JPH08171875A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an image forming device having a means that prevents image quality from being deteriorated, when electron emission elements such as a cold cathode element and image forming members such as phosphor are assembled with their mutual positional relation deviated from a prescribed position. CONSTITUTION: An image forming member is a stripe member in an image forming device provided with an electron beam source on which a plurality of electron emission elements 2 are arranged in a line and an image forming member for forming an image by radiation of electron beams emitted by the electron emission elements, on a substrate 1. A plurality of the electron emission elements 2 are elements that a negative electrode, an electron emission part, and an positive electrode are arranged parallel to each another on the substrate 1 in the direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the stripes.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having an electron-emitting device and an image forming member for forming an image by irradiation with an electron beam, and more particularly to an image having a phosphor as the image forming member. The invention relates to a display device.

[0002]

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

As the surface conduction electron-emitting device, for example,
M. I. Elinson, Radio Eng. Ele
ctron Phys. , 10, 1290 (1965)
Alternatively, other examples described later are known.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which electron emission occurs when a current is passed through a thin film having a small area formed on a substrate in parallel with the film surface. The surface conduction electron-emitting device includes Sn by Erlinson et al.
In addition to the one using an O ₂ thin film, the one using an Au thin film [G. Dittmer: "Thin Solid Fi
lms ”, 9, 317 (1972)] or In ₂ O ₃ / S.
nO ₂ thin film [M. Hartwell and
C. G. Fonstad: “IEEE Trans.
ED Conf. , 519 (1975)] and carbon thin films [Hiraki Araki et al .: Vacuum, Vol. 26, No. 1]
No., 22 (1983)] and the like.

As a typical example of the element structure of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, FIG. Hartwel
1 shows a plan view of the device according to I. et al. In the figure, 301
Is a substrate, and 304 is a conductive thin film made of metal oxide formed by sputtering. The conductive thin film 304 is formed in an H-shaped plane shape as illustrated. An electron-emitting portion 305 is formed by subjecting the conductive thin film 304 to an energization process called energization forming described later. The interval L in the figure is set to 0.5 to 1 [mm], and W is set to 0.1 [mm]. For convenience of illustration, the electron emission unit 30
5 is shown as a rectangular shape in the center of the conductive thin film 304,
This is a schematic one, and does not faithfully represent the actual position and shape of the electron emitting portion.

M. In the above-mentioned surface conduction electron-emitting device including the device by Hartwell et al., It is general that the electron-emitting portion 305 is formed by performing an energization process called energization forming on the conductive thin film 304 before the electron emission. there were. That is, the energization forming is performed by applying a constant DC voltage or a DC voltage boosting at a very slow rate of, for example, about 1 V / min to both ends of the conductive thin film 304 to energize the conductive thin film 304. Is locally destroyed, deformed, or altered to form the electron-emitting portion 305 in an electrically high resistance state. A crack is generated in a part of the conductive thin film 304 which is locally destroyed, deformed or altered. When an appropriate voltage is applied to the conductive thin film 304 after the energization forming, electrons are emitted near the crack.

An example of the FE type is disclosed in W. P.
Dyke & W. W. Dolan, "Field emi
ssion ”, Advance in Electro
nPhysics, 8, 89 (1956) or C.I. A. Spindt, “Physical pr
operations of thin-film pie
ld emission cathodes with
mollybdenium cones ”, J. App.
l. Phys. , 47, 5248 (1976) and the like are known.

As a typical example of the FE type element structure, FIG. A. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the device by Spindt et al. In the figure, 310 is a substrate, 311 is an emitter wiring made of a conductive material, 312 is an emitter cone, 313 is an insulating layer, and 314 is a gate electrode. In this element, by applying an appropriate voltage between the emitter cone 312 and the gate electrode 314, the emitter cone 31
The electric field emission is caused from the tip of No.2.

As another element structure of the FE type, as shown in FIG.
There is also an example in which the emitter and the gate electrode are arranged on the substrate substantially in parallel with the substrate plane, instead of the laminated structure as in 1.

As an example of the MIM type, for example,
C. A. Mead, "Operation of tu
nnel-emission Devices, J. A
ppl. Phys. , 32, 646 (1961) and the like are known. A typical example of the MIM type device configuration is shown in FIG.
It is shown in FIG. The figure is a sectional view, in which 320 is a substrate, 321 is a lower electrode made of metal, and 322 is a thickness 1
A thin insulating layer of about 00Å, 323 has a thickness of 80 to 300Å
The upper electrode is made of a metal of a certain degree. In the MIM type, electrons are emitted from the surface of the upper electrode 323 by applying an appropriate voltage between the upper electrode 323 and the lower electrode 321.

The cold cathode device described above can obtain electron emission at a lower temperature than the hot cathode device, and thus does not require a heater for heating. Therefore, the structure is simpler than that of the hot cathode device, and a fine device can be manufactured. Also,
Even if a large number of elements are arranged on the substrate at a high density, problems such as heat melting of the substrate hardly occur. In addition, the response speed is slow because the hot cathode element operates by heating the heater, and the cold cathode element has an advantage that the response speed is fast.

Therefore, researches for applying the cold cathode device have been actively conducted.

For example, the surface conduction electron-emitting device has an advantage that a large number of devices can be formed over a large area because it has a particularly simple structure and is easy to manufacture among cold cathode devices. Therefore, for example, JP-A-64-31 by the present applicant
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 332, a method for arranging and driving a large number of elements has been studied.

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

Particularly, as an application to an image display device, as disclosed in, for example, USP 5,066,883 by the present applicant, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-257551, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-28137, surface conduction. An image display device using a combination of a die-emitting device and a phosphor that emits light when irradiated with an electron beam has been studied. An image display device using a combination of a surface conduction electron-emitting device and a phosphor is expected to have better characteristics than other conventional image display devices. For example, it can be said that it is superior in that it does not require a backlight because it is a self-luminous type and has a wide viewing angle, even compared with a liquid crystal display device that has become widespread in recent years.

A method of driving a large number of FE types is disclosed in, for example, USP 4,904,8 by the present applicant.
No. 95. Further, as an example in which the FE type is applied to an image display device, for example, R.I. A flat panel display device reported by Meyer et al. Is known. [R. M
eyer: “Recent Development”
n Microtips Display at LE
TI ", Tech. Digest of 4th In
t. Vacuum Microele-ctroni
cs Conf. , Nagahama, pp. 6-9
(1991)]

An example in which a large number of MIM types are arranged and applied to an image display device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 55738.

[0018]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The inventors of the present invention have described various materials including those described in the above prior art,
A cold cathode device having a manufacturing method and a structure has been tried. Furthermore, we are conducting research on a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of cold cathode elements are arranged, and an image display device using this multi-electron beam source.

The inventors have tried a multi-electron beam source by an electrical wiring method shown in FIG. 28, for example. That is, it is a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of cold cathode devices are two-dimensionally arranged and these devices are wired in a matrix as shown in the drawing.

In the figure, reference numeral 401 is a schematic representation of a cold cathode device, reference numeral 402 is a row-direction wiring, and reference numeral 403 is a column-direction wiring. The row wiring 402 and the column wiring 403 actually have a finite electric resistance, but they are shown as wiring resistances 404 and 405 in the figure. The wiring method as described above is called simple matrix wiring.

Although a 6 × 6 matrix is shown for convenience of illustration, the scale of the matrix is not limited to this. For example, in the case of a multi-electron beam source for an image display device, a desired image display is performed. This is done by arranging and wiring the elements that are sufficient for performing.

In a multi-electron beam source in which cold cathode elements are wired in a simple matrix, appropriate electric signals are applied to the row wirings 402 and the column wirings 403 in order to output a desired electron beam. For example, in order to drive the cold cathode device of any one row in the matrix, the selection voltage Vs is applied to the row direction wiring 402 of the row to be selected, and at the same time, the row direction wiring 402 of the non-selected row is not applied. The selection voltage Vns is applied. In synchronization with this, a drive voltage Ve for outputting an electron beam is applied to the column-direction wiring 403. According to this method, if the voltage drop due to the wiring resistors 404 and 405 is ignored, the cold cathode element of the selected row has Ve-V.
s voltage is applied, and V is applied to the cold cathode device of the non-selected row.
A voltage of e-Vns is applied. If Ve, Vs, and Vns are set to appropriate voltages, the electron beam of a desired intensity should be output only from the cold cathode element of the selected row, and different driving voltage Ve is applied to each of the column-direction wirings. When applied, an electron beam of different intensity should be output from each of the elements in the selected row. Further, if the length of time for applying the drive voltage Ve is changed, the length of time for which the electron beam is output should be changed.

Therefore, the multi-electron beam source in which the cold cathode elements are wired in a simple matrix has various applications. For example, if an electric signal according to image information is appropriately applied, it is suitable as an electron source for an image display device. Can be used.

However, in the multi-electron beam source in which the cold cathode elements are wired in a simple matrix, the following problems actually occur.

For example, FIG. 29 shows a cross section of an example of a conventional image display panel provided with a cold cathode element and a phosphor. In the figure, 410 is a rear plate, 411 is a cold cathode element formed on the rear plate, 412 is a side wall, 413 is a face plate, and 414 is a phosphor formed on the inner surface of the face plate. The rear plate 410, the side wall 412, and the face plate 413 form a vacuum container. In such a display panel, display is performed by irradiating the phosphor 414 with the electron beam e ⁻ emitted from the cold cathode element 411 to emit the visible light VL.

However, in such a display panel, there is a problem that the assembly accuracy at the time of manufacture is insufficient, and the display image has insufficient brightness, unevenness, or color shift.

Specifically, when assembling a vacuum container, it is firmly adhered with an adhesive such as frit glass to provide airtightness, but in order to melt the frit glass, it is usually at a high temperature of 400 ° C. or higher. Need.
Even if the members are aligned with a sufficiently high degree of accuracy in advance, it is easy to cause positional deviation due to thermal expansion of the members and fixing jigs in this heating process, and the positional deviation is corrected once they have been bonded. It is virtually impossible.

Therefore, the substrate 41 on which the cold cathode device is formed
In many cases, an uncorrectable positional deviation occurs in the positional relationship between 0 and the substrate 414 on which the phosphor is formed.

On the other hand, even if the substrate 410 on which the cold cathode device is formed and the substrate 413 on which the phosphor is formed are separate from the vacuum container and both substrates are fixed inside the vacuum container, a vacuum is generated. During the heating process for sealing the container, the positional relationship between the substrates is likely to shift due to thermal expansion.
Further, even in this structure, it is virtually impossible to correct the position of the substrate fixed inside after once sealing the vacuum container.

