JPH08255560A - Manufacture of surface conductive field emission element, the element thereby manufactured and electron source substrate, display panel and image forming device equipped with the element - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce production cost through the restraint of a rise at a processed end or a scattered substance, and provide a high quality of surface conductive electron emission element for a large screen by providing a resist layer having a specific laser transmittance on an electrode member layer, and forming an element electrode under the irradiation of a laser beam. CONSTITUTION: A film of paste containing Au or the like is printed on a substrate 1 made of the prescribed material, thereby forming the fist layer 21 as an electrode member layer. In addition, a metallic film having a transmittance equal to or above 90% in a laser wavelength band as well as high etching grade is applied to and baked on the upper surface of the layer 21, thereby forming the second layer 22. Then, a laser beam is irradiated to remove the films 21 and 22 selectively, thereby processing an element electrode to a desired shape. Thereafter, the resist layer 22 is dissolved with an organic solvent and removed. As a result, a rise at a processed end is reduced, and the scattered substances of Au-MOD dissolved under the irradiation of the laser beam are prevented from adhering to electrode surface, thereby providing a high quality of an element electrode.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device, a surface conduction electron-emitting device manufactured by the same method, and an electron source substrate, a display panel and an image forming apparatus equipped with the same. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, two types of electron-emitting devices are known, a thermoelectron source and a cold cathode electron source. Cold cathode electron source,
Field emission (hereinafter referred to as "FE type") electron-emitting device,
Metal-insulating layer-metal type (hereinafter referred to as "MIM type") electron-emitting devices, surface conduction electron-emitting devices, and the like. As an example of the FE type electron-emitting device, W. P. Dyke and
W. W. Dolan, "Field Emissio"
n ”, Advance in Electron Phy
sics, 8, 89 (1956) or C.I. A. Spi
ndt, "Physical Properties"
of thin-film field emissi
on cathodes with mollybden
ium ", J. Appl. Phys., 47, 5248.
The electron-emitting device described in (1976) and the like are known. Examples of the MIM type electron-emitting device include C.I. A. Me
ad, "The tunnel-emission a
mplifer ", J. Appl. Phys., 3
2, 646 (1961) is known. As an example of the surface conduction electron-emitting device,
M. I. Elinson, Radio Eng. Ele
ctron Phys. , 10 (1965), and the like.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which electrons are emitted by causing a current to flow in a small area thin film formed on a substrate in parallel with the film surface. This surface conduction electron-emitting device uses a SnO2 thin film (MI Elinson, Radio En).
g. Electron Phys. , 10 (196
5), using an Au thin film (G. Dittmer, “T
"Hin Solid Films", 9, 317 (19)
72)), using an In ₂ O ₃ —SnO ₂ thin film (M.H.
artwell and C.I. G. Fonstad,
"IEEE Trans.ED Conf.", 519
(1975)), by carbon thin film (Haraki Araki
In addition, vacuum, Vol. 26, No. 1, page 22 (1983)) and the like are reported.

As a typical device configuration of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, the above-mentioned M. The device configuration of Hartwell et al. Is shown in FIG. The conductive thin film (3) is made of a thin film of metal oxide or the like and is formed on the substrate (1) by sputtering in an H-shaped pattern. The electron emitting portion (4) is formed on the conductive thin film (3) by an energization process called energization forming described later. The interval La in FIG. 13 is
The distance Wa is set to 0.5 to 1 mm and the distance Wa is set to 0.1 mm. The position and shape of the electron emitting portion (4) are not clear, and are therefore shown as a schematic diagram.

Conventionally, in the formation of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, a conductive thin film (3) is formed before electron emission.
It has been general that the electron-emitting portion (4) is formed by previously performing an energization process called energization forming. The energization forming is performed by applying a direct current or a very slow rising voltage, for example, about 1 V / min, to both ends of the conductive thin film (3) to locally destroy, deform, or transform the conductive thin film to generate electricity. To form an electron emitting portion (4) having a high resistance. In the surface conduction electron-emitting device thus obtained by the energization forming process, a voltage is applied to the conductive thin film (3), and a current is passed through the device, whereby electrons are emitted from the electron-emitting portion (4). . The electron emission is
It is performed from the vicinity of the crack of the electron emitting portion (4).

Since the surface conduction electron-emitting device described above has a simple structure and is easy to manufacture, it has an advantage that a large number of electron-emitting devices can be arrayed over a large area. Therefore, various applications have been studied by making use of this feature. For example, a charged beam source, a display device such as an image forming device, etc. may be mentioned.

FIG. 14 shows the structure of an electron-emitting device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-56822 by the present applicant. In the figure, 1 is a substrate, 2 is a device electrode, 3 is a conductive thin film, and 4 is an electron emitting portion. There are various methods for manufacturing the electron-emitting device, and the device electrode (2) is formed on the substrate 1 by, for example, a general vacuum deposition technique or a photolithography technique. Then, a conductive thin film (3) is formed by a dispersion coating method or the like. Then, a voltage is applied to the device electrode (2) and an energization process is performed to form the electron emitting portion (4).

[0008]

In manufacturing such a surface conduction electron-emitting device, the device electrode is formed by using vacuum film forming, photolithography, etching, etc. which are general semiconductor manufacturing techniques. I was going. However, in manufacturing an image forming apparatus, there has been a problem that a large number of expensive manufacturing apparatuses are required as the screen of the apparatus becomes large, and the manufacturing cost becomes high.

One of the techniques to solve this problem is laser processing, but there are problems such as swelling of the processed end and adhesion of scattered particles to the metal surface, which leads to deterioration of device characteristics.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to manufacture a surface conduction electron-emitting device for a large screen which provides a good image with a low manufacturing cost by manufacturing a device electrode by laser processing. Is to provide a method. Another object of the present invention is to provide a surface conduction electron-emitting device manufactured by the method and an electron source substrate, a display panel, and an image forming apparatus equipped with the electron-emitting device.

