JPH08250032A - Electron beam generating device, image forming device and supporting spacer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an electron beam generating device such that no fluctuation is generated in an orbit of an emitted electron even when an intermediate member is arranged between an electron source and an electrode, in the electron beam generating device having the electrode and the electron source particularly using a surface conduction electron emitting element as the electron emitting element. CONSTITUTION: A device has an electron source 1 having a plurality of cold cathode electron emitting elements, electrode 8 arranged to be opposed to the electron source 1 to act in an electron emitted from the electron source 1 and an insulating spacer 5 arranged between the electron source 1 and the electrode 8. In this electron beam generating device, the spacer 5 has a conductive thin film 5b in its surface, to electrically connect the conductive thin film relating to the electron source 1 or the electrode 8.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron beam generator, an image forming apparatus such as a display device which is an application thereof, and a supporting spacer used therefor, and in particular, has a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices. The present invention relates to an electron beam generator, an image forming apparatus, and a supporting spacer used for them.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an image forming apparatus using electrons has an envelope for maintaining a vacuum atmosphere, an electron source for emitting electrons and a driving circuit therefor, a phosphor which emits light by collision of electrons, and the like. An image forming member, an accelerating electrode for accelerating electrons toward the image forming member, and a high voltage power source thereof are required. Further, in an image forming apparatus using a flat envelope such as a thin image display apparatus, a supporting column (spacer) may be used as the atmospheric pressure resistant structure.

As an electron-emitting device used in an electron source of an image forming apparatus, a cold cathode is known in addition to a hot cathode conventionally used in a CRT or the like. The cold cathode includes a field emission type (hereinafter abbreviated as “FE” type), a metal / insulating layer / metal type (hereinafter abbreviated as “MIM” type), a surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the like. As an example of FE type, WP Dyke & WW D
olan, "Field Emission", Advance in Electron Physic
s, 8, 89 (1956) or CA Spindt, "Physical Pro
perties of Thin-Film Field Emission Cathodes with
Molybdenium Cones ", J. Appl. Phys., 47, 5248 (197
6) etc. are known.

An example of the MIM type is CA Mead, "Ope
ration of tunnel-emission devices, J. Appl. Phys.,
32, 646 (1961) and the like are known. Examples of surface conduction electron-emitting devices include MI Elinson, Radio Eng. Elec
tronPhys., 10, 1290, (1965), etc. The surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which electron emission occurs in a small-area thin film formed on a substrate by passing a current in parallel with the film surface. As the surface conduction electron-emitting device, one using the Sn02 thin film by the above-mentioned Erinson, one using the Au thin film [G. Dittmer: "Thin Solid
Films ", 9, 317 (1972)], by In2O3 / SnO2 thin films [M. Hartwell and CG Fonstad:" IEEETran
s. ED Conf. ", 519 (1975)], by a carbon thin film [Hiraki Araki et al .: Vacuum, Vol. 26, No. 1, p. 22 (19)
83)] etc. have been reported.

As a typical device configuration of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, the above-mentioned M. The Hartwell device configuration is shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 3001 is an insulating substrate. An electron emission portion forming thin film 3002 is formed of a metal oxide thin film or the like formed by sputtering on an H-shaped pattern, and the electron emitting portion 3003 is formed by an energization process called forming described later.

Conventionally, in these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, the electron-emitting portion forming thin film 3 is formed before electron emission.
It was general that the electron emission portion 3003 was previously formed by subjecting 002 to an energization process called forming. That is, the forming means that a voltage is applied to both ends of the electron emitting portion forming thin film 3002 to locally destroy, deform or alter the electron emitting portion forming thin film, thereby making the electron emitting portion in an electrically high resistance state. 3003 is to be formed.
The electron emitting portion 3003 is the thin film 3 for forming the electron emitting portion.
It is formed by a crack generated in a part of 002, and electrons are emitted from the vicinity of the crack. Hereinafter, the electron emitting portion forming thin film 3002 including the electron emitting portion 3003 formed by forming is referred to as a “thin film including an electron emitting portion” 3004. In the surface-conduction type electron-emitting device that has been subjected to the forming process, a voltage is applied to the thin film 3004 including the electron-emitting part and a current is passed through the device, so that the electron-emitting part 3003 is formed.
It allows more electrons to be emitted.

As an example in which a large number of surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices are formed in array, a large number of surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices are arranged in parallel, and a large number of rows in which both ends of each element are connected by wiring are arranged. Examples thereof include an electron source (for example, JP-A-1-31332 of the present applicant). By combining an electron source formed by arranging a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices, and a phosphor as an image forming member that emits visible light by the electrons emitted from the electron source,
Various image forming devices, mainly display devices, are constructed (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,88 by the applicant).
No. 3), a CRT because it is a self-luminous display device that is relatively easy to manufacture even with a large-screen device and has excellent display quality.
Is expected as an alternative image forming apparatus.

[0008] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 2 (1994) proposed by the present applicant earlier.
In an image forming apparatus as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 257551, etc., selecting an arbitrary element from a large number of surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices is performed by connecting the surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices in parallel. Appropriate drive to the wiring (row-direction wiring) and the wiring (column-direction wiring) installed in the space between the electron source and the phosphor in the direction orthogonal to the row-direction wiring (column direction) and connected to the control electrode. It is due to the signal.

[0009]

As a method of realizing an image forming apparatus using a surface conduction electron-emitting device with a simpler structure, the present applicant has proposed a plurality of row-direction wirings and a plurality of column-direction wirings. And by connecting a pair of opposing device electrodes of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, a simple matrix type electron source in which the surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix is formed. We are considering a system in which a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices can be selected and an electron emission amount can be controlled by applying an appropriate drive signal in the column direction.

In the study of the image forming apparatus using the above-mentioned simple matrix type surface conduction electron-emitting device electron source, the present inventors have found that the light emitting position (electron collision position) on the phosphor forming the image forming member and the We found that the emission shape sometimes deviated from the expected value. In particular, when an image forming member for a color image is used, a decrease in luminance and a color shift may be observed together with a shift in the light emitting position. Then, it was confirmed that such a phenomenon occurs in the vicinity of the support frame or the support column (spacer) arranged between the electron source and the image forming member, or in the peripheral portion of the image forming member.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an electron beam generator having an electrode and an electron source using an electron-emitting device, which emits electrons even if an intermediate member is arranged between the electron source and the electrode. We propose an electron beam generator that does not cause fluctuations in the orbit. Another object of the present invention is to use a surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron-emitting device, for example, in an image forming apparatus for forming an image by the electrons emitted from this electron source, with a long life without misalignment of light emission. An object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable new image forming apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a supporting spacer used in the above electron beam generator.

[0013]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of intensive studies by the present inventors, they found that the above-mentioned phenomenon is mainly caused by electrons emitted from an electron source. In the electron beam generator and the image forming apparatus, the electrons emitted from the electron source collide with a phosphor or the like which is an image forming member, or collide with a residual gas in a vacuum, which is low in probability. Scattering particles (ions, 2
Some of the secondary electrons and neutral particles collide with the exposed portion of the insulating material in the image forming apparatus, and the exposed portion is charged. Due to this charging, the electric field changes near the exposed portion. It is considered that the change in the electric field causes a shift in the orbits of the emitted electrons, resulting in a change in the light emitting position and the light emitting shape of the phosphor.

It was also found from the situation of changes in the light emitting position and shape of the phosphor that positive charges were mainly accumulated in the exposed portion. This may be because positive ions of the scattering particles are attached and charged, or positive charges are generated by secondary electron emission generated when the scattering particles collide with the exposed portion. Therefore, an electron source having a plurality of cold cathode type electron-emitting devices of the present invention, an electrode that is arranged to face the electron source and acts on electrons emitted from the electron source, and is arranged between the electron source and the electrode. And an electrically insulating intermediate member, the intermediate member has a conductive thin film on its surface, and the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the electron source and / or the electrode. It is characterized by being.

Further, an electron source having a plurality of cold cathode type electron-emitting devices of the present invention, an electrode arranged to face the electron source and acting on electrons emitted from the electron source, the electron source and the electrode. An electron beam generator having an insulating intermediate member disposed between the electron beam generator and the intermediate member is provided with means for trapping charged particles to be attached to the intermediate member.

First, since the charge to be prevented is generated on the surface of the insulating intermediate member, it is sufficient for the intermediate member to have an antistatic function only on the surface thereof. Therefore, in the electron beam generator of the present invention, the conductive thin film is formed on the surface of the intermediate member. According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the conductive thin film has a surface resistance value of 10 5 to 10 12 [Ω / □].

As a result, an electron beam is generated which has a sufficiently low resistance value to neutralize the charge on the surface of the intermediate member and has a leak current amount that does not extremely increase the power consumption of the entire apparatus. The device can be realized. That is, a thin type without compromising the low heat generation, which is a characteristic of the cold cathode
A large area image forming apparatus can be obtained. According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the conductive thin film is characterized in that a metal thin film is discretely applied in an island shape on the surface of the intermediate member.

The charging is generated by the cations trapped on the surface of the intermediate member as described above. Therefore, in order to prevent electrostatic charge, a minute current can be applied by flowing it on the surface of the intermediate member. However, there is a problem that the increase of the minute current increases the current consumption of the device. In the island-shaped metal film, electrons move between islands due to surface conduction, so current can be concentrated only on the surface of the intermediate member, and the cations that are the cause of charging are efficiently trapped in the surface of the insulator that is the intermediate member. Can be harmonized. In addition, since the metal portion of the island-shaped metal film has a low resistance, the amount of energy consumed by the heat generated by the current is small. From the above results, the island-shaped metal film can reduce the amount of current that is not involved in neutralization, and can prevent charging very efficiently.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the intermediate member has an upright surface between the electron source and the electrode. That is, as the intermediate member,
Since the cross section of the electron source and the electrode is uniform in the normal direction, the electric field is not disturbed by the intermediate member. Therefore, as long as the intermediate member does not block the electron activation from the electron-emitting device, the intermediate member and the electron-emitting device can be arranged close to each other, so that the electron-emitting devices can be arranged at high density. Moreover,
Since the leak current flows only on the surface of the intermediate member, it is possible to suppress the leak current to a small amount without making a device such as making the electron source or the electrode sharply joined to the intermediate member. It was

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the intermediate member is flat or columnar. According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the electrode is an accelerating electrode. According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the electron-emitting device is a surface-conduction electron-emitting device including a pair of opposing device electrodes and a thin film including an electron-emitting portion extending between the device electrodes. Characterize.

Among the cold cathode devices, the surface conduction electron-emitting device (surface conduction electron-emitting device) is particularly preferable. The surface conduction electron-emitting device has a simple structure and is easy to manufacture, and a large-area one can be easily manufactured. In recent years, it can be said that this is a particularly suitable cold cathode element particularly in a situation where an inexpensive display device having a large screen is required. Further, the applicant of the present invention is
It has been found that the one in which the electron emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film is preferable in terms of characteristics or increasing the area.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, in the electron source, a plurality of row-direction wirings and a plurality of column-direction wirings are arranged via an insulating layer, and the row-direction wirings and the column-direction wirings are arranged. The plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on the insulating substrate by connecting the wiring and the pair of device electrodes of each of the electron-emitting devices.
That is, the intermediate member of the present invention, which does not require a complicated additional structure because it prevents charging by providing the conductive thin film, has several row-direction wirings and a plurality of column-directions proposed by the present applicant. By connecting a pair of opposing device electrodes of the surface conduction electron-emitting device by wiring, the simple matrix surface conduction electron-emitting devices in which the surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix are formed. By applying it to an image forming apparatus using a simple matrix type electron source, it is possible to provide a thin and large-area image forming apparatus capable of forming a high-quality image with a simple device configuration.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the electron source is provided with a plurality of row-direction wirings, and the pair of element electrodes of each electron-emitting device is one of the plurality of row-direction wirings. The plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on the insulating substrate by connecting to the pair of row-direction wirings. The electron beam generator of the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus using an electron source other than the simple matrix type. For example, JP-A-2-
This is a case where the intermediate member is used in an image forming apparatus for selecting a surface conduction electron-emitting device using a control electrode as described in Japanese Patent No. 257551.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the row-direction wiring or the column-direction wiring. The conductive thin film is electrically connected to one wiring starvation on the electron source side, and unnecessary electrical coupling between wirings on the electron source can be avoided. According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the intermediate member is installed on the row-direction wiring or the column-direction wiring.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the intermediate member has a flat plate shape arranged in parallel or orthogonal to the row-direction wirings or the column-direction wirings.
According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the pair of device electrodes of each electron-emitting device are arranged to face each other in a direction parallel to the intermediate member. Since the flat plate-shaped intermediate member is arranged along the electron activation deviated from the electron-emitting device, the electron-emitting devices can be arranged at a high density without blocking the electron activation by the intermediate member.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, a plurality of the intermediate members are arranged at intervals. According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the intermediate member is an atmospheric pressure resistant member. According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the atmospheric pressure resistant member is a support frame of an envelope for maintaining a vacuum atmosphere or a support member installed in the envelope.