[0030] When the deviation in the positional relationship between the cold cathode devices and fluorescent material occurs, a cold cathode electron beams output from the element e ^- because the not exactly irradiate a predetermined phosphor, the end portion of the display image There is a problem that the image quality is significantly deteriorated due to chipping, lack of brightness, non-uniformity, color shift, and the like. In addition, since the direction and size of misalignment vary for each display panel, it is extremely difficult to provide a large number of display panels having uniform display performance.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is mainly to deviate the positional relationship between the electron-emitting device such as a cold cathode device and the image forming member such as a phosphor from a predetermined position. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus having means capable of preventing deterioration of image quality even when assembled.

[0032]

According to the present invention, an image is formed on a substrate by irradiating an electron beam source in which a plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix and an electron beam emitted by the electron-emitting devices. In the image forming apparatus including the image forming member, the image forming member has a stripe shape (striped shape).
And the plurality of electron-emitting devices are devices in which a negative electrode, an electron-emitting portion, and a positive electrode are arranged side by side on the surface of the substrate in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the stripes. It is a forming device.

The present invention will be further described below.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the direction in which the negative electrode, the electron emitting portion, and the positive electrode of the electron-emitting device forming the multi-electron beam source are arranged in parallel will be referred to as the X direction, and the direction perpendicular thereto will be referred to as the Y direction. A stripe-shaped phosphor will be described as an example of the image forming member.

First, when the position of the phosphor with respect to the electron-emitting device deviates in the Y direction with respect to the set value due to the positional relationship (perpendicular to each other) between the striped phosphor and the electron-emitting device in the present invention, the electron beam is emitted. Although the irradiation position of is shifted from the set position, at least the adjacent striped phosphors are not irradiated.

As a result, even if there is a positional shift in the Y direction, it is possible to prevent the color shift from occurring.

Further, preferably, the phosphor region is made larger than the arrangement region of the electron beam source so that the position of the phosphor with respect to the electron-emitting device deviates in the Y direction with respect to the set value, in addition to the action of the above invention. In this case, even if the electron beam emitted from the electron-emitting device formed at the end of the predetermined region of the multi-electron beam source is irradiated with the stripe-shaped phosphor.

Thus, even if there is a displacement in the Y direction, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of chipping at the edge of the display image.

Further, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 15, even if there is a positional deviation in the X direction, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a chip at the end of the display image.

Further, preferably, in addition to the operation of the present invention, when the position of the phosphor with respect to the electron-emitting device is displaced in the X direction with respect to the set value, the voltage applied to the phosphor is displaced in the X direction. The trajectory of the electron beam is corrected by correcting it according to the amount.

This makes it possible to prevent the occurrence of color misregistration and luminance deterioration even if there is positional displacement not only in the Y direction but also in the X direction. Further, even if the angle of the phosphor is deviated, it is possible to prevent the color misregistration and the brightness reduction.

Further, preferably, in addition to the operation of the above-mentioned invention, when the position of the phosphor with respect to the electron-emitting device deviates in the X-direction with respect to the set value, the voltage applied to the electron-emitting device is adjusted to the position in the X-direction. The trajectory of the electron beam is corrected by correcting according to the amount of deviation.

As a result, it is possible to prevent a color shift and a decrease in luminance from occurring even if there is a positional shift not only in the Y direction but also in the X direction. Further, even if the angle of the phosphor is deviated, it is possible to prevent the color misregistration and the brightness reduction.

Further, preferably, in addition to the effect of the above-mentioned invention, when the position of the phosphor with respect to the electron-emitting device deviates from the set value, the image signal is corrected in accordance with the amount of misregistration to emit the electron. The drive signal supplied to the device is adjusted to an appropriate signal.

Thus, even when the trajectory of the electron beam is corrected according to the positional deviation, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of new image quality due to the correction.

Further, preferably, by correcting the brightness of the image signal according to the amount of positional deviation, it is possible to prevent a change in the brightness accompanying the trajectory correction of the electron beam. Further, by correcting the arrangement of the image signals, good display can be performed even when the positional deviation is large.

That is, when a positional deviation exceeding the array pitch of the striped phosphors occurs, the drive signal supplied to the electron-emitting devices is shifted by the number of the shifted pitches. For example, when a positional deviation that exceeds 2 pitches but is smaller than 3 pitches occurs in the X direction, the image signal array is adjusted by 2 pitches, and the image is effectively shifted by 2 elements from the initial setting. A drive signal that is a signal is applied to the electron-emitting device. As a result, even if a positional deviation of more than 1 pitch of the phosphor array pitch occurs, the correction amount of the electron beam orbit becomes 1 pitch or less. Therefore, when the trajectory of the electron beam is corrected, it is possible to prevent a change in the shape of the bright spot, a shift in the brightness, and a reduction in the dynamic range of the gradation.

Further, preferably, the pulse width of the voltage pulse applied to the electron-emitting device is corrected according to the amount of positional deviation in the X direction, so that the charge amount of the electron beam with which the phosphor is irradiated is corrected and the display image is displayed. Correct the brightness.

As a result, it is possible to prevent the emission brightness from becoming non-uniform.

Further, preferably, by using a horizontal field emission device as the electron emission device, the image display device according to the above invention can be realized with a simple structure.

Further, preferably, by using the surface conduction electron-emitting device as the electron-emitting device, the image display device according to the above invention can be realized with a simple structure and manufacturing method.

[0052]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) A preferred embodiment of the image display device of the present invention will be described. For convenience of explanation, the order of the structure and manufacturing method of a display panel, the structure and manufacturing method of a preferable electron-emitting device, the structure of an electric circuit, and the procedure of correction. Described in.

(Structure and Manufacturing Method of Display Panel) First, the structure and manufacturing method of the display panel of the image display device to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to specific examples.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a display panel used in the embodiment, in which a part of the panel is cut away to show the internal structure.

In the figure, 5 is a rear plate, 6 is a side wall, and 7 is a face plate, and 5 to 7 form an airtight container for maintaining a vacuum inside the display panel. When assembling an airtight container, it is necessary to seal the joints of each member in order to maintain sufficient strength and airtightness.For example, frit glass is applied to the joints, and the joints are placed in the atmosphere or nitrogen atmosphere. 10 at 400-500 degrees
Sealing was achieved by firing for more than a minute. A method of evacuating the inside of the airtight container will be described later.

The substrate 1 is fixed to the rear plate 5, but N × M electron-emitting devices 2 are formed on the substrate (N and M are positive integers of 2 or more, For example, in a display device intended to display a high-definition television, it is desirable to set N = 3000 and M = 1000 or more. In the example, N = 3072, M
= 1024. ). The N × M electron-emitting devices are simple matrix wiring by M row-direction wirings 3 and N column-direction wirings 4. The part composed of 1 to 4 is called a multi-electron beam source. The manufacturing method and structure of the multi-electron beam source will be described later in detail.

Although the substrate 1 of the multi-electron beam source is fixed to the rear plate 5 of the airtight container in this embodiment, when the substrate 1 of the multi-electron beam source has sufficient strength. The substrate 1 itself of the multi-electron beam source may be used as the rear plate of the airtight container.

A fluorescent film 8 is formed on the lower surface of the face plate 7. Since the present embodiment is a color display device, the fluorescent film 8 is coated with phosphors of three primary colors of red, green and blue, which are used in the field of CRT.
The phosphors of the respective colors are applied in stripes, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, and black conductors 10 are provided between the stripes of the phosphors. The purpose of providing the black conductor 10 is to prevent the display color from deviating even if the irradiation position of the electron beam is slightly deviated, and to prevent the reflection of external light to prevent the deterioration of the display contrast. This is to prevent the fluorescent film from being charged up by the electron beam.
Although graphite was used as the main component for the black conductor 10,
Other materials may be used as long as they are suitable for the above purpose.

A metal back 9 known in the field of CRTs is provided on the rear plate side surface of the fluorescent film 8. The purpose of providing the metal back 9 is to specularly reflect a part of the light emitted by the fluorescent film 8 to improve the light utilization rate, to protect the fluorescent film 8 from the collision of negative ions, and to accelerate the electron beam acceleration voltage. To act as an electrode for applying
For example, the fluorescent film 8 is made to act as a conduction path for excited electrons. The metal back 9 was formed by forming the fluorescent film 8 on the face plate substrate 7, smoothing the surface of the fluorescent film, and vacuum-depositing A1 on the surface.
When the fluorescent material for low voltage is used for the fluorescent film 8, the metal back 9 is not used.

Although not used in this embodiment, for the purpose of applying an accelerating voltage and improving the conductivity of the fluorescent film, for example, IT is provided between the face plate substrate 7 and the fluorescent film 8.
You may provide the transparent electrode which uses O as a material.

Lh in the figure indicates the distance between the electron-emitting device 2 and the fluorescent film 8.

D _{x1 to} D _xm and D _{y1 to} D _yn and Hv are air-tight electrical connection terminals provided for electrically connecting the display panel and an electric circuit (not shown). D _{x1 to} D _xm are row wirings 3 of the multi-electron beam source
And D _{y1 to} D _yn are row-direction wiring 4 of the multi-electron beam source.
, Hv is electrically connected to the metal pack 9 of the face plate.

To evacuate the inside of the airtight container to a vacuum, after assembling the airtight container, an exhaust pipe (not shown) and a vacuum pump are connected, and the inside of the airtight container has a vacuum degree of about 10 ^-7 [Torr]. Exhaust to. After that, the exhaust pipe is sealed,
In order to maintain the degree of vacuum in the airtight container, a getter film (not shown) is formed at a predetermined position in the airtight container immediately before or after the sealing. The getter film is, for example, a film formed by heating a getter material containing Ba as a main component with a heater or high-frequency heating and vapor-depositing it, and the adsorption action of the getter film causes 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ or 1 × in the airtight container.
The degree of vacuum is maintained at 10 ⁻⁷ [Torr].

Next, the setting position of the electron-emitting device 2 formed on the substrate 1 and the setting position of the stripe-shaped phosphor formed on the face plate 7 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view of the substrate 1.

In the figure, reference numeral 2 is an electron-emitting device, and the arrow shown in the figure indicates the direction in which the electron-emitting device is formed. It will be described in detail later along with the specific structure). For convenience of illustration, only 4 × 5 = 20 elements are shown, but in reality, far more electron-emitting elements are X elements.
It is formed in a matrix along the direction and the Y direction.
In addition, illustration of row-direction wiring and column-direction wiring is omitted.