[0011]

The present inventor has completed the present invention as a result of various studies in order to achieve the above object. That is, the present invention is firstly, in a method of manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device having at least a pair of device electrodes, a conductive thin film, and an electron-emitting portion on a substrate (step 1), an electrode member is provided on the substrate. First step of forming the first layer, (step 2) second step of forming the second layer with a material different from that of the first layer, (step 3) third step of processing the element electrode into a desired shape by laser irradiation The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device, characterized in that the pair of device electrodes are formed by a manufacturing method consisting of a process, (process 4) a fourth process of removing only the second layer.

The present invention secondly relates to a method of manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the first invention, wherein a resist having a transmittance of 90% or more in a wavelength band of a laser to be irradiated is used as the second layer. .

Thirdly, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the first invention, wherein a metal film having an etching rate higher than that of the electrode member of the first layer is used as the second layer.

Fourthly, the present invention relates to a surface conduction electron-emitting device manufactured by the method of the first, second or third invention.

The present invention fifthly relates to an electron source substrate provided with the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the fourth invention.

The present invention sixthly relates to a display panel comprising the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the fourth invention.

The present invention seventhly relates to an image forming apparatus provided with the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the fourth invention.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. As the surface conduction electron-emitting device, there are generally two types, that is, a flat surface conduction electron-emitting device and a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device. In the present invention, the flat surface conduction electron-emitting device is effective. Is. Hereinafter, the “planar surface conduction electron-emitting device” is simply referred to as “surface conduction electron-emitting device”.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view and a sectional view showing the basic structure of a surface conduction electron-emitting device. In FIG. 1, 1 is a substrate, 2 is an element electrode, 3 is a conductive thin film, and 4 is an electron-emitting portion.

As the substrate (1), quartz glass, glass containing a small amount of impurities such as Na, soda lime glass, SiO ₂
A glass substrate, a ceramics substrate such as alumina, or the like having a surface formed with is used.

A method for manufacturing the device electrode (2) will be described in detail later. According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, a first layer, which is an electrode member, is formed on a substrate, and then a material different from the first layer is used. A second layer is formed, then the device electrode is processed into a desired shape by laser irradiation, and finally, only the second layer is removed.

At this time, the distance (L) between the pair of device electrodes is
Since it is desirable that the voltage applied between the device electrodes is low, it is desirable that the voltage be several micrometers to several tens of micrometers in order to manufacture with good reproducibility. Element electrode length (W1)
Is preferably several micrometers to several hundred micrometers in view of the resistance value of the electrode and the electron emission characteristics. Further, the film thickness of the device electrode (2) is preferably several hundred angstroms to several micrometers.

The configuration is not limited to that shown in FIG. 1, and the conductive thin film (3) and the device electrode (2) may be formed in this order on the substrate (1).

Next, a method of manufacturing the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention will be described. First, a method of forming the device electrode will be described according to steps 1 to 4 with reference to FIG.

Step 1: A metal (electrode member) which will be an element electrode later is formed as a first layer (21) on the substrate (1) (FIG. 2A). The metals include Ni, Au, M
O, W, Pt, Cu, Pd, etc. are mentioned. As the film forming method, a vacuum forming method is usually used.
It is also possible to use a method in which an organic substance containing a metal is formed into a film by a usual coating method or a printing method, and the organic component is removed from this film by baking to form the film.

Step 2: The second layer (2
2) is formed (FIG. 2B). This film formation is performed in the same manner as the film formation of the first layer. As the material of the second layer, it is desirable to use a material that can be easily removed in a later step, and among them, a resist that transmits a laser and a metal having an etching rate higher than that of the material of the first layer are preferable.

As the resist which transmits the laser, a resist having a transmittance of 80% or more in the wavelength region of the laser to be irradiated is suitable. A resist having a transmittance of 90% or more is preferably used.

A metal having a high etching rate is C
r, Al, Ti, etc. are mentioned. In the case of dry etching, a combination of the second layer and the first layer (second layer / first layer)
Examples include Cr / Au and Ti / W. At this time, the etching rate ratio (second layer / first layer) is preferably larger than 1.0, and the larger the ratio is, the more preferable. On the other hand, in the case of wet etching, the second layer and the first layer
As a combination of layers (second layer / first layer), Al / P
t, Cr / Au and the like. At this time, the etching rate ratio (second layer / first layer) is preferably 10 or more, and the larger this ratio is, the more preferable.

Step 3: Irradiate a laser on the film on the substrate,
The device electrode is processed into a desired shape. At this time, the film (first layer and second layer) in the portion irradiated with the laser is selectively removed from the substrate surface (FIG. 2C).

Here, as a method of irradiating with a laser
Laser beam (32) as shown in FIG.
Finely focused by the lens (35), the substrate (1) and the laser
ー How to process by changing the relative positional relationship with light,
As shown in 4, laser light is generated by a mask (41).
On the surface of the substrate (1), mold (and shrink if necessary)
A method of irradiating laser light of any shape can be applied
It Laser wavelength and power required to remove the film
ー Density is determined by the type of film material and its film thickness
However, the wavelength is about 0.2 to 10 μm, and the power density is high.
The degree is 1 × 10 ⁷W / cm²The above is effective. did
Therefore, an effective laser oscillator is Nd: YAG laser.
User (fundamental wave, second high-frequency wave, third high-frequency wave, etc.) and
A suitable laser is an excimer laser such as KrF.
It Specifically, for example, a normal Nd with a Q switch:
YAG second high-long wave (wavelength 0.532μm) laser
Process. Average at Q-switch frequency of 1 kHz
Aperture (34) with a laser beam of about 5 watts
And a diameter of about 1 at the film surface on the substrate using the lens (35)
Focus the substrate to 0 μm and move the stage (36) to move the substrate.
When the line is operated at 10 mm / sec, the laser-irradiated film part
Part of which is selectively removed to form a groove with a width of about 10 μm.
Be done.

As the Nd: YAG laser, a fundamental wave (wavelength 1.06 μm), a third high wave (wavelength 0.353 μm), a fourth high wave (wavelength 0.265 μ) other than the second high wave.
m) etc. can be applied.

