. 8) as described later.
And the inside thereof, it can be applied to the measurement evaluation and processing in the forming step, the activation step, and the subsequent steps described later.

The basic characteristics of the surface-conduction type electron-emitting device described below are that the voltage of the anode electrode 54 of the above-mentioned measurement evaluation system is 1 kV to 10 kV, and the distance H between the anode electrode 54 and the surface-conduction type electron-emitting device is 2 to 8 mm. It is based on the measurement performed as.

First, the emission current I _e and the device current I _f ,
FIG. 6 shows a typical example of the relationship with the device voltage V _f . still,
In FIG. 6, the emission current I _e is markedly smaller than the device current I _f, and therefore is shown in arbitrary units.

As is apparent from FIG. 6, the surface conduction electron-emitting device has the following three characteristic characteristics with respect to the emission current I _e .

First, in the surface conduction electron-emitting device, when a device voltage V _f higher than a certain voltage (called threshold voltage: V _{th in} FIG. 6) is applied, the emission current I _e rapidly increases. ,
On the other hand, at the threshold voltage V _th or less, the emission current I _e is hardly detected. That is, it is a non-linear element having a clear threshold voltage V _th with respect to the emission current I _e .

Secondly, since the emission current I _e has a characteristic of monotonically increasing with respect to the element voltage V _f (referred to as MI characteristic), the emission current I _e can be controlled by the element voltage V _f .

Thirdly, the emitted charges captured by the anode electrode 54 (see FIG. 5) depend on the time for applying the device voltage V _f . That is, the amount of charges captured by the anode electrode 54 can be controlled by the time for which the device voltage V _f is applied.

The emission current I _e is MI with respect to the device voltage V _f .
At the same time having a characteristic, it may have a MI characteristic with respect to the device current I _f also the device voltage V _f. An example of the characteristics of such a surface conduction electron-emitting device is the characteristics shown by the solid line in FIG. On the other hand, as indicated by a broken line in FIG. 6, the device current _If is different from the device voltage _Vf in the voltage-controlled negative resistance characteristic (VCN).
R characteristics). Which characteristic is exhibited depends on the manufacturing method of the surface conduction electron-emitting device and the measurement conditions at the time of measurement. However, the element current I _f is equal to the element voltage V _f
On the other hand, even in the surface conduction electron-emitting device having the VCNR characteristic, the emission current I _e has the MI characteristic with respect to the device voltage V _f .

Next, the arrangement of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices in the electron source of the present invention will be described.

As a method of arranging the surface conduction electron-emitting devices in the electron source of the present invention, in addition to the ladder-type arrangement as described in the section of the prior art, n Ys are arranged on m X-direction wirings. There is an arrangement method in which directional wirings are provided via an interlayer insulating layer and an X-direction wiring and a Y-direction wiring are connected to a pair of device electrodes of a surface conduction electron-emitting device, respectively. This is hereinafter referred to as a simple matrix arrangement. First, this simple matrix arrangement will be described in detail.

According to the basic characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device described above, the emitted electrons in the surface conduction electron-emitting device arranged in the simple matrix are generated between the opposing device electrodes at a voltage exceeding the threshold voltage. It can be controlled by the peak value and pulse width of the applied pulsed voltage. On the other hand, almost no electrons are emitted below the threshold voltage. Therefore, even when a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged, if the pulsed voltage is appropriately applied to each device, the surface conduction electron-emitting device is selected according to the input signal and the electron emission amount thereof is selected. Can be controlled, and individual surface conduction electron-emitting devices can be selected and driven independently by simple matrix wiring.

The simple matrix arrangement is based on such a principle, and the structure of the electron source of the simple matrix arrangement, which is an example of the electron source of the present invention, will be further described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 7, the substrate 1 is a glass plate or the like as already described, and the number and shape of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 104 arranged on the substrate 1 are set appropriately according to the application. is there.

The m wirings in the X direction 102 have external terminals D _x1 , D _x2 , ..., D _{xm, respectively,} and are provided on the substrate 1.
It is a conductive metal or the like formed by a vacuum deposition method, a printing method, a sputtering method, or the like. In addition, a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices 10
4 so that the voltage is supplied to the 4 substantially evenly, the material, the film thickness,
The wiring width is set.

The n Y-direction wirings 103 have external terminals D _y1 , D _y2 , ..., D _yn , respectively.
It is created in the same way as 02.

These m X-direction wirings 102 and n Y-wirings
An interlayer insulating layer (not shown) is provided between the directional wirings 103 and electrically separated to form a matrix wiring. In addition, both m and n are positive integers.

The interlayer insulating layer (not shown) is SiO ₂ or the like formed by a vacuum evaporation method, a printing method, a sputtering method or the like, and has a desired shape on the entire surface or a part of the substrate 1 on which the X-direction wiring 102 is formed. In particular, the film thickness, material, and manufacturing method are appropriately set so as to withstand the potential difference at the intersection of the X-direction wiring 102 and the Y-direction wiring 103.

Furthermore, the opposing device electrodes (not shown) of the surface conduction electron-emitting device 104 are m number of X-direction wirings 102.
, N Y-direction wirings 103, a vacuum deposition method, a printing method,
Connection 1 made of a conductive metal or the like formed by a sputtering method or the like
05 are electrically connected.

Here, the m number of X-direction wirings 102, the n number of Y-direction wirings 103, the connection 105, and the opposing element electrodes may have the same or partial constituent elements. Further, they may be different from each other, and are appropriately selected from the above-mentioned material of the element electrode and the like. Wirings to these element electrodes may be collectively referred to as element electrodes when the same material as the element electrodes is used. In addition, the surface conduction electron-emitting device 104
May be formed either on the substrate 1 or on an interlayer insulating layer (not shown).

The forming process of the electron source composed of a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices is basically the same as that described in the manufacturing process of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices. In the present invention, the forming of the electron source is performed in the presence of an organic substance in order to prevent the variation of the electron emission portion after the forming due to the wiring resistance of the common wiring.

The forming process in the electron source manufacturing method of the present invention will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

In FIG. 17, reference numeral 171 denotes a device row in which a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged, and the X-direction wirings 102 are all commonly connected. 175 is a vacuum container, 176 is an organic substance supply source, 177 is a vacuum exhaust system, 178, 178 '
Is a valve, and 179 is a forming power supply that supplies forming power.