An electron beam generator having another structure of the present invention to achieve the above object is an electron source having a plurality of cold cathode type electron-emitting devices, and an electron source arranged opposite to the electron source. In an electron beam generator having an electrode that acts on emitted electrons and a case member that isolates the electron source and the electrode from the outside, the case member has a conductive thin film on its inner surface, A thin film is electrically connected to the electron source and / or the electrode.

Further, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object, an electron source having a plurality of cold cathode type electron-emitting devices and an electron source arranged opposite to the electron source are emitted. At least one electrode acting on the electrons,
An image forming member that is arranged to face the electron source with the electrode interposed therebetween, and an insulating intermediate member that is arranged between the electron source and the electrode, between the electrode and the image forming member, or between the electrodes. In the image forming apparatus that forms an image by the electrons emitted from the electron source, the intermediate member has a conductive thin film on its surface, and the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the outside. And

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the image forming member is provided so as to face the electron source with the electrode interposed therebetween. The supporting spacer used in the closed partition chamber in which electrons are generated of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is a main body made of an electrically insulating material, and a conductive material extended on the surface of the main body. A thin film, and the thin film has an end portion of the spacer so that the thin film is electrically connected to a predetermined conductor provided in the vicinity of the partition at the contact point between the spacer and the partition of the chamber. It is characterized in that it is formed to extend to.

The support spacer has an effect of ensuring, for example, a vacuum property in the partition chamber and neutralizing the charge due to the charged particles to be trapped. The thickness and resistance value of the island-shaped metal film used in the preferred embodiment of the present invention may be selected in accordance with the size and form of the image device and the electron generating device to be constructed, but generally within the following range. The results are good. The sheet resistance value is 1
It is in the range of × 10 ^{5 to} 9 × 10 ¹² Ω / □, and optimally,
It is in the range of 1 × 10 ⁶ to 1 × 10 ¹⁰ Ω / □. Further, the film thickness at this time is in the range of 0.5 to 10 nm,
Optimally, it is 1 to 4 nm.

Further, the island-shaped metal material is Pt, Au, A
g, Pd, Rh, Ir, Cu, Al, Si, Cr, M
Although n, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, In, Sn and the like can be preferably used, other metals and intermetallic compounds can be similarly used as long as they can form islands. Is.

[0032]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The image forming apparatus according to this embodiment is basically an image forming apparatus for forming an image by irradiating electrons with a multi electron source in which a large number of cold cathode elements are arranged on a substrate in a thin vacuum container. And a member facing each other.

The cold cathode device is manufactured by using a manufacturing technique such as photolithography and etching.
Since they can be precisely positioned and formed on the substrate, it is possible to arrange a large number of them at minute intervals.
Moreover, compared with a hot cathode conventionally used in a CRT or the like, the cathode itself and its peripheral portion can be driven in a relatively low temperature state, so that a multi-electron source with a finer array pitch can be easily realized. The apparatus of the embodiment relates to an image forming apparatus using such a cold cathode device as a multi electron source.

Among the cold cathode devices, the surface conduction electron-emitting device (surface conduction electron-emitting device) is particularly preferable. That is, of the cold cathode devices, the MIM type device needs to control the thickness of the insulating layer and the upper electrode relatively precisely, and the FE type device precisely controls the tip shape of the needle-shaped electron emitting portion. There is a need. Therefore, these elements may have a relatively high manufacturing cost, or it may be difficult to manufacture a large-area device due to restrictions in the manufacturing process.

On the other hand, the surface conduction electron-emitting device has a simple structure and is easy to manufacture, and a large-area one can be easily manufactured. In recent years, it can be said that this is a particularly suitable cold cathode element particularly in a situation where an inexpensive display device having a large screen is required. Further, the applicant of the present invention has found that among the surface conduction electron-emitting devices, the one in which the electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film is preferable in terms of characteristics or increasing the area.

Therefore, in the embodiments described below, an image display device using a surface conduction electron-emitting device formed by using a fine particle film as a multiple electron source will be described as a preferred example of the image forming device as the embodiment. . Therefore, this preferred embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. <First Embodiment> FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the image forming apparatus of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view (AA 'cross section) of the main part of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. Part of).

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the rear plate 2 is fixed with an electron source 1 in which a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices (hereinafter abbreviated as “electron-emitting devices”) 15 are arranged in a matrix. There is. In the electron source 1, a face plate 3 as an image forming member, in which a fluorescent film 7 and a metal back 8 as an accelerating electrode are formed on an inner surface of a glass substrate 6, is provided with a support frame 4 made of an insulating material. A high voltage is applied between the electron source 1 and the metal back 8 by a power source (not shown). The rear plate 2, the support frame 4, and the face plate 3 are sealed to each other with frit glass or the like, and the rear plate 2, the support frame 4, and the face plate 3 form an envelope 10.
Is configured.

Further, since the inside of the envelope 10 is maintained in a vacuum of about 10 ^-6 Torr, the atmospheric pressure resistant structure is used for the purpose of preventing the envelope 10 from being broken by atmospheric pressure or unexpected impact. The thin plate-shaped spacer 5 is provided inside the envelope 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the spacer 5 is composed of a member in which an island-shaped metal film 5b is formed on the surface of an insulating base material 5a, and is necessary to achieve the above-mentioned purpose as an atmospheric pressure resistant structure. They are arranged in parallel with each other in the X direction at a required number of intervals and are sealed to the inner surface of the envelope 10 and the surface of the electron source 1 with frit glass or the like. The island-shaped metal film 5b is electrically connected to the inner surface of the face plate 3 and the surface of the electron source 1 (X-direction wiring 12 described later).

The above-mentioned components will be described in detail below. Electron Source 1 FIG. 4 is a plan view of a main part of the electron source 1 of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a BB ′ of the electron source 1 shown in FIG.
It is a line sectional view. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the insulating substrate 11 made of a glass substrate or the like has m wirings in the X direction 1 on the insulating substrate 11.
2 and n Y-direction wirings 13 are connected to the interlayer insulating layer 14 (see FIG.
(Not shown) are electrically separated and wired in a matrix. An electron-emitting device 15 is electrically connected between each X-direction wiring 12 and each Y-direction wiring 13. Each electron-emitting device 15 is composed of a pair of device electrodes 16 and 17 which are respectively spaced apart in the X direction, and an electron-emitting portion forming thin film 18 which connects the device electrodes 16 and 17 to each other. One of the device electrodes 16 and 17 is electrically connected to the X-direction wiring 12, and the other device electrode 17 is connected to the Y-direction wiring 13 through the contact hole 14 a formed in the interlayer insulating layer 14. Electrically connected to. The X-direction wiring 12 and the Y-direction wiring 13 are the external terminals Dox1 to Doxm and Doy1 to D shown in FIG. 2, respectively.
It is pulled out to the outside of the envelope 10 as oyn.

As the insulating substrate 11, quartz glass, N
Examples thereof include glass having a reduced content of impurities such as a, soda lime glass, a glass member such as a glass substrate obtained by laminating SiO 2 formed on the soda lime glass by a sputtering method, or a ceramic member such as alumina. The size and thickness of the insulating substrate 11 depend on the number of electron-emitting devices installed on the insulating substrate 11 and the design shape of each electron-emitting device, and the electron source 1 itself may be a part of the envelope 10. It is set as appropriate depending on the conditions for maintaining a vacuum in the case of construction.

The X-direction wiring 12 and the Y-direction wiring 13 are each made of a conductive metal or the like formed in a desired pattern on the insulating substrate 11 by a vacuum deposition method, a printing method, a sputtering method, or the like, and emit a large number of electrons. The material, the film thickness, and the wiring width are set so that the element 15 is supplied with a voltage as uniform as possible. The interlayer insulating layer 14 is SiO2 or the like formed by a vacuum deposition method, a printing method, a sputtering method or the like, and is formed in a desired shape on the entire surface or a part of the insulating substrate 11 on which the Y-direction wiring 13 is formed. In particular, the film thickness, material, and manufacturing method are appropriately set so as to withstand the potential difference at the intersection of the X-direction wiring 12 and the Y-direction wiring 13.

Device electrodes 16 and 17 of the electron-emitting device 15
Are made of a conductive metal or the like, and are formed into a desired pattern by a vacuum deposition method, a printing method, a sputtering method, or the like. The conductive metals of the X-direction wiring 12, the Y-direction wiring 13, and the device electrodes 16 and 17 may be the same or different in some or all of their constituent elements. Ni, Cr, Au, Mo , W, Pt, Ti, Al,
Metals such as Cu and Pd, or alloys, and Pd, Ag, A
Printed conductors composed of metal such as u, RuO2, Pd-Ag or metal oxide and glass, or In2O3-SnO
It is appropriately selected from transparent conductors such as 2 and semiconductor materials such as polysilicon.

Specific examples of the material forming the electron emitting portion forming thin film 18 include Pd, Ru, Ag, Au, Ti and I.
n, Cu, Cr, Fe, Zn, Sn, Ta, W, Pd and other metals, PdO, SnO2, In2O3, PbO, Sb2O
Oxides such as 3, HfB2, ZrB2, LaB6, CeB6,
Borides such as YB4, GdB4, TiC, ZrC, HfC,
Carbides such as TaC, SiC, WC, TiN, ZrN, H
Nitride such as fN, semiconductor such as Si and Ge, carbon, A
gMg, NiCu, Pb, Sn and the like, which are formed of a fine particle film.

Further, the X-direction wiring 12 is electrically connected to a scan signal generating means (not shown) for applying a scan signal for arbitrarily scanning the row of the electron-emitting devices 15 arranged in the X-direction. ing. On the other hand, the Y-direction wiring 13 is electrically connected to a modulation signal generating means (not shown) for applying a modulation signal for arbitrarily modulating each column of the electron-emitting devices 15 arranged in the Y direction. . Here, the drive voltage applied to each electron-emitting device 15 is supplied as a difference voltage between the scanning signal and the modulation signal applied to the electron-emitting device.

Here, an example of a method of manufacturing the electron source 1 will be specifically described in the order of steps with reference to FIG. The following steps a to h correspond to (a) to (h) in FIG. Step a: A thickness of 0.
On the insulating substrate 11 having a silicon oxide film of 5 μm formed by the sputtering method, Cr having a thickness of 50 Å and Au having a thickness of 5000 Å were sequentially laminated by vacuum deposition, and a photoresist (AZ1370, Hoechst) was used as a spinner. Spin coating and then bake. After baking, the photomask image is exposed and developed, and Y
A resist pattern for the directional wiring 13 is formed, and Au / Cr is used.
The deposited film is wet-etched to form the Y-direction wiring 13 having a desired shape.

Step b: Next, the interlayer insulating layer 14 made of a silicon oxide film having a thickness of 1.0 μm is deposited by the RF sputtering method. Step c: A photoresist pattern for forming the contact hole 14a is formed in the silicon oxide film deposited in the step b, and the interlayer insulating layer 14 is etched using this as a mask to form the contact hole 14a. RIE (Reactive Ion Etch) using CF4 and H2 gas is used for etching.
ing) method.

Step d: After that, a pattern to be a gap between the device electrodes and the device electrodes is formed into a photoresist (RD-2).
000N-41 manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.), and the thickness of Ti is 50 angstrom and the thickness is 100 by vacuum deposition.
0 Å of Ni is sequentially deposited. The photoresist pattern is dissolved in an organic solvent, the Ni / Ti deposited film is lifted off, and the device electrode distance L1 (see FIG. 4) is 3 μm.
m, and the device electrodes 16 and 17 having a device electrode width W1 (see FIG. 4) of 300 μm are formed.

Step e: After forming a photoresist pattern for the X-direction wiring 12 on the device electrodes 16 and 17, Ti having a thickness of 50 Å and Au having a thickness of 6000 Å are sequentially deposited by vacuum evaporation, and unnecessary by lift-off. Then, the X direction wiring 12 having a desired shape is formed. Step f: A Cr film 21 having a film thickness of 1000 angstroms is formed by using a mask having an opening 20a extending over a pair of device electrodes 16 and 17 which are spaced by an inter-device electrode interval L1 as shown in FIG. Is deposited and patterned by vacuum evaporation, and an organic Pd solution (ccp4230
Okuno Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) spin coated with a spinner,
A heating and baking treatment is performed at 300 ° C. for 10 minutes.