As an example using a laser other than the Nd: YAG laser, a KrF excimer laser (wavelength 0.24) is used.
8 μm) is used. A laser beam having an oscillation frequency of 200 hertz and an average output of about 10 watts was molded into a width of about 10 μm and a length of about 300 μm on the substrate film surface by using a slit and a lens, and 50 was formed on the fixed substrate film surface.
Upon pulse irradiation, only the laser-irradiated film portion was selectively removed, and a groove having a width of about 10 μm and a length of about 300 μm was formed.

Step 4: Only the second layer film is removed (see FIG. 2).
(D)). The removal method may be etching, peeling, or the like, though it depends on the type of material for the second layer, and in any case, a method that has little effect on the film of the first layer is desirable.

Next, a surface conduction electron-emitting device using the device electrode manufactured by the above method and a manufacturing method thereof will be described. First, the conductive thin film (3) is formed on the substrate (FIG. 5A) provided with the device electrode manufactured by the above method (FIG. 5B).

The conductive thin film (3) is particularly preferably a fine particle film composed of fine particles in order to obtain good electron emission characteristics. The fine particle film described here is a film in which a plurality of fine particles are aggregated. The fine structure means 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 size of the fine particles is suitably several angstroms to several thousand angstroms, preferably 10 angstroms to 200 angstroms.

The film thickness of the conductive thin film (3) depends on the step coverage to the device electrode (2), the resistance value between the device electrodes,
Although it is appropriately set depending on the conditions of energization forming described later, etc., it is preferably several angstroms to several thousand angstroms, more preferably 10 angstroms to 500 angstroms. A suitable sheet resistance value of the conductive thin film is 10 ³ to 10 ⁷ ohm / □.

The material forming the conductive thin film (3) is Pd.
・ Pt ・ Ru ・ Ag ・ Au ・ Ti ・ In ・ Cu ・ Cr ・
Metals such as Fe, Zn, Sn, Ta, W, Pb, PdO,
Oxides such as SnO ₂ , In ₂ O ₃ , PbO, Sb ₂ O ₃ , H
Borides of fB ₂ , ZrB ₂ , LaB ₆ , CeB ₆ , YB ₄ , GdB _4, etc., TiC, ZrC, HfC, TaC, SiC
Examples include carbides such as WC, nitrides such as TiN / ZrN / HfN, semiconductors such as Si / Ge, and carbon.

Next, the electron emitting portion (4) is formed by energization forming or the like (FIG. 5C). Electron emission part (4)
Is a high-resistance crack portion formed in a part of the conductive thin film (3), and the crack may have conductive fine particles having a particle diameter of several angstroms to several hundred angstroms. The conductive fine particles contain at least a part of the elements forming the conductive thin film (3). Further, the electron emitting portion (4) and the conductive thin film (3) in the vicinity thereof may contain carbon or a carbon compound.

In the energization forming, electricity is applied between the element electrodes (2) from a power source (not shown) to locally break, deform, or alter the conductive thin film (3) to form a site having a changed structure. Is. The site where the structure is locally changed is the electron emitting portion (4).

FIG. 6 shows an example of the voltage waveform of energization forming. A pulse waveform is particularly preferable as the voltage waveform, and the case where the pulse peak value is constant and the voltage pulse is continuously applied (FIG. 6A) and the case where the voltage pulse is applied while increasing the pulse peak value (FIG. 6A) (B))

When a voltage pulse having a constant pulse peak value is continuously applied (FIG. 6A), the pulse width (T1) of the voltage waveform is 1 microsecond to 10 milliseconds and the pulse interval (T2). Is set to 10 microseconds to 100 milliseconds, and the peak value of the triangular wave (peak voltage at the time of energization forming) is appropriately selected according to the form of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and in a suitable vacuum atmosphere, for example, about 10 ⁻⁵ torr. In a vacuum atmosphere for several seconds to several tens of minutes. The voltage waveform applied between the device electrodes is not limited to a triangular wave, and may be a desired voltage waveform such as a rectangular wave.

When the voltage pulse is applied while increasing the pulse crest value (FIG. 6 (b)), T1 and T2 are the same as in the above case (FIG. 6 (a)), and the crest value of the triangular wave (energization The peak voltage during forming) is, for example, 0.1
The voltage is increased by about V steps and applied in an appropriate vacuum atmosphere. In the energization forming process in this case, during the pulse interval (T2), the element current (If) is applied at a voltage that does not locally break or deform the conductive thin film (3), for example, a voltage of about 0.1V. The resistance value is obtained by measurement, and the energization forming process is terminated when a resistance value of, for example, 1 M ohm or more is displayed.

After the energization forming process is completed, it is desirable that the device is activated. What is activation processing?
For example, at a vacuum degree of about 10 ⁻⁴ to 10 ⁻⁵ torr, similarly to the energization forming, a voltage pulse having a constant pulse peak value is repeatedly applied to conduct carbon or a carbon compound derived from an organic substance existing in a vacuum. This is a process of depositing on a thin film of a conductive material and remarkably changing the device current (If) and the emission current (Ie). In this activation process, for example, the emission current (I) is measured while the device current (If) and the emission current (Ie) are measured.
It ends when e) is saturated. Further, it is desirable that the applied voltage pulse is an operation drive voltage. In the activation treatment, carbon or a carbon compound refers to graphite (both single crystal and polycrystalline) or amorphous carbon (amorphous carbon or a mixture of amorphous carbon and polycrystalline graphite). ). Further, the thickness of the film formed by depositing these on the conductive thin film is suitably 500 angstroms or less, and preferably 300 angstroms or less.

The operation driving atmosphere of the electron-emitting device manufactured as described above is preferably an atmosphere having a higher vacuum degree than the vacuum degree in the energization forming process or the activation process. For example, a vacuum degree of about 10 ⁻⁶ torr or more, preferably an ultrahigh vacuum system, and a vacuum degree at which carbon or a carbon compound is hardly newly deposited on the conductive thin film. By doing so, the device current (If) and the emission current (Ie)
Can be stabilized.

It is desirable that the electron-emitting device is driven and operated after heating at 80 to 150 ° C. in the atmosphere of high vacuum degree.