In the above structure, the vacuum container 175 is evacuated by the vacuum exhaust system 177, and then the valve 178 'is adjusted to open the gas of the organic substance. At this time, the introduction amount is controlled by adjusting the valves 178 and 178 '.

After introducing a desired amount of the organic substance gas into the vacuum container 175, a forming voltage is applied to the X-direction wiring 102 and the Y-direction wiring 103 to form the element array 171. At this time, the elements are sequentially formed from the vicinity of the power input end due to the potential drop due to the wiring resistance described above. In this case, since organic substances are present in the surroundings, the organic emission regions of the sequentially formed elements are organic. The substance is deposited and the resistance is lowered. Therefore, the resistance does not increase suddenly after forming, the current value flowing through the wiring does not decrease significantly even if the elements in the latter stage of forming are sequentially formed, and the voltage drop due to the wiring remains unchanged until the end. become. Therefore, FIG.
When a voltage is applied from both sides of the wiring as shown in FIG. 18, the power input terminal voltage required for forming sequentially from both sides increases to the end as shown in FIG.

That is, by uniformly increasing the voltage applied from the forming power supply at an appropriate rate, a plurality of elements are uniformly formed by common wiring without applying an excessive voltage to the elements, and uniform electron emission characteristics are obtained. Can be manufactured.

As the organic substance that can be used in the present invention, conventionally known materials can be used. For example, aliphatic hydrocarbons such as alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes, aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, amines, organic acids such as phenols, carboxylic acids, and sulfonic acids, and derivatives thereof, and these Among these, one kind or a mixture of two or more kinds can be used.

In the present invention, the preferable organic substance has a vapor pressure of 5000 hPa or less, and when the vapor pressure is low, the organic substance is sufficiently deposited on the electron-emitting portion, so that the resistance can be surely lowered. Specific examples of the organic substance having a vapor pressure of 5000 hPa or less include methane, ethane, ethylene, acetylene, propylene, butadiene, n-hexane, 1-hexene, n-octane, n-decane, n-dodecane, benzene and dinitrobenzene. , Toluene, o-
Xylene, benzonitrile, chloroethylene, trichloroethylene, methanol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, glycerin, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propanal, acetone,
Ethyl methyl ketone, diethyl ketone, methylamine,
Ethylamine, ethylenediamine, phenol, formic acid,
Examples thereof include acetic acid and propionic acid.

In the present invention, a method of introducing the above organic substance as a gas is preferably used. The partial pressure of the organic substance introduced is preferably about 10 ^-2 to 10 ^-7 torr.

Further, the electron source of the present invention is preferably subjected to the activation treatment described in the manufacturing process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device after the forming process, but the organic substance atmosphere is used during the activation process. It can be used also as an atmosphere, and it is possible to simplify the process by directly performing the activation treatment.

In the electron source shown in FIG. 7, a row of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 104 arranged in the X direction is scanned on the X direction wiring 102, which will be described in detail later. Therefore, a scan signal applying means (not shown) for applying a scan signal is electrically connected.

On the other hand, a modulation signal (not shown) is applied to the Y-direction wiring 103 in order to modulate each row of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 104 arranged in the Y direction according to an input signal. The signal generating means is electrically connected. Further, the drive voltage applied to each surface conduction electron-emitting device 104 is supplied as a difference voltage between the scanning signal and the modulation signal applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device 104.

Next, an example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention using the electron source of the present invention having the above simple matrix arrangement will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that FIG. 8 is a basic configuration diagram of the display panel 201, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the fluorescent film 114, and FIG. 10 is the display panel 201 of FIG.
It is a block diagram showing an example of a drive circuit for performing a television display according to a television signal of a TSC system.

In FIG. 8, 1 is a substrate of an electron source in which the surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged as described above, 111 is a rear plate to which the substrate 1 is fixed, and 116 is a glass substrate 1.
A face plate having a fluorescent film 114, a metal back 115 and the like formed on the inner surface of 13 and a support frame 112. Frit glass or the like is applied to the rear plate 111, the support frame 112, and the face plate 116, and the atmosphere or nitrogen is used. Then, the envelope 118 is configured by sealing by baking at 400 to 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more.

In FIG. 8, 2 corresponds to the electron emitting portion in FIG. Reference numerals 102 and 103 denote X-direction wiring and Y-direction wiring connected to the pair of device electrodes 4 and 5 of the surface conduction electron-emitting device 104, respectively, and are external terminals D _{x1 to} D _xm and D _{y1 respectively.}
˜D _yn .

The envelope 118 is composed of the face plate 116, the support frame 112, and the rear plate 111 as described above. However, the rear plate 111 is provided mainly for the purpose of reinforcing the strength of the substrate 1, and when the substrate 1 itself has sufficient strength, the separate rear plate 111 is not necessary, and the rear plate 111 is directly supported on the substrate 1. 112 is sealed,
The envelope 118 may be composed of the face plate 116, the support frame 112, and the substrate 1. Further, by further installing a support body (not shown) called a spacer between the face plate 116 and the rear plate 111, it is possible to form the envelope 118 having sufficient strength against atmospheric pressure.

In the case of monochrome, the fluorescent film 114 is composed of only the fluorescent substance 122, but in the case of the color fluorescent film 114, depending on the arrangement of the fluorescent substances 122, a black stripe (FIG. 9A) or a black matrix (see FIG. 9A). 9
(B)) Black conductive material 121 and phosphor 122, etc.
Composed of and. The purpose of providing the black stripes and the black matrix is to make the color mixture, etc., inconspicuous by making the coating portions between the phosphors 122 of the three primary colors necessary for color display black, and to reflect external light on the phosphor film 114. This is to suppress the decrease in contrast due to. As the material of the black conductive material 121, not only a commonly used material containing graphite as a main component, but also another material may be used as long as it is conductive and has little light transmission and reflection. it can.

As a method of applying the phosphor 122 to the glass substrate 113, a precipitation method or a printing method is used regardless of monochrome or color.

Further, as shown in FIG.
A metal back 115 is usually provided on the inner surface side of 4.
The purpose of the metal back 115 is to improve the brightness by specularly reflecting the light to the inner surface side of the light emission of the phosphor 122 (see FIG. 9) to the glass substrate 113 side, and to apply an electron beam acceleration voltage. Acting as an electrode,
For example, protection of the phosphor 122 from damage due to collision of negative ions generated in the envelope 118. Metal back 1
15 can be manufactured by performing smoothing processing (usually called filming) on the inner surface of the fluorescent film 114 after manufacturing the fluorescent film 114, and then depositing Al by vacuum evaporation or the like.