FIG. 1B is a schematic plan view of the face plate 7.

In the figure, 11 is a stripe-shaped phosphor extending long in the Y'direction (note that the figure is a plan view seen from the display surface side of the display device and is formed on the lower surface of the face plate 7). Although the phosphor 11 and the black conductor 10 should be hidden and invisible by nature, they are shown as if they were formed on the display surface side for the convenience of explaining the set position.) Although only four stripes are shown for convenience of illustration, in reality, much more stripe-shaped phosphors are formed as in the case of the electron-emitting device.

The rectangular mark AE formed on the substrate 1 and the cross-shaped mark AP formed on the face plate 7 are alignment marks, and the substrate 1 and the face plate 7 are aligned.
Is used as a reference for alignment when sealing, or used for detecting the positional deviation between the substrate 1 and the face plate 7 after sealing. Needless to say, the shape, the number, and the position of the alignment mark are not limited to the illustrated example.

The substrate 1 is designed so that the X direction coincides with the horizontal scanning line direction of the display screen and the Y direction coincides with the vertical scanning line direction of the display screen. The face plate 7 is designed so that the X'direction coincides with the horizontal scanning line direction of the display screen and the Y'direction coincides with the vertical scanning line direction of the display screen. However, as described above, it is difficult to assemble the substrate 1 and the face plate 7 as designed without any positional deviation.
In rare cases, the values may match the design values completely, but it is appropriate that the majority of the actually assembled panels have some degree of misalignment. The setting positions of the electron emitting element 2 and the phosphor 11 will be described in more detail.

The electron-emitting devices 2 are arranged at a pitch of Px in the X direction and at a pitch of Py in the Y direction. The phosphors 11 are arranged at a pitch of Px in the X'direction. The sizes of Px and Py were set according to the resolution required for the display device.

When assembling the display panel, the alignment mark AP is aligned so that the cross of the alignment mark AP is inscribed in the rectangle of the alignment mark AE, but the position of the phosphor 11 is displaced from the position vertically above the electron-emitting device 2. Designed to wear. That is, the alignment mark AE
The distance LE in the X direction from the electron emitting element 2 to the electron emitting element 2 and the distance LP in the X ′ direction from the alignment mark AP to the phosphor 11 are not equal in size, and satisfy the relationship defined by the following formula [1]. Is set to.

LP = LE + Lef [1]

However, Lef is a numerical value determined by parameters such as the drive voltage applied to the electron-emitting device, the voltage applied to the phosphor, and the distance between the electron-emitting device and the phosphor. The Lef will be described later in detail using the equation [3], but in short, it is the distance by which the electron is deflected in the X direction and travels before reaching the electron beam phosphor.

Further, the length PHy in the Y ′ direction of the stripe phosphor 11 is set to be larger than the length EBy in the Y direction of the region where the electron-emitting device 2 is formed on the substrate 1.

EBy <PHy [2]

By satisfying the expression [2], even if the stripe-shaped phosphors are misaligned in the Y direction, it is possible to prevent color misregistration and luminance deterioration. Note that this will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. Note that PHy
Is larger than EBy, the tolerance for the deviation of the phosphor in the Y direction is larger, but if PHy is too large, there is a disadvantage that the display panel becomes large. Therefore, it is desirable to statistically measure (or predict) the amount of misregistration in the Y direction that occurs when manufacturing the display panel, and set the minimum size within the range in which the misregistration is acceptable.

Therefore, in Example 1, PHy was set to 1.1 × EBy.

(Preferable Structure and Manufacturing Method of Electron-Emitting Element) As the electron-emitting element 2 used for the substrate shown in FIG. 1A, one having the following characteristics is selectively used. That is, in a driving state (a state in which a driving voltage for emitting an electron beam is applied to the electron-emitting device), the electron emission unit passes through the electron-emission unit and is directed from the substrate plane to the phosphor screen in the space around the electron-emission unit. It is an element that produces an asymmetric potential distribution with respect to the normal.

A detailed description will be given with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4A is a sectional view for explaining an electron-emitting device used in the present invention, in which 20 is a substrate provided with the electron-emitting device, 21 is a positive electrode of the electron-emitting device, and 2 is a positive electrode.
Reference numeral 2 is a negative electrode of the electron-emitting device, 23 is an electron-emitting portion of the electron-emitting device, 24 is an electron beam target, VF is a power supply for applying a driving voltage Vf [V] to the electron-emitting device, and VA.
Is a power supply for applying a target voltage Va [V] to the target 24 (note that in an actual image display device, the target 24 is a phosphor.
There is a relation of a> Vf. ).

The electron-emitting device used in the present invention has at least the positive electrode 21, the negative electrode 22, and the electron-emitting portion 23 as constituent members, and these constituent members are formed side by side on the upper surface of the substrate 20. (In the following description, the upper surface of the substrate 20 will be referred to as the substrate plane).

For example, the electron-emitting devices of FIGS. 31 and 32 do not correspond to the electron-emitting devices arranged in the plane of the substrate because the constituent members are vertically stacked on the plane of the substrate. Emitting elements are applicable.

In such an electron emitting device, the electron beam emitted from the electron emitting portion 23 generally has an initial velocity component in the direction from the negative electrode 22 to the positive electrode 21. Therefore, the electron beam does not travel vertically from the substrate plane.

Further, in the case of such an electron-emitting device, the positive electrode 21 and the negative electrode 22 are arranged side by side on the substrate plane, so that the potential distribution generated in the space above the electron-emitting portion 23 when the driving voltage is applied is The distribution is asymmetric with respect to a line that passes through the emitting portion 23 and is perpendicular to the substrate plane (that is, the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 4A). In FIG. 4A, the potential distribution between the electron-emitting device and the target 24 is shown by a dotted line. As shown,
The equipotential surface is substantially parallel to the substrate plane in the vicinity of the target 24, but the drive voltage Vf in the vicinity of the electron-emitting device.
It becomes inclined due to the influence of [V]. Therefore, the electron beam emitted from the electron emitting portion 23 receives a force in the Z direction due to the tilt potential while flying in the space, and at the same time X
The force is also applied to the direction, and its orbit draws a curve as shown.

For the above-mentioned two reasons, the position where the electron beam irradiates the target 24 is displaced from the position vertically above the electron-emitting portion by the distance Lef in the X direction. FIG. 4B is a plan view of the target 24 when viewed from above, and 25 in the drawing schematically shows the electron beam irradiation position on the lower surface of the target (note that the target 24 is shown in FIG.
(1) is a sectional view taken along the alternate long and short dash line JJ 'in (2). ).

Therefore, in order to generalize and show how the irradiation position of the electron beam on the target deviates from the position vertically above the electron emitting portion, the vector E is expediently represented.
The direction of deviation and the distance are expressed using f.

First, it can be said that the direction of the vector Ef is equal to the direction in which the negative electrode, the electron emitting portion, and the positive electrode of the electron-emitting device are arranged on the plane of the substrate. For example, in the case of FIG. 4, since the negative electrode 22, the electron emitting portion 23, and the positive electrode 21 of the electron-emitting device are sequentially arranged on the substrate 20 along the X direction, the vector Ef has the same direction as the X direction. .

For convenience of illustrating the direction in which the electron-emitting devices are formed on the substrate plane and the direction of the vector Ef, these will be schematically represented by the method illustrated in FIG. 5 (1) is an example in which the negative electrode, the electron emitting portion, and the positive electrode of the electron-emitting device 1 are formed on the substrate plane side by side along the X direction, and (2) shows the angle R with respect to the X direction. It is an example formed in the direction of.

The magnitude of the vector Ef (that is, L
ef) is determined depending on the distance Lh between the electron-emitting device and the target, the driving voltage Vf of the electron-emitting device, the potential Va of the target, the type and shape of the electron-emitting device, etc. ] It can calculate by a formula.

[0091]

[Outside 1] Where Lh [m] is the distance between the electron-emitting device and the target, Vf [V] is the drive voltage applied to the electron-emitting device, Va [V] is the voltage applied to the target, and K is the type and shape of the electron-emitting device. Determining constant K = 1 is substituted when the type and shape of the electron-emitting device to be used are unknown when obtaining a rough numerical value by the equation [3].

When the type and shape of the electron-emitting device is known, the constant K of the electron-emitting device is determined by experiment or computer simulation.

Further, in order to obtain Lef with higher accuracy, it is desirable to use K as a function of Vf instead of a constant, but a constant is sufficient for the accuracy required when designing an image display device. In many cases.

Next, the structure and manufacturing method of the electron-emitting device will be described specifically and in detail.

As described above, the electron-emitting device used in the present invention includes the positive electrode, the negative electrode, and the electron-emitting portion as the constituent members,
Moreover, these members are formed so as to be lined up on the plane of the substrate (note that a part of the negative electrode may be an element which also serves as an electron emitting portion).

As a material satisfying such requirements, for example, a surface conduction electron-emitting device or a horizontal field emission device can be mentioned. Hereinafter, the surface conduction electron-emitting device and the lateral field emission device will be described in this order.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device includes, for example, the embodiment shown in FIG. 30 and the embodiment in which fine particles are provided in the vicinity of the electron emitting portion. Regarding the former, various materials are already known as already described in the section of the prior art, but all of them are suitable as the electron-emitting device used in the present invention. Regarding the latter, materials in the examples described later,
Although the configuration and manufacturing method will be described in detail, all are suitable as the electron-emitting device used in the present invention. That is, when a surface conduction electron-emitting device is used in carrying out the present invention, there are no particular restrictions on the material, structure, manufacturing method, etc. of the device.

Regarding the surface conduction electron-emitting device,
The vector Ef indicating the direction in which the electron beam is deflected has the direction shown in FIG. In the figure, (1) is a sectional view and (2) is a plan view. In the figure, 40 is a substrate, 41 is a positive electrode, 42 is a negative electrode, 43 is an electron emitting portion, and VF is a device for applying a driving voltage to the device. Power.