The electron emitting portion forming thin film 18 made of fine particles containing Pd as a main element thus formed has a film thickness of about 100 Å and a sheet resistance value of 5 × 10 ^4.
[Ω / □]. The fine particle film described here is
A film in which a plurality of fine particles are aggregated, and as a fine structure, not only a state in which fine particles are individually dispersed and arranged but also a state in which fine particles are adjacent to each other or overlap each other (including an island shape), The particle diameter refers to the diameter of fine particles whose particle shape can be recognized in the above state.

The organic metal solvent (organic Pd solvent in this example) means Pd, Ru, Ag, Au, Ti, In,
It is a solution of an organic compound containing a metal such as Cu, Cr, Fe, Zn, Sn, Ta, W, Pb as a main element. Further, in this example, as the method for manufacturing the electron emission portion forming thin film 18, the coating method of the organic metal solvent is used, but the method is not limited to this, and the vacuum deposition method, the sputtering method, the chemical vapor deposition method, the dispersion method, It may be formed by a coating method, a dipping method, a spinner method, or the like.

Step g: Cr film 2 by acid etchant
1 is removed to form the electron emission portion forming thin film 18 having a desired pattern. Step h: A pattern is formed such that a resist is applied to a portion other than the contact hole 14a portion, and Ti having a thickness of 50 Å and Au having a thickness of 5000 A are formed by vacuum vapor deposition.
Are sequentially deposited. Contact holes 14a are buried by removing unnecessary portions by lift-off.

Through the above steps, the X-direction wiring 12, the Y-direction wiring 13 and the electron-emitting device 15 are two-dimensionally formed and arranged on the insulating substrate 11 at equal intervals. Then, the envelope 10 (see FIG. 2) in which the electron source 1 is installed is evacuated by a vacuum pump through an exhaust pipe (not shown), and after reaching a sufficient degree of vacuum, terminals outside the container Dox1 to Doxm and Doy1 to Do
A voltage is applied between the device electrodes 16 and 17 of the electron-emitting device 15 through yn, and the electron-emitting region forming thin film 18 is energized (forming process) to form the electron-emitting region 23. As the forming process, in a vacuum atmosphere of 10 ^-6 Torr, the pulse width T1 is 1 msec, as shown in FIG. 8, the peak value (peak voltage upon forming) is a triangular wave of 5V, pulse interval of 10 msec T2 For 60 seconds, the device electrodes 16 and 17 are energized. The characteristic evaluation of the electron-emitting device of the example manufactured by the above-described structure and manufacturing method will be described with reference to the schematic structural diagram of the evaluation apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 9 corresponds to an electron source in which one electron-emitting device is formed, 11 is an insulating substrate, 15 is an entire electron-emitting device formed on the insulating substrate 11, 16 and 17 Is an element electrode, 18 is a thin film including an electron emitting portion, and 23 is an electron emitting portion. Further, 31 is a power source for applying the element voltage Vf between the element electrodes 16 and 17, and 3
0 is a thin film 18 including an electron emitting portion between the device electrodes 16 and 17.
Ammeter for measuring the device current If flowing through the device, 34 is an anode electrode for capturing the emission current Ie emitted from the electron emission portion 23, and 33 is a voltage V applied to the anode electrode 34.
A high-voltage power supply for applying a, and 32 is an ammeter for measuring the emission current Ie emitted from the electron emission portion 23. To measure the device current If and emission current Ie of the electron-emitting device, a power supply 31 and an ammeter 30 are connected to the device electrodes 16 and 17, and a power supply 33 is provided above the electron-emitting device 15.
An anode electrode 34, which is connected to the ammeter 32, is arranged. Further, the electron-emitting device 15 and the anode electrode 34 are installed in a vacuum device, and the vacuum device is equipped with equipment necessary for the vacuum device such as an exhaust pump and a vacuum gauge, which are not shown in the drawing. The device can be measured and evaluated.

The voltage Va of the anode electrode is 1 kV to
10 kV, the distance H between the anode electrode and the electron-emitting device is 3
Measure in the range of 8 mm to 8 mm. The characteristic features of the principle of the electron-emitting device of the embodiment found by the inventors will be described below. Emission current Ie, device current If, and device voltage Vf measured by the measurement / evaluation apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 10 shows a typical example of the above relationship. Note that FIG. 10 is shown in arbitrary units because the magnitudes of If and Ie are remarkably different. As is clear from FIG. 10, the electron-emitting device according to the example has three characteristics with respect to the emission current Ie.

First, in this electron-emitting device, when a device voltage Vf higher than a certain voltage (called threshold voltage, Vth in FIG. 10) is applied, the emission current Ie rapidly increases, while the threshold voltage is increased. Below Vth, the emission current Ie is hardly detected. That is, it is a non-linear element having a clear threshold voltage Vth with respect to the emission current Ie. Also, the device current I
f represents a characteristic that monotonically increases with respect to the element voltage Vf (referred to as MI characteristic).

Secondly, since the emission current Ie depends on the device voltage Vf, the emission current Ie can be controlled by the device voltage Vf. Thirdly, the emitted charge trapped in the anode electrode 34 is
It depends on the time for which the device voltage Vf is applied. That is, the amount of charge captured by the anode electrode 34 is equal to the device voltage V
It can be controlled by the time of applying f.

Fluorescent Film 7 The fluorescent film 7 is composed of only phosphors when the display device is monochrome, but when the display device is color, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, black stripes (see FIG. 11) or a black conductive material 7b called a black matrix (FIG. 12) or the like and a phosphor 7a. The purpose of providing the black stripes and the black matrix is to make the color mixture inconspicuous by blackening the separately applied portion between the phosphors 7a of the three primary color phosphors, which is necessary in the case of color display, and to prevent external light on the phosphor film 7. This is to suppress a decrease in contrast due to reflection. As a material of the black conductive material 7b, not only a material which is often used as a main component of graphite but also a material which is conductive and transmits and reflects little light can be applied. Further, the method of applying the phosphor 7a to the glass substrate 6 is monochrome,
Regardless of color, precipitation method or printing method is used.

[0057] The purpose of the metal back 8 metal backs 8, to improve the luminance by mirror-reflecting light to the face plate 3 side to the inner surface side of the light emission from the phosphor 7a, applying an electron beam accelerating voltage Acting as an accelerating electrode for the envelope 10
The protection of the phosphor 7a from the damage due to the collision of the negative ions generated inside is performed. The metal back 8 can be produced by producing the fluorescent film 7, smoothing the inner surface of the fluorescent film 7 (usually called filming), and then depositing A1 by vacuum evaporation or the like. The face plate 3 has
Further, in order to improve the conductivity of the fluorescent film 7, a transparent electrode (not shown) such as ITO may be provided between the fluorescent film 7 and the glass substrate 6.

Envelope 10 The envelope 10 is sealed through a vacuum degree of about 10 ⁻⁶ Torr through an exhaust pipe (not shown). Therefore, the envelope 1
The rear plate 2, the face plate 3, and the support frame 4 forming 0 can withstand the atmospheric pressure applied to the envelope 10 and maintain a vacuum atmosphere, and a high voltage applied between the electron source 1 and the metal back 8. It is preferable to use an insulating material that withstands the above. Examples of the material include quartz glass, glass with a reduced content of impurities such as Na, soda lime glass, and ceramic members such as alumina. However, it is necessary to use the face plate 3 having a certain transmittance or more for visible light. Further, it is preferable to combine members having thermal expansion coefficients close to each other.

Further, in the color image forming apparatus, when the envelope 10 is constructed, the phosphors 7a of each color need to be arranged corresponding to each electron-emitting device 15, and therefore the phosphors 7
The face plate 3 having a and the rear plate 2 to which the electron source 1 is fixed must be accurately aligned. In addition, a getter process may be performed in order to maintain the degree of vacuum after the envelope 10 is sealed. This is because the getter placed at a predetermined position (not shown) in the envelope 10 is heated by resistance heating or high-frequency heating immediately before or after the envelope 10 is sealed to form a vapor deposition film. Is a process for forming. The getter usually has Ba as a main component, and due to the adsorption action of the vapor deposition film, for example, 10 ^-5 to 1
It maintains a vacuum of 0 ^-7 Torr.

Spacer 5 Spacer 5 has an insulation property to withstand a high voltage applied between electron source 1 and metal back 8, and has a surface with
An island-shaped metal film having surface conductivity to the extent of preventing charging is formed. Examples of the insulating substrate 5a of the spacer 5 include quartz glass, glass with a reduced content of impurities such as Na, soda lime glass, and ceramic members such as alumina. The insulating base material 5 a has a thermal expansion coefficient of the envelope 10 and the insulating substrate 11 of the electron source 1.
A member close to the member forming is preferable.

The surface resistance value of the island-shaped metal film 5b is 10 ⁵ to 10 in consideration of maintaining the antistatic effect and suppressing the power consumption due to the leak current.
It is preferably in the range of ¹² [Ω / □], and examples of the material include Pt, Au, Ag, Rh, and I.
In addition to noble metals such as r, Al, Sb, Sn, Pb, Ga,
Zn, In, Cd, Cu, Ni, Co, Rh, Fe, M
Examples thereof include metals such as n, Cr, V, Ti, Zr, Nb, Mo and W, and alloys composed of a plurality of metals.

As the film forming method of the island-shaped metal film 5b, a vacuum film forming method such as a vacuum evaporation method, a sputtering method, a chemical vapor deposition method, or an organic solution or a dispersion solution is applied by dipping or a spinner.・ Applying a coating method including a baking step, a metal compound and an electroless plating solution capable of forming a metal film on the surface of an insulator by a chemical reaction from the compound, and the like. It is appropriately selected depending on the sex.

The island-shaped metal film 5b is formed of the insulating base material 5a.
It suffices that the film is formed on at least the surface exposed to the vacuum in the envelope 10 among the surfaces. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the island-shaped metal film 5b is electrically connected to the black conductive material 7b or the metal back 8 of the fluorescent film 7 on the face plate 3 side and to the X-direction wiring 12 on the electron source 1 side, for example. Connected to.

Structure of spacer 5, installation position, installation method,
The electrical connection to the side of the face plate 3 and the side of the electron source 1 is not limited to the above-mentioned case, has a sufficient atmospheric pressure resistance, and has a high voltage applied between the electron source 1 and the metal back 8. Any island-shaped metal film may be used as long as it has an insulation property that can withstand and a surface conductivity that prevents the surface of the spacer 5 from being charged.

A method of driving the image forming apparatus described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a drive circuit for performing television display on the display device of the embodiment based on an NTSC television signal. In the figure, a display panel 170
1 is a device manufactured and operated as described above. In addition, the scanning circuit 1702 operates a display line, and the control circuit 1703 generates a signal to be input to the scanning circuit. The shift register 1704 shifts data for each line, and the line memory 1705 shifts the shift register 1704.
The data for one line from is input to the modulation signal generator 1707. The sync signal separation circuit 1706 separates the sync signal from the NTSC signal.

The functions of the respective parts of the apparatus shown in FIG. 13 will be described in detail below. First, the display panel 1701 has terminals Dox1 to Dox1.
oxm, terminals Doy1 to Doyn, and high-voltage terminal Hv
Is connected to an external electric signal via. this house,
The terminals Dox1 to Doxm are used to sequentially drive electron sources provided in the display panel 1701, that is, electron-emitting device groups matrix-wired in a matrix of m rows and n columns row by row (n elements). A scanning signal is applied.

On the other hand, a modulation signal for controlling the output electron beam of each element of the electron-emitting devices in one row selected by the scanning signal is applied to the terminals Doy1 to Doyn.
Further, the high-voltage terminal Hv receives, for example, 5 V from the DC voltage source Va.
A DC voltage of (kV) is supplied, which is an accelerating voltage for giving enough energy to excite the phosphor to the electron beam output from the electron-emitting device.

Next, the scanning circuit 1702 will be described. The circuit 1702 is provided with m switching elements (schematically shown by S1 to Sm in the figure) inside, and each switching element is the output voltage of the DC voltage source Vx or 0v (ground level). ) Is selected and electrically connected to the terminals Dox1 to Doxm of the display panel 1701. Although each of the switching elements S1 to Sm operates based on the control signal Tscan output from the control circuit 1703, in practice, it can be easily configured by combining switching elements such as FETs.