The face plate 116 may be provided with a transparent electrode (not shown) on the outer surface side of the fluorescent film 114 in order to further enhance the conductivity of the fluorescent film 114.

When the above-mentioned sealing is performed, in the case of color, the phosphors 122 of the respective colors and the surface conduction electron-emitting device 104 must correspond to each other, so that it is necessary to perform sufficient alignment.

The inside of the envelope 118 is sealed with a vacuum degree of about 1 × 10 ⁻⁷ torr through an exhaust pipe (not shown). Specifically, in the presence of the above-mentioned organic substance, the external terminal D
_A voltage is applied between the device electrodes through _{x1 to} D _xm and D _{y1 to} D _yn , forming is performed, and then activation treatment is performed,
The electron emitting portion is formed.

Furthermore, baking is carried out at 80 to 150 ° C. for 3 times.
The operation is switched to an ultra-high vacuum apparatus system using a pump system such as an ion pump while performing the operation for about 15 hours. This is for satisfying the MI characteristics of I _f and I _e of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the method and conditions are not limited to this.

Further, a getter process may be performed immediately before or after the envelope 118 is sealed. This is a process of heating a getter (not shown) arranged at a predetermined position in the envelope 118 to form a vapor deposition film. The getter usually has Ba or the like as a main component, and is for maintaining a vacuum degree of, for example, 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ to 1 × 10 ⁻⁷ torr by the adsorption action of the vapor deposition film.

Further, when the above-mentioned envelope 118 or the like is evacuated to a vacuum, if an organic substance having a particularly low vapor pressure is present, it takes a long time to evacuate because it passes through the exhaust pipe, and the organic substance that cannot be exhausted is exhausted. The substance remains as an impurity and may affect the electron emission characteristics. Therefore, among the preferable organic substances, acetone or the like having a high vapor pressure is preferably used.

In addition, the internal volume of the envelope 118 needs to be minimized from the viewpoints of reduction of member cost and reduction of vacuum exhaust time, and the inner diameter of the exhaust pipe is increased for final sealing. There was a limitation that I couldn't. for that reason,
In the above forming process, the amount of the organic substance supplied from the exhaust pipe is small and the amount of the organic substance present in the narrow panel is small, so the amount gradually decreases as the process progresses, and it is sufficient for all elements. There is a risk that such a low resistance cannot be achieved.

When the volume of the envelope is small as described above,
In order to avoid such a problem, it is preferable to perform the forming treatment in an organic substance whose vacuum degree is lower by one to two digits than in a vacuum container having a large volume.

The above-described forming process and the subsequent steps of manufacturing the surface conduction electron-emitting device are usually performed immediately before or after the encapsulation of the envelope 118, and the contents thereof are as described above. is there.

The display panel 201 described above is, for example, as shown in FIG.
It can be driven by a driving circuit as shown in FIG.
In FIG. 10, 201 is a display panel, 202 is a scanning circuit, 203 is a control circuit, 204 is a shift register,
205 is a line memory, 206 is a sync signal separation circuit, 2
Reference numeral 07 is a modulation signal generator, and V _x and V _a are DC voltage sources.

As shown in FIG. 10, the display panel 20
1 is connected to an external electric circuit via the external terminals D _{x1 to} D _xm , the external terminals D _{y1 to} D _yn, and the high voltage terminal Hv.
Of these, the external terminals D _{x1 to} D _xm are connected to the display panel 201.
A scanning signal for sequentially driving the surface conduction electron-emitting devices provided therein, that is, the group of surface conduction electron-emitting devices arranged in a matrix of m rows and n columns in one row (n elements at a time). Is applied.

On the other hand, a modulation signal for controlling the output electron beam of each surface conduction electron-emitting device of one row selected by the scanning signal is applied to the external terminals D _{y1 to} D _yn . Further, a DC voltage of, for example, 10 kV is supplied from the DC voltage source V _a to the high voltage terminal Hv. This is an accelerating voltage for giving enough energy to excite the phosphor to the electron beam output from the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

The scanning circuit 202 is provided with m switching elements (schematically shown by S _{1 to} S _m in FIG. 10) inside, and each switching element S _{1 to} S _m is a DC voltage power supply V _x. Output voltage or 0 V (ground level) is selected and electrically connected to the external terminals D _{x1 to} D _{xm of} the display panel 201. Each of the switching elements S _{1 to} S _m operates based on the control signal T _scan output from the control circuit 203, and in practice, is easily configured by combining elements having a switching function such as FETs. It is possible.

The DC voltage source V _x in this example is a drive voltage applied to the surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices which are not scanned, based on the characteristics (threshold voltage) of the surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices. It is set to output a constant voltage that is less than or equal to the threshold voltage.

The control circuit 203 has a function of matching the operations of the respective parts so that an appropriate display is performed based on the image signal input from the outside. Then, based on the synchronization signal T _sync sent from the synchronous signal separation circuit 206 to be described, T _{sc an,} to each unit, for generating a respective control signal T _sft and T _mry.

The sync signal separation circuit 206 is a circuit for separating a sync signal component and a luminance signal component from an externally input NTSC television signal, and as is well known, a frequency separation (filter). If you use a circuit,
It can be easily constructed. Sync signal separation circuit 206
As is well known, the sync signal separated by is composed of a vertical sync signal and a horizontal sync signal. here,
For convenience of explanation, it is shown as T _sync . Meanwhile, the luminance signal component of the image separated from the television signal is DAT for convenience.
A signal is illustrated. This DATA signal is input to the shift register 204.

The shift register 204 is for serial / parallel conversion of the DATA signal serially input in time series for each line of the image, and is based on the control signal T _sft sent from the control circuit 203. Works. In other words, the control signal T _sft is the shift clock of the shift register 204. The data of one line of the serial / parallel-converted image (corresponding to the driving data of n elements of the surface conduction electron-emitting device) is converted into n parallel signals I _{d1 to} I _dn as the shift register 204. Will be output.

The line memory 205 is a storage device for storing data for one line of an image for a required time,
The contents of I _{d1 to} I _dn are appropriately stored according to the control signal T _mry sent from the control circuit 203. The stored content is I
_The signals are output as _{d'1 to} I _d'n and input to the modulation signal generator 207.