Next, the electron source substrate of the present invention will be described. The electron source substrate of the present invention is formed by arranging a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices on the substrate. As a method of arranging the surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices, a ladder-type arrangement (hereinafter referred to as "ladder-type arrangement") in which the surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices are arranged in parallel and both ends of each element are connected by wiring. A simple matrix arrangement (hereinafter referred to as “matrix arrangement”) in which an X-axis direction wiring and a Y-axis direction wiring are connected to a pair of device electrodes of the surface conduction electron-emitting device can be mentioned. An image forming apparatus having a ladder-type electron source substrate requires a control electrode (for example, a grid electrode (121) in FIG. 12) which is an electrode for controlling the flight of electrons from an electron-emitting device.

The structure of the electron source substrate having the matrix type arrangement will be described below with reference to FIG. The matrix-type electron source substrate is composed of the substrate (1), the X-axis direction wiring (7
1), Y-axis direction wiring (72), surface conduction electron-emitting device (73), connection (74), etc.

The substrate (1) is the above-mentioned glass substrate or the like, and its shape is appropriately set according to the application.

The X-axis direction wiring (61) includes Dx1, Dx2, ...
.., It consists of m wirings indicated by Dxm. The Y-axis direction wiring (62) is represented by Dy1, Dy2, ..., Dyn.
It is composed of a book wiring (both m and n are positive positive numbers). Further, the material, the film thickness, and the width of the wiring are appropriately set so that a substantially uniform voltage is supplied to many surface conduction electron-emitting devices (73). These m wires in the X-axis direction (71) and n
It is electrically separated from the Y-axis direction wiring (72) of the book by an interlayer insulating film (not shown) to form a wiring of matrix type arrangement. The interlayer insulating film (not shown) is formed on the entire surface of the substrate (1) on which the X-axis direction wiring (71) is formed or in a desired region thereof. The X-axis direction wiring (71) and the Y-axis direction wiring (72) are respectively drawn to the external terminals. In addition, m wirings in the X-axis direction (71) and n wirings in the Y-axis direction (7)
2) is electrically connected to a device electrode (not shown) of each surface conduction electron-emitting device by a connection (74). At this time, the surface conduction electron-emitting device (73)
May be formed either on the substrate (1) or on an interlayer insulating film (not shown). In addition, the X-axis direction wiring (71) is X
Electrically connected to a scanning signal generating means (for example, a scanning circuit (102) in FIG. 10) for applying a scanning signal for scanning the surface conduction electron-emitting devices (73) in each axial row according to an input signal. Has been done. On the other hand, in the Y-axis direction wiring (72), the surface conduction electron-emitting devices (73) of each row in the Y-axis direction are provided.
Modulation signal generating means for applying a modulation signal to modulate the signal according to the input signal (for example, the modulation signal generator (1
07)). The drive voltage applied to each surface conduction electron-emitting device is supplied as a difference voltage between the scanning signal and the modulation signal applied to the device.

In the above structure, individual elements can be selected and driven independently by using only a simple matrix type wiring.

Next, a display panel equipped with a matrix-type electron source substrate will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is a basic configuration diagram of the display panel of the present invention,
FIG. 9 is a plan view of a fluorescent film used in the display panel of the present invention.

In FIG. 8, the display panel of the present invention has an electron source substrate (81), a rear plate (82) for fixing the electron source substrate, and a fluorescent film (84) on the inner surface of the glass substrate (83).
A face plate (86) having a metal back (85) and the like, a support frame (87) and the like. Electron source substrate (8
The X-axis direction wiring (71) and the Y-axis direction wiring (72) electrically connected to the pair of device electrodes of the surface conduction electron-emitting device (73) are formed on 1).

The envelope (88) includes a face plate (8
6), a support frame (87) and a rear plate (82). The envelope is coated with frit glass or the like, baked at 400 to 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more in the air or nitrogen, and sealed. The rear plate is mainly an electron source substrate (81)
Since it is provided to reinforce the strength of the electron source substrate, if the electron source substrate itself has sufficient strength, even if the rear frame is not used and the support frame is provided directly on the electron source substrate to form the envelope. Good. Further, by providing an atmospheric pressure resistant support member called a spacer between the face plate (86) and the rear plate (82), an envelope having sufficient strength against atmospheric pressure may be provided.

A plan view of the fluorescent film (84) in FIG. 8 is shown in FIG. In the case of a monochrome fluorescent film, it may consist of only a phosphor, but in the case of a color fluorescent film, it is composed of a black conductive material (91) and a phosphor (92) and has a black stripe (FIG. 9A). , Black matrix (Fig. 9
(B)) and the like. The purpose of providing the black conductive material is
The purpose of this is to make the portions of the three primary color phosphors, which are required for color display, between the respective phosphors different from each other to be black so as to make the color mixture inconspicuous, and to suppress the deterioration of the contrast due to the reflection of external light on the phosphor film. As the material of the black conductive material, a material containing graphite as a main component is usually used, but the material is not limited to this as long as it is conductive and has little light transmission and reflection. As a method of applying the phosphor to the glass substrate (83), a precipitation method or a printing method is used regardless of the distinction between monochrome and color.

In FIG. 8, a metal back (85) is usually provided on the inner surface side of the fluorescent film (84). The purpose of the metal back is to prevent the fluorescent film from being charged by the irradiated electrons, and to improve the brightness by specularly reflecting the light emitted toward the inner surface of the phosphor to the face plate (86) side. It is used as an electrode for applying a beam acceleration voltage, and protects the phosphor from damage due to collision of negative ions generated in the envelope. After forming the fluorescent film, the metal back smoothes the inner surface of the fluorescent film (usually called filming).
Then, Al (aluminum) is deposited by vacuum vapor deposition or the like. The face plate may be provided with a transparent electrode (not shown) on the outer surface side of the fluorescent film in order to further increase the conductivity of the fluorescent film.

When color phosphors are used for sealing the envelope (88), it is necessary to position the phosphors of each color and the surface conduction electron-emitting device in position, which is a sufficient position. It is necessary to make adjustments.