It should be noted that the DC voltage source Vx is not searched in the case of the present embodiment based on the characteristics of the electron-emitting device illustrated in FIG. 10 (in this case, the electron-emitting threshold voltage Vth is 8v). It is set to output a constant voltage of 7v so that the drive voltage applied to the element is equal to or lower than the electron emission threshold Vth voltage. The control circuit 1703 has a function of matching the operations of the respective parts so that an appropriate display is performed based on an image signal input from the outside. Based on the synchronization signal TSYNC sent from the synchronization signal separation circuit 1706 described below, control signals TSCAN, TSFT, and TMRY are generated for each unit.

The synchronizing signal separating circuit 1706 can be easily constructed from an NTSC television signal inputted from the outside by using a synchronizing signal component (filter) circuit. As is well known, the sync signal separated by the sync signal separation circuit 1706 is composed of a vertical sync signal and a vertical sync signal. On the other hand, the luminance signal component of the image separated from the television signal is represented as a DATA signal for convenience, but the signal is input to the shift register 1704.

The shift register 1704 is for serially / parallel-converting the DATA signals serially input in time series for each line of an image, based on the control signal Tsft sent from the control circuit 1703. Operate. That is, it can be said that the control signal TSFT is the shift clock of the shift register 1704.

The serial / parallel converted image data for one line is output from the shift register 1704 as n parallel signals Id1 to Idn. The line memory 1705 is a storage device for storing data for one line of an image for a required time, and appropriately stores the contents of Id1 to Idn according to the control signal TMRY sent from the control circuit 1703. The stored contents are output as Id'1 to Id'n and input to the modulation signal generator 1707.

The modulation signal generator 1707 is a signal source for appropriately driving and modulating each of the electron-emitting devices 6 according to each of the image data Id'1 to Id'n, and its output signal is a terminal. Display panel 1701 through Doy1 to Doyn
It is applied to the electron-emitting device 15 inside. As described with reference to FIG. 10, the electron-emitting device according to the example has the following basic characteristics with respect to the emission current Ie. That is,
As is clear from the graph of Ie in FIG. 10, there is a clear threshold voltage Vth for electron emission (8 v in the device of this embodiment).
Therefore, electron emission occurs only when a voltage higher than the threshold value Vth is applied.

For a voltage equal to or higher than the electron emission threshold value Vth, the emission current Ie also changes according to the voltage change as shown in the graph. The value of the electron emission threshold voltage Vth and the degree of change of the emission current with respect to the applied voltage may be changed by changing the configuration and manufacturing method of the electron emitting device. I can say that.

That is, when a pulsed voltage is applied to this device, no electron emission occurs even if a voltage of 8v or less, which is an electron emission threshold value, is applied, but the electron emission threshold value (8
When a voltage of v) or higher is applied, an electron beam is output. The functions of the respective units shown in FIG. 13 have been described above, but before proceeding to the description of the overall operation, the operation of the display panel 1701 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 14 to 16.

For convenience of illustration, the number of pixels of the display panel is 6 ×.
Although it is described as 6 (that is, m = n = 6), it goes without saying that the display panel 1701 actually used has a much larger number of pixels than this. FIG. 14 shows an electron source in which electron-emitting devices 6 are arranged in a matrix of 6 rows and 6 columns, and for the sake of description, D (1,1), D (1,2) ), D (6, 6), the position is indicated by (X, Y) coordinates.

When such an electron source is driven to display an image, a method of forming an image line-sequentially in units of one line parallel to the X axis is adopted. To drive the electron-emitting device 6 corresponding to one line of an image,
Of the Dox1 to Dox6, 0v is applied to the terminal of the row corresponding to the display line, and 7v is applied to the other terminals. In synchronism with this, Doy1 is followed according to the image pattern of the line.
Apply a modulation signal to each terminal of Doy6.

For example, a case of displaying an image pattern as shown in FIG. 15 will be described as an example. Therefore, FIG.
For example, a description will be given of a period during which the third line of the image is emitted. FIG. 16 shows the voltage values applied to the electron source through the terminals Dox1 to Dox6 and the terminals Doy1 to Doy6 while the third line of the image is being emitted. As is clear from the figure, D
Each of the (2,3), D (3,3), and D (4,3) electron-emitting devices has a threshold voltage of 8v, which exceeds 14v.
(Elements shown in black in the figure) are applied and an electron beam is output. On the other hand, other than the above 3 elements, 7v (elements indicated by hatching in the figure) or 0v (elements indicated by white in the figure)
Is applied, but this is below the threshold voltage 8v for electron emission, so no electron beam is output from these elements.

The same method is used for the other lines as shown in FIG.
The electron source is driven according to the display pattern of No. 5, but one screen is displayed by sequentially driving one line from the first line, and by repeating this at a speed of 60 screens per second, flicker occurs. It is possible to display an image without any. It should be noted that although the above description does not mention gradation display, gradation display can be performed, for example, by changing the pulse width of the voltage applied to the element.

<Displacement of Electron Trajectory> Based on the device configuration and driving method described above, when a voltage is applied to each electron-emitting device 15 through the terminals Dox1 to Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn outside the container, the electron emitting portion 23 emits electrons. Is released. At the same time, a high voltage of several kV or more is applied to the metal back 8 (or a transparent electrode (not shown)) through the high voltage terminal Hv to accelerate the electrons emitted from the electron emitting portion 23 and collide with the inner surface of the face plate 3. As a result, the phosphor 7a of the phosphor film 7 is excited and emits light, and an image is displayed.

This state is shown in FIGS. 17 and 18. 17 and 18 are views for explaining the generation states of electrons and scattering particles described later in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2, respectively, and FIG.
8 is a view seen from the X direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 17, the electrons emitted from the electron emitting portion 23 by applying the voltage Vf to the device electrodes 16 and 17 of the electron source 1 are
The element electrode 17 on the high potential side is deviated to fly along the parabolic locus indicated by 25t. This deviation is caused by the fact that the emitted electrons are accelerated by the acceleration voltage Va applied on the metal back 8 on the face plate 3, but the device electrode 17 has a high potential, so that the electron emitting portion 2 with respect to the surface of the electron source 1 is.
It deviates from the normal line from 3. Therefore, the center of the light emitting portion of the fluorescent film 7 is displaced from the normal line from the electron emitting portion 23 to the surface of the electron source 1. It is considered that such a radiation characteristic is due to the potential distribution in the plane parallel to the electron source 1 being asymmetric with respect to the electron emitting portion 23.

When the electrons emitted from the electron source 1 reach the inner surface of the face plate 3, the fluorescent film 7 emits light. However, among the emitted electrons, other than the electrons that have reached the inner surface of the face plate 3, they may collide with the electrons on the fluorescent film 7 or may collide with electrons on the residual gas in a vacuum with a low probability. is there. Due to these collision phenomena, scattering particles (ions, secondary electrons, neutral particles, etc.) are generated with a certain probability, and these scattering particles have a trajectory as shown by 26t in FIG. Is thought to fly.

In a comparative experiment between the case where the island-shaped metal film 5b is formed on the spacer 5 and the case where the island-shaped metal film 5b is not formed in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. It is found that the light emission position (electron collision position) and the light emission shape on the fluorescent film 7 located near the spacer 5 may deviate from the design value. In particular, when an image forming member for a color image is used, a decrease in luminance and a color shift may occur in addition to the light emitting position shift.

The main cause of this phenomenon is the island-shaped metal film 5.
If b is not formed, the insulating base material 5a of the spacer 5
Part of the scattering particles collide with the exposed part of the, and the exposed part is charged, and the electric field changes in the vicinity of the exposed part and the electron orbit shifts. It is thought that the change of

It was also found from the state of change in the light emitting position and shape of the phosphor that positive charges were mainly accumulated in the exposed portion. As a cause of this, it is considered that positive ions of the scattering particles are attached and charged, or positive charging occurs due to secondary electron emission generated when the scattering particles collide with the exposed portion. On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus of the embodiment in which the island-shaped metal film 5b is formed on the spacer 5 as shown in FIG. 2, the light emission position (electron collision position) on the fluorescent film 7 located near the spacer 5 It was confirmed that the light emission shape was as designed. The reason is that even if the charged particles adhere to the exposed portion of the spacer 5, they are electrically neutralized with a part of the current (actually, electrons or holes) flowing through the island-shaped metal film 5b, and It is considered that even if electric charge is generated in the exposed portion, the electric charge is immediately eliminated.

Normally, the applied voltage Vf between the pair of device electrodes 16 and 17 of the electron-emitting device 15 is about 12 to 16 V, and the distance d between the metal back 8 and the electron-emitting device 15 is 2 mm to 8 mm.
The voltage Va between the metal back 8 and the electron-emitting device 15
Is about 1 kV to 10 kV. The configuration described above is a schematic configuration necessary for producing a suitable image forming apparatus used for image display and the like, and the detailed parts such as the material and arrangement of each member are not limited to the above contents. Without
It is appropriately selected so as to suit the application of the image forming apparatus.

<Experimental Example 1> The image forming apparatus of Experimental Example 1 is constructed as follows. First, the unformed electron source 1 is fixed to the rear plate 2. Next, the island-shaped metal film 5b made of Pt is formed on the four surfaces of the insulating base material 5a made of soda lime glass that are exposed in the envelope 10. Then, the spacers 5 (height 5 mm, plate thickness 200 μm, length 20 mm) on which the island-shaped metal film 5b is formed are fixed on the electron source 1 at equal intervals in parallel with the X-direction wiring 12.
After that, the face plate 3 is arranged 5 mm above the electron source 1 via the support frame 4, and the joint portion of the rear plate 2, the face plate 3, the support frame 4 and the spacer 5 is fixed.

The joint between the electron source 1 and the rear plate 2, the joint between the rear plate 2 and the support frame 4, and the joint between the face plate 3 and the support frame 4 are frit glass (not shown).
Is applied and baked at 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. in the air for 10 minutes or more to seal the film. Further, the spacer 5 is the electron source 1
On the side, on the X-direction wiring 12 (line width 300 μm),
Further, on the face plate 3 side, the black conductive material 7b (line width 3
00 μm), a conductive frit glass (not shown) in which a conductive material such as a metal is mixed is placed, and baking is performed in the air at 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more. As a result, sealing and electrical connection are realized.

The spacer 5 is formed by forming the island-shaped metal film 5b on the insulating base material 5a made of cleaned soda lime glass by a vacuum film forming method. The island-shaped metal film used in Example 1 is manufactured by sputtering a platinum target in an argon atmosphere using a sputtering device. The film thickness of the prepared island-shaped metal film is about 1 nm, and the sheet resistance is 1 × 10 ⁹ Ω / □.

The fluorescent film 7, which is an image forming member, is
As shown in FIG. 11, each color phosphor 7a adopts a stripe shape extending in the Y direction, and as the black conductive material 7b, not only the respective color phosphors 7a but also the pixels in the Y direction are separated and the spacer 5 is installed. The shape with the added part is used.
First, the black conductive material 7b is formed, and the phosphors 7a of the respective colors are applied to the respective color portions in the gaps thereof to manufacture the fluorescent film 7. As a material for the black stripe, a material having graphite as a main component, which is usually often used, is used. Phosphor 7 on glass substrate 6
A slurry method is used as a method for applying a.

The metal back 8 provided on the inner surface side of the fluorescent film 7 is subjected to a smoothing process (usually called “filming”) on the inner surface of the fluorescent film 7 after the fluorescent film 7 is manufactured. , Al are vacuum-deposited.
The face plate 3 may be provided with a transparent electrode on the outer surface side of the fluorescent film 7 in order to further increase the conductivity of the fluorescent film 7, but in the present Experimental Example 1, sufficient conductivity can be obtained only by using a metal back. I omitted it because it was done.

When performing the above-mentioned sealing, the rear plate 2, the face plate 3, and the spacer 5 were sufficiently aligned because the phosphors of the respective colors and the electron-emitting devices had to correspond to each other. The envelope 10 completed as described above
The atmosphere inside is exhausted by a vacuum pump through an exhaust pipe (not shown), and after reaching a sufficient degree of vacuum, the terminals outside the container Dox1 ~
A voltage is applied between the device electrodes 16 and 17 of the electron-emitting device 15 through Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, and the electron-emitting region forming thin film 18 is energized (forming process) to form the electron-emitting region 23. The forming process is
This is performed by applying the voltage having the waveform shown in FIG.