Next, the horizontal field emission device refers to a field emission device in which a negative electrode, an electron emission portion and a positive electrode are arranged in parallel along the plane of the substrate. For example,
Since the element of the above-mentioned (conventional FIG. 2) is provided with the negative electrode, the electron emitting portion, and the positive electrode in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the substrate, it is not included in the horizontal category, but (1) to ((a) of FIG. The elements exemplified in 3) are included in the horizontal category. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an example in which a typical horizontal electron-emitting device is formed along the X direction on the substrate plane. In the figure, 50 is a substrate, 51 is a positive electrode, 52 is a negative electrode, and 53 is an electron. It is a discharge part. There are various shapes of the horizontal electron-emitting device other than those illustrated in FIG. 7. In short, as described with reference to FIG. 4, the trajectory of the electron beam is deflected from the vertical direction. If so, it is suitable as an element used in the first configuration of the present invention. Therefore, for example, a structure in which a modulation electrode for modulating the intensity of the electron beam is added to the configuration of FIG. 7 may be used. Further, in the electron emission portion 53, a part of the negative electrode 52 may also serve as this, or a member added on the negative electrode. Examples of the material used for the electron emitting portion of the horizontal field emission device include refractory metal and diamond, but the material is not limited to this as long as it is a material that emits electrons well.

Regarding the horizontal field emission device,
The vector Ef indicating the direction in which the electron beam is deflected has the direction shown in FIG. In the figure, (1) is a cross-sectional view and (2) is a plan view. In the figure, 50 is a substrate, 51 is a positive electrode, 52 is a negative electrode, 53 is an electron emitting portion, and VF is for applying a drive voltage to the device. Power.

The electron-emitting device suitable for use in the present invention has been described above. In the display device of Example 1, the surface conduction electron-emitting device was used.

Next, the surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the display panel of Example 1 will be described. The inventors of the present invention have found that the surface conduction electron-emitting device in which the electron emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film has excellent electron emitting characteristics and is easy to design and manufacture. That is,
It can be said that it is the most suitable element for use as a multi-electron beam source for a large-screen, high-luminance image display device. Therefore, when a display panel was prepared using a flat surface conduction electron-emitting device formed of a fine particle film, extremely good results were obtained. In addition, a display panel produced by using a vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device formed of a fine particle film also gave good results. Therefore, the planar and vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting devices formed of the fine particle film will be described in detail below.

Planar type surface conduction electron-emitting device First, the element structure and manufacturing method of the planar type surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described.

FIG. 9 is a plan view (a) and a sectional view (b) for explaining the structure of the flat surface conduction electron-emitting device. In the figure, 101 is a substrate, 102 is a positive electrode, 1
Reference numeral 03 is a negative electrode, reference numeral 104 is a conductive thin film, reference numeral 105 is an electron emitting portion formed by an energization forming treatment, and reference numeral 113 is a thin film formed by an energization activation treatment.

As the substrate 101, for example, various glass substrates such as quartz glass and soda lime glass, various ceramics substrates such as alumina, or an insulating layer made of, for example, SiO ₂ on the above various substrates. A laminated substrate or the like can be used.

Further, the positive electrode 102 and the negative electrode 103, which are provided on the substrate 101 so as to face each other in parallel with the substrate surface, are made of a conductive material. For example, Ni, C
Metals such as r, Au, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Cu, Pd, and Ag, alloys of these metals, or metal oxides such as In ₂ O ₃ —SnO ₂ ,
A material may be appropriately selected and used from semiconductors such as polysilicon. The electrodes can be easily formed by combining a film forming technique such as vacuum deposition and a patterning technique such as photolithography and etching, but it can be formed by another method (for example, a printing technique). It doesn't matter.

The shapes of the positive electrode 102 and the negative electrode 103 are appropriately designed according to the application purpose of the electron-emitting device. In general, the electrode interval L is usually designed by selecting an appropriate value from the range of several hundred Å to several hundreds of micrometers, but it is preferable that the electrode interval L is more than several micrometers for application to a display device. It is in the range of ten micrometers. Further, with respect to the thickness d, an appropriate numerical value is usually selected from the range of several hundred Å to several micrometers.

A fine particle film is used for the conductive thin film 104. The fine particle film described here refers to a film (including an island-shaped aggregate) containing a large number of fine particles as a constituent element. When the fine particle film is examined microscopically, usually, a structure in which individual fine particles are arranged apart from each other, a structure in which the fine particles are adjacent to each other, or a structure in which the fine particles overlap each other are observed.

The particle diameter of the fine particles used for the fine particle film is in the range of several Å to several thousand Å, but the range of 10 Å to 200 Å is particularly preferable. Further, the film thickness of the fine particle film is appropriately set in consideration of various conditions as described below. That is, the conditions necessary for making good electrical connection with the device electrode 102 or 103,
The conditions necessary for favorably performing the energization forming described below and the conditions required for making the electric resistance of the fine particle film itself to a definite value described later are included. Specifically, it is set within the range of several Å to several thousand Å, but the most preferable range is between 10 Å and 500 Å.

It is also used to form a fine particle film.
As the material, for example, Pd, Pt, Ru, Ag,
Au, Ti, In, Cu, Cr, Fe, Zn, Sn, T
Metals such as a, W and Pb, PdO and Sn
O₂, In₂O₃, PBO, Sb₂O₃Etc.
Oxides and HfB₂, ZrB₁, LaB₆, CeB₆, Y
B _Four, GdB_FourAnd other borides, TiC, Z
Including rC, HfC, TaC, SiC, WC, etc.
Carbides, TiN, ZrN, HfN, etc.
Nitrides, semiconductors such as Si and Ge,
Carbon, etc. are listed, and are appropriately selected from these.
Be done.

As described above, the conductive thin film 104 is formed of a fine particle film, and its sheet resistance value is 10
^It was set to fall within the range of ³ to 10 ⁷ [ohm / □].

Since it is desirable that the conductive thin film 104 and the positive electrode 102 and the negative electrode 103 are electrically connected well, the conductive thin film 104 and the positive electrode 102 and the negative electrode 103 have a structure in which some of them overlap each other. In the example of FIG. 9, the overlapping manner is from the bottom,
Although the substrate, the positive electrode, the negative electrode, and the conductive thin film are laminated in this order, in some cases, the substrate, the conductive thin film, the positive electrode, and the negative electrode may be laminated in this order from the bottom.

The electron emitting portion 105 is made of the conductive thin film 1
This is a crack-like portion formed in a part of No. 04, and has an electrically higher resistance than the surrounding conductive thin film.
The cracks are formed by subjecting the conductive thin film 104 to a later-described energization forming process. Fine particles with a particle size of several Å to several hundred Å may be placed in the crack. Since it is difficult to accurately and accurately illustrate the actual position and shape of the electron-emitting portion, the electron-emitting portion is schematically shown in FIG.

Further, the thin film 113 is a thin film made of carbon or a carbon compound and covers the electron emitting portion 105 and its vicinity. The thin film 113 is formed by performing an energization activation process described below after the energization forming process.

The thin film 113 is made of single crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and the thin film has a thickness of 500 [Å] or less.
It is more preferable to set it to 300 [Å] or less.

Since it is difficult to accurately illustrate the actual position and shape of the thin film 113, it is schematically shown in FIG. Further, in the plan view (a), an element in which a part of the thin film 113 is removed is shown.

The basic structure of a preferable element has been described above, but the following elements were used in the examples.

That is, soda lime glass was used for the substrate 101, and Ni thin films were used for the positive electrode 102 and the negative electrode 103. The electrode thickness d was 1000 [Å], and the electrode interval L was 2 [micrometer].

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

Next, a method of manufacturing a suitable flat type surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described.

10A to 10D are sectional views for explaining the manufacturing process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the notation of each member is the same as that in FIG.

1) First, as shown in FIG. 10A, a positive electrode 102 and a negative electrode 103 are formed on a substrate 101.

Before forming, the substrate 1 is formed.
01 is thoroughly washed with a detergent, pure water, and an organic solvent, and then the material of the element electrode is deposited (the deposition method may be, for example, a vacuum film forming technique such as a vapor deposition method or a slaughter method). . Then, the deposited electrode material is patterned by using a photolithography / etching technique to form a pair of electrodes (102 and 103) shown in (a).

2) Next, a conductive thin film 104 is formed as shown in FIG.

In forming the film, first, an organic metal solution is applied to the substrate (a), dried, and heated and baked to form a fine particle film, which is then patterned into a predetermined shape by photolithography and etching. . here,
The organometallic solution is a solution of an organometallic compound whose main element is the material of the fine particles used for the conductive thin film (specifically, Pd is used as the main element in this example.
Although the dipping method is used as the coating method in the embodiments, other methods such as a spinner method and a spray method may be used. ).

As a method for forming a conductive thin film made of a fine particle film, other than the method of applying the organometallic solution used in this embodiment, for example, vacuum vapor deposition method, sputtering method, or chemical vapor deposition method. A deposition method may be used in some cases.

3) Next, as shown in FIG. 7C, an appropriate voltage is applied from the forming power source 110 between the positive electrode 102 and the negative electrode 103 to perform energization forming processing,
The electron emitting portion 1105 is formed.

The energization forming treatment means that the electroconductive thin film 104 made of a fine particle film is energized so that a part of it is appropriately destroyed, deformed, or altered to have a structure suitable for electron emission. It is a process that causes it. Appropriate cracks are formed in the thin film in the portion of the conductive thin film made of the fine particle film that has changed to a structure suitable for emitting electrons (that is, the electron emitting portion 105). In addition,
The electrical resistance measured between the positive electrode 102 and the negative electrode 103 after the formation is significantly increased compared to before the formation of the electron emission portion 105.

In order to describe the energization method in more detail, FIG. 11 shows an example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from the forming power supply 110. When forming a conductive thin film made of a fine particle film, a pulsed voltage is preferable, and in the case of the present embodiment, a pulse width T as shown in FIG.
One triangular wave pulse was continuously applied at a pulse interval T2. At that time, the peak value Vpf of the triangular wave pulse was sequentially increased. Further, monitor pulses Pm for monitoring the formation state of the electron emission portion 105 are inserted between the triangular wave pulses at appropriate intervals, and the current flowing at that time is measured by the ammeter 11.
It was measured at 1.

In the embodiment, for example, 10 ^-5 [to
In a vacuum atmosphere of about rr], for example, the pulse width T1 is 1 [millisecond] and the pulse interval T2 is 10 [millisecond].
Then, the peak value Vpf was increased by 0.1 [V] for each pulse. And, it is 1 for every 5 pulses of triangular wave.
The monitor pulse Pm was inserted every time. The voltage Vpm of the monitor pulse was set to 0.1 [V] so as not to adversely affect the forming process. The electric resistance between the positive electrode 102 and the negative electrode 103 is 1 × 10.
^{When the} current reaches ⁶ [ohms], that is, when the monitor pulse is applied, the current measured by the ammeter 1111 is 1 × 10
^{-7 When} [A] or less, the energization related to the forming process was terminated.