The display panel of the present invention formed as described above is sealed at a vacuum degree of about 10 ^-7 torr through an exhaust pipe (not shown) provided in the envelope. At this time, a getter process may be performed in order to maintain the degree of vacuum after sealing the envelope. This getter treatment is performed immediately before or after the sealing, and the getter arranged at a predetermined position (not shown) in the envelope is heated by a heating method such as resistance heating or high frequency heating to form a vapor deposition film. Is a process for forming. The getter usually has Ba as a main component, and the vacuum degree of, for example, 10 ⁻⁵ to 10 ⁻⁷ torr can be maintained by the adsorption action of the vapor deposition film.

Next, referring to the block diagram of FIG. 10, a schematic structure of a drive circuit for performing television display based on an NTSC television signal using a display panel provided with a matrix type electron source substrate will be described. explain. This represents one of the embodiments of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. The structure of the drive circuit is the display panel (101), the scanning circuit (1
02), control circuit (103), shift register (10
4), line memory (105), sync signal separation circuit (1
06), a modulation signal generator (107) and a DC power supply (V
x, Va).

The display panel (101) has terminals (Dox1,
Dox2, ..., Doxm), terminals (Doy1, Doy2, ...
, Doyn) and a high voltage terminal (Hv) are connected to an external electric circuit. Of these terminals (Dox1, Dox2,
, Doxm), a group of surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices which are matrix-wired in a matrix of m rows and n columns on the electron source substrate in the display panel (101) one row at a time (n elements). A scanning signal for driving is applied. On the other hand, a modulation signal for controlling the output electron beam of each element in the surface conduction electron-emitting devices of one row selected by the scanning signal is applied to the terminals (Doy1, Doy2, ..., Doyn). To be done. The high-voltage terminal (Hv) has a direct current power supply (Va).
Is supplied with a DC voltage of, for example, 10 kV. This DC voltage is an accelerating voltage for giving enough energy to excite the phosphor to the electron beam output from the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

The scanning circuit (102) is provided internally with m switching elements (S1, S2, ..., Sm), and each switching element has an output voltage of a DC voltage source (Vx) or 0V ( Select one of the ground level) and connect the terminals (Dox1, Dox2, ...) of the display panel (101).
.., Doxm) electrically connected. The switching elements (S1, S2, ..., Sm) operate based on the control signal Tscan output from the control circuit (103), but are actually configured by combining switching elements such as FETs. be able to. The direct current voltage (Vx) is such that the drive voltage applied to the non-scanned device is equal to or lower than the electron emission threshold voltage based on the characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device (electron emission threshold voltage). It is set to output a constant voltage.

The control circuit (103) has a function of matching the operation of each part so that an appropriate display is performed based on an image signal input from the outside. The control signals Tscan, Tsft, and Tmry are generated for each unit based on the synchronization signal Tsync sent from the synchronization signal separation circuit (106) described below.

The sync signal separation circuit (106) is a circuit for separating the sync signal component and the luminance signal component from the NTSC system television signal input from the outside, and uses a frequency separation circuit (filter circuit). Can be configured. The sync signal separated by the sync signal separation circuit is composed of a vertical sync signal and a horizontal sync signal.
It is referred to as an ATA signal. The signal is a shift register (104)
Is input to

The shift register (104) is used for serial / parallel conversion of the DATA signal serially input in time series for each line of the image, and is sent from the control circuit (103). It operates based on the control signal Tsft. That is, it may be said that the control signal Tsft is a shift lock of the shift register. The data of one line of the serial / parallel converted image (corresponding to driving data for n electron-emitting devices) is
It is output from the shift register (104) as n parallel signals of (Id1, Id2, ..., Idn).

The line memory (105) is a storage device for storing data for one line of an image for a required time, and a control signal Tmr sent from the control circuit (103).
According to y, the parallel signals (Id1, Id2, ...
Idn) contents are stored. The stored contents are output as parallel signals (Id'1, Id'2, ..., Id'n) and input to the modulation signal generator (107).

The modulation signal generator (107) controls each of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices in accordance with each of the parallel signals (Id'1, Id'2, ..., Id'n) of the image data. It is a signal source for appropriate drive modulation, and its output signal is applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device in the display panel (101) through terminals (Doy1, Doy2, ..., Doyn).

The surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention has the following basic characteristics with respect to the emission current (Ie). That is, a clear threshold voltage (V
th), and electron emission occurs only when a voltage equal to or higher than this threshold voltage (Vth) is applied. Further, when a voltage equal to or higher than the threshold value (Vth) is applied, the emission current (Ie) also changes according to the change in the voltage applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device. The value of the threshold voltage (Vth) and the degree of change in the emission current (Ie) may differ depending on the material, structure, and manufacturing method of the surface conduction electron-emitting device.
To further explain the above basic characteristics, when a pulsed voltage (hereinafter referred to as “voltage pulse”) is applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device, even if a voltage less than a threshold value (Vth) is applied, the electron Although no emission occurs, an electron beam is output when a voltage higher than the threshold value (Vth) is applied. At that time, firstly, the intensity of the output electron beam can be controlled by changing the peak value (Vm) of the voltage pulse. Second, it is possible to control the total amount of charges of the electron beam output by changing the width (Pw) of the voltage pulse.

As a method for driving and modulating the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to an input signal, a voltage modulation method, a pulse modulation method or the like is used. When the voltage modulation method is implemented, the modulation signal generator (107) has a constant width (P
A device having a voltage modulation circuit for generating the voltage pulse of w) but appropriately modulating the crest value (Vm) of the voltage pulse according to the input data is used. In the case of implementing the pulse modulation method, the modulation signal generator (107) generates a voltage pulse having a constant peak value (Vm), but the width (Pw) of the voltage pulse is appropriately set according to the input data.
A device having a pulse modulation type circuit for performing the modulation is used.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the shift register and the line memory may be either digital signal type or analog signal type as long as the serial / parallel conversion of the image signal and the data storage are performed at a predetermined speed. Absent.

