JPH0869748A - Surface conduction type electron emitting element, electron source and image forming device using the same and their manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To perform a foaming process quickly, uniformly, and with less heat emission by forming an electroconductive thin film which puts element electrodes in communication with each other, and forming an electron emission part by electric discharge of an electric charge accumulator in the electroconductive thin film produced between the element electrodes. CONSTITUTION: A changeover switch 404 is closed so that one 5 of a pair of element electrodes 4, 5 is connected with a common terminal. At this time, a changeover switch 403 is turned shut to the electric charge accumulator 401 side, and a power supply 402 is connected with the accumulator 401 so that electric charges are accumulated to make charging. Then the switch 403 is turned so that the electrode 4 and accumulator 401 are connected together. The energy of the accumulated electric charges in the accumulator 401 is consumed in the form of Joule's heat in an electroconductive thin film 3 consisting of a PdO film, and an electron emission part 2 is formed. According to these procedures, the foaming process can be ended quickly through a single cycle of operations.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

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

[0002]

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

As a typical example of the structure of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, a conductive thin film such as a metal oxide which connects between a pair of device electrodes provided on an insulating substrate is referred to as forming in advance. The thing which formed the electron emission part by the electricity supply process is mentioned. Forming is performed by applying a DC voltage or a very slow rising voltage across the conductive thin film, for example, 1
It is usually carried out by applying and energizing a rising voltage of about V / 1 minute to locally destroy, deform or alter the conductive thin film to change the structure and form an electron emitting portion in an electrically high resistance state. It is a process to do. The electron emission is performed from the vicinity of the crack generated in the electron emitting portion by applying a voltage to the conductive thin film in which the electron emitting portion is formed and flowing a current.

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

Conventionally, as an example in which a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are formed in an array, surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in parallel and both ends (both device electrodes) of each surface conduction electron-emitting device are wired. An electron source in which a large number of rows connected by (also called common wiring) are arranged (also called a ladder arrangement) is disclosed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 1-33132 and 1-2837).
No. 49, No. 1-275552). Further, particularly in the case of a display device, a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices can be used as a self-luminous display device that can be a flat panel display device similar to a display device using liquid crystal and does not require a backlight. A display device has been proposed in which an arranged electron source is combined with a phosphor that emits visible light when irradiated with an electron beam from the electron source (US Pat. No. 5,066,506).
883).

[0006]

However, in the production of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, the energization time required for forming is required, and it is desirable to shorten the production time of many surface conduction electron-emitting devices. Be done.

In particular, when a large area display is manufactured by using surface conduction electron-emitting devices, the number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices is very large. Therefore, even if forming is performed for each arrayed column, the entire surface is covered. It takes time to form the conduction electron-emitting device.

Further, in the case where the forming for boosting the voltage from the low voltage to the high voltage is performed for each column as described above, a current corresponding to the resistance of the conductive thin film of the element flows until the forming is performed, so that in the column Therefore, a potential difference occurs in each element, and each element cannot be formed uniformly. If the forming state is non-uniform, the electron emission characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices will vary, and if this is used in a display device, for example, it will cause uneven brightness, and adjustment will be complicated.

Further, since the current during the forming simply increases as the number of elements increases, if an attempt is made to form a large number of elements at the same time, the wiring will be heated by Joule heat and easily damaged.

In view of the above conventional problems, the present invention enables uniform and short heat generation in a short time, and facilitates the manufacture of a surface conduction electron-emitting device, an electron source and an image forming apparatus using the same. The purpose is to improve efficiency.

[0011]

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device, wherein the device electrodes are formed on a substrate and the device electrodes are electrically connected to each other. The present invention is characterized in that it has a step of forming a conductive thin film and a forming step of forming an electron emitting portion on the conductive thin film between the device electrodes by discharging a charge storage body.

The eighth to tenth aspects of the present invention relate to a surface conduction electron-emitting device obtained by the above manufacturing method.

The inventions of claims 11 to 17 relate to a method of manufacturing an electron source comprising a plurality of the above-mentioned surface conduction electron-emitting devices, wherein a plurality of pairs of device electrodes are formed on a substrate and the devices of each pair are formed. It has a major feature in that it has a step of forming a conductive thin film that connects electrodes, and a forming step of forming an electron emission portion by discharging a charge storage body in the conductive thin film between each pair of device electrodes. ing.

The eighteenth to twenty-second aspects of the present invention relate to an electron source obtained by the above manufacturing method.

Further, the inventions of claims 23 to 26 are inventions relating to an image forming apparatus using the above-mentioned electron source and a manufacturing method thereof.

As described above, the present invention provides a novel surface conduction electron-emitting device, a novel electron source provided with a plurality of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices, a novel image forming apparatus using the same, and these devices. The present invention relates to a manufacturing method, and the configuration and operation of each invention will be further described below.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention includes a flat type and a vertical type. First, the basic structure of the planar surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described.

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

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

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

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

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

The device electrode spacing L is preferably several hundred angstroms to several hundreds of micrometers, and more preferably several micrometers depending on the voltage applied between the device electrodes 4 and 5 and the electric field strength capable of emitting electrons. To tens of micrometers.