The modulation signal generator 207 is a signal source for appropriately driving and modulating each of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices in accordance with each of the image data I _{d'1 to} I _d'n , and outputs the signal. The signal is transmitted through the terminals D _{y1 to} D _yn to the display panel 201.
Is applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device inside.

As described above, the surface conduction electron-emitting device has a clear threshold voltage for electron emission, and electron emission occurs only when a voltage exceeding the threshold voltage is applied. Further, for a voltage exceeding the threshold voltage, the emission current also changes according to the change in the voltage applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device. Material of surface conduction electron-emitting device,
The value of the threshold voltage and the degree of change of the emission current with respect to the applied voltage may change by changing the configuration and the manufacturing method. In any case, the following can be said.

That is, when a pulsed voltage is applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device, electron emission does not occur even if a voltage below the threshold voltage is applied, but a voltage exceeding the threshold voltage is applied. If it does, electron emission occurs. At that time, firstly, it is possible to control the intensity of the output electron beam by changing the peak value of the voltage pulse. Secondly, it is possible to control the total amount of charges of the output electron beam by changing the width of the voltage pulse.

Therefore, as a method of modulating the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the input signal, there are a voltage modulation method and a pulse width modulation method. In the case of performing the voltage modulation method, the modulation signal generator 207 uses a voltage modulation method circuit that generates a voltage pulse of a constant length, but can appropriately modulate the pulse peak value according to the input data. In the case of performing the pulse width modulation method, the modulation signal generator 207 generates a voltage pulse having a constant peak value, but a circuit of the pulse width modulation method capable of appropriately modulating the pulse width according to the input data is used. To use.

The shift register 204 and the line memory 20
5 may be of a digital signal type or an analog signal type as long as it can perform serial / parallel conversion and storage of an image signal at a predetermined speed.

When the digital signal type is used, it is necessary to convert the output signal DATA of the sync signal separation circuit 206 into a digital signal. This can be done by providing an A / D converter at the output of the sync signal separation circuit 206.

Further, in connection with this, the line memory 20
Depending on whether the output signal of 5 is a digital signal or an analog signal,
The circuit provided in the modulation signal generator 207 is slightly different.

That is, in the case of the voltage modulation method using a digital signal, for the modulation signal generator 207, for example, a well-known D / A conversion circuit may be used, and an amplification circuit or the like may be added if necessary. Further, in the case of a pulse width modulation method using a digital signal, the modulation signal generator 207, for example, a high-speed oscillator and a counter (counter) that counts the number of waves output by the oscillator, and the output value of the counter and the output value of the memory. It can be easily configured by using a circuit in which comparators for comparison are combined. Further, if necessary, an amplifier for voltage-amplifying the pulse-width-modulated modulation signal output from the comparator to the drive voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device may be added.

On the other hand, in the case of the voltage modulation method using an analog signal, the modulation signal generator 207 may be, for example, an amplifier circuit using a well-known operational amplifier or the like, and a level shift circuit or the like may be added if necessary. May be. Further, in the case of the pulse width modulation method using an analog signal, for example, a well-known voltage controlled oscillation circuit (VCO) may be used, and the voltage is amplified to the drive voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device as necessary. May be added.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention having the display panel 201 and the driving circuit as described above, necessary surface conduction type electron emission is obtained by applying a voltage from the terminals D _{x1 to} D _xm and D _{y1 to} D _yn. Electrons can be emitted from the device, a high voltage is applied to the metal back 115 or a transparent electrode (not shown) through the high voltage terminal Hv to accelerate the electron beam, and the accelerated electron beam collides with the fluorescent film 114. By the excitation / light emission generated in (1), television display can be performed according to an NTSC system television signal.

The above-described structure is a schematic structure necessary for obtaining the image forming apparatus of the present invention used for display or the like, and the detailed parts such as the material of each member are limited to the above contents. However, it is appropriately selected so as to suit the purpose of the image forming apparatus. Further, although the NTSC system has been described as the input signal, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to this, and other systems such as PAL and SECAM systems may be used, and more scanning lines than these may be used. It is also possible to use a high-definition TV system such as a TV signal such as the MUSE system.

Next, an example of the above-mentioned ladder-type electron source and an image forming apparatus of the present invention using the electron source will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.

In FIG. 11, reference numeral 1 is a substrate, 104 is a surface conduction electron-emitting device, and 304 is a common wiring for connecting the surface conduction electron-emitting device 104. Ten external wirings D _{1 to} D ₁₀ are provided. have.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device 104 is the substrate 1
A plurality of them are arranged in parallel on the top. This is called an element row. A plurality of these element rows are arranged to form an electron source.

By applying an appropriate drive voltage between the common wiring 304 of each element row (for example, the common wiring 304 of the external terminals D ₁ and D ₂ ), each element row can be driven independently. That is, a voltage exceeding the threshold voltage may be applied to the element row where the electron beam is desired to be emitted, and a voltage lower than the threshold voltage may be applied to the element row where the electron beam is not desired to be emitted. Application of the driving voltage, the common wiring D ₂ to D ₉ located at each element rows, the external terminals D ₂ and D ₃ adjacent common wiring 304, i.e. each phase adjacent each phase, D ₄ and D ₅ , D ₆ and D ₇ , and D ₈ and D ₉ common wiring 304 can be integrated into the same wiring.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the structure of a display panel 301 equipped with the above-mentioned ladder-type electron source, which is another example of the electron source of the present invention.

In FIG. 12, 302 is a grid electrode, 303 is an opening through which electrons pass, D _{1 to} D _m are external terminals for applying a voltage to each surface conduction electron-emitting device, and G ₁ to
G _n is an external terminal connected to the grid electrode 302. Further, the common wiring 304 between each element row is formed on the substrate 1 as an integrated single wiring.

In FIG. 12, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 8 indicate the same members, and a big difference from the display panel 201 using the electron source of the simple matrix arrangement shown in FIG. The point is that the grid electrode 302 is provided between 116.

The grid electrode 302 is provided between the substrate 1 and the face plate 116 as described above. The grid electrode 302 is capable of modulating the electron beam emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device 104, and the electron beam is applied to the stripe-shaped electrode provided orthogonal to the device row in the ladder-type arrangement. To pass
A circular opening 303 is provided for each of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 104.

The shape and position of the grid electrode 302 are
It does not necessarily have to be the one shown in FIG. 12, and a large number of openings 303 may be provided in a mesh shape, and the grid electrode 302 may be provided, for example, around or near the surface conduction electron-emitting device 104. Good.