When a digital signal is used, it is necessary to convert the output signal DATA of the sync signal separation circuit (106) into a digital signal, which is required if an A / D converter is provided at the output section of the sync signal separation circuit. It is possible. In the voltage modulation method, for example, a D / A conversion circuit may be used in the modulation signal generator (107), and an amplification circuit or the like may be added if necessary. In the pulse modulation method, the modulation signal generator is, for example, a high-speed oscillator, a counter (counter) that calculates the number of waves output by the oscillator, and compares the output value of the counter with the output value of the line memory. It can be configured by using a circuit in which comparators (comparators) are combined. If necessary, an amplifier may be added to amplify the modulation signal in which the pulse width (Pw) output from the comparator is modulated to the drive voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

When an analog signal is used, in the voltage modulation method, an amplifier circuit using, for example, an operational amplifier may be used in the modulation signal generator (107), and a level shift circuit or the like may be added if necessary. Good. Further, in the pulse modulation method, for example, a voltage control type oscillation circuit (V
CO) may be used, and an amplifier for amplifying a signal up to the driving voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device may be added if necessary.

The configuration of the image forming apparatus described above is a schematic configuration necessary for a suitable image forming apparatus used for display or the like, and detailed parts such as materials of respective members are limited to the above contents. Instead, it is appropriately selected according to the application of the image forming apparatus. Also, although the NTSC system has been given as an example of the input signal, it is not limited to this system and various systems such as the PAL system and the SECAM system may be used. TV signals composed of a larger number of scanning lines than these methods, eg MUS
It may be a high-definition TV system such as the E system.

The image display by the image forming apparatus thus completed is performed by displaying terminals (Dox1, Dox2, ...
.., Doxm) and terminals (Doy1, Doy2, ..., Do)
ym), a voltage is applied to each surface conduction electron-emitting device to emit electrons, and at this time, a high voltage is applied to the metal back (85) or the transparent electrode (not shown) through the high-voltage terminal (Hv). It is performed by accelerating the emitted electrons to collide with the fluorescent film (84) to excite / emit the fluorescent substance.

Next, a ladder-type electron source substrate and a display panel / image forming apparatus equipped with this electron source substrate will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.

The construction of the ladder-type electron source substrate is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, it comprises a substrate (1), a surface conduction electron-emitting device (73), and a common wiring (111) connected to the surface conduction electron-emitting device. Surface conduction electron-emitting device (73)
Are arranged in parallel in the X-axis direction on the substrate (hereinafter referred to as “element row”). A plurality of these element rows are arranged in parallel on the substrate, and a common wiring (111) is provided between these element rows to form a ladder-type electron source substrate. At this time, the common wiring (111) between the element rows is shown in FIG.
1 (a) or (b). By appropriately applying a drive voltage between the common wirings of each element row of the electron source substrate, each element row can be independently driven. That is, a voltage higher than the threshold value (Vth) may be applied to the element row that emits the electron beam, and a voltage lower than the threshold value (Vth) may be applied to the element row that does not emit the electron beam.

FIG. 12 is a basic structural diagram of a display panel of the present invention provided with a ladder-type electron source substrate. The difference between this display panel and the display panel (FIG. 8) provided with the above-mentioned matrix-type electron source substrate is that the face plate (8
6) and the electron source substrate (81) between the grid electrode (12
1) is provided. Grid electrode (121)
Is provided with a large number of openings (122) through which electrons pass, and the external terminals (G1, G2, ..., G) of the envelope are also provided.
n). The grid electrode (121) is capable of modulating the electron beam emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device (73), and is provided in a stripe shape so as to be orthogonal to the ladder-shaped element rows. An opening (112) for passing electrons is provided corresponding to each element in position, and its shape is circular. The shape and installation position of the grid electrode may not necessarily be as shown in FIG. The opening (112) may be provided with a large number of passage openings, for example, in a mesh shape, and the grid electrode may be appropriately provided around or near the surface conduction electron-emitting device. On the other hand, the electron source substrate (81) is connected to the external terminal (Dox) of the envelope.
1, Dox2, ..., Doxm). The outer terminals of the enclosure (Dox1, Dox2, ..., Doxm) and the outer terminals of the enclosure (G) connected to the grid electrode (121)
, G2, ..., Gn) are electrically connected to a control circuit (not shown) to form the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

In the present image forming apparatus having the ladder-shaped electron source substrate, one line of image is displayed on the grid electrode column in synchronism with sequentially driving (scanning) the element rows of the electron source substrate column by column. By simultaneously applying the modulation signal of 1, the irradiation of each electron beam to the phosphor can be controlled and an image can be displayed line by line.

As described above, according to the surface conduction electron-emitting device manufactured by the method of the present invention and the electron source substrate, the display panel and the image forming apparatus equipped with the electron-emitting device, not only the display device for television broadcasting but also It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus suitable for a display device such as a video conference system, a computer, and the like. Further, the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus as an optical printer including a photosensitive drum or the like.

[0078]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be further described below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Example 1 In this example, a surface conduction electron-emitting device was manufactured by the method of the present invention, and the surface conduction electron-emitting device was wired in a matrix form to form an electron source substrate. A display panel was produced using the display panel, and an image forming apparatus was produced using the display panel.

First, the method of manufacturing the device electrode of the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 in accordance with steps 1 to 4.