Next, the exhaust pipe (not shown) is heated by a gas burner at a vacuum degree of about 10 ^-6 Torr to be welded to the envelope 1
0 sealing is performed. Finally, a getter process is performed to maintain the degree of vacuum after sealing. In the image forming apparatus completed as described above, each electron-emitting device 15 is supplied with the scanning signal and the modulation signal from the signal generating means (not shown) through the external terminals Dox1 to Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn. Is released, and the metal back 8
By applying a high voltage through the high voltage terminal Hv, the emitted electron beam is accelerated, electrons are made to collide with the phosphor film 7, and the phosphor is excited and emits light to display an image. The applied voltage Va to the high voltage terminal Hv is 3 kV to 10 kV, and the applied voltage Vf between the device electrodes 16 and 17 is 14 V.

At this time, a light emitting spot row is formed in a two-dimensional manner at equal intervals including the light emitting spots due to the electrons emitted from the electron emitting element 15 located near the spacer 5, and a clear and good color reproducibility color image is obtained. I was able to display. This means that even if the spacer 5 is installed, the electrolysis disorder that affects the electron orbit does not occur due to the presence of the metal film 5b.

Experimental Example 2 The experimental example 2 is different from the experimental example 1 in that the island-shaped metal film 5b of the spacer 5 is made of Au having a thickness of 0.7 nm by an ion plating method using an electron beam in an argon atmosphere. This is the point where the film was formed inside. At this time, the surface resistance value of the island-shaped metal film 5b is about 10
^{It was 12} [Ω / □].

In the image forming apparatus using the spacer 5, each of the electron-emitting devices 15 has a terminal outside the container Dox1 ...
Through Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, electrons are emitted by applying a scanning signal and a modulation signal from a signal generating means (not shown), and a high voltage is applied to the metal back 8 through a high voltage terminal Hv to emit an electron beam. It accelerates and collides electrons with the phosphor film 7 to excite the phosphor.
The image is displayed by emitting light.

The applied voltage Va to the high voltage terminal Hv is 3
kV to 10 kV, applied voltage Vf between the device electrodes 16 and 17
Is set to 14V. At this time, it was confirmed from the comparison with the case of the image forming apparatus for the comparative experiment using the spacer 5 without the island-shaped metal film 5b that the antistatic effect was obtained. <Experimental Example 3> The experimental example 3 is different from the experimental example 1 in that a Ni-B alloy having a thickness of 10 nm is extruded by the electroless plating method as the island-shaped metal film 5b of the spacer 5.

At this time, the Ni island metal film is formed by immersing the spacers in a nickel plating bath containing nickel sulfate, malonic acid, dimethylamine borane, and ammonia water. The surface resistance value of the island-shaped metal film 5b at this time was about 10 ⁷ [Ω / □]. The face plate 3 was not provided with the metal back 8, but a transparent electrode made of ITO was provided between the glass substrate 6 and the fluorescent film instead.

In the image forming apparatus using the spacer 5, each of the electron-emitting devices 15 has a terminal outside the container Dox1 ...
Through Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, electrons are emitted by applying a scanning signal and a modulation signal from a signal generating means (not shown), and a high voltage is applied to the metal back 8 through a high voltage terminal Hv to emit an electron beam. It accelerates and collides electrons with the phosphor film 7 to excite the phosphor.
The image is displayed by emitting light.

The applied voltage Va to the high voltage terminal Hv is 1
The applied voltage Vf between the device electrodes 16 and 17 is 14 kV or less.
V. At this time, two-dimensionally formed light emission spot rows are formed at equal intervals, including the light emission spots from the electron emission elements 15 located near the spacers 5, so that a clear and color reproducible color image display can be performed. It was This means that even if the spacers 5 were installed, no disturbance of electrolysis that would affect the electron orbits occurred.

<Experimental Example 4> The experimental example 4 is different from the experimental example 1 in that tetramethyltin is applied to the spacers 5 as the island-shaped metal film 5b of the spacers 5 by a spray method and is baked in a hydrogen reducing atmosphere. By doing so, an island-shaped metal film is formed. At this time, the film pressure was about 11 nm and the surface resistance value was about 10 ⁵ [Ω / □]. The face plate 3 was not provided with the metal back 8, but a transparent electrode made of an ITO film was provided between the glass substrate 6 and the fluorescent film instead. Further, a phosphor for low-speed electron beam was used as the phosphor 7a.

In the image forming apparatus using the spacer 5, each of the electron-emitting devices 15 has a terminal outside the container Dox1 ...
Electrons are emitted by applying scanning signals and modulation signals from Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn respectively by a signal generating means (not shown), and a high voltage is applied to the metal back 8 through a high voltage terminal Hv. To cause electrons to collide with the phosphor film 7 to excite the phosphor.
The image is displayed by emitting light. The high voltage terminal Hv
The applied voltage Va to the device electrodes 16 and 17 is about 100V.
The applied voltage Vf is 14V.

At this time, a light emitting spot array is formed in a two-dimensional manner including the light emitting spots due to the electrons emitted from the electron emitting device 15 located near the spacer 5, and a clear and good color reproducible color image is formed. I was able to display. This means that even if the spacer 5 is installed, the disturbance of the electric field that affects the electron orbit does not occur. <Effects of First Embodiment> The image forming apparatuses of the first embodiment and the experimental examples thereof described above have the following effects. First, since the charge to be prevented is generated on the surface of the spacer 5, it is sufficient for the spacer 5 to have an antistatic function only on the surface portion thereof. Therefore, in this embodiment, the insulating base material 5a is used as the member forming the spacer 5, and the island-shaped metal film 5b of the insulating base material 5a is formed. This allows
It was possible to realize the spacer 5 which has a resistance value sufficient to neutralize the charge on the surface of the spacer 5 and has a leak current amount that does not extremely increase the power consumption of the entire device.
That is, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the cold cathode such as the surface conduction electron-emitting device 15 without impairing the low heat generation.
A large area image forming apparatus was obtained. : Next, since the spacer 5 has a flat plate shape whose cross-sectional shape is uniform with respect to the normal direction of the electron source 1 and the face plate 3, the electric field is disturbed by the spacer 5 itself. There is no. Therefore, the spacer 5
Since the spacer 5 and the electron-emitting device 15 can be arranged close to each other as long as does not block the electron trajectory from the electron-emitting device 15, the electron-emitting devices 15 can be arranged at high density in the X direction orthogonal to the spacer 5. . Moreover, since the leak current does not flow into the insulating base material 5a occupying most of the cross section, the spacer 5 is not attached to the electron source 1 or the face plate 3.
It was possible to suppress the leak current to a small level without making any ingenuity such as making the points sharp and joining. : Since the flat spacer 5 is arranged parallel to the XZ plane along the electron orbit displaced from the electron-emitting device 15 in the X direction, the X parallel to the spacer 5 without being blocked by the spacer 5 The electron-emitting device 15 with respect to the direction
Could be arranged in high density. : Further, each spacer 5 was electrically connected to one X-direction wiring 12 on the electron source 1 side, and unnecessary electrical coupling between the wirings on the electron source 1 could be avoided. . Further, by providing the desired island-shaped metal film 5b, the spacer 5 of the present invention, which exhibits the above effect and does not require a complicated additional structure for preventing charging, is formed by the surface conduction type proposed by the present applicant. By applying to the image forming apparatus using the simple matrix type electron source 1 with the electron emitting element 15, the thin and large area image forming apparatus capable of forming a high quality image with a simple device configuration can be provided. It was

<Second Embodiment> The difference from the first embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the second embodiment is that the manufacturing order of the X-direction wiring 12 and the Y-direction wiring 13 is reversed, and at the same time the spacer 5 is made Y-shaped. It is located on the directional wiring 13. In addition, the fluorescent film 7
Adopts the shape shown in FIG. 19 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the second embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of a main part (CC 'cross section) of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. Part of).

19 and 20, an electron source 1 having a plurality of electron-emitting devices 15 arranged in a matrix is fixed to the rear plate 2. In the electron source 1, a face plate 3 as an image forming member, in which a fluorescent film 7 and a metal back 8 as an accelerating electrode are formed on the inner surface of a glass substrate 6, is opposed via a supporting frame 4 made of an insulating material. A high voltage is applied between the electron source 1 and the metal back 8 by a power source (not shown). The rear plate 2, the support frame 4, and the face plate 3 are sealed to each other with frit glass or the like, and the rear plate 2, the support frame 4, and the face plate 3 constitute an envelope 10. A thin plate-shaped spacer 5 is provided inside the envelope 10 as an atmospheric pressure resistant structure. The spacer 5 is an insulating base material 5.
It is composed of a member having an island-shaped metal film 5b formed on the surface of a, and is arranged in parallel in the Y direction at a necessary number and at a necessary interval for achieving the above-mentioned object. The inner surface of 10 and the surface of the electron source 1 are sealed with frit glass or the like. The island-shaped metal film 5b is electrically connected to the inner surface of the face plate 3 and the surface (Y-direction wiring 13) of the electron source 1.

FIG. 21 is a plan view of an essential part of the electron source 1 of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 19, and FIG. 22 is a sectional view of the electron source 1 shown in FIG. 21 and 2
As shown in FIG. 2, the insulating substrate 11 made of a glass substrate or the like.
In the figure, m X-direction wirings 12 and n Y-direction wirings 13 are electrically separated by an interlayer insulating layer 14 (not shown in FIG. 21) and wired in a matrix. An electron-emitting device 15 is electrically connected between each X-direction wiring 12 and each Y-direction wiring 13. Each electron-emitting device 1
Reference numeral 5 is composed of a pair of device electrodes 16 and 17 arranged at intervals in the X direction and an electron emission portion forming thin film 18 connecting the device electrodes 16 and 17, respectively. , 17, one of the device electrodes 17 is the Y-direction wiring 13
And the other element electrode 16 is electrically connected to
It is electrically connected to the direction wiring 12. The X-direction wiring 12 and the Y-direction wiring 13 are the external terminals D shown in FIG.
It is drawn out of the envelope 10 as ox1 to Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn.

The second embodiment will be described below with reference to some experimental examples. Experimental Example 1 In this experimental example, first, the unformed electron source 1 is fixed to the rear plate 2. Next, the island-shaped metal film 5b made of Ir is formed on four surfaces of the insulating base material 5a made of soda lime glass that are exposed in the envelope 10.
Form b. Furthermore, spacer 5 (height 5 mm, plate thickness 2
00 μm, length 20 mm) is fixed on the electron source 1 at equal intervals in parallel with the Y-direction wiring 13. After that, 5 mm of electron source 1
The face plate 3 is arranged above the support frame 4,
The joint portion of the rear plate 2, the face plate 3, the support frame 4, and the spacer 5 is fixed.

The fluorescent film 7, which is an image forming member, is
The shape shown in FIG. 11 was adopted, and the stripe-shaped black conductive material 7b located between the stripe-shaped phosphors 7a of the respective colors extending in the Y direction and the phosphors 7a of the respective colors were used. First, the black conductive material 7b is formed, and the phosphors 7a
Is applied to produce the fluorescent film 7. As a material for the black stripe, a material containing graphite as a main component, which is often used, was used. A slurry method was used as a method for applying the phosphor 7a to the glass substrate 6.

The joint between the electron source 1 and the rear plate 2, the joint between the rear plate 2 and the support frame 4, and the joint between the face plate 3 and the support frame 4 are frit glass (not shown).
Is applied and baked at 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. in the air for 10 minutes or more to seal the film. Further, the spacer 5 is the electron source 1
On the Y direction wiring 13 (line width 300 μm), and on the face plate 3 side black conductive material 7b (line width 300 μm)
A conductive frit glass (not shown) in which a conductive material such as a metal is mixed is placed on the above, and the temperature is 400 ° C to 500 ° C in the atmosphere.
By firing at 10 ° C. for 10 minutes or more, sealing and electrical connection were made.

The spacer 5 is formed by sputtering iridium having a thickness of 1.2 nm as the island-shaped metal film 5b on the insulating base material 5a made of cleaned soda lime glass. At this time, the surface resistance value of the island-shaped metal film 5b is about 1
It was ⁰⁹ [Ω / □]. In the image forming apparatus configured as described above, the electron emitting element 15 is supplied with the scanning signal and the modulation signal from the signal means (not shown) through the external terminals Dox1 to Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn. Then, a high voltage is applied to the metal back 8 through the high voltage terminal Hv to accelerate the emitted electron beam, cause electrons to collide with the phosphor film 7, and excite / emit the phosphor to display an image.

The applied voltage Va to the high voltage terminal Hv is 3
kV to 10 kV, applied voltage Vf between the device electrodes 16 and 17
Is set to 14V. At this time, two-dimensionally formed light emission spot rows are formed at equal intervals including light emission spots due to the electrons emitted from the electron-emitting device 15 located near the spacer 5.
It was possible to display a clear color image with good color reproducibility. This means that even if the spacer 5 is installed, the disturbance of the electric field that affects the electron orbit does not occur.