The external terminals D _{1 to} D _m and G _{1 to} G _n are connected to a drive circuit (not shown). Then, by applying a modulation signal for one image line to the columns of the grid electrode 302 in synchronization with the sequential driving (scanning) of the element rows one column at a time, irradiation of each electron beam to the fluorescent film 114 is performed. The image can be displayed line by line.

As described above, the image forming apparatus of the present invention is
An image formation that can be obtained by using the electron source of the present invention in either a simple matrix arrangement or a trapezoidal arrangement and is suitable not only as a display device for the television broadcast described above but also as a display device for a video conference system, a computer, or the like. The device is obtained. Further, it can also be used as an exposure device of an optical printer configured with a photosensitive drum.

[0147]

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

[Example 1] As a first example of the present invention, an electron source having a simple matrix structure was produced. A plan view of a part thereof is shown in FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA 'in FIG.
0 shows the manufacturing process of this embodiment in FIGS. still,
The members designated by the same reference numerals in FIGS. Here, 1 is a substrate, 102 is an X-direction wiring that is a lower wiring, 103 is a Y-direction wiring that is an upper wiring, 3 is a conductive thin film, 4 and 5 are element electrodes, 211 is an interlayer insulating layer, 212 is an element electrode 5 The contact holes 221 for electrical connection between the X-direction wiring 102 and the X-direction wiring 102 are Cr films. Hereinafter, the manufacturing process will be specifically described in the order of processes.

Step-a On a substrate 1 in which a 0.5 μm-thick silicon oxide film was formed on a cleaned blue plate glass by a sputtering method, Cr having a thickness of 50 Å and Au having a thickness of 6000 Å were sequentially laminated by vacuum evaporation. After that, a photoresist (AZ1370; manufactured by Hoechst) is spin-coated by a spinner and baked, and then a photomask image is exposed and developed to form a resist pattern of the X-direction wiring 102, and an Au / Cr deposited film is wet. Etching is performed to form the X-direction wiring 102 having a desired shape (FIG. 21A).

Step-b Next, an interlayer insulating layer 211 made of a silicon oxide film having a thickness of 1.0 μm is deposited by the RF sputtering method (FIG. 21).
(B)).

Step-c Contact hole 2 is formed in the silicon oxide film deposited in Step b.
A photoresist pattern for forming 12 is formed, and the interlayer insulating layer 211 is etched using this as a mask to form a contact hole 212. The etching is RIE (Reactive) using CF ₄ and H ₂ gas.
Ion Etching) method. (Fig. 21
(C)).

Step-d A photoresist (RD-2000N-41; manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.) was formed on the pattern to form the device electrodes 4, 5 and the device electrode gap L, and Ti having a thickness of 50 Å was formed by a vacuum evaporation method.
Ni having a thickness of 1000Å was sequentially deposited. The photoresist pattern was dissolved in an organic solvent and the Ni / Ti deposited film was lifted off to form device electrodes 4 and 5 having a device electrode gap L of 2 μm and a device electrode width W of 220 μm (FIG. 21).
(D)).

Step-e After forming a photoresist pattern for wiring in the Y direction on the device electrodes 4 and 5, Ti having a thickness of 50 Å and Au having a thickness of 5000 Å are sequentially deposited by vacuum evaporation, and unnecessary portions are lifted off. Then, the Y-direction wiring 103 having a desired shape was formed (FIG. 22E).

Step-f A Cr film 221 having a film thickness of 1000 Å is deposited and patterned by vacuum evaporation using a mask having an element electrode gap L and an opening in the vicinity thereof, and an organic Pd (ccp423) is formed thereon.
0: Okuno Seiyaku Co., Ltd.) was spin-coated with a spinner and heated and baked at 300 ° C. for 10 minutes. The conductive thin film 3 formed of fine particles of Pd as the main element thus formed has a film thickness of 80Å and a sheet resistance value of 4 ×.
It was 10 ⁴ Ω / □ (FIG. 22 (f)).

Step-g The Cr film 221 and the conductive thin film 3 after firing were etched with an acid etchant to form a desired pattern (FIG. 22 (g)).

Step-h A pattern is formed so as to apply a resist except the contact hole 212, and a T film having a thickness of 50Å is formed by vacuum evaporation.
i, 5000 Å thick Au were sequentially deposited. The contact hole 212 was buried by removing unnecessary portions by lift-off (FIG. 22 (h)).

Through the above steps, the X-direction wiring 102, the interlayer insulating layer 211, the Y-direction wiring 103, the device electrodes 4, 5 and the conductive thin film 3 were formed on the insulating substrate 1.

Here, the number of D _y is 100 and the number of D _x is 3.
It was set to 00.

The electron source substrate completed as described above is
Arranged in the system shown in FIG. 17, the atmosphere in the vacuum container is exhausted by a vacuum pump such as a rotary pump and a turbo pump through an exhaust pipe, and after reaching a sufficient degree of vacuum, the terminals outside the container D _{x1 to} D _xm And D _{y1 to} D _yn , a voltage is applied between the device electrodes 4 and 5 to subject the conductive thin film 3 to a forming process, thereby forming the electron emitting portion 2. As for the wiring at the time of forming, as shown in FIG. 14, one Y-direction wiring is selected,
The wires from the forming power supply were connected to both ends of the wire, while the wires in the X direction were connected in common. The forming voltage waveform is the same as that shown in FIG. 4B, and T ₁ is set to ₁ mse in this embodiment.
c and T ₂ were set to 10 msec, and the atmosphere was set to 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ torr of acetone.

23 and 24 show the actual forming voltage,
Indicates current. FIG. 23 shows the result of forming without introducing acetone as a comparative example, FIG. 24 shows the forming process in this example, and FIG.
X direction wiring 102 from 79 through an external extraction terminal,
This shows the change over time in the voltage applied to the Y-direction wiring 103, which is monotonically increased to 14 V at a boosting rate of 0.1 V / sec.

At this time, as described above, the elements in the center are sequentially formed from the elements at the end, and the elements in the center formed in the latter half are applied with the overvoltages shown by hatching in FIG. 23 (b) and shown in FIG. 23 (c). As is apparent from the current-voltage characteristics, the current suddenly decreased from about 8 V in the latter half of forming, and the crack morphology of the element changed in the latter half of forming.