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

4) Next, as shown in FIG.
Appropriate voltage is applied between the positive electrode 102 and the negative electrode 103 from the activation power supply 112, and the energization activation process is performed to improve the electron emission characteristics.

The energization activation process is a process of energizing the electron-emitting portion 105 formed by the energization forming process under appropriate conditions to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity thereof (in the figure, Shows schematically a deposit made of carbon or a carbon compound as the member 113). Note that by performing the energization activation process, the emission current at the same applied voltage can be increased typically 100 times or more as compared to before the energization activation process.

Specifically, 10 ⁻⁴ to 10 ⁻⁵ [tor
By periodically applying a voltage pulse in a vacuum atmosphere in the range of r], carbon or a carbon compound originating from an organic compound existing in the vacuum atmosphere is deposited.
The deposit 113 is one of single crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, and amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and has a film thickness of 500 [Å] or less, more preferably 3
It is less than 00 [Å].

In order to explain the energization method in more detail, FIG. 12A shows an example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from the activation power supply 112. In this embodiment, the energization activation process is performed by periodically applying a rectangular wave having a constant voltage. Specifically, the rectangular wave voltage Vac is 14 [V] and the pulse width T3 is 1 [millimeter]. Sec] and the pulse interval T4 was 10 [millisecond]. The above-mentioned energization conditions are preferable conditions for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of this embodiment, and when the design of the surface conduction electron emission device is changed, it is desirable to appropriately change the conditions accordingly.

Reference numeral 114 shown in FIG. 9D is an anode electrode for capturing the emission current Ie emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device, which is a DC high voltage power supply 115 and an ammeter 1.
16 is connected (when the substrate 101 is incorporated into the display panel and then the activation process is performed, the fluorescent surface of the display panel is used as the anode electrode 114).

While the voltage is applied from the activation power supply 112, the emission current Ie is measured by the ammeter 116 to monitor the progress of the energization activation process, and the operation of the activation power supply 112 is controlled. Emission current Ie measured by ammeter 116
An example is shown in FIG. 12B. When the pulse voltage is started to be applied from the activation power supply 112, the emission current Ie increases with the elapse of time, but the emission current Ie saturates and hardly increases. Thus, when the emission current Ie is almost saturated, the voltage application from the activation power supply 112 is stopped,
The energization activation process ends.

The above energization conditions are preferable conditions for the surface-conduction type electron-emitting device of this embodiment, and when the design of the surface-conduction type electron-emitting device is changed, the conditions should be changed accordingly. desirable.

As described above, the plane type surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 10E was manufactured.

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

FIG. 13 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the basic structure of the vertical type, in which 201 is a substrate and 20 is a substrate.
2 is a positive electrode, 203 is a negative electrode, 206 is a step forming member, 20
Reference numeral 4 is a conductive thin film using a fine particle film, 205 is an electron emission portion formed by energization forming treatment, and 213 is a thin film formed by energization activation treatment.

The vertical type is different from the planar type described above in that the positive electrode 202 is provided on the step forming member 206, and the conductive thin film 204 covers the side surface of the step forming member 206. . Therefore, the device electrode spacing L in the flat type shown in FIG. 9 is set as the step height Lg of the step forming member 206 in the vertical type. The substrate 2
For 01, the positive electrode 202 and the negative electrode 203, and the conductive thin film 204 using a fine particle film, the materials listed in the description of the planar type can be similarly used. The step forming member 206 is made of an electrically insulating material such as SiO ₂ .

Next, a method of manufacturing a vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. 14A to 14F are cross-sectional views for explaining the manufacturing process, and the notation of each member is the same as in FIG.
Same as 3.

1) First, as shown in FIG. 14A, the negative electrode 203 is formed on the substrate 201.

2) Next, as shown in FIG. 13B, an insulating layer for forming a step forming member is laminated. The insulating layer may be formed by stacking SiO ₂ , for example, by a sputtering method, but another film forming method such as a vacuum vapor deposition method or a printing method may be used.

3) Next, as shown in FIG. 13C, the positive electrode 202 is formed on the insulating layer.

4) Next, as shown in FIG. 9D, a part of the insulating layer is removed by using, for example, an etching method to expose the negative electrode 203.

5) Next, as shown in FIG. 7E, a conductive thin film 204 using a fine particle film is formed. For formation, a film forming technique such as a coating method may be used as in the case of the flat type.

6) Next, as in the case of the flat type, the energization forming process is performed to form the electron emitting portion (the same process as the flat type energization forming process described with reference to FIG. 10C). Just go.).

7) Next, as in the case of the flat type, the energization activation process is performed to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity of the electron emitting portion (the flat type energization described with reference to FIG. 10D). The same process as the activation process may be performed).

As described above, the vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 14 (f) was manufactured.

(Characteristics of Surface Conduction Type Emitting Element Used for Display Device) The structure and manufacturing method of the plane type and vertical type surface conduction type emitting element have been described above. I will describe.

FIG. 15 shows a typical example of characteristics of (emission current Ie) vs. (element applied voltage Vd) of an element used in a display device. The emission current Ie is changed by changing design parameters such as the size and shape of the device, and therefore the graph is shown in arbitrary units.

The element used in the display device has the following three characteristics regarding the emission current Ie.

First, a certain voltage (this is the threshold voltage Vth
The emission current Ie sharply increases when a voltage of the above magnitude is applied to the element, while the emission current Ie is hardly detected at a voltage lower than the threshold voltage Vth.

That is, it is a nonlinear element having a clear threshold voltage Vth with respect to the emission current Ie.

Secondly, since the emission current Ie changes depending on the voltage Vd applied to the element, the emission current Ie at the voltage Vd.
The size of e can be controlled.

Thirdly, since the response speed of the current Ie emitted from the element is high with respect to the voltage Vd applied to the element, the charge amount of the electrons emitted from the element depends on the length of time the voltage Vd is applied. You can control.

Due to the above characteristics, the surface conduction electron-emitting device could be preferably used in a display device. For example, in a display device provided with a large number of elements corresponding to the pixels of the display screen, by utilizing the first characteristic, it is possible to sequentially scan the display screen for display. That is, the threshold voltage Vth is set to the driven element according to the desired light emission luminance.
The above voltages are appropriately applied, and a voltage lower than the threshold voltage Vth is applied to the non-selected elements. By sequentially switching the elements to be driven, it is possible to sequentially scan the display screen for display.

Further, by utilizing the second characteristic or the third characteristic, the emission brightness can be controlled, so that it is possible to perform the gradation display.

Multi with a large number of elements wired in a simple matrix
Structure of Electron Beam Source Next, the structure of a multi-electron beam source in which the above-mentioned surface conduction electron -emitting devices are arranged on a substrate and wired in a simple matrix will be described.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the multi-electron beam source used in the display panel of FIG. Surface conduction electron-emitting devices similar to those shown in FIG. 9 are arranged on the substrate, and these devices are wired in a simple matrix by row-direction wiring electrodes 3 and column-direction wiring electrodes 4.
An insulating layer (not shown) is formed between the electrodes at the intersections of the row-direction wiring electrodes 3 and the column-direction wiring electrodes 4 to maintain electrical insulation.

A cross section taken along the line AA 'in FIG. 16 is shown in FIG.
Shown in

The multi-electron source having such a structure is
The row-direction wiring electrode 3, the column-direction wiring electrode 4, the interelectrode insulating layer (not shown), and the element electrode of the surface conduction electron-emitting device and the conductive thin film are formed on the substrate 1 in advance, and then the row-direction wiring electrode 3 is formed. And each element was supplied with electric power through the column direction wiring electrode 4, and the energization forming treatment was performed by conducting the energization activation treatment.

(Structure of Electric Circuit) Next, the structure of the electric circuit of the image display apparatus of Example 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing the basic structure of an electric circuit. In the figure, 71 is a display panel, 72 is a scanning signal generator, 73 is a modulation signal voltage converter, 74 is a pulse width modulator, and 75 is a pulse width modulator. Is a serial / parallel converter, 76 is a timing control circuit, 77 is a calculator, 78 is a memory, 79 is a decoder, 80 is a constant voltage source, 81 is a constant voltage source, 82 is a control voltage source, 83 is a constant voltage source, Reference numeral 84 is a data array converter.

The function of each unit will be described below.

The structure of the display panel 71 has already been described with reference to FIG. Terminal Dx1 of the display panel 71
Dxm is electrically connected to the scanning signal generator 72, terminals Dy1 to Dyn are electrically connected to the modulation signal voltage converter 73, and terminal Hv is electrically connected to the constant voltage source 83.

The scanning signal generator 72 is a circuit for generating a scanning signal for sequentially scanning the multi-electron beam source built in the display panel 71 at the timing of displaying an image. Specifically, the terminal D of the display panel 71
The selection voltage Vs [V] is applied to one of x1 to Dxm and the non-selection voltage Vns [V] is applied to the remaining (m-1) lines, but the scan timing control signal Tscan generated by the timing control circuit 76 is applied. First, the terminals to which the selection voltage Vs is applied are sequentially scanned. 0 as the selection voltage Vs
[V] was set and this was supplied from the ground level.
As the non-selection voltage Vns, a voltage obtained by multiplying the electron emission threshold voltage Vth of the electron-emitting device described in FIG. 108 by 0.8 is set and supplied from the constant voltage source 80.

The modulation signal voltage converter 73 is a voltage conversion circuit for converting the voltage of the modulation signal output from the pulse width modulator 74 into a voltage suitable for driving the multi electron beam source. Specifically, the high level of the modulation pulse output from the pulse width modulator 74 is converted into Vf [V], and the low level thereof is converted into Vns [V]. As Vf [V], a voltage obtained by multiplying the electron emission threshold voltage Vth of the electron-emitting device by 1.6 is set as a reference value, but is appropriately corrected according to the positional deviation between the phosphor and the electron-emitting device. Vf [V] was supplied from the control voltage source 82 to the modulation signal voltage converter 73. A voltage obtained by multiplying the electron emission threshold voltage Vth of the electron-emitting device by 0.8 is set as Vns [V], and the constant voltage source 8 is set.
This was supplied from 1.

The constant voltage source 83 applies a voltage of Va [V] to the fluorescent film of the display panel 71 via the terminal Hv.

In order to determine the output voltage of each power supply, it is necessary to consider the following requirements.

The ability to supply the electric power (Ie × Va) required to achieve the desired brightness to the phosphor.

When the driving condition is substituted into the above formula [3], the electron beam should be set so as to irradiate a predetermined position of the phosphor.