Experimental Example 2 The experimental example 2 is different from the experimental example 1 of the second embodiment in that Ta is formed to a thickness of 2 nm as the island-shaped metal film 5b of the spacer 5. The Ta island metal film is formed by a sputtering method using argon plasma. At this time, the surface resistance value of the island-shaped metal film 5b made of Ta was about 10 ⁸ [Ω / □].

In the image forming apparatus using the spacer 5, each of the electron-emitting devices 15 has a terminal outside the container Dox1 ...
Through Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, electrons are emitted by applying a scanning signal and a modulation signal from a signal generating means (not shown), and a high voltage is applied to the metal back 8 through a high voltage terminal Hv to emit an electron beam. It accelerates and collides electrons with the phosphor film 7 to excite the phosphor.
The image is displayed by emitting light.

The applied voltage Va to the high voltage terminal Hv is 3
kV to 10 kV, applied voltage Vf between the device electrodes 16 and 17
Is set to 14V. At this time, it was confirmed from the comparison with the case of the image forming apparatus for the comparative experiment using the spacer 5 without the island-shaped metal film 5b that the antistatic effect was obtained. Experimental Example 3 The experimental example 3 is different from the experimental example 1 in that Mo is formed as the island-shaped metal film 5b of the spacer 5 in a thickness of 1.5 nm. The Mo island metal film is formed by a sputtering method using argon plasma. At this time, the surface resistance value of the island-shaped metal film 5b made of Mo is about 10
^{It was 8} [Ω / □].

The metal back 8 was not provided on the face plate 3, but a transparent electrode made of an ITO film was provided between the glass substrate 6 and the fluorescent film instead. The spacer 5
In the image forming apparatus using, the electron emission elements 15 are caused to emit electrons by applying a scanning signal and a modulation signal from a signal generating means (not shown) through the external terminals Dox1 to Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, respectively. A high voltage is applied to the metal back 8 through a high voltage terminal Hv to accelerate the emitted electron beam, collide electrons with the phosphor film 7, and excite / emit the phosphor to display an image. The applied voltage Va to the high voltage terminal Hv is 1 kV or less, and the applied voltage Vf between the device electrodes 16 and 17 is 14V.

At this time, two-dimensionally formed light emission spot rows are formed at equal intervals, including the light emission spots from the electron-emitting devices 15 located near the spacers 5, and the color image is clear and has good color reproducibility. I was able to display. This means that even if the spacers 5 were installed, no disturbance of electrolysis that would affect the electron orbits occurred. Experimental Example 4 The experimental example 4 is different from the experimental example 1 in that Ag is formed to a thickness of 1 nm as the island-shaped metal film 5b of the spacer 5.
The Ag island metal film is formed by using an electron beam evaporation method. At this time, the island-shaped metal film 5 made of Ag
The surface resistance value of b was about 10 ⁷ [Ω / □].

The metal back 8 was not provided on the face plate 3, but a transparent electrode made of an ITO film was provided between the glass substrate 6 and the fluorescent film instead. Further, a phosphor for low-speed electron beam was used as the phosphor 7a. In the image forming apparatus using the spacer 5, each electron-emitting device 1
5, terminals outside the container Dox1 to Doxm, Doy1 to Do
Electrons are emitted by applying a scanning signal and a modulation signal from a signal generating means (not shown) through yn,
A high voltage is applied to the metal back 8 through a high voltage terminal Hv to accelerate the emitted electron beam, collide electrons with the phosphor film 7, and excite / emit the phosphor to display an image.

The voltage Va applied to the high voltage terminal Hv is 1
The applied voltage Vf between the device electrodes 16 and 17 is around 100V and is 1
4V. At this time, two-dimensionally formed light emission spot rows are formed at equal intervals, including light emission spots due to the electrons emitted from the electron-emitting device 15 located near the spacer 5, and a clear and good color reproducible color image display can be performed. It was This means that even if the spacer 5 is installed, the disturbance of the electric field that affects the electron orbit does not occur.

<Effects of First and Second Embodiments> The image forming apparatuses of the first and second embodiments and their experimental examples described above have the following effects. First, since the charge to be prevented is generated on the surface of the spacer 5, it is sufficient for the spacer 5 to have an antistatic function only on the surface portion thereof. Therefore, in this embodiment, the insulating base material 5a is used as the member forming the spacer 5, and the island-shaped metal film 5b of the insulating base material 5a is formed. This allows
It was possible to realize the spacer 5 which has a resistance value sufficient to neutralize the charge on the surface of the spacer 5 and has a leak current amount that does not extremely increase the power consumption of the entire device.
That is, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the cold cathode such as the surface conduction electron-emitting device 15 without impairing the low heat generation.
A large area image forming apparatus was obtained. : Next, since the spacer 5 has a flat plate shape whose cross-sectional shape is uniform with respect to the normal direction of the electron source 1 and the face plate 3, the electric field is disturbed by the spacer 5 itself. There is no. Therefore, the spacer 5
Since the spacer 5 and the electron-emitting device 15 can be arranged close to each other as long as does not block the electron trajectory from the electron-emitting device 15, the electron-emitting devices 15 can be arranged at high density in the Y direction orthogonal to the spacer 5. . Moreover, since the leak current does not flow into the insulating base material 5a occupying most of the cross section, the spacer 5 is not attached to the electron source 1 or the face plate 3.
It was possible to suppress the leak current to a small level without making any ingenuity such as making the points sharp and joining. The fluorescent film 7 has the shape shown in FIG. 11 and has stripe-shaped fluorescent bodies 7a extending in the Y direction.
Since the stripe-shaped black conductive material 7b located between the phosphors 7a and the respective color phosphors 7a is used, even if the electron-emitting devices 15 are arranged in the Y direction at the term density, the brightness of the display image is not impaired. : Further, each spacer 5 was electrically connected to one X-direction wiring 12 on the electron source 1 side, and unnecessary electrical coupling between the wirings on the electron source 1 could be avoided. . Further, the spacer 5 which exhibits the above effects by providing the desired island-shaped metal film 5b and does not require a complicated additional structure for preventing charging is formed by the surface conduction electron emission proposed by the present applicant. By applying to the image forming apparatus using the simple matrix type electron source 1 with the element 15, a thin and large area image forming apparatus capable of forming a high quality image with a simple device configuration can be provided.

<Third Embodiment> The third embodiment described below differs from the first embodiment described above in that a columnar spacer is used. FIG. 23 is a partially broken perspective view of the third embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view (a part of EE ′ cross section) of a main part of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 23.

In FIGS. 23 and 24, the electron source 1 having a plurality of electron-emitting devices 15 arranged in a matrix is fixed to the rear plate 2. In the electron source 1, a face plate 3 as an image forming member, in which a fluorescent film 7 and a metal back 8 as an accelerating electrode are formed on the inner surface of a glass substrate 6, is opposed via a supporting frame 4 made of an insulating material. A high voltage is applied between the electron source 1 and the metal back 8 by a power source (not shown). The rear plate 2, the support frame 4, and the face plate 3 are sealed to each other with frit glass or the like, and the rear plate 2, the support frame 4, and the face plate 3 constitute an envelope 10.

As the atmospheric pressure resistant structure, the envelope 10 is used.
A columnar spacer 5 is provided in the interior of the. The spacer 5 is composed of a member in which a semi-conductive thin film 5b is formed on the surface of an insulating base material 5a, and the spacers 5 are arranged at a necessary number and at a necessary interval to achieve the above-mentioned purpose. The inner surface of the envelope 10 and the surface of the electron source 1 are sealed with frit glass or the like. The island-shaped metal film 5b is electrically connected to the inner surface of the face plate 3 and the surface of the electron source 1 (X-direction wiring 12).

Experimental Example 1 In Experimental Example 1 of the third embodiment, first, the unformed electron source 1 is fixed to the rear plate 2. Next, the island-shaped metal film 5b made of Cr is formed on the surface of the insulating base material 5a made of soda lime glass in the envelope 10 and the cylindrical metal spacer 5 ( Height 5mm, radius 1
00 μm) are fixed on the electron source 1 at equal intervals. After that, the face plate 3 is arranged 5 mm above the electron source 1 via the support frame 4, and the joint portion of the rear plate 2, the face plate 3, the support frame 4 and the spacer 5 is fixed.

As the island-shaped metal film 5b of the spacer 5, Cr is formed to a thickness of 0.8 nm. The Cr island metal film is formed by the resistance heating vapor deposition method. At this time, C
The surface resistance value of the island-shaped metal film 5b composed of r is about 1
It was ⁰⁹ [Ω / □]. Frit glass (not shown) is applied to the joint between the electron source 1 and the rear plate 2, the joint between the rear plate 2 and the support frame 4, and the joint between the face plate 3 and the support frame 4, and the temperature is 400 ° C. in the atmosphere. It is sealed by baking at ˜500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more.

The spacer 5 is a mixture of a conductive material such as metal on the X-direction wiring 12 (line width 300 μm) on the electron source 1 side and on the black conductive material 7b (line width 300 μm) on the face plate 3 side. It was placed through a transparent frit glass (not shown), and was fired at 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more in the atmosphere to seal and electrically connect. The spacer 5 has a thickness of 1000 as a semiconductive thin film 5b on an insulating base material 5a made of cleaned soda lime glass.
Angstrom tin oxide is deposited in an argon / oxygen atmosphere by ion plating using the electron beam method. At this time, the surface resistance value of the island-shaped metal film 5b was about 10 ⁹ [Ω / □].

In the image forming apparatus configured as described above, each of the electron-emitting devices 15 has a terminal outside the container Dox1 ...
Electrons are emitted by applying scanning signals and modulation signals from signal means (not shown) through Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, and the metal back 8 has a high voltage terminal Hv.
An electron beam is accelerated by applying a high voltage through, electrons are made to collide with the phosphor film 7, and the phosphor is excited and emits light to display an image.

The applied voltage Va to the high voltage terminal Hv is 3
kV to 10 kV, applied voltage V between device electrodes 16 and 17
f is set to 14V. First, the charge to be prevented is spacer
Since it occurs on the surface of the spacer 5, it is sufficient for the spacer 5 to have an antistatic function only on the surface portion thereof. Therefore, the third
In the embodiment, the insulating base material 5a is used as the member forming the spacer 5, and the island-shaped metal film 5b of the insulating base material 5a is formed. As a result, it was possible to realize the spacer 5 which has a resistance value sufficient to neutralize the charge on the surface of the spacer 5 and has a leak current amount that does not extremely increase the power consumption of the entire device. That is, a thin, large-area image forming apparatus was obtained without impairing the small heat generation, which is a feature of the cold cathode such as the surface conduction electron-emitting device 15.

Next, as the shape of the spacer 5, the electron source 1
Further, since the columnar shape whose cross-sectional shape is uniform with respect to the normal direction of the face plate 3 is adopted, the electric field is not disturbed by the spacer 5 itself. Therefore, as long as the spacer 5 does not block the electron trajectory from the electron-emitting device 15, the spacer 5 and the electron-emitting device 15 can be arranged close to each other, so that the electron-emitting device 15 can be densely arranged in the X direction orthogonal to the spacer 5. I was able to place it. Moreover, since the leak current does not flow into the insulating base material 5a occupying most of the cross section, it is necessary to make the spacer 5 pointed to the electron source 1 or the face plate 3 so as to join them. It was possible to suppress to a small leak current.

Further, each spacer 5 is 1 on the electron source 1 side.
Since it was electrically connected to the X-direction wiring 12 of the book, unnecessary electrical coupling between the wirings on the electron source 1 could be avoided. Further, by providing the desired island-shaped metal film 5b, the above effect is exhibited, and the spacer 5 of the third embodiment which does not require a complicated additional structure for preventing electrification is formed by the surface conduction proposed by the present applicant. By providing an image forming apparatus that uses a simple matrix type electron source 1 with an electron emitting element 15 of a positive type, a thin and large area image forming apparatus that can form a high-quality image with a simple apparatus configuration is provided. did it.

<Fourth Embodiment> This fourth embodiment is the same as the first embodiment in that the same spacer 5 is used as in the first embodiment, but it is further supported. The difference is that the frame 4 is installed as close to the electron source 1 as possible, and an island-shaped metal film is formed on the inner surface side of the support frame 4.

FIG. 25 is a partially broken perspective view of the fourth embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, and FIG.
3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 25 and 26, an electron source 1 having a plurality of electron-emitting devices 15 arranged in a matrix is fixed to a rear plate 2. In the electron source 1, a face plate 3 as an image forming member, in which a fluorescent film 7 and a metal back 8 as an accelerating electrode are formed on the inner surface of a glass substrate 6, is arranged to face each other via a support frame 4. A high voltage is applied between the electron source 1 and the metal back 8 by a power source (not shown). The rear plate 2, the support frame 4, and the face plate 3 are sealed to each other with frit glass or the like.
And constitute the envelope 10. A thin plate-shaped spacer 5 is provided inside the envelope 10 as an atmospheric pressure resistant structure.