Next, in the case of the present embodiment, when a voltage similar to that shown in FIG. 23A is applied, as shown in FIG. The voltage at the wiring terminal that supplies the voltage increases and the overvoltage is not applied. This is because, as described above, the resistance of the element is lowered immediately after forming and the potential drop of the wiring is not reduced. The current-voltage characteristic at this time is shown in FIG. It is shown that the current gradually decreases compared to the normal forming, and the forming is gradually performed from the end.

The electron-emitting portion manufactured in this way is
The fine particles containing the Pd element as the main component were dispersed and arranged, and the average particle diameter of the fine particles was 30Å.

Next, with a rectangular wave different from forming, with a wave height of 14 V and a vacuum degree of 2 × 10 ⁻⁵ , I _f and I _{e are obtained.}
The activation treatment was carried out while measuring.

Using a measurement and evaluation system as shown in FIG.
By applying a device voltage to each device of the electron source of the present embodiment, I _f ,
The measured I _e, Ie was observed from about the device voltage 8V, 2.2 mA of the element voltage 16V at I _f, I _e is 2.2μA, and the electron emission efficiency _{η = I e / I f (} %)
Was 0.1%.

Further, in the electron source of this embodiment, the variation of the voltage effectively applied to each element is within 0.01 V, and the electron emission efficiency (0.
The variation between the elements of 1%) was suppressed to 5% or less.

[Example 2] An electron source was prepared in exactly the same manner as in Example 1 except that n-hexane was used as the organic substance introduced during forming. In each element of the obtained electron source, I _e was recognized from the element voltage of about 8 V, and the element voltage 1
6 V, I _f is 2.5 mA, I _e is 2.0 μA, and η = 0.
The variation of 1% and η was 5% or less.

[Example 3] [0168] After the forming was performed in the same manner as in Example 1, activation was performed in the same atmosphere as the forming step while introducing the organic substance. In each element of the obtained electron source, the element voltage 8
Ie is recognized from about V, and if the device voltage is 16 V, I _f is 2.0 mA and I _e is 2.0 μA, and η = 0.1%,
The variation of η was suppressed to 5% or less. In this embodiment, since activation is performed in the same atmosphere as forming,
The process is simplified as compared with the first and second embodiments, and the cost is reduced.
The yield is improved.

[Embodiment 4] An image forming apparatus having a display panel shown in FIG. 8 was constructed by using the electron source manufactured as in Embodiment 1.

After forming a conductive thin film for each element on the substrate in the same manner as in Example 1, the unformed substrate was fixed to the rear plate 111, and then 5 mm of the electron source substrate 1 was formed.
A face plate 116 (where the fluorescent film 114 and the metal back 116 are formed on the inner surface of the glass substrate 113) is sufficiently aligned with the support frame 112, and the face plate 116 and the support frame 112 are arranged above. The frit glass was applied to the joint portion of the rear plate 111, and the frit glass was baked in the air at 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more for sealing. Further, the frit glass was used to fix the electron source substrate 1 to the rear plate 111.

In this embodiment, the fluorescent material has a stripe shape (see FIG. 9A), a material having graphite as a main component is used as the material of the black stripe, and the glass substrate 11 is used.
A slurry method was used as a method for applying a phosphor to No. 3.

The metal back 115 provided on the inner surface side of the fluorescent film 114 is subjected to a smoothing process (filming) on the inner surface side of the fluorescent film after the fluorescent film is produced, and then A
1 was vacuum-deposited. Face plate 1
16 may be provided with a transparent electrode on the outer surface side of the fluorescent film 114 in order to further increase the conductivity of the fluorescent film 114, but in this embodiment, sufficient conductivity was obtained only with the metal back 115. Omitted.

The atmosphere in the glass container completed as described above was exhausted by a vacuum pump through an exhaust pipe (not shown), and after reaching a vacuum degree higher than 1 × 10 ⁻⁷ , acetone was added to about 1 × 10 7. ^-4 torr was introduced, and a voltage was applied between the device electrodes through the terminals D _{x1 to} D _xm to D _{y1 to} D _yn outside the container in the same manner as in Example 1 to carry out energization treatment to form an electron emitting portion. .

Next, in the same atmosphere, an activation process was performed as in Example 3.

Next, the exhaust pipe (not shown) was fused by heating with a gas burner at a vacuum degree of about 1 × 10 ^−6.5 torr to seal the envelope 118.

Finally, a getter process was performed to maintain the degree of vacuum after sealing.

The terminals D _{x1 to} D _xm to D _{y1 to} D _yn outside the container and the high voltage terminal H of the display panel manufactured as described above.
Each v was connected to a required drive system to complete the image forming apparatus. Each surface conduction electron-emitting device has a terminal D _x1 outside the container.
It is no D _xm through D _y1 to D _yn, applied by applying respectively by the scan signal and a modulation signal (not shown) signal generating means performs electron emission through the high voltage terminal Hv, a high voltage of several kV to the metal back 115 Then, the electron beam was accelerated, collided with the fluorescent film 114, and excited and emitted to display an image. As a result, as shown in FIG. 26, the variation in luminance was 5% or less.

On the other hand, when this embodiment was carried out without introducing acetone, the central portion of the display area became dark as shown in FIG. 26, and the luminance distribution was 70% or more.

[Embodiment 5] FIG. 25 is an example of a display device in which the image forming apparatus of Embodiment 4 is configured to display image information provided from various image information sources such as television broadcasting. It is a figure for showing. 2 in the figure
80 is a display panel, 261 is a display panel drive circuit, 262 is a display controller, 2
63 is a multiplexer, 264 is a decoder, 265 is an input / output interface circuit, 266 is a CPU, 267 is an image generation circuit, 268, 269 and 270 are image memory interface circuits, 271 is an image input interface circuit, 272 and 273 are TV signal reception. Circuit, 27
Reference numeral 4 is an input unit. (Note that the present display device, when receiving a signal including both video information and audio information, such as a television signal, naturally reproduces audio at the same time as displaying video. A description of circuits, speakers, etc. relating to reception, separation, reproduction, processing, storage, etc. of audio information not directly related to the characteristics will be omitted.)

Each section will be described below along the flow of the image signal.