To set Vs and Vns so that crosstalk does not occur between the electron-emitting devices that are wired in a simple matrix.

Therefore, in the image display device of Example 1, Vns = 7.2 in consideration of the characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device used for the multi-electron beam source and the emission characteristics of the phosphor.
[V], Vf (reference value) = 14.2 [V], and Va = 5 [kV] according to the emission characteristics of the fluorescent film.

The decoder 79 is a circuit for decoding an image signal input from the outside, and in the first embodiment, a decoding circuit for an NTSC television signal is used.
The decoder 79 outputs the synchronization signal Sync and the image data R, G, B. The sync signal Sync includes a vertical sync signal and a horizontal sync signal, and R, G, and B are red,
It contains luminance data for each of the colors green and blue.

The data array converter 84 is a circuit for arranging the brightness data of the three primary colors supplied from the decoder 79 in accordance with the pixel array of the display panel 71. That is, R according to the arrangement of the three primary color stripe phosphors,
G and B are sampled and arrayed, and serial signals Da
Output as ta.

The timing control circuit 76 includes a decoder 79.
A timing control signal (T) for adjusting the operation timing of each part based on the synchronization signal Sync supplied from
read, Tsft, Tmod, Tscan and other signals (not shown).

The memory 78 stores the correction value table 1 and the correction value table 2, and reads the stored contents based on the read timing control signal Tread supplied from the timing control signal 76. Correction value table 1
The contents of the correction value table 2 are correction coefficients determined based on the amount of positional deviation between the electron-emitting device and the striped phosphor in the display panel 71 after the assembly is completed.

That is, the contents of the correction value table 1 are parameters for correcting the trajectory of the electron beam so that the electron beam irradiates the predetermined position of the phosphor, and more specifically, it is applied to the electron-emitting device. It is a correction coefficient of the voltage Vf. Correction coefficient Cor read from the correction value table 1
l is supplied to the control voltage source 82 and acts to correct the output voltage Vf of 82.

Further, the contents of the correction value table 2 are parameters for correcting the change in the light emission luminance which occurs when the voltage Vf applied to the electron-emitting device is corrected by the correction value table 1, and more specifically, the image. It is a correction coefficient of the data Data. Correction coefficient C read from the correction value table 2
or2 is supplied to the arithmetic unit 77 and acts to correct the image data Data.

The calculator 77 is a calculator for correcting the image data Data supplied from the data array converter 84 based on the correction coefficient Cor2 read from the correction value table 2 of the memory 78.

The serial / parallel converter 75 is a circuit for performing serial / parallel conversion of the corrected image data Data ′ output from the arithmetic unit 77 in units of one line of the image (that is, n pixels). We used a shift register with. The serial / parallel conversion 75 outputs n parallel signals D1 to Dn. In addition,
It includes a timing control signal Tsft supplied from the timing control circuit 76, a shift clock for operating the shift register, and a latch clock for transferring the data for one line in the shift register to the latch. There is.

The pulse width modulator 74 is provided with n pulse width changing circuits, and based on each of D1 to Dn supplied from the serial / parallel converter 75, the pulse width modulating signals D1 'to Dn'. Is output. That is, based on the corrected image data, a pulse having a longer width (shorter) is output as the luminance is higher (smaller). Pulse width modulation signal D1 '
The timing of outputting ~ Dn 'is managed by the control signal Tmod supplied from the timing control circuit 76, and by this, the synchronization between the scanning signal output from the scanning signal generator 72 and the pulse width modulation signal is adjusted. .

(Procedure of Correction) Next, the procedure of preventing the deterioration of the image quality due to the positional deviation between the electron-emitting device and the phosphor in the image display device of the embodiment 1 will be described.

First, before starting the operation as the image display device, it is necessary to store the correction value in the memory 78 of FIG. 18 in advance. This procedure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

S81 First, the display panel was assembled. That is, the display panel of FIG. 2 was assembled by aligning the substrate on which the electron-emitting device was formed and the face plate on which the phosphor was formed, and sealing the vacuum container.

S82 Next, the assembled display panel was inspected, and the deviation from the set value was measured for the relative position of the electron-emitting device and the phosphor.
Specifically, the alignment mark attached to the substrate on which the electron-emitting device was formed and the alignment mark attached to the face plate were observed using a stereoscopic microscope, and the shift amount was measured. In some cases, the electron emitting device may be driven on a trial basis to cause the phosphor to emit light, and the actual light emitting position and the designed light emitting position may be compared to evaluate the deviation.

S83 Next, based on the amount of deviation from the set value of the electron-emitting device and the phosphor measured in S82, the correction value of the drive parameter was calculated using a computer. The correction value of the drive parameter will be described later with reference to FIGS.

S84 Next, the correction value calculated in S83 was stored in the memory 78 of FIG.

The procedure for storing the correction value in the memory 78 has been described above. Next, the correction value stored in the memory 78 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 20 to 23.

As described above, in some rare cases, the electron-emitting device and the phosphor may be assembled according to the design values without displacement, but in the majority, displacement occurs and the direction of displacement It can be said that the amount is different for each panel. Therefore, we classify the types of misalignment,
The contents of the correction value will be described for each case.

When there is no misalignment FIG. 20 is a plan view schematically showing the irradiation position of the electron beam. The substrate on which the electron-emitting device of FIG. 1 (1) is formed and FIG. 1 (2). The case where the face plate on which the striped phosphor is formed is assembled according to the design value without displacement.

XY coordinates in the figure show the direction in which the electron-emitting devices are arranged, and AP and AE show alignment marks. As shown in this figure, when assembled without misalignment according to design, the electron beam naturally irradiates a predetermined position of the striped phosphor,
Problems such as color misregistration and reduction in brightness do not occur. Therefore, the output voltage of the control voltage source 82 in FIG. 18 may remain the reference value set at the time of design, that is, Vf = 14.2 [V]. Therefore, the content of the correction value table 1 of the memory 78 may be a control signal for the control voltage source 82 to output 14.2 [V]. In addition, the image data Data
With respect to, it suffices that it be output as it is even through the arithmetic unit 77. Therefore, the content of the correction value table 2 may be set to 1 when a multiplier / divider is used as the calculator 77, for example.

[0196] In the case where the phosphors are assembled while being displaced in the Y direction.
If Figure 21 is a stripe type phosphor is a schematic plan view illustrating a case where the shifted position distance dif1 in the Y direction of the array of electron-emitting devices. The irradiation position of the electron beam deviates from the setting in the Y direction, but as already described in the formula [2], in the present invention, the stripe shape is longer than the length EBy in the Y direction in which the electron-emitting devices are arranged on the substrate. Since the length PHy of the phosphor is set to be long, problems such as color misregistration and reduction in brightness do not occur. Therefore, the output voltage of the control voltage source 82 in FIG. 18 may remain the reference value set at the time of design, that is, Vf = 14.2 [V]. Therefore, the content of the correction value table 1 of the memory 78 may be a control signal for the control voltage source 82 to output 14.2 [V]. Further, the image data Data may be output as it is even through the arithmetic unit 77. Therefore, the contents of the correction value table 2 are
For example, if a multiplier / divider is used as the computing unit 77,
You can leave it as 1.

In the case where the phosphors are assembled while being displaced in the X direction,
If Figure 22 is a stripe type phosphor is a schematic plan view illustrating a case where the shifted position distance dif2 in the X direction of the array of electron-emitting devices. As shown in the figure, the electron beam irradiates the black conductor 10 and the adjacent phosphor, resulting in insufficient brightness and color shift. But,
In this embodiment, the driving voltage of the electron-emitting device is corrected to correct the electron beam irradiation position in the direction of arrow p in the figure, and it is possible to prevent insufficient brightness and color shift.

That is, using the relation of the above equation [3],
The deflection distance of the electron beam is corrected by the size of dif2.

[0199]

[Outside 2] dif2 [m] is the distance that the phosphor is displaced from the set position in the X direction. Lh [m] is the distance between the electron-emitting device and the phosphor. Vf [V] is the reference value of the driving voltage of the electron-emitting device Vf ′ [ V] is the corrected driving voltage of the electron-emitting device Va [V] is the voltage applied to the phosphor K is a constant determined by the type and shape of the electron-emitting device

Solving the equation [4] for Vf ',

[0201]

[Outside 3] Becomes

Therefore, the correction value table 1 is stored in the memory 78 so as to store the correction value so that the output voltage of the control voltage source 82 is corrected from Vf to Vf 'calculated by the equation [4'].

On the other hand, when the driving voltage of the electron-emitting device is corrected from Vf to Vf ', the irradiation position of the electron beam is corrected, but the emission current Ie increases, so that the brightness of the entire display image changes. That is, referring to the electron emission characteristic of FIG. 15, the emission current increases from Ie1 to Ie1 '. Therefore, the brightness of the entire display image becomes Ie '/ Ie times brighter than the original design. Therefore, the image data Data is corrected to prevent the brightness change. In this embodiment, a multiplier / divider is used as the computing unit 77, and Ie / Ie ′ is stored in the correction value table 2 of the memory 78 as a correction value.

By storing the above contents in the correction value table 1 and the correction value table 2 of the memory 78, when the phosphor is displaced in the Y direction, the irradiation position of the electron beam and the irradiation charge amount are corrected. It became possible to do. Note that FIG. 22 exemplifies the case where the displacement of the phosphors occurs only in the X direction, but even when the displacement in the Y direction as illustrated in FIG. 21 occurs at the same time, the same correction is made in the memory 78. Of course, it is only necessary to store the value.

The angle of the phosphor (face plate) is shifted
When assembled Te Figure 23, the face plate is rotated, a schematic plan view illustrating a case where an angle relative to the substrate formed with the electron-emitting device assembled deviates from a predetermined angle.

As shown, the electron beam is emitted from the black conductor 1.
Since 0 or an adjacent phosphor is irradiated, insufficient brightness and color misregistration occur. Moreover, since the deviation of the electron beam irradiation position varies depending on the location of the display screen, the deterioration of the image quality is not uniform over the entire screen.

However, in this embodiment, the driving voltage of the electron-emitting device can be corrected to correct the electron beam irradiation position in the directions of the arrows p1 to p4 in the figure to prevent insufficient brightness and color misregistration. That is, as in the case of FIG. 22, the electron beam deflection distance is corrected by utilizing the relationship of the above expression [3].

However, instead of making the same correction for all electron-emitting devices as in the case of FIG. 22, one line of electron-emitting devices arranged in the X direction was used as a unit for correction.