Step 1 On the substrate (1), a viscosity of about 10 was obtained by screen printing.
10,000 cps Au-MOD (organic Au compound paste) was printed. At this time, the screen plate used at this time had a 100 μm square void pattern (100
(μm squares) are arranged and formed in a matrix, and correspondingly, a pattern of about 100 μm square of Au-MOD is formed in a matrix on the substrate. This substrate is heated to 580 ° C. at a heating rate of 10 ° C./min in an ordinary thermal incinerator and then heated to 580 ° C.
After holding for 10 minutes at room temperature, it was cooled to room temperature at a temperature decreasing rate of 10 ° C./minute. As a result, organic components were thermally decomposed and removed from the Au-MOD on the substrate, and an Au film having substantially the same shape as that before the heat treatment was obtained. The film thickness of Au obtained as the first layer is about 0.5 μ.
It was m. (FIG. 2 (a)) Step 2 As a second layer, a resist (RD2000N manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.) having a transmittance of 95% or more in the laser wavelength band is applied as a second layer on the Au film. And baked at 80 ° C. for 15 minutes. (FIG. 2B) Step 3 Nd: YAG with Q switch similar to the configuration shown in FIG.
Using the second high long wave laser device, the above steps 1 and 2
The stage (36) was moved and processed while irradiating the laser to the substantially center of the pattern formed in (3). At this time, the Q switch frequency of the laser was 1 kHz, the average output was 5 watts, the laser beam diameter on the film surface of the substrate was about 10 μm by the aperture and the condenser lens, and the feed rate of the stage (131) was 10 mm / sec. And As a result, the Au film and the resist film were simultaneously removed only in the portion irradiated with the laser. (FIG. 2C) Step 4 Only the resist was dissolved in an organic solvent and removed (FIG. 2C).
(D)). As a result, the distance (L) between the pair of device electrodes was about 10 μm, and the length (W1) of the device electrodes was about 100 μm.
A device electrode made of u was formed.

By the above method, the swelling of the processed edge is reduced as compared with the case where the laser irradiation is performed without forming the resist film, and the dissolved Au-MOD is generated during the laser irradiation.
It was also possible to prevent the scattered substances of (3) from adhering to the surface of the device electrode.

Next, a method of manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device and an electron source substrate using the device electrode manufactured by the above method will be described.

As shown in FIG. 7, X-axis direction wiring (71),
An insulating film (not shown) and a Y-axis direction wiring (72) were formed by ordinary vacuum film formation, photolithography and etching.

Then, the substrate provided with this device electrode (see FIG.
A conductive thin film (3) was formed on (a)) as follows (FIG. 5 (b)). A suitable amount of about 1% by weight of palladium acetate-bis-di-propylamine complex in butyl acetate solution was added dropwise to the substrate provided with the above-mentioned element electrode, and then rapidly rotated at 1000 rpm for application.
Then, heat treatment was performed at 300 ° C. for 10 minutes in the atmosphere. After repeating this coating and heat treatment three times, patterning is performed by a normal photolithographic etching method,
A conductive thin film (3) made of PdO was formed.

Subsequently, an energization process called forming process was performed. At this time, a voltage as shown in FIG. 6A is applied between the element electrodes in a vacuum atmosphere, and the pulse width (T
1) was 1 ms and the pulse interval (T2) was 10 ms, and the wave was performed at a peak value of 15V. By this energization treatment, the conductive thin film (3) was locally destroyed / deformed / altered to form the electron emitting portion (4) (FIG. 5 (c)).

Using the electron source substrate (FIG. 7) equipped with the surface conduction electron-emitting device manufactured as described above, the face plate (86), the support frame (87) and the rear plate are combined as described above. An envelope (88) is formed, sealing is performed to manufacture a display panel (FIG. 8), and a drive circuit as shown in FIG. 10 for performing television display based on an NTSC television signal is provided. An image forming apparatus having the above was manufactured.

In the surface conduction electron-emitting device, the electron source substrate, the display panel and the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, the device electrodes are manufactured by vacuum film forming, photolithography and etching, which are conventional manufacturing methods. Electron emission characteristics and image display characteristics similar to those produced by
This is because swelling of the processed end of the device electrode is reduced, and metal scatter during processing is not attached to the surface of the device electrode. In addition, since the element electrodes are produced by the laser processing method, the vacuum film forming apparatus, the photolithography apparatus, the etching apparatus, etc. do not increase in size due to the increase in screen size and the cost does not increase due to the increase in the number of apparatuses, and the manufacturing method is simplified. did.

Example 2 In this example, a surface conduction electron-emitting device was manufactured by the method of the present invention, and this surface conduction electron-emitting device was wired in a ladder pattern to form an electron source substrate. A display panel was produced using the display panel, and an image forming apparatus was produced using the display panel.

First, the method for manufacturing the device electrode of the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 in accordance with steps 1 to 4.

Step 1 Pt-MOD (organic Pt compound paste) having a viscosity of about 50,000 cps was printed on the substrate (1) by a screen printing method. At this time, on the screen plate used, 100 μm square void patterns, which will be the device electrodes later, were arranged and formed in a matrix, and correspondingly, about 10 Pt-MOD patterns were formed.
A 0 μm square pattern was formed in a matrix on the substrate. This substrate is heated up to 650 ° C in a normal thermal incinerator at a heating rate of 10 ° C.
After heating at 650 ° C./min and holding at 650 ° C. for 10 minutes, it was cooled to room temperature at a temperature decreasing rate of 10 ° C./min. As a result, a metal Pt film having a thickness of about 0.4 μm was formed as the first layer on the substrate (FIG. 2A).

Step 2 On this Pt film, Cr resinate powder was dissolved in terpineol to have a viscosity of about 50,000 cps (C
r-MOD) was printed using the usual screen printing method as in Step 1. In a normal heat treatment furnace,
Heat up to 50 ° C at a heating rate of 10 ° C / min, and at 650 ° C for 1
After holding for 0 minutes, the temperature was decreased to room temperature at a temperature decreasing rate of 10 ° C./minute. As a result, the Pt film has a thickness of about 0.
A metal Cr film having a thickness of 4 μm was formed (FIG. 2B).

Step 3 Nd: YAG with Q switch having the same structure as that shown in FIG.
Using the second high long wave laser device, the above steps 1 and 2
The stage (131) was moved and processed, while irradiating the laser to almost the center of the Pt and Cr patterns formed in (1). At this time, the Q switch frequency of the laser was 3 kilohertz, the average output was 7.5 watts, the laser beam diameter on the film surface of the substrate was about 8 μm by the aperture and the condenser lens, and the feed rate of the stage (131) was 2 μm.
It was set to 0 mm / sec. As a result, the Pt film and the Cr film were simultaneously removed only in the portion irradiated with the laser (FIG. 2).
(C)).