First, the TV signal receiving circuit 273 is a circuit for receiving a TV image signal transmitted using a wireless transmission system such as radio waves or spatial optical communication. The system of the TV signal to be received is not particularly limited, and various systems such as NTSC system, PAL system and SECAM system may be used. Further, a TV signal (for example, a so-called high-definition TV such as the MUSE method) including a larger number of scanning lines than these is suitable for taking advantage of the display panel suitable for a large area and a large number of pixels. It is a signal source. TV received by the TV signal receiving circuit 273
The signal is output to the decoder 264.

The image TV signal receiving circuit 272 is a circuit for receiving a TV image signal transmitted using a wired transmission system such as a coaxial cable or an optical fiber. Similar to the TV signal receiving circuit 273, the TV signal system to be received is not particularly limited, and the TV signal received by this circuit is also output to the decoder 264.

Further, the image input interface circuit 27
Reference numeral 1 denotes a circuit for capturing an image signal supplied from an image input device such as a TV camera or an image reading scanner, and the captured image signal is output to the decoder 264.

The image memory interface circuit 2
70 is a video tape recorder (hereinafter abbreviated as VTR)
The circuit for fetching the image signal stored in is output to the decoder 264.

The image memory interface circuit 2
Reference numeral 69 denotes a circuit for capturing the image signal stored in the video disc, and the captured image signal is output to the decoder 264.

The image memory-interface circuit 268 is a circuit for capturing an image signal from a device that stores still image data, such as a so-called still image disk. The captured still image data is decoded by the decoder 26.
4 is output.

Further, the input / output interface circuit 265
Is a circuit for connecting the display device to an external computer, a computer network, or an output device such as a printer. It is of course possible to input / output image data and character / graphic information, and in some cases, input / output control signals and numerical data between the CPU 266 of the display device and the outside.

Further, the image generation circuit 267 receives image data, character / graphic information, or CPU 266 input from the outside via the input / output interface circuit 265.
It is a circuit for generating display image data based on image data and character / graphic information output from the output. Inside this circuit, for example, a rewritable memory for accumulating image data and character / graphic information, a read-only memory that stores image patterns corresponding to character codes,
The circuits necessary for image generation, such as a processor for image processing, are incorporated.

The display image data generated by this circuit is output to the decoder 264, but in some cases, it can be output to an external computer network or printer via the input / output interface circuit 265.

Further, the CPU 266 mainly performs operations related to operation control of the display device and generation, selection and editing of a display image.

For example, a control signal is output to the multiplexer 263 to appropriately select or combine image signals to be displayed on the display panel 280. At that time, a control signal is generated for the display panel controller 262 according to the image signal to be displayed, and the screen display frequency, the scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced), the number of scanning lines in one screen, etc. are displayed. The operation of the device is controlled appropriately.

Image data or character / graphic information is directly output to the image generation circuit 267, or an external computer or memory is accessed via the input / output interface circuit 265 to generate image data or character / figure information.
Enter graphic information.

It should be noted that the CPU 266 may of course be involved in work for purposes other than this. For example, like a personal computer or word processor,
It may be directly related to the function of generating and processing information.

Alternatively, as described above, it may be connected to an external computer network through the input / output interface circuit 265 and work such as numerical calculation may be performed in cooperation with an external device.

The input unit 274 is the CPU 266.
The user inputs commands, programs, data, and the like, and various input devices such as a joystick, a bar code reader, and a voice recognition device can be used in addition to a keyboard and a mouse.

The decoder 264 converts various image signals input from the above 267 to 273 into three primary color signals,
Alternatively, it is a circuit for inverse conversion into a luminance signal, an I signal, and a Q signal. In addition, as shown by a dotted line in FIG.
It is preferable that 64 has an image memory therein. This is to handle a television signal that requires an image memory for reverse conversion, such as the MUSE method. Further, the provision of the image memory facilitates the display of a still image, or the image generation circuit 26.
This is because, in cooperation with the CPU 7 and the CPU 266, there is an advantage that image processing and editing such as image thinning, interpolation, enlargement, reduction, and composition can be easily performed.

Further, the multiplexer 263 is the CPU
The display image is appropriately selected based on the control signal input from 266. That is, the multiplexer 263 selects a desired image signal from the inversely converted image signals input from the decoder 264 and outputs it to the drive circuit 261. In that case, by switching and selecting image signals within one screen display time, it is possible to divide one screen into a plurality of areas and display different images depending on the areas, as in a so-called multi-screen television. .

Also, the display panel controller 2
Reference numeral 62 is a circuit for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 261 based on a control signal input from the CPU 266.

First, regarding the basic operation of the display panel, for example, a signal for controlling the operation sequence of a drive power source (not shown) for the display panel is output to the drive circuit 261.

Further, regarding the driving method of the display panel, for example, a signal for controlling the screen display frequency and the scanning method (for example, interlace or non-interlace) is output to the drive circuit 261.

In some cases, control signals relating to image quality adjustment such as brightness, contrast, color tone and sharpness of a display image may be output to the drive circuit 261.

The drive circuit 261 is a circuit for generating a drive signal to be applied to the display panel 280. The drive circuit 261 outputs an image signal input from the multiplexer 263 and a control signal input from the display panel controller 262. It operates based on.

The functions of the respective parts have been described above. With the configuration illustrated in FIG. 26, the display panel 2 displays image information input from various image information sources in this display device.
70 can be displayed. That is, various image signals such as television broadcasts are inversely converted by the decoder 264, appropriately selected by the multiplexer 263, and input to the drive circuit 261. On the other hand, the display controller 262 generates a control signal for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 261 according to the image signal to be displayed. The drive circuit 261 applies a drive signal to the display panel 280 based on the image signal and the control signal. As a result, the image is displayed on the display panel 280. These series of operations are performed by the CPU 2
It is totally controlled by 66.

Further, in this display device, an image memory built in the decoder 264 and an image generation circuit 267 are provided.
With the involvement of the CPU 266, not only the selected one of the plurality of image information is displayed, but also the image information to be displayed is enlarged, reduced, rotated, moved, edge emphasized, thinned, interpolated, or the like. It is also possible to perform image processing such as color conversion and aspect ratio conversion of images, and image editing such as combining, erasing, connecting, replacing, and fitting. Further, in the description of this embodiment,
Although not particularly mentioned, a dedicated circuit for processing and editing audio information may be provided as in the above-mentioned image processing and image editing.

Therefore, the present display device is a display device for television broadcasting, a terminal device for a video conference, an image editing device for handling still images and moving images, a computer terminal device, an office terminal device such as a word processor, and a game. It is possible to combine the functions of a machine, etc., and has a very wide range of applications for industrial or consumer use.