[0209] That is, the correction value table 1 of the memory 78
The correction value of the drive voltage for each line of the electron-emitting device is stored in, and is read in synchronization with the timing of driving the electron-emitting device line by line, and the control voltage source 8
The output voltage of 2 was corrected.

Further, in order to prevent the luminance change from occurring due to the correction of the electron beam irradiation position, it is necessary to perform different correction for the image data Data for each line of the electron-emitting device. Therefore, the correction values for each line are stored in the correction value table 2 of the memory 78, and the values are read out and corrected by the calculator 77 in synchronization with the input image data Data.

As described above, the correction value is calculated for each line and stored in the correction value table 1 and the correction value table 2 of the memory 78, so that the electron beam irradiation is performed when the angle of the phosphor is deviated. It became possible to correct the position and the amount of irradiation charge.

In the above embodiment, the correction is made in units of one line of the electron-emitting device. However, when more precise correction is required, the correction is made for each electron-emitting device. Is desirable. In that case, the memory 78
The correction value table 1 is stored with the drive voltage correction value for each element of the electron-emitting device, and n control voltage sources 82 shown in FIG. 18 are prepared for the pulse width modulator 7.
4 output signals D1 'to Dn' may be individually voltage-corrected. The correction value table 2 of the memory 78 stores the brightness correction value for each element of the electron-emitting device,
The correction calculation may be performed in the calculator 77 for each pixel of the image signal.

The image display apparatus of Example 1 has been described above. As is clear from the description, it was possible to provide a good display image regardless of whether the electron-emitting device and the phosphor are misaligned.

(Embodiment 2) Next, another preferred embodiment of the image display device according to the present invention will be described. However, the structure and manufacturing method of the display panel, and the preferable structure and manufacturing method of the electron-emitting device are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore the description thereof is omitted. The configuration of the electric circuit and the correction procedure of the second embodiment will be described below.

(Structure of Electric Circuit) The structure of the electric circuit of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of an electric circuit. In the figure, 71 is a display panel, 72 is a scanning signal generator, 73 is a modulation signal voltage converter, 74 is a pulse width modulator, and 75 is a pulse width modulator. Is a serial / parallel converter, 76 is a timing control circuit, 77 is an arithmetic unit, 79 is a decoder, 80
Is a constant voltage source, 81 is a constant voltage source, and 84 is a data array converter. The functions of these circuits are the same as those of the circuit of the first embodiment described in FIG. Further, 85 is a memory, 86
Is a constant voltage source and 87 is a control voltage source.

The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the irradiation position of the electron beam is corrected by correcting the voltage Vf applied to the electron-emitting device in the first embodiment, whereas the second embodiment is different. The point is to correct the irradiation position of the electron beam by correcting the voltage Va applied to the phosphor.
Therefore, the electric circuit of FIG. 24 is configured so that the voltage Va applied to the phosphor can be corrected according to the positional deviation between the electron-emitting device and the phosphor.

In other words, the correction value table 3 of the memory 85
Stores the correction value of the voltage Va applied to the phosphor, and the control voltage source 87 connected to the terminal Hv of the display panel 71 stores the correction value Cor read from the correction value table 3.
The voltage is output based on 3. The control voltage source 87
The output voltage of the reference voltage is 5 [kV], and the correction value Cor
This was corrected according to 3.

The output voltage of the constant voltage source 80 and the constant voltage source 81 is Vns = 7.2 [V], and the constant voltage source 86
The output voltage of Vf was set to Vf = 14.2 [V].

(Procedure of Correction) Also in the image display apparatus of Embodiment 2, the correction values are stored in advance in the correction value table 3 and the correction value table 4 of the memory 85 by the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. .

The contents of the correction value will be described.

When there is no positional deviation As shown in FIG. 20, when no positional deviation occurs, the output voltage of the control voltage source 87 is a reference value, that is, V.
The value of a = 5 [kV] may be maintained. Therefore, the control value Cor3 for the control voltage source 87 to output 5 [kV] may be stored in the correction value table 3. Further, the image data Data may be output as it is even through the arithmetic unit 77. Therefore, the content of the correction value table 4 may be set to 1 when, for example, a multiplier / divider is used as the calculator 77.

[0223] In the case where the phosphors are assembled while being displaced in the Y direction.
As shown in case 21, as in the case where the phosphor is shifted along the Y direction is the electron beam irradiation position is shifted in the Y-direction than the set has been described already [2] where the present invention Then, the length E in the Y direction in which the electron-emitting devices are arranged on the substrate
Since the length PHy of the stripe-shaped phosphor is set to be longer than that of By, problems such as color misregistration and reduction in brightness do not occur. Therefore, the output voltage of the control voltage source 87 in FIG. 24 is the reference value set at the time of design, that is, Va = 5 [k
V] is acceptable. Therefore, the content of the correction value table 3 of the memory 85 may be the control signal Cor3 for the control voltage source 87 to output 5 [kV]. Further, the image data Data may be output as it is even through the arithmetic unit 77. Therefore, the content of the correction value table 4 may be set to 1 when a multiplier / divider is used as the calculator 77, for example.

[0224] In the case where the phosphors are assembled while being displaced in the X direction.
As shown in case 22, when the stripe-shaped phosphor misaligned by a distance dif2 in the X direction of the array of electron-emitting devices, in this embodiment corrects the voltage applied to the phosphor Figure The electron beam irradiation position can be corrected in the direction of the arrow p in the middle to prevent insufficient brightness and color shift.

That is, using the relation of the above equation [3],
The deflection distance of the electron beam is corrected by the size of dif2.

[0226]

[Outside 4] dif2 [m] is the distance that the phosphor is displaced from the set position in the X direction, Lh [m] is the distance between the electron-emitting device and the phosphor, Vf [V] is the driving voltage Va [V] of the electron-emitting device, The voltage Va '[V] applied to the phosphor is the corrected voltage K applied to the phosphor K is a constant determined by the type and shape of the electron-emitting device.

Solving the equation [5] for Va ',

[0228]

[Outside 5] Becomes

Therefore, in the correction value table 3 of the memory 85, the correction value is stored so as to correct the output voltage of the control voltage source 87 from Va to Va 'calculated by the equation [5'].

On the other hand, the applied voltage of the phosphor is changed from Va to Va '.
If the correction is made to, the irradiation position of the electron beam will be corrected,
Since the electric power for exciting the phosphor changes from Ie × Va to Ie × Va ′, the brightness of the entire display image changes. That is, the brightness of the entire display image is higher than that of the original design by V.
It becomes a '/ Va times. Therefore, the image data Da
Correct ta to prevent a change in luminance. In this embodiment, a multiplier is used as the computing unit 77, and Va / Va ′ is stored as a correction value in the correction value table 4 of the memory 85.

By storing the above contents in the correction value table 3 and the correction value table 4 of the memory 85, the irradiation position of the electron beam and the excitation power of the phosphor when the phosphor is displaced in the Y direction. Can be corrected. Note that FIG. 22 exemplifies a case where the displacement of the phosphors occurs only in the X direction. However, even when the displacement in the Y direction as illustrated in FIG. Of course, it is only necessary to store the value.

The angle of the phosphor (face plate) is shifted
When assembled as shown in FIG. 23, when the face plate is rotated and the angle with respect to the substrate on which the electron-emitting devices are formed is deviated from a predetermined angle, the applied voltage Va of the phosphor is set in this embodiment. Can be corrected to correct the electron beam irradiation position in the directions of the arrows p1 to p4 in the figure, and insufficient brightness and color shift can be prevented. That is, as in the case of FIG. 22, the electron beam deflection distance is corrected by utilizing the relationship of the above expression [3].

However, instead of making the same correction for all the electron-emitting devices as in the case of FIG. 22, one line of the electron-emitting devices arranged in the X direction was used as a unit for correction.

That is, the correction value table 3 of the memory 85
Stores the correction value of Va in the case of driving each line of the electron-emitting device, and reads it in synchronization with the timing of driving the electron-emitting device line by line,
The output voltage of the control voltage source 87 is corrected.

Further, in order to prevent the luminance change from occurring due to the correction of the electron beam irradiation position, it is necessary to perform different correction for the image data Data for each line of the electron-emitting device. Therefore, the correction values for each line are stored in the correction value table 4 of the memory 85, and the correction values are corrected by the reading arithmetic unit 77 in synchronization with the input image data Data.

As described above, the correction value is calculated for each line and stored in the correction value table 3 and the correction value table 4 of the memory 85, so that the electron beam irradiation is performed when the angle of the phosphor is deviated. It became possible to correct the position and the excitation power of the phosphor.

The image display device of the second embodiment has been described above. As is clear from the description, it was possible to provide a good display image whether or not the electron-emitting device and the phosphor were misaligned.

(Embodiment 3) Next, another preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described.

First, the correction method of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. 25 (1) to (3) are cross-sectional views showing trajectories until the electron beam emitted from the electron-emitting device irradiates the phosphor, and 1 in the figure is a substrate for forming the electron-emitting device. , 7 are face plates. For convenience of explanation, only one electron-emitting device is shown in the drawing.

(1) is the result of assembling the display panel.
The figure shows a case where the electron-emitting device and the phosphor are not displaced from the designed position in the X direction at all.
Is a distance designed in advance using the equation [3].

In such a case, the values of the applied voltage Vf of the electron-emitting device and the applied voltage Va of the phosphor are not corrected in the third embodiment as in the first and second embodiments. .

(2) As a result of assembling the display panel,
At the design position shown in (1), the phosphor di in the X direction
The figure shows the case where it is shifted by f. Note that here, dif
2 is smaller than the arrangement pitch of the phosphors.

In such a case, also in the third embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the voltage applied to the electron emitting device so that the electron beam from the G electron emitting device appropriately irradiates the G phosphor. Correct Vf. Alternatively, the above-mentioned Example 2
Similarly, the voltage Va applied to the phosphor is corrected.

In (3), when the display panel is assembled,
This shows a case where the phosphor is displaced in the X direction by dif3 as a result of the phosphor being displaced parallel to the X direction or the angle being displaced. It is assumed here that dif3 is larger than the arrangement pitch PX of the phosphors.

In such a case, as in the case of (2), V
In principle, it is also possible to correct the trajectory of the electron beam by the distance dif3 by correcting f or Va. However, when the correction rate of Vf or Va becomes large, the spot shape of the electron beam that irradiates the phosphor may change, or the brightness change due to the voltage correction may not be compensated by the image data correction. Then, the shape of the bright spots is deformed, the luminance of the entire image is shifted, or the dynamic range of gradation cannot be sufficiently secured.