The device electrode length W is preferably several micrometers to several hundreds of micrometers in consideration of the electrode resistance value and electron emission characteristics, and the device electrode thickness d is
Hundreds of Angstroms to a few micrometers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3) Subsequently, the electron emitting portion 2 having a changed structure is formed at the site of the conductive thin film 3 by forming (FIG. 3C). The electron-emitting portion 3 is a portion where the structure is changed by locally destroying, deforming, or altering the conductive thin film 3.

Although the action of forming is not clear,
It is said that the thin film is partially destroyed or deteriorated by the Joule heat generated by energization. However, the supply of energy that causes this Joule heat is not limited to energization.

Therefore, in the present invention, in the forming step, the discharge energy due to the electric charge Q and the potential difference V is used as a supply source of energy for generating Joule heat.

The charges used in the present invention are stored in a charge storage body (capacitor). Examples of this charge storage body include the charge storage body formed outside the substrate 1 and the second embodiment.
As described in the above, the electrodes 501, 502 (FIG.
It is also possible to provide a charge storage body that is integrated with the substrate 1 by providing the charge storage body). Further, electrodes facing each other with the dielectric material sandwiched therebetween may be provided on the surplus portion of the substrate 1 to form a charge storage body also integrated with the substrate 1. When forming the charge accumulating body integrated with the substrate 1 for forming, it is preferable to remove at least one electrode of the charge accumulating body after the forming to prevent the accumulation of electric charge thereafter.

In the forming by the charge accumulator, one element electrode 4 (or 5) of the element and one electrode of the charge accumulator are grounded or mutually connected, and the other element electrode 5 (or 4).
Can be performed by connecting the other element electrode 5 (or 4) in the floating state to the other electrode of the charge storage body after charging the charge storage body from the power supply in a floating state.

In particular, the forming by the charge accumulating body at the time of manufacturing an electron source having a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices is performed by forming all the device electrodes 4 (or 5) of one of the selected plural devices and the charge accumulating body. After one electrode is grounded or connected to each other and all the other element electrodes 5 (or 4) are in a floating state to charge the charge accumulator from the power supply, the other element electrode 5 (or All of 4) can be performed by connecting to the other electrode of the charge storage body.

Next, the principle of forming by electric charge is
A brief explanation will be given assuming that the forming is performed by Joule heat.

When the energy required for forming is U, the current I and the voltage V energizing time T when energized are U = ITV. For discharge, the use of charge Q or capacitance C and the voltage ^{V, U = CV 2/2} = QV
It is represented by / 2. The energy of discharge is almost 100% in the resistor included in the discharge path, as in the case of energization.
It is consumed as Joule heat. Therefore, when the Joule heat is dominant in the forming, the forming can be performed in the same manner as the energization even in the discharging.

In such forming, when the discharge energy for one time is equal to or higher than the minimum energy required for forming, the forming can be performed by one discharge. Since the discharge is completed in an extremely short time, the forming can be performed in a short time.

Further, although an extremely large current is generated at the time of discharging the electric charge, since the discharging is completed in an extremely short time, the heat generation of the wiring can be suppressed to an extremely small amount.

For example, when forming is performed on one line in which a plurality of elements are arranged in parallel, when a forming current flows, the wiring resistance causes the potential to decrease as the distance from the potential supply point increases. However, one device electrode 4 (or 5) of each device in one line is connected to one electrode of the charge storage device, and the other device electrode 5 (or 4) of each device is set in a floating state. By charging the electric charges to the inside, it is possible to maintain a constant potential in one line. After that, when the other element electrode 5 (or 4) of each element in the floating state is grounded to discharge the charge storage body, the potential of each element is higher than the potential at the time of forming by energization. The ratio of the potential decrease amount due to the wiring resistance is small with respect to the potential initially formed. Therefore, there is little variation in the discharge energy of each element within one line, and uniform forming is possible within one line.

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

The discharge voltage in FIG. 4 indicates the potential difference between the device electrodes 4 and 5. Initial potential difference V1 and discharge time time constant T1
Is dependent on the capacitance Q of the charge storage material used and the resistance value R between the device electrodes 4 and 5, but if forming is performed with energy of about 100 μJoule per device, the above U
= From CV ^2/2 = QV / ² relational expression, is the initial voltage of approximately 450V when charges are accumulated, for example, in the charge accumulation of 1nF. Further, assuming that the element of R = 200Ω is discharged, the time constant T is 0.2 microsecond. In addition, it is preferable that this forming step is performed under an appropriate degree of vacuum.

4) In the case of the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention, it is preferable to further carry out an activation step.

The activation step is, for example, 10 −4 to 1
It is a process of repeating the application of pulses with a pulse peak value of a constant voltage at a vacuum degree of 0 −5 torr.
By depositing carbon and a carbon compound from an organic substance existing in a vacuum atmosphere on the electron emission portion 2 (see FIGS. 1 and 2), the state of device current and emission current can be significantly improved. It is effective to perform this activation step while measuring the device current and the emission current, for example, and to end it when the emission current is saturated, because it is effective. The pulse peak value in the activation step is preferably the peak value of the driving voltage.