Note that FIG. 25 described above merely shows an example of the configuration of a display device using a display panel having a surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron source, and the present invention is not limited to this. Yes. For example, of the components shown in FIG. 25, circuits relating to functions not necessary for the purpose of use may be omitted. On the contrary, the constituent elements may be added depending on the purpose of use. For example, when the display device is applied as a videophone, it is preferable to add a television camera, a voice microphone, an illuminator, a transmission / reception circuit including a modem, and the like to the constituent elements.

In this display device, in particular, since it is easy to thin the display panel using the surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron source, the depth of the display device can be reduced. In addition, a display panel using surface conduction electron-emitting devices as an electron source can easily make a large screen, has high brightness, and has excellent viewing angle characteristics, so that this display device provides a realistic and powerful image. It can be displayed well.

Further, since the electron source of the present invention has uniform electron emission characteristics among the surface conduction electron-emitting devices, the quality of the formed image is high and a high-definition image can be displayed. .

[0209]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the forming of the electron source, each surface conduction electron-emitting device has a low resistance as the forming progresses, so that the following effects can be obtained. (1) The number of elements connected in common is not limited. (2) It is not necessary to use an expensive material such as Au or Ag to reduce the wiring resistance, the degree of freedom in selecting raw materials is widened, and a cheaper material can be used. (3) It is not necessary to form a thick wiring electrode in order to reduce the wiring resistance, and it is possible to shorten the time required for the manufacturing process such as electrode formation and patterning, and to reduce the cost of equipment. The following effects can be obtained for the electron source or the image forming apparatus. (4) Even if a plurality of elements are formed through the common wiring, the distribution of electron emission efficiency can be made uniform within 5%, and as a result, the brightness distribution can be kept within 5% in the image display device. It has become possible to form high-quality images that are suppressed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a manufacturing process of a surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a voltage waveform of an energization process for manufacturing the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a measurement evaluation system for evaluating electron emission characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing electron emission characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a simple matrix electron source of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a display panel of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a fluorescent film used in the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a ladder type electron source of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display panel of an image forming apparatus of the present invention using a ladder type electron source.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a voltage drop of a wiring in a forming process.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a voltage drop of a wiring in a forming process.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an applied voltage required for each element in a forming process.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an applied voltage required for each element in a forming process.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an apparatus system in a forming step according to the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an applied voltage required in a forming process according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an electron source of Example 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a partial cross-sectional view of the electron source according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a manufacturing process diagram of the electron source of Example 1.

FIG. 22 is a manufacturing process diagram of the electron source of Example 1.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing forming voltage and current in a comparative example.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing forming voltage and current in Example 1.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing the results of Example 4 of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Insulating Substrate 2 Electron Emitting Part 3 Conductive Thin Film 4, 5 Element Electrode 21 Step Forming Part 50 Ammeter 51 Power Supply 52 Ammeter 53 High Voltage Power Supply 54 Anode Electrode 55 Vacuum Device 56 Exhaust Pump 102 X Direction Wiring 103 Y Direction Wiring 104 Surface conduction electron-emitting device 105 Connection 111 Rear plate 112 Support frame 113 Glass substrate 114 Fluorescent film 115 Metal back 116 Face plate 118 Envelope 121 Black conductive material 122 Phosphor 171 Element array 175 Vacuum device 176 Organic substance supply source 177 Vacuum exhaust system 178, 178 'Valve 179 Forming power source 201 Display panel 202 Scanning circuit 203 Control circuit 204 Shift register 205 Line memory 206 Synchronous signal separation circuit 207 Modulation signal generator 211 Interlayer insulation layer 212 Contact Tohru 221 Cr film 261 Drive circuit 262 Display panel controller 263 Multiplexer 264 Decoder 265 Input / output interface 266 CPU 267 Image generation circuit 268 Image memory interface 269 Image memory interface 270 Image memory interface 271 Image input memory interface 272 TV signal receiving circuit 273 TV signal Receiver circuit 274 Input unit 280 Display panel 301 Display panel 302 Grid electrode 303 Opening 304 Common wiring

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. An electron-emitting device comprising a pair of device electrodes formed on an insulating substrate and a conductive thin film formed across the device electrodes and provided with an electron-emitting portion is provided on the same substrate. A method of manufacturing an electron source comprising a plurality of devices, wherein in the step of simultaneously forming electron emitting portions on the conductive thin films of the plurality of elements, a forming process is performed in the presence of an organic substance. Production method. 2. The organic substance is alkane, alkene, alkyne aliphatic hydrocarbon, aromatic hydrocarbon, alcohol,
At least one selected from aldehydes, ketones, amines, and organic acids such as phenols, carboxylic acids, and sulfonic acids.
The method for manufacturing an electron source according to claim 1, wherein the electron source is a seed. 3. The method of manufacturing an electron source according to claim 2, wherein the organic substance is acetone. 4. The method for producing an electron source according to claim 2, wherein the organic substance is n-hexane. 5. The vapor pressure of an organic substance is 5000 hP at room temperature.
The electron source manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the electron source is a or less. 6. An electron source manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 1. 7. The device of claim 6, wherein the device electrodes of the electron-emitting device are flat devices formed on the same surface.
The described electron source. 8. The electron-emitting device is a vertical device in which device electrodes are vertically arranged with an insulating layer interposed and a conductive thin film is formed on a side surface of the insulating layer. The described electron source. 9. The device has at least one row of elements in which a plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in parallel and connected, and the wiring for driving each element is arranged in a ladder shape. The electron source according to items 6 to 8. 10. The device according to claim 6, wherein the device has at least one device row including a plurality of electron-emitting devices, and the wiring for driving the device is arranged in a matrix. Electron source. 11. An image forming apparatus comprising: the electron source according to claim 9, an image forming member, and a control electrode for controlling an electron beam emitted from each element according to an information signal. 12. An image forming apparatus comprising the electron source according to claim 10 and an image forming member. 13. An electron source is manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 1, and the obtained electron source is a control electrode for controlling an electron beam emitted from the electron source, and the electron. A method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus, which is combined with an image forming member that forms an image by irradiating an electron beam from a source. 14. An image forming member for producing an electron source by the production method according to claim 1, and forming the image by irradiating the obtained electron source with an electron beam from the electron source. A method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus, which is characterized by being combined.