Step 4 Dry etching was performed with CF ₄ + O ₂ to remove only Cr (FIG. 2 (d)). This is due to the difference in etching rate between Pt and Cr. As a result of dry etching, an element electrode made of Pt having a distance (L) between the pair of element electrodes of about 8 μm and a length (W1) of the element electrode of about 100 μm was formed.

By the above method, the swelling of the processing edge is reduced as compared with the laser irradiation without forming the Cr film, and the dissolved Pt-MOD scattered matter is generated on the device electrode surface during the laser irradiation. It was also possible to prevent it from adhering to.

Next, a method of manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device and an electron source substrate using the device electrode manufactured by the above method will be described.

As shown in FIG. 11, a common wiring (111) was formed on the substrate having the device electrodes prepared by the above method by the usual vacuum film formation, photolithography and etching.

Then, the substrate provided with this device electrode (see FIG.
A conductive thin film (3) was formed on (a)) as follows (FIG. 5 (b)). A suitable amount of about 1% by weight of palladium acetate-bis-di-propylamine complex in butyl acetate solution was added dropwise to the substrate provided with the above-mentioned element electrode, and then rapidly rotated at 1000 rpm for application.
Then, heat treatment was performed at 300 ° C. for 10 minutes in the atmosphere. After repeating this coating and heat treatment three times, patterning is performed by a normal photolithographic etching method,
A conductive thin film (3) made of PdO was formed.

Subsequently, energization processing called forming processing was performed. At this time, a voltage as shown in FIG. 6A is applied between the element electrodes in a vacuum atmosphere, and the pulse width (T
1) was 1 ms and the pulse interval (T2) was 10 ms, and the wave was performed at a peak value of 15V. By this energization treatment, the conductive thin film (3) was locally destroyed / deformed / altered to form the electron emitting portion (4) (FIG. 5 (c)).

Using the electron source substrate (FIG. 11) provided with the surface conduction electron-emitting device manufactured as described above, the face plate (86), the grid electrode (121), and the support frame (87) as described above. ), The envelope (88) is formed with the rear plate (82), and sealing is performed to manufacture a display panel (FIG. 12). Further, a television display is performed based on a television signal of the NTSC system. An image forming apparatus having a driving circuit as shown in FIG. 10 was produced.

In the surface conduction electron-emitting device, the electron source substrate, the display panel and the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, the device electrodes are manufactured by the conventional manufacturing methods such as vacuum film forming, photolithography and etching. Electron emission characteristics and image display characteristics similar to those produced by
This is because swelling of the processed end of the device electrode is reduced, and metal scatter during processing is not attached to the surface of the device electrode. In addition, since the element electrodes are produced by the laser processing method, there is no increase in cost due to an increase in the size of the vacuum film forming apparatus, the photolithography apparatus, the mask aligner, the etching apparatus, and the like, which accompanies a larger screen,
The manufacturing method is also simplified.

[0102]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, since the second layer buffers at the time of laser irradiation, swelling of the processed end of the first layer, which becomes the device electrode, is reduced, and Since the two layers protect the surface of the first layer, metal scatters do not adhere to the surface of the first layer, which becomes the device electrode. As a result, it is possible to obtain a surface conduction electron-emitting device that gives a good image. Further, since the laser processing method is used for molding, the device electrodes can be easily and accurately molded into a desired shape, and a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices for a large screen can be manufactured at low cost.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device manufactured by the above method and the electron source substrate / display panel / image forming apparatus equipped with the same electron-emitting device are uniform and good over the entire image area even on a large screen. Images can be provided, and they can be manufactured at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 (a) is a schematic plan view showing the basic structure of a surface conduction electron-emitting device manufactured by the method of the present invention. (B) It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a method for manufacturing an element electrode of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an example of a laser processing apparatus used in the manufacturing method of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing an example of a laser processing apparatus used in the manufacturing method of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing an example of a method of manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a voltage waveform of energization forming in the manufacturing method of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of a matrix type electron source substrate of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a basic configuration of a display panel of the present invention including an electron source substrate arranged in a matrix.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a fluorescent film used in the display panel of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a drive circuit of the image forming apparatus of the present invention for performing television display based on an NTSC television signal.

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a ladder-type electron source substrate of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the basic configuration of a display panel of the present invention including a ladder-type electron source substrate.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view (plan view) showing a conventional surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional surface conduction electron-emitting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Substrate 2 Element Electrode 3 Conductive Thin Film 4 Electron Emitting Part 21 First Layer 22 Second Layer 31 Laser Oscillator 32 Laser Light 33 Mirror 34 Aperture 35 Lens 36 Stage 41 Mask 71 X-axis Direction Wiring 72 Y-axis Direction Wiring 73 Surface Conduction type electron-emitting device 74 Connection 81 Electron source substrate 82 Rear plate 83 Glass substrate 84 Fluorescent film 85 Metal back 86 Face plate 87 Support frame 88 Envelope 91 Black conductive material 92 Fluorescent substance 101 Display panel 102 Scanning circuit 103 Control circuit 104 Shift register 105 Line memory 106 Synchronous signal separation circuit 107 Modulation signal generator 111 Common wiring 121 Grid electrode 122 Opening

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device, comprising at least a pair of device electrodes, a conductive thin film and an electron-emitting portion on a substrate, wherein (Step 1) a first layer as an electrode member on the substrate. Forming the first electrode, (step 2) a second step of forming a second layer of a material different from the first layer, (step 3) a third step of processing the element electrode into a desired shape by laser irradiation, ( Process 4) A method for manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device, characterized in that the pair of device electrodes are formed by a manufacturing process comprising a fourth process of removing only the second layer. 2. The method of manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein a resist having a transmittance of 90% or more in a wavelength band of a laser to be irradiated is used as the second layer. 3. The method for manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein a metal film having an etching rate higher than that of the electrode member of the first layer is used as the second layer. 4. A surface conduction electron-emitting device manufactured by the method according to claim 1. 5. An electron source substrate provided with the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to claim 4. 6. A display panel comprising the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to claim 4. 7. An image forming apparatus comprising the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to claim 4.