The carbon and the carbon compound are graphite (both single crystal and polycrystal) and amorphous carbon (amorphous carbon and a mixture thereof with polycrystal graphite). The deposited film thickness is preferably 500 angstroms or less, more preferably 3 angstroms or less.
It is less than 00 angstrom.

6) It is preferable that the surface conduction electron-emitting device thus produced is subjected to a stabilizing process in which it is operated and driven in a vacuum atmosphere having a vacuum degree higher than the vacuum degree in the forming step and the activation step. More preferably, after heating at 80 to 150 ° C. in a vacuum atmosphere having a high degree of vacuum,
Drive operation.

A vacuum atmosphere having a vacuum degree higher than that in the forming step and the activation step means, for example, about −10
It is a vacuum atmosphere having a vacuum degree of 6th torr or more,
More preferably, it is an ultra-high vacuum system, and the degree of vacuum is such that carbon and carbon compounds are hardly newly deposited.

That is, by encapsulating the surface conduction electron-emitting device in the above-mentioned vacuum atmosphere, it is possible to suppress further deposition of carbon and carbon compounds, and thereby the device current If and the emission current Ie. Is stable.

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

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

5, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same members. Further, 51 is a power supply for applying a device voltage Vf to the device, 50 is an ammeter for measuring a device current If flowing through the conductive thin film 3 between the device electrodes 4 and 5, and 54 is an electron emitting portion 2. An anode electrode for trapping the emission current Ie generated, 53 is a high-voltage power supply for applying a voltage to the anode electrode 54, 52 is an ammeter for measuring the emission current Ie emitted from the electron emission portion 2, 55 Is a vacuum device, and 56 is an exhaust pump.

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

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

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

First, the emission current Ie and the device current If,
A typical example of the relationship with the device voltage Vf is shown in FIG. still,
In FIG. 6, since the emission current Ie is significantly smaller than the device current If, it is shown in arbitrary units.

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

First, in the surface conduction electron-emitting device, when a device voltage Vf exceeding a certain voltage (called a threshold voltage: Vth in FIG. 6) is applied, the emission current Ie rapidly increases, while At the threshold voltage Vth or lower, 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.

Secondly, since the emission current Ie has the characteristic of monotonically increasing with respect to the element voltage Vf (called MI characteristic), the emission current Ie can be controlled by the element voltage Vf.

Thirdly, the emission charge captured by the anode electrode 54 (see FIG. 5) depends on the time for applying the device voltage Vf. That is, the amount of charges captured by the anode electrode 54 can be controlled by the time for which the device voltage Vf is applied.

The emission current Ie is MI with respect to the device voltage Vf.
At the same time as having the characteristics, the element current If may also have the MI characteristics with respect to the element voltage Vf. An example of the characteristics of such a surface conduction electron-emitting device is the characteristics shown by the solid line in FIG. On the other hand, as indicated by a broken line in FIG. 6, the element current If is compared with the element voltage Vf by the voltage control type negative resistance characteristic (VCN).
R characteristics). Which characteristic is exhibited depends on the manufacturing method of the surface conduction electron-emitting device and the measurement conditions at the time of measurement. However, the element current If is the element voltage Vf
On the other hand, the surface conduction electron-emitting device having the VCNR characteristic also has the above three characteristic features.

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

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

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

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

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

The m X-direction wirings 102 have external terminals Dx1, Dx2, ..., Dxm, respectively.
A conductive metal or the like formed on the top by a vacuum deposition method, a printing method, a sputtering method, or the like. In addition, the material, so that the voltage is supplied almost evenly to the large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices 104,
The film thickness and wiring width are set.

The n Y-direction wirings 103 each have external terminals Dy1, Dy2, ..., Dyn, and are formed similarly to the X-direction wirings 102.

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

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

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

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

Further, as will be described in detail later, a scanning signal is applied to the X-direction wiring 102 in order to scan the rows of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 104 arranged in the X-direction according to an input signal. A scanning signal applying means (not shown) is electrically connected.

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

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

In FIG. 8, 1 is a substrate of an electron source in which the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention is arranged as described above,
111 is a rear plate to which the substrate 1 is fixed, and 116 is a fluorescent film 114 and a metal back 11 on the inner surface of the glass substrate 113.
5 is formed on the face plate, and 112 is a support frame. Frit glass or the like is applied to the rear plate 111, the support frame 112, and the face plate 116, and the temperature is 400 to 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more in the atmosphere or nitrogen. The enclosure 118 is formed by sealing by firing.

In FIG. 8, 2 corresponds to the electron emitting portion in FIG. Reference numerals 102 and 103 denote X-direction wirings and Y-direction wirings connected to the pair of device electrodes 4 and 5 of the surface conduction electron-emitting device 104, respectively, and external terminals Dx1 to Dx, respectively.
m, Dy1 to Dyn.