Therefore, in the image display device of the third embodiment, in such a case, the correction of the electron beam trajectory by the voltage correction is limited to the distance within one pitch of the phosphor array, and the drive signal applied to the electron-emitting device is applied. Is replaced with a drive signal for the phosphor that will actually irradiate the electron beam. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 25 (3), the correction distance of the electron beam trajectory by voltage correction is limited to dif4,
The driving signal for R is applied to the electron-emitting device set for G.

Therefore, a desirable structure of the display panel and an electric circuit for performing such a correction method will be described.

The display panel of Example 3 basically had the structure shown in FIG. The face plate used for the display panel of Example 3 may be that shown in FIG. 1 (2), but it is more preferable to use the face plate shown in FIG. 26 (2).

FIG. 26 is a schematic plan view showing the setting positions of the electron-emitting device and the stripe-shaped phosphor of the display panel of Example 3, and (1) shows the electron-emitting device formed on the substrate 1. 2 shows the arrangement, and (2) shows the arrangement of the striped phosphors 11 and 11 ′ formed on the face plate 7. Alignment mark AE, distance LE, alignment mark AP, distance LP, distance EBy, distance PH
The y, array pitch PX, and array pitch PY were designed according to the same guidelines as those in FIG. The face plate shown in FIG. 26 (2) differs from the face plate shown in FIG. 1 (2) in that a spare phosphor 11 'is provided. That is, in addition to the striped phosphors 11 provided corresponding to the arrangement of the electron-emitting devices on the substrate of (1), spare phosphors 11 'shown by hatching in the drawing are provided on both sides of the phosphor 11. The reason for the provision is that in Example 3, the correction of the electron beam irradiation position is limited to within one pitch when the phosphor is displaced from the electron-emitting device by one pitch or more in the X direction as described above. This is because by providing the phosphor 11 ', it is possible to prevent the edge portion of the image from being chipped. Note that, in FIG. 26, one spare phosphor 11 ′ is provided on each of the left and right, but when a large positional deviation is predicted,
A larger number may be provided. Spare phosphor 11 '
As for the color of, the color arrangement rule (R,
(Repeat of G and B).

Next, an electric circuit of the image display device of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing the basic structure of an electric circuit. In the figure, 71 is a display panel, 72 is a scanning signal generator, 73 is a modulation signal voltage converter, 74 is a pulse width modulator, and 75 is a pulse width modulator. Is a serial / parallel converter, 76 is a timing control circuit, 77 is an arithmetic unit, 79 is a decoder, 80
Is a constant voltage source, 81 is a constant voltage source, 86 is a constant voltage source, and 87 is a control voltage source. The functions of these circuits are the same as those of the circuit of the second embodiment described in FIG. Also, 88 is 3
A memory that stores one correction value table, and 89 is a data array converter that operates based on the control signal Cor5.

In the circuit of FIG. 27, the irradiation position of the electron beam is corrected by correcting the voltage Va applied to the phosphor. That is, the correction value table 6 of the memory 88 stores the correction value of the voltage Va applied to the phosphor, and the control voltage source 87 connected to the terminal Hv of the display panel 71 is read from the correction value table 6. The voltage is output based on the correction value Cor6. The correction value Cor6 is a value for correcting the irradiation position of the electron beam within one pitch. Specifically, the output voltage of the control voltage source 87 has a reference value of 5 [kV] and is corrected according to the correction value Cor6. The output voltage of the constant voltage source 80 and the constant voltage source 81 was Vns = 7.2 [V], and the output voltage of the constant voltage source 86 was Vf = 14.2 [V].

Further, the correction value table 7 of the memory 88 stores the correction coefficient for correcting the image data Data similarly to the correction value table 4 of FIG.

Further, the correction value table 5 of the memory 88 stores array correction information for correcting the array performed by the data array converter 89.

The data array converter 89, when the positional deviation between the electron-emitting device and the phosphor in the X direction is within 1 pitch,
R according to the color arrangement order that was originally set,
G and B are arranged, but when the positional deviation exceeds one pitch, the arrangement order is changed.

With the above circuit configuration, the correction of the electron beam trajectory due to the correction of the voltage Va applied to the phosphor is limited to the distance within one pitch of the phosphor array, and the drive signal applied to the electron-emitting device is actually electronized. It has become possible to replace the drive signal for the phosphor that emits the beam.

In the circuit of FIG. 27, the phosphor applied voltage V
Although the trajectory of the electron beam is corrected by correcting a, a circuit for correcting the trajectory of the electron beam by correcting the voltage Vf applied to the electron-emitting device can be easily realized by referring to FIG. It is possible.

The image display apparatus of Example 3 has been described above. As is clear from the description, it was possible to provide a good display image regardless of whether the electron-emitting device and the phosphor are misaligned. In particular, in the case of Example 3, it was possible to provide a good image even when the displacement between the phosphor and the electron-emitting device was a large distance exceeding 1 pitch.

[0259]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even if the electron-emitting device and the phosphor are displaced from the set position when assembling the display panel, the edges of the display image are not chipped, and the brightness is insufficient or uneven on the screen. Nor. Also, the colors do not shift or mix.

That is, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the image quality caused by the displacement.

According to the present invention, effects such as prevention of image quality deterioration, reduction of characteristic variations among display devices, and improvement of manufacturing yield can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing setting positions of an electron-emitting device and a phosphor in a display panel of Examples 1 and 2.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the image display device according to the embodiment of the present invention with a part of the display panel cut away.

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a phosphor array on a face plate of a display panel.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view (1) and a plan view (2) showing electron beam trajectories of an electron-emitting device used in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a direction in which an electron-emitting device is formed.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view (1) and a plan view (2) for defining the direction of the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a typical lateral field emission device.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view (1) and a plan view (2) for defining the direction of the horizontal field emission device.

FIG. 9 is a plan view (a) and a cross-sectional view (b) of a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device used in Examples.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing applied voltage waveforms during energization forming processing.

FIG. 12 is an applied voltage waveform (a) at the time of energization activation processing,
Change in emission current Ie (b).

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device used in Examples.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 15 is a graph showing typical characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the examples.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the substrate of the multi-electron beam source used in the examples.

FIG. 17 is a partial cross-sectional view of the substrate of the multi-electron beam source used in the examples.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of an electric circuit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a procedure for storing a correction value in a memory.

FIG. 20 is a plan view showing an irradiation position of an electron beam when the electron-emitting device and the phosphor are assembled without displacement.

FIG. 21 is a plan view showing an irradiation position of an electron beam when a phosphor is assembled with being shifted in the Y direction with respect to an electron-emitting device.

FIG. 22 is a plan view showing an irradiation position of an electron beam when a phosphor is assembled with being shifted in the X direction with respect to an electron-emitting device.

FIG. 23 is a plan view showing an electron beam irradiation position in the case where a phosphor is assembled with an angle shifted with respect to an electron-emitting device.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram of an electric circuit according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a sectional view for explaining the correction method of the third embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a schematic plan view for explaining setting positions of the electron-emitting device and the phosphor in the display panel of Example 3.

FIG. 27 is a block diagram of an electric circuit of Example 3.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating an electron-emitting device and a wiring method that the inventors have tried.

FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view for describing the technical problem of the present invention in the display panel of the image display device.

FIG. 30 is a view showing an example of a conventionally known surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 31 is a view showing an example of a conventionally known FE type element.

FIG. 32 is a view showing an example of a conventionally known MIM type element.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 20, 40, 50, 101, 201, 301, 31
0, 320 Substrate 2, 401, 411 Electron-emitting device 3, 402 Row direction wiring 4, 403 Column direction wiring 5, 410 Rear plate 6, 412 Side wall 7, 413 Face plate 8, 414 Fluorescent film 9 Metal back 10 Black conductor 11 Striped phosphor 21, 41, 51, 102, 202 Positive electrode 22, 42, 52, 103, 203 Negative electrode 23, 43, 53, 105, 205, 305 Electron emission part 24 Target (phosphor) 25 Electron beam irradiation position 104, 204, 304 Conductive film 112, 115 Power supply 113, 213 Deposit 114 Anode electrode 116 Ammeter 206 Step forming member 311 Emitter wiring 312 Emitter cone 313, 322 Insulating layer 314 Gate electrode 321 Lower electrode 323 Upper electrode

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Naoto Nakamura 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An electron beam source having a plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged in a matrix on a substrate, and an image forming member on which an image is formed by irradiation of an electron beam emitted from the electron-emitting devices. In the image forming apparatus, the image forming member is a striped member, and the plurality of electron-emitting devices have a negative electrode in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the stripe,
An image forming apparatus characterized in that an electron emitting portion and a positive electrode are elements arranged side by side on the surface of the substrate. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an area of the image forming member is larger than an arrangement area of the electron beam source on the substrate. 3. A drive unit for applying a drive signal according to an image signal to the plurality of electron-emitting devices, a unit for applying a voltage to the image forming member, and setting of relative positions of the electron-emitting device and the image forming member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a correction unit that corrects an output voltage of a unit that applies a voltage to the image forming member according to a deviation from the value. 4. A means for applying a drive signal according to an image signal to the plurality of electron-emitting devices, a means for applying a voltage to the image forming member, and setting of a relative position between the electron-emitting device and the image forming member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a correcting unit that corrects an output signal of a driving unit that applies a driving signal to the electron-emitting device according to a deviation from the value. 5. A driving means for applying a drive signal according to an image signal to the plurality of electron-emitting devices, a means for applying a voltage to the image forming member, and a relative position of the electron-emitting device and the image forming member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a correction unit that corrects an image signal supplied to a drive unit that applies a drive signal to the electron-emitting device according to a deviation from a set value. 6. The correction means for correcting the image signal has a means for correcting the brightness of the image signal according to a deviation of a relative position between the electron-emitting device and the image forming member from a set value. Image forming device. 7. The correcting means for correcting the image signal has a means for correcting the arrangement of the image signal according to a deviation of a relative position between the electron-emitting device and the image forming member from a set value. Image forming device. 8. A drive means for applying a drive signal according to an image signal to the plurality of electron-emitting devices, a means for applying a voltage to the image forming member, and a relative position of the electron-emitting device and the image forming member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a pulse width of an output signal from a driving unit that applies a driving signal to the electron-emitting device is corrected according to a deviation from a set value. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electron-emitting device is a horizontal field emission device. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electron-emitting device is a surface conduction electron-emitting device. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming member is a stripe-shaped phosphor.