The spacer 5 is made of a member in which the island-shaped metal film 5b is formed on the surface of the insulating base material 5a. The spacers 5 are arranged in the required number and at the necessary intervals to achieve the above object.
It is arranged parallel to the X direction and is sealed to the inner surface of the envelope 10 and the surface of the electron source 1 with frit glass or the like. Further, the island-shaped metal film 5b is formed on the inner surface of the face plate 3 and the electron source 1.
Is electrically connected to the surface (wiring 13 in the X direction).

The support frame 4 is made of a member in which an island-shaped metal film 4b is formed on the inner surface side of the insulating base material 4a.
Are sealed on the inner surface and the surface of the electron source 1 with frit glass or the like. The island-shaped metal film 4b is electrically connected to the inner surface of the rear plate 2 and the inner surface of the face plate 3. Experimental Example 1 In Experimental Example 1 of the fourth embodiment, first, the unformed electron source 1 is fixed to the rear plate 2. Next, the island-shaped metal film 5b made of Pt was formed on four surfaces of the insulating base material 5a made of soda lime glass that were exposed inside the envelope 10. Cylindrical spacer 5
(Height 5 mm, plate pressure 20 μm, length 20 mm)
It is fixed parallel to the X-direction wiring 12 at equal intervals. After that, the face plate 3 is arranged 5 mm above the electron source 1 via the support frame 4, and the joint portion of the rear plate 2, the face plate 3, the support frame 4 and the spacer 5 is fixed. The support frame 4 is arranged as close as possible to the electron emitting portion 15 of the electron source 1 and the fluorescent film 7 of the face plate 3 as long as the trajectory of the electrons emitted from the electron source 1 is not blocked.

A frit glass (not shown) is applied to the joint between the electron source 1 and the rear plate 2 and the temperature is 400 ° C.
It is sealed by baking at 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more. Also,
The spacer 5 includes the X-direction wiring 12 (line width 3
00 μm), on the face plate 3 side, on the black conductive material 7b (line width 300 μm), through a conductive frit glass (not shown) mixed with a conductive material such as metal, and at 400 ° C. in the atmosphere. By firing at 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more, sealing and electrical connection were made.

The joint between the rear plate 2 and the support frame 4 and the joint between the face plate 3 and the support frame 4 are also
It is placed through a conductive frit glass (not shown) in which a conductive material such as metal is mixed, and the temperature is 1 to 400 ° C to 500 ° C in the atmosphere.
By firing for 0 minutes or more, sealing and electrical connection were made. The island-shaped metal film 4b is electrically connected to a ground potential electrode (not shown) on the rear plate 2 side and electrically connected to the high voltage terminal Hv on the face plate 3 side.

The spacer 5 is made of Ti having a thickness of 1.5 nm as the island-shaped metal film 5b on the insulating base material 5a made of cleaned soda lime glass. The Ti island metal film is formed by the resistance heating vapor deposition method. The surface resistance value of the island-shaped metal film 5b made of Kouki Au is
It was about 10 ¹⁰ [Ω / □]. Similarly to the spacer 5, the support frame 4 also has a thickness of 1.5 nm of Ti formed on the inner surface of the insulating base material 4a made of cleaned soda lime glass.

The fluorescent film 7, which is an image forming member, is
As shown in FIG. 11, each color phosphor 7a adopts a stripe shape extending in the Y direction, and as the black conductive material 7b, not only the phosphors 7a of each color but also the pixels in the Y direction are separated and the spacer 5 is installed. A shape with a portion for adding was used.
First, the black conductive material 7b is formed, and the phosphors 7a of the respective colors are applied to the gaps between the black conductive material 7b to form the fluorescent film 7. As a material for the black stripe, a material containing graphite as a main component, which is often used, was used. A chiller method was used as a method for applying the phosphor 7a to the glass substrate 6.

The metal back 8 provided on the inner surface side of the fluorescent film 7 is subjected to a smoothing process (usually called filming) on the inner surface side of the fluorescent film 7 after the fluorescent film 7 is manufactured, and then the Al back Is manufactured by vacuum vapor deposition. The face plate 3 may be provided with a transparent electrode on the outer surface side of the fluorescent film 7 in order to further increase the conductivity of the fluorescent film 7, but in the present embodiment, sufficient conductivity can be obtained only with a metal back. I omitted it.

When performing the above-mentioned sealing, the rear plate 2, the face plate 3 and the spacer 5 were sufficiently aligned because the phosphors of the respective colors and the electron-emitting devices had to correspond to each other. The envelope 1 completed as described above
The atmosphere inside 0 is exhausted by a vacuum pump through an exhaust pipe (not shown), and after reaching a sufficient degree of vacuum, the external terminal Dox1
Through Doxm and Doy1 through Doyn 15
A voltage is applied between the device electrodes 16 and 17 and the electron emission portion forming thin film 18 is energized (forming treatment) to form the electron emission portion 23. The forming process was performed by applying the voltage having the waveform shown in FIG.

Next, the exhaust pipe (not shown) is heated by a gas burner at a vacuum degree of about 10 ^-6 Torr to be welded to the envelope 1
Sealing of 0 was performed. Finally, a getter process was performed to maintain the degree of vacuum after sealing. In the image forming apparatus completed as described above, electrons are applied to each electron-emitting device 15 by applying a scanning signal and a modulation signal from signal means (not shown) through the external terminals Dox1 to Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn. A high voltage is applied to the metal back 8 through the high voltage terminal Hv to accelerate the emitted electron beam, collide electrons with the phosphor film 7, and excite / emit the phosphor to display an image.

The applied voltage Va to the high voltage terminal Hv is 3
kV to 10 kV, applied voltage Vf between the device electrodes 16 and 17
Is set to 14V. At this time, a light emitting spot row is formed two-dimensionally at equal intervals including the light emitting spots due to the electrons emitted from the electron emitting elements 15 located near the spacer 5 and the support frame 4, and the color is clear and has good color reproducibility. The image can be displayed. This means that the spacer 5 is installed and the support frame 4 is
It is shown that, even if is arranged close to the electron source 1, the disturbance of the electric field that affects the electron orbit does not occur.

In addition to the effects shown in the first embodiment, the image forming apparatus of the fourth embodiment and the experimental examples thereof described above further have the following effects. First, since the charging to be prevented occurs on the surface of the support frame 4 arranged close to the electron source 1, it is sufficient for the support frame 4 to have an antistatic function only on the surface portion thereof. Therefore, the insulating base material 4a is used as a member forming the support frame 4, and the island-shaped metal film 4b is formed on the surface of the insulating base material 4a. As a result, the support frame 4 has a resistance value sufficient to neutralize the charge on the surface of the spacer 4 and has a leakage current amount that does not extremely increase the power consumption of the entire apparatus.
Was realized. That is, a thin, large-area image forming apparatus was obtained without impairing the small heat generation, which is a feature of the cold cathode such as the surface conduction electron-emitting device 15. Further, by using the support frame 4 described above, the portion outside the image display area can be made smaller, so that the entire apparatus can be made smaller.

<Fifth Embodiment> FIG. 27 is an image display in which the image forming apparatus of the present invention can display image information provided from various image information sources such as television broadcasting. It is a figure for showing an example of an apparatus.
It should be noted that when the display device receives a signal including both video information and audio information, such as a television signal, it naturally reproduces audio at the same time as displaying video. A description of circuits, speakers, etc. relating to reception, separation, reproduction, processing, storage, etc. of audio information not directly related to the above will be omitted.

Each part will be described below along the flow of the image signal. First, the TV signal receiving circuit 513 is a circuit for receiving a TV image signal transmitted using an n wireless transmission system such as radio waves or spatial optical communication. The system of the TV signal to be received is not particularly limited, and various systems such as NTSC system, PAL system and SECAM system may be used. In addition, a TV signal (for example, a so-called high-definition TV such as the MUSE method) including a larger number of scanning lines than these is used in the display panel 500 using the image forming apparatus of the present invention, which is suitable for a large area and a large number of pixels.
It is a suitable signal source to take advantage of. The TV signal received by the TV signal receiving circuit 513 is output to the decoder 504.

The image TV signal receiving circuit 512 is a circuit for receiving a TV image signal transmitted by using a wired transmission system such as a coaxial cable or an optical fiber. As with the TV signal receiving circuit 513, the receiving T
The method of the V signal is not particularly limited, and the TV signal received by this circuit is also output to the decoder 504.

The image input interface circuit 511 is
For example, it is a circuit for capturing an image signal supplied from an image input device such as a TV camera or an image reading scanner, and the captured image signal is output to the decoder 504. The image memory interface circuit 510 is a circuit for capturing an image signal stored in a video tape recorder (hereinafter abbreviated as VTR), and the captured image signal is output to the decoder 504.

Image memory interface circuit 509
Is a circuit for taking in the image signal stored in the video disc.
4 is output. Image memory interface circuit 50
Reference numeral 8 denotes a circuit for capturing an image signal from a device that stores still image data, such as a so-called still image disc, and the captured still image data is output to the decoder 504.

The input / output interface circuit 505 is a circuit for connecting the present display device to an output device such as an external computer, computer network or printer. It is of course possible to input and output image data and character / graphic information, and in some cases, input and output control signals and numerical data between the CPU 506 of the display device and the outside.

The image generation circuit 507 displays image data based on image data or character / graphic information input from the outside via the input / output interface circuit 505 or image data or character / graphic information output from the CPU 506. Is a circuit for generating. Inside this circuit, for example, a rewritable memory for accumulating image data and character / graphic information, a read-only memory that stores image patterns corresponding to character codes, a processor for performing image processing, etc. The circuit necessary for image generation is built in. Image generation circuit 507
The display image data generated by the
However, in some cases, it can be output to an external computer network or printer via the input / output interface circuit 505.

The CPU 506 mainly performs operations related to operation control of the display device and generation, selection and editing of a display image. For example, a control signal is output to the multiplexer 503 to appropriately select or combine image signals to be displayed on the display panel. Further, at that time, the display panel controller 50 is operated according to the image signal to be displayed.
A control signal is generated for 2 to appropriately control the operation of the display device such as a frequency for displaying an image, a scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced), and the number of scanning lines in one screen. Further, image data and character / graphic information are directly output to the image generation circuit 507, or an external computer or memory is accessed through the input / output interface circuit 505 to input image data and character / graphic information. .

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

The input unit 514 is used by the user to input commands, programs, data, etc. to the CPU 506. For example, various inputs such as a keyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a bar code reader, a voice recognition device, etc. It is possible to use equipment. Decoder 504
Is a circuit for inversely converting various image signals input from the image generation circuit 507 to the TV signal reception circuit 513 into the three primary color signals, or the luminance signal and the I signal and the Q signal. Note that it is desirable that the decoder 504 has an image memory therein, as indicated by the dotted line in the figure. This is, for example, M
This is for handling a television signal that requires an image memory for reverse conversion, including the USE method.
Further, the provision of the image memory facilitates the display of a still image, or the image generation circuit 507 and the CPU 5
This is because, in cooperation with 06, there is an advantage that image processing and editing such as image thinning, interpolation, enlargement, reduction, and composition can be easily performed.

The multiplexer 503 appropriately selects a display image based on a control signal input from the CPU 506. That is, the multiplexer 503 selects a desired image signal from the inversely converted image signals input from the decoder 504 and outputs it to the drive circuit 501. In that case, by switching and selecting image signals within one screen display time, it is possible to divide one screen into a plurality of areas and display different images depending on the areas, as in a so-called multi-screen television. .

Display panel controller 502
Is a circuit for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 501 based on a control signal input from the CPU 506. As a signal related to a basic operation of the display panel 500, for example, a signal for controlling an operation sequence of a driving power supply (not shown) for the display panel 500 is output to the drive circuit 501. Display panel 500
A signal for controlling the screen display frequency and the scanning method (for example, interlace or non-interlace) is output to the drive circuit 501 as a method related to the drive method of FIG. In some cases, a control signal relating to image quality adjustment such as brightness, contrast, color tone, and sharpness of a display image may be output to the drive circuit 501.