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

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

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

Further, as shown in FIG.
A metal back 115 is usually provided on the inner surface side of 4.
The purpose of the metal back 115 is to allow light emitted from the phosphor 122 (see FIG. 9) toward the inner surface side to be emitted from the face plate 11
The mirror 122 is mirror-reflected to improve brightness, acts as an electrode for applying an electron beam accelerating voltage, and protects the phosphor 122 from damage due to collision of negative ions generated in the envelope 118. Etc. The metal back 115 can be manufactured by performing smoothing processing (usually called filming) on the inner surface of the fluorescent film 114 after manufacturing the fluorescent film 114, and then depositing Al by vacuum evaporation or the like.

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

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

The inside of the envelope 118 is sealed through a vacuum degree of about 10 −7 torr through an exhaust pipe (not shown). Also, the getter process may be performed immediately before or after the envelope 118 is sealed. This is a getter (not shown) arranged at a predetermined position in the envelope 118.
Is a process for forming a vapor-deposited film by heating. The getter usually has Ba as a main component, and due to the adsorption action of the deposited film,
For example, 1 × 10 −5 to 1 × 10 −7 to
This is for maintaining the vacuum degree of rr.

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

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

As shown in FIG. 10, the display panel 20
1 is connected to an external electric circuit via the external terminals Dx1 to Dxm, the external terminals Dy1 to Dyn, and the high-voltage terminal Hv. Of these, the external terminals Dx1 to Dxm
The surface conduction electron-emitting devices provided in the display panel 201, that is, the group of surface conduction electron-emitting devices arranged in a matrix of m rows and n columns are sequentially driven one row (n elements at a time). A scanning signal for moving is applied.

On the other hand, a modulation signal for controlling the output electron beam of each surface conduction electron-emitting device of one row selected by the scanning signal is applied to the terminal Dy1 to the external terminal Dyn. Further, the high voltage terminal Hv is supplied with a DC voltage of, for example, 10 kV from the DC voltage source Va. This is an accelerating voltage for giving enough energy to excite the phosphor to the electron beam output from the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

The scanning circuit 202 is provided with m switching elements (schematically shown by S1 to Sm in FIG. 10) inside, and each of the switching elements S1 to Sm is an output voltage of the DC voltage source Vx or 0V. One of (ground level) is selected and electrically connected to the external terminals Dx1 to Dxm of the display panel 201. Each of the switching elements S1 to Sm includes a control circuit 203.
It operates on the basis of the control signal Tscan output from the device, and in fact, it can be easily configured by combining elements having a switching function such as an FET.

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

The control circuit 203 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 synchronization signal Tsyn sent from the synchronization signal separation circuit 206 described below
Based on c, Tscan, Tsft, and Tmry control signals are generated for each unit.

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

The shift register 204 is for converting the DATA signal serially input in time series into serial / parallel conversion for each line of the image, and based on the control signal Tsft sent from the control circuit 203. Operate. The control signal Tsft is supplied to the shift register 20.
In other words, the shift clock may be four. Also,
One line of serial / parallel converted image (corresponding to driving data for n elements of the surface conduction electron-emitting device)
Data is output from the shift register 204 as n parallel signals Id1 to Idn.

The line memory 205 is a storage device for storing data for one line of an image for a required time,
The contents of Id1 to Idn are stored according to the control signal Tmry sent from the control circuit 203. The stored contents are output as Id'1 to Id'n and input to the modulation signal generator 207.

The modulation signal generator 207 is a signal source for appropriately driving and modulating each of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices according to each of the image data Id'1 to Id'n, and its output signal is , Terminals Doy1 to Doyn are applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device in the display panel 201.

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

That is, when a pulsed voltage is applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device, no electron emission occurs even if a voltage below the threshold voltage is applied, but a voltage exceeding the threshold voltage is applied. If it does, electron emission occurs. At that time, firstly, it is possible to control the intensity of the output electron beam by changing the peak value of the voltage pulse. Secondly, it is possible to control the total amount of charges of the output electron beam by changing the width of the voltage pulse.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The image forming apparatus of the present invention having the display panel 201 and the driving circuit as described above has terminals Dx1 to Dx.
By applying voltage from m and Dy1 to Dyn,
Electrons can be emitted from the required surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the metal back 115 can be discharged through the high voltage terminal Hv.
Alternatively, a high voltage is applied to a transparent electrode (not shown) to accelerate the electron beam, and the excited electron beam collides with the fluorescent film 114 to generate excitation / light emission, which causes a television display according to an NTSC television signal. Is what you can do.

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

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

In FIG. 11, 1 is a substrate, 104 is a surface conduction electron-emitting device, and 304 is a common wiring for connecting the surface conduction electron-emitting device 104. Ten common wirings are provided, each having external terminals D1 to D10. are doing.

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

Each element row can be independently driven by applying an appropriate drive voltage between the common wiring 304 of each element row (for example, the common wiring 304 of the external terminals D1 and D2). That is, a voltage exceeding the threshold voltage may be applied to the element row where the electron beam is desired to be emitted, and a voltage lower than the threshold voltage may be applied to the element row where the electron beam is not desired to be emitted. The application of such a drive voltage applies to the common wirings D2 to D9 located between the element rows, the common wirings 304 adjacent to each other, that is, the external terminals D2 and D3, D4 and D5, D6 and D7 and D8 adjacent to each other. The common wiring 304 of D9 and D9 may be integrated into the same wiring.

FIG. 12 shows another example of the electron source of the present invention, which is a structure of a display panel 301 having the above-mentioned ladder-type electron sources.

In FIG. 12, 302 is a grid electrode, 303 is an opening through which electrons pass, D1 to Dm are external terminals for applying a voltage to each surface conduction electron-emitting device, and G1 to G1.
Gn is an external terminal connected to the grid electrode 302. Further, the common wiring 304 between each element row is formed on the substrate 1 as an integrated single wiring.

In FIG. 12, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 7 indicate the same members, and a big difference from the display panel 201 using the electron source of the simple matrix arrangement shown in FIG. The point is that the grid electrode 302 is provided between 116.

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

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

The external terminals D1 to Dm and G1 to Gn are connected to a drive circuit (not shown). Then, by applying a modulation signal for one image line to the columns of the grid electrode 302 in synchronization with the sequential driving (scanning) of the element rows one column at a time, irradiation of each electron beam to the fluorescent film 114 is performed. The image can be displayed line by line.

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

[0126]

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

Example 1 As a surface conduction electron-emitting device of this example, FIG.
A surface conduction electron-emitting device of the type shown in (a) and (b) was prepared. In FIG. 1, 1 is a substrate, 4 and 5 are device electrodes, 2 is an electron emitting portion, 3 is a conductive thin film including the electron emitting portion 2, L is a device electrode interval, W is a device electrode width, and d is a device electrode thickness. is there.

The procedure for creating the data will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

A quartz substrate 1 is used as the dielectric substrate 1,
After thoroughly washing this with an organic solvent, element electrodes 4 and 5 made of Pt were formed on the surface of the substrate 1 (FIG. 2).
(A)). At this time, the device electrode interval L was 3 μm, the device electrode width W was 500 μm, and the device electrode thickness d was 1000 angstrom.

Then, as an organometallic compound, a mixture of 0.1 mol (22.49 g) of palladium acetate and 0.2 mol (20.24 g) of di-n-propylamine was spinner coated (800 rpm, 30 seconds). After that, baking was performed at 300 ° C. for 12 minutes in a clean oven to form a PdO film which is the conductive thin film 3. (FIG.2 (b)). In this example, by repeating coating / firing twice,
A film resistance of 5 × 10 4 ohm / □ was obtained.

With a turbo pump and a rotary pump, -10
Forming was performed in a vacuum container evacuated to −6 torr to form the electron emitting portion 2.

Forming in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 13, 401 is a charge accumulator, 4
Reference numeral 02 is a power source, and 403 and 404 are changeover switches.

First, as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, the changeover switch 404 is closed to connect the one element electrode 5 of the pair of element electrodes 4 and 5 to a common terminal. At this time, the changeover switch 403 is set to the charge accumulation body 40.
The power supply 402 was connected to the charge accumulator 401 to close the first side, and charges were accumulated and charged. The charge accumulator 401 had a capacitance of 1 nF and the power supply 402 had a voltage of 450V.

Next, as shown in FIG. 13C, the changeover switch 403 was changed over to connect the device electrode 4 and one electrode of the charge storage body 401. As a result, the energy of the charges accumulated in the charge accumulator 401 is consumed as Joule heat in the conductive thin film 3 formed of the PdO film, whereby the electron emitting portion 2 is formed.

The time variation of the discharge voltage between the device electrodes 4 and 5 is as shown in FIG. 4, and the initial charging voltage V1 is 4
The discharge time constant T1 was 50 V and 0.2 microseconds.

The forming in the present example was completed by one operation, and the forming was completed in an extremely short time as compared with the conventional case.

The electron emission characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device obtained as described above were measured by the measurement and evaluation system as shown in FIG. 5 already described. The measurement is performed with the anode electrode 54.
The distance L between the surface conduction electron-emitting device and the surface conduction electron-emitting device was 4 mm, the potential of the anode electrode 54 was 1 kV, and the degree of vacuum in the vacuum device 55 at the time of measuring the electron emission characteristics was 1 × 10 −6 torr.

As a result, the current-voltage characteristics shown in FIG. 6 were obtained. The average characteristic of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is that the emission current I rapidly increases from the device voltage Vf = 8V.
e increases, and when the device voltage Vf = 16V, the device current If becomes 2.2 mA and the emission current Ie becomes 1.1 microA,
The electron emission efficiency η = Ie / If (%) was 0.05%, and a substantially uniform surface conduction electron-emitting device was obtained regardless of the forming voltage.

Embodiment 2 A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Also in FIG. 14, 1 is a substrate, 4 and 5 are device electrodes, 2 is an electron emitting portion, and 3 is a conductive thin film including the electron emitting portion 2, which is basically prepared in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Is.

In FIG. 14, 501 is a changeover switch, 502 and 503 are capacitance components formed between the electrodes 505 and 506, and 504 is a charge supplied from the outside from an electron source (not shown) to the electrode. The electrons emitted toward 506 are shown. Further, the electrode 505 was formed by attaching a conductive tape.