The drive circuit 501 is the display panel 5
00 is a circuit for generating a drive signal to be applied to
It operates based on the image signal input from the multiplexer 503 and the control signal input from the display panel controller 502. The function of each unit has been described above, but with the configuration illustrated in FIG. 27, it is possible to display image information input from various image information sources on the display panel 500 in the present display device. That is, various image signals such as television broadcasts are inversely converted by the decoder 504, then appropriately selected by the multiplexer 503, and then the drive circuit 5 is selected.
01 is input. On the other hand, the display controller 5
02 generates a control signal for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 501 according to the image signal to be displayed. Drive circuit 50
1 applies a drive signal to the display panel 500 based on the image signal and the control signal. As a result, the image is displayed on the display panel 500. These series of operations are controlled by the CPU 506 as a whole.

Further, in the present display device, the decoder 5
The image memory built in 04, the image generation circuit 507, and the CPU 506 are involved, so that not only the selected one of the plurality of image information is displayed, but also the image information to be displayed is enlarged or reduced, for example. Image processing such as rotation, movement, edge enhancement, thinning, interpolation, color conversion, and image aspect ratio conversion, as well as composition, deletion, connection,
It is also possible to perform image editing such as replacement and fitting. Although not particularly mentioned in the description of the present embodiment, a dedicated circuit for processing and editing audio information at the same time as the above image processing and image editing may be provided.

Therefore, the present display device is a display device for television broadcasting, a terminal device for a video conference, an image editing device for handling still images and moving images, a computer terminal device, an office terminal device such as a word processor, and a game. It is possible to combine the functions of a machine with one unit, and it has a very wide range of applications for industrial or consumer use. In addition, the above-mentioned FIG.
It is needless to say that the above shows only an example of the configuration of the display device using the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and is not limited to this. For example, of the constituent elements of FIG. 27, circuits relating to functions that are unnecessary for the purpose of use may be omitted. On the contrary, further constituent elements may be added depending on the purpose of use. For example, when the display device is applied as a videophone, it is preferable to add a television camera, a voice microphone, an illuminator, a transmission / reception circuit including a modem, and the like to the constituent elements.

In the display device of the fifth embodiment, the depth of the display device can be reduced because of the effect that the image forming apparatus according to the above-described embodiments can be thinned easily. In addition, since it is easy to increase the screen size, has high brightness, and has excellent viewing angle characteristics, the present display device can display a highly realistic image with high visibility.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention can be variously modified as follows without departing from the spirit thereof. The present invention can be applied to any electron-emitting device among cold cathode electron-emitting devices other than the surface conduction electron-emitting device. As a concrete example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-27
There is a field emission type electron-emitting device in which a pair of electrodes facing each other are formed along the surface of a substrate forming an electron source as described in Japanese Patent No. 4047.

The present invention can also be applied to an image forming apparatus using an electron source other than the simple matrix type. For example, in the image forming apparatus for selecting the surface conduction electron-emitting device by using the control electrode as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-257551 by the present applicant, when the above-mentioned supporting member is used Is. In addition, according to the idea of the present invention, not only the image forming display suitable for display but also the above-mentioned as an alternative light emitting source such as a light emitting diode of an optical printer including a photosensitive drum and a light emitting diode, An image forming apparatus can also be used. At this time,
By appropriately selecting the above-mentioned m row-direction wirings and n column-direction wirings, it is possible to apply not only as a line-shaped light emitting source but also as a two-dimensional light-emitting source.

Further, according to the idea of the present invention, the present invention can be applied to the case where the member to be irradiated with the electrons emitted from the electron source is a member other than the image forming member, such as an electron microscope. . Therefore, the present invention may also take the form of an electron beam generator that does not specify the irradiated member. Also,
According to the idea of the present invention, the image forming apparatus is not limited to the image forming apparatus suitable for display, and the image forming apparatus described above is used as an alternative light emitting source such as a light emitting diode of an optical printer including a photosensitive drum and a light emitting diode. A device can also be used. At this time, by appropriately selecting the above-mentioned m row-direction wirings and n column-direction wirings, it can be applied not only as a line-shaped light emitting source but also as a two-dimensional light-emitting source.

Further, according to the idea of the present invention, the present invention can be applied to the case where the member to be irradiated with the electrons emitted from the electron source is a member other than the image forming member, such as an electron microscope. . Therefore, the present invention can also be embodied as an electron beam generator that does not specify the irradiated member. The present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices or an apparatus including a single device. Also,
It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0163]

As described above, in the electron beam generator and the image forming apparatus of the present invention, a conductive thin film is formed on the surface of the insulating intermediate member arranged between the electron source and the electrode. By supplying a weak current, the intermediate member can be prevented from being charged. As a result, the orbit of the electron beam emitted from the electron source becomes a planned orbit. In particular, when this electron source is used for image formation, a position shift between the position where the electrons collide with the image forming surface and the image forming surface which should originally emit light is prevented from occurring, and brightness loss can be prevented, resulting in a clear image. It has become possible to provide an electron beam generator capable of displaying and an image forming apparatus.

Further, according to the supporting spacer of the present invention, trapped charged particles can be emitted, and the trajectory of the electron beam generated thereby can be prevented from being bent.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conventional surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the first embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an area A in the vicinity of a spacer of the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment.
It is a sectional view taken along the line A-A '.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an essential part of an electron source of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

5 is a cross-sectional view of the electron source shown in FIG. 4 taken along the line BB '.

FIG. 6 is a diagram sequentially showing a manufacturing process of the electron source of the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of an example of a mask used when forming a thin film for forming an electron emitting portion.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a voltage waveform used in forming processing.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an electron emission device measurement / evaluation apparatus of an example.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the basic characteristics of the electron-emitting device of the example.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a fluorescent film.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a fluorescent film.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a drive circuit of the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a partial circuit diagram of an electron source of the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of an original image for explaining a driving method of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a partial circuit diagram of an electron source to which a drive voltage of the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment is applied.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining trajectories of electrons and scattering particles in the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment, and is a diagram of an electron emitting portion near a spacer as seen from the Y direction.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining trajectories of electrons and scattering particles in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and is a diagram of an electron emitting portion near a spacer as seen from the X direction.

FIG. 19 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the second embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken along the line CC ′ in the vicinity of the spacer of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a main-portion plan view of the electron source of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a sectional view taken along the line DD ′ of the electron source of the second embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a third embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line EE ′ in the vicinity of the spacer of the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the fourth embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a sectional view taken along line FF ′ in the vicinity of the spacer and the support frame of the image forming apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a circuit diagram of a fifth embodiment in which the image forming apparatus of the present invention is applied to an image display device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Electron Source 2 Rear Plate 3 Face Plate 4 Support Frame 5 Spacer 5a Insulating Substrate 5b Island Metal Film 6 Glass Substrate 7 Fluorescent Film 8 Metal Back 10 Envelope 11 Insulating Substrate 12 X Direction Wiring 13 Y Direction Wiring 14 Interlayer insulating layer 15 Electron emission element 18 Thin film for electron emission formation (thin film including electron emission part) 20 Mask 20a Opening 21 Cr film 23 Electron emission part 30, 32 Ammeter 31, 33 Power supply 34 Anode electrode 1701 Display panel 1702 Scanning circuit 1703 Control Circuit 1704 Shift Register 1705 Line Memory 1706 Synchronous Signal Separation Circuit 1707 Modulation Signal Generator 500 Display Panel 501 Drive Circuit 502 Display Panel Controller 503 Multiplexer 504 Decoder 505 Input / Output Interface Circuit 06 CPU 507 Image generation circuit 508, 509, 510 Image memory interface circuit 511 Image input interface circuit 512, 513 TV signal receiving circuit 514 Input unit 3001 Insulating substrate 3002 Thin film for forming electron emitting unit 3003 Electron emitting unit 3004 Electron emitting unit Including thin film

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI Technical display location H01J 31/15 H01J 31/15 Z

Claims (28)

[Claims] 1. An electron source having a plurality of cold cathode type electron-emitting devices, an electrode arranged to face the electron source and acting on electrons emitted from the electron source, and arranged between the electron source and the electrodes. And an electrically insulating intermediate member, the intermediate member has a conductive thin film on its surface, and the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the electron source and / or the electrode. An electron beam generator characterized by being provided. 2. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the conductive thin film has a surface resistance value of 10 5 to 10 12 [Ω / □]. 3. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the conductive thin film is a metal thin film discretely applied in an island shape on the surface of the intermediate member. 4. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate member has an upright surface between the electron source and the electrode. . 5. The electron beam generator according to claim 4, wherein the intermediate member is a flat plate or a column. 6. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the electrodes apply a voltage for acceleration. 7. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the electron-emitting device provided in the electron source has a pair of device electrodes facing each other and an electron emission extending between the device electrodes. An electron-emitting device, which is a surface-conduction electron-emitting device including a thin film including a portion. 8. The electron beam generator according to claim 7, wherein the electron source has a plurality of row-direction wirings and a plurality of column-direction wirings arranged via an insulating layer, and the row-direction wirings and the columns. An electron beam generator, wherein the plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on an insulating substrate by connecting the directional wirings to the pair of device electrodes of each electron-emitting device. 9. The electron beam generator according to claim 6, wherein the electron source is provided with a plurality of row-direction wirings, and the pair of element electrodes of each electron-emitting device are arranged in the plurality of row-direction wirings. An electron beam generator, wherein the plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on an insulating substrate by connecting to each of a pair of row-direction wirings. 10. The electron beam generator according to claim 8, wherein the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the row-direction wiring or the column-direction wiring. And an electron beam generator. 11. The electron beam generator according to claim 8, wherein the intermediate member is installed on the row-direction wiring or the column-direction wiring. Generator. 12. The electron beam generator according to claim 8, wherein the intermediate member has a flat plate shape arranged in parallel or orthogonal to the row direction wirings or the column direction wirings. An electron beam generator characterized by: 13. The electron beam generator of the electron beam generator according to claim 12, wherein the pair of element electrodes of each electron-emitting device are arranged to face each other in a direction parallel to the intermediate member. Electron beam generator. 14. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the intermediate members are arranged at intervals. 15. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate member is an atmospheric pressure resistant member. 16. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate member is a support frame of an envelope that maintains a vacuum atmosphere, or a support member installed in the envelope. An electron beam generator characterized in that 17. An electron source having a plurality of cold cathode type electron-emitting devices, an electrode arranged to face the electron source and acting on electrons emitted from the electron source, and an external portion between the electron source and the electrode. In the electron beam generator, the case member has a conductive thin film on its inner surface, and the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the electron source and / or the electrode. An electron beam generator characterized in that. 18. The electron beam generator according to claim 17, wherein the conductive thin film is 10 5 to 10 12 [Ω /
An electron beam generator having a surface resistance value of []. 19. The electron beam generator according to claim 17, wherein the conductive thin film is a thin metal film discretely applied in an island shape on the surface of the intermediate member. 20. An electron source having a plurality of cold cathode type electron-emitting devices, at least one electrode which opposes the electrons emitted from the electron source and which is arranged to face the electron source, and the electrodes are sandwiched therebetween. The electron source includes an image forming member arranged to face the electron source, and an insulating intermediate member arranged between the electron source and the electrode, between the electrode and the image forming member, or between the electrodes. An image forming apparatus for forming an image by electrons emitted from the intermediate member, wherein the intermediate member has a conductive thin film on its surface, and the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the outside. . 21. The image forming apparatus according to claim 20,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the electron source and the electrode. 22. The image forming apparatus according to claim 20,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the electrodes and the image forming member. 23. The image forming apparatus according to claim 20, wherein
The image forming apparatus, wherein the conductive thin film is electrically connected to each of a pair of electrodes of the electrodes. 24. An image forming apparatus using the electron beam generating apparatus according to claim 1, comprising an image forming member that is arranged to face the electron source with the electrode interposed therebetween. 25. A supporting spacer used in a closed partition chamber in which electrons are generated, comprising a main body made of an electrically insulating material, and a conductive thin film extended on the surface of the main body. However, this thin film, at the contact point between the spacer and the partition wall of the chamber, so as to be electrically conductive with a predetermined conductor provided in the vicinity of the partition wall,
A supporting spacer, wherein the thin film is formed so as to extend to an end portion of the spacer. 26. The support spacer of claim 25,
The conductive thin film is 10 5 to 10 12 [Ω / □]
A support spacer having a surface resistance of 27. The support spacer according to claim 25,
The conductive thin film is a support spacer, wherein a metal thin film is discretely applied in an island shape on the surface of the main body. 28. An electron source having a plurality of cold cathode type electron-emitting devices, an electrode arranged to face the electron source and acting on electrons emitted from the electron source, and arranged between the electron source and the electrode. An electron beam generator having an insulating intermediate member provided with the insulating member is provided with a means for trapping charged particles to be attached to the intermediate member.