First, as shown in FIG. 14A, the changeover switch 501 is opened and the electron beam 504 is directed toward the electrode 506. Since the changeover switch 501 is in an open state, a negative potential is formed on the surfaces of the electrodes 505 and 506 for the emitted electrons.
The charge Q is stored in the capacitance components 502 and 503. The amount of electric charge accumulated at this time is the irradiation current density of the irradiated electron beam, the irradiation time, the dielectric constant of the substrate 1 used, and the electrode 50.
Depending on the area of 5,506, 25kV, current density 2
Irradiation with an electron beam was performed at 000 A / cm ² for 5 seconds.

Next, the changeover switch 501 was changed over to connect the element electrode 4 to the electrode 506. At this time, the electric charge accumulated in the electrode 506 is discharged through the conductive thin film 3, and Joule heat is generated in the conductive thin film 3 which is a resistor to perform the forming, thereby forming the electron emitting portion 2. In order to remove the charge storage bodies that are no longer needed, the substrate 1
The conductive tape constituting the electrode 505, which was attached to the back side of the, was removed to remove the influence of the stray capacitance component.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 15 shows a display panel using the electron source of the present invention provided with a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices of the present invention, and various image information sources such as television broadcasting. It is a figure which shows an example of the image forming apparatus of this invention comprised so that the image information provided may be displayed.

In the figure, 16100 is a display panel and 1
Reference numeral 6101 denotes a display panel drive circuit, and 16102.
Is a display controller, 16103 is a multiplexer, 16104 is a decoder, 16105 is an input / output interface circuit, 16106 is a CPU, 16107 is an image generation circuit, 16108, 16109 and 1611.
0 is an image memory interface circuit, 16111 is an image input interface circuit, 16112 and 161.
Reference numeral 13 is a TV signal receiving circuit, and 16114 is an input unit.

When receiving a signal including both video information and audio information, such as a television signal, the present image forming apparatus naturally reproduces audio at the same time as displaying video. Descriptions of circuits, speakers, and the like relating to reception, separation, reproduction, processing, storage, etc. of audio information that are not directly related to the features of the present invention will be omitted.

The functions of the respective parts will be described below along the flow of image signals.

First, the TV signal receiving circuit 16113 is a circuit for receiving a TV signal transmitted using a wireless transmission system such as radio waves or spatial optical communication.

The TV signal system to be received is not particularly limited. For example, NTSC system, PAL system, SEC.
Any method such as AM method may be used. Further, a TV signal having a larger number of scanning lines than these, for example, a so-called high-definition TV such as the MUSE system, is a signal suitable for taking advantage of the display panel suitable for a large area and a large number of pixels. Is the source.

The TV signal received by the TV signal receiving circuit 16113 is output to the decoder 16104.

The TV signal receiving circuit 16112 is a circuit for receiving a TV signal transmitted using a wired transmission system such as a coaxial cable or an optical fiber. A TV for receiving, similar to the TV signal receiving circuit 16113.
The signal system is not particularly limited, and the TV signal received by this circuit is also output to the decoder 16104.

Image input interface circuit 16111
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 16104.

Image memory interface circuit 161
10 is a video tape recorder (hereinafter abbreviated as VTR)
The circuit for fetching the image signal stored in is output to the decoder 16104.

Image memory interface circuit 161
Reference numeral 09 denotes a circuit for capturing the image signal stored in the video disc, and the captured image signal is output to the decoder 16104.

Image memory interface circuit 161
Reference numeral 08 denotes a circuit for taking in an image signal from a device that stores still image data, such as a still image disc,
The captured still image data is input to the decoder 16104.

Input / output interface circuit 16105
Is a circuit for connecting the image forming apparatus to an external computer, a computer network, or an output device such as a printer. It is of course possible to input / output image data and character / graphic information, and in some cases, input / output control signals and numerical data between the CPU 16106 of the image forming apparatus and the outside. .

The image generation circuit 16107 is used to input image data, character / graphic information, or CPU 1 from the outside via the input / output interface circuit 16105.
6106 is a circuit for generating display image data based on image data and character / graphic information output from the 6106. Inside this circuit, for example, a rewritable memory for storing image data and character / graphic information, a read-only memory that stores image patterns corresponding to character codes, a processor for image processing, etc. , And the circuits necessary for image generation are incorporated.

The display image data generated by this circuit is output to the decoder 16104, but in some cases, it may be output to an external computer network or printer via the input / output interface circuit 16105.

The CPU 16106 mainly performs operations related to operation control of the image forming apparatus and generation, selection and editing of a display image.

For example, a control signal is output to the multiplexer 16103 to appropriately select or combine image signals to be displayed on the display panel. At that time, a control signal is generated to the display panel controller 16102 according to the image signal to be displayed, and the image forming apparatus such as the screen display frequency, the scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced), the number of scanning lines in one screen, and the like The operation of is controlled appropriately. In addition, the image data or the character / graphic information is directly output to the image generation circuit 16107, or the external computer or memory is accessed through the input / output interface circuit 16105 to display the image data or the character / graphic information. input.

It should be noted that the CPU 16106 may be involved in work for purposes other than this. For example, it may be directly related to a function of generating and processing information, such as a personal computer or a word processor. Alternatively, as described above, the input / output interface circuit 161
It is also possible to connect to an external computer network via 05 and collaborate with an external device for work such as numerical calculation.

The input unit 16114 is the CPU 1610.
6 is for the user to input commands, programs, data, etc., and various input devices such as a joystick, a bar code reader, a voice recognition device, etc. can be used in addition to the keyboard and mouse. .

The decoder 16104 is a circuit for inversely converting various image signals input from the above 16107 to 16113 into three primary color signals, or luminance signals and I signals and Q signals. It is desirable that the decoder 16104 has an image memory therein, as indicated by a dotted line in the figure. This is for handling a television signal which requires an image memory for reverse conversion, for example, including the MUSE system.

By providing the image memory, it is easy to display a still image. Alternatively, the image generation circuit 1610
7 and the CPU 16106, there is an advantage that image processing and editing such as image thinning, interpolation, enlargement, reduction, and composition are facilitated.

The multiplexer 16103 is the CPU
The display image is appropriately selected based on the control signal input from the 16106. That is, the multiplexer 16
103 selects a desired image signal from the inversely converted image signals input from the decoder 16104 and outputs it to the drive circuit 16101. 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 1610
Reference numeral 2 is a circuit for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 16101 based on the control signal input from the CPU 16106.

As a signal relating to the basic operation of the display panel, for example, a signal for controlling the operation sequence of a power source (not shown) for driving the display panel is output to the drive circuit 16101. As a signal relating to the display panel driving method, for example, a signal for controlling a screen display frequency and a scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced) is supplied to the driving circuit 16101.
Output to Further, in some cases, a control signal relating to image quality adjustment such as luminance, contrast, color tone, and sharpness of a display image may be output to the driver circuit 16101.

The drive circuit 16101 is a circuit for generating a drive signal to be applied to the display panel 16100, and the image signal input from the multiplexer 16103 and the display panel controller 16 are provided.
It operates based on a control signal input from 102.

Although the functions of the respective parts have been described above, the image information input from various image information sources can be displayed on the display panel 16100 in the image forming apparatus with the configuration illustrated in FIG. . That is, various image signals such as television broadcast are inversely converted by the decoder 16104 and then the multiplexer 16
It is appropriately selected in 103 and input to the driving circuit 16101. On the other hand, the display controller 16102
Generates a control signal for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 16101 according to the image signal to be displayed. Drive circuit 16
Reference numeral 101 applies a drive signal to the display panel 16100 based on the image signal and the control signal. As a result, the image is displayed on the display panel 16100. These series of operations are controlled by the CPU 16106 as a whole.

In this image forming apparatus, the image memory built in the decoder 16104 and the image generation circuit 16 are provided.
In addition to displaying the selected information from 107 and the information, the image information to be displayed may be enlarged or reduced, for example.
Image processing such as rotation, movement, edge enhancement, thinning, interpolation, color conversion, image aspect ratio conversion, combining, erasing,
It is also possible to perform image editing such as connection, replacement, and fitting. Although not particularly mentioned in the description of this embodiment, a dedicated circuit for processing and editing audio information may be provided as in the above-mentioned image processing and image editing.

Therefore, the present image forming apparatus includes 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 terminal device for a computer,
It is possible to combine the functions of office terminals such as word processors, game machines, etc., with a very wide range of applications for industrial or consumer use.

Note that FIG. 15 merely shows an example of the configuration in the case of an image forming apparatus using a display panel having a surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron beam source, and the image forming apparatus of the present invention is It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, of the constituent elements shown in FIG. 15, circuits relating to functions unnecessary for the purpose of use may be omitted.
On the contrary, the constituent elements may be added depending on the purpose of use. For example, when the image forming apparatus is applied as a videophone, it is preferable to add a television camera, a voice microphone, an illuminator, a transmission / reception circuit including a modem, and the like to the constituent elements.

In this image forming apparatus, since the surface conduction electron-emitting device is used as the electron source, the display panel can be easily thinned and the depth of the image forming apparatus can be reduced. In addition, a display panel using a surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron beam source can easily have a large screen, has high brightness, and has excellent viewing angle characteristics, so that the image forming apparatus has a realistic and powerful image. Can be displayed with good visibility.

[0175]

The present invention is as described above and has the following effects.

(1) Since the forming is performed by discharging the accumulated charges, the forming can be performed in an extremely short time corresponding to the discharging time. In particular, it is possible to reduce an increase in forming time that accompanies a large area display.

(2) An extremely large current is generated at the time of discharging the accumulated charge, but since the discharging is completed in an extremely short time,
The heat generated by the wiring can be suppressed to an extremely small level, and damage due to the heat generated by the wiring can be prevented.

(3) When a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are connected in parallel in one line and a potential is supplied to one end of the line by energization to perform forming, a forming current flows. The wiring resistance component causes the potential to decrease as the distance from the potential supply point increases. However, according to the present invention, it is possible to maintain a constant potential inside the line by making the line floating and accumulating charges. After that, when each surface conduction electron-emitting device is grounded and discharged, the potential of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is larger than the potential at the time of forming by energization. The rate of decrease can be small relative to the initially formed potential. Therefore, there is little variation in the discharge energy of each surface conduction electron-emitting device within the line, and uniform forming is possible within the line.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device which is an example of the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device which is another example of the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a manufacturing procedure of the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing voltage waveforms at the time of forming by discharging accumulated charges according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a measurement evaluation system for measuring and evaluating electron emission characteristics.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing typical IV characteristics at a vacuum degree of about 1 × 10 −6 Torr.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electron source of the present invention in a simple matrix arrangement.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a display panel used in the image forming apparatus of the present invention using an electron source having a simple matrix arrangement.

9 is a diagram showing a fluorescent film in the display panel of FIG.

10 is a diagram showing an example of a drive circuit for driving the display panel of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view of the electron source of the present invention in a ladder arrangement.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of a display panel used in the image forming apparatus of the present invention using an electron source in a ladder arrangement.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the first embodiment.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to a third exemplary embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Base 2 Electron emission part 3 Thin film 4,5 Element electrode 21 Step forming member 50 Ammeter 51 for measuring element current If 51 Power supply 52 Ammeter 53 for measuring emission current Ie 53 High voltage power supply 54 Anode electrode 55 Vacuum device 56 Exhaust Pump 102 X Direction Wiring (Lower Wiring) 103 Y Direction Wiring (Upper Wiring) 104 Surface Conduction Electron Emitting Element 105 Wiring 111 Rear Plate 112 Support Frame 113 Glass Substrate 114 Fluorescent Film 115 Metal Back 116 Face Plate 118 Enclosure 121 Black Conductive Material 122 Phosphor 201 Display Panel 202 Scanning Circuit 203 Control Circuit 204 Shift Register 205 Line Memory 206 Synchronous Signal Separation Circuit 207 Modulation Signal Generator 301 Display Panel 302 Grid Electrode 303 Opening 304 Common Wiring 401 Charge Accumulator 402 power supply 403, 404 changeover switch 501 changeover switch 502, 503 capacitance component 504 electronic 505, 506 electrode 16100 display panel 16101 drive circuit 16102 display controller 16103 multiplexer 16104 decoder 16105 input / output interface circuit 16106 CPU 16107 image generation circuit 16108 image memory interface circuit 16109 image memory interface circuit 16110 image memory interface circuit 16111 image input interface circuit 16112 TV signal receiving circuit 16113 TV signal receiving circuit 16114 input unit

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

Claims (26)

[Claims] 1. A step of forming a device electrode on a substrate and forming a conductive thin film for connecting the device electrodes, and forming an electron emitting portion in the conductive thin film between the device electrodes by discharging a charge storage body. Forming step for forming a surface conduction electron-emitting device. 2. The method for manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to claim 1, further comprising the step of forming a charge storage body by forming electrodes at positions of the surplus portion of the dielectric substrate which face each other. Method. 3. The surface conduction electron-emitting device according to claim 1, further comprising the step of forming a charge storage body by forming electrodes facing each other with a dielectric material interposed therebetween on the surplus portion of the substrate. Production method. 4. In the forming step, one element electrode of the surface conduction electron-emitting device and one electrode of the charge accumulator are both grounded or connected to each other, and the other element electrode is left in a floating state. 4. The method for manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the other device electrode in a floating state is connected to the other electrode of the charge storage body after charging. 5. The surface conduction type according to claim 1, further comprising a stabilizing step of applying a voltage to the surface conduction type electron-emitting device under a higher vacuum degree than the forming step after the forming step. Method of manufacturing electron-emitting device. 6. The surface conduction electron emission according to claim 1, further comprising an activation step of applying a voltage to the surface conduction electron emission device in the presence of an organic substance after the forming step. Device manufacturing method. 7. The surface conduction according to claim 6, further comprising a stabilizing step of applying a voltage to the surface conduction electron-emitting device under a higher vacuum degree than the forming step and the activation step after the activation step. Type electron-emitting device manufacturing method. 8. A surface conduction electron-emitting device manufactured by the method according to claim 1. 9. The surface conduction electron-emitting device according to claim 8, wherein the device electrodes are of a flat type formed on the same surface. 10. The surface according to claim 8, wherein the device electrodes are vertically arranged with an insulating layer interposed therebetween, and a conductive thin film including an electron emitting portion is formed on a side surface of the insulating layer. Conductive electron-emitting device. 11. A method of manufacturing an electron source having a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices, wherein a plurality of pairs of device electrodes are formed on a substrate and a conductive thin film for connecting the device electrodes of each pair is formed. A method of manufacturing an electron source, comprising: a step of forming an electron-emitting portion on a conductive thin film between each pair of device electrodes by discharging a charge storage body. 12. The method of manufacturing an electron source according to claim 11, further comprising the step of forming an electric charge accumulating body by forming electrodes at positions of the surplus portion of the dielectric substrate which face each other. 13. The method of manufacturing an electron source according to claim 11, further comprising the step of forming a charge storage body by forming electrodes facing each other with a dielectric material sandwiched therebetween, on the surplus portion of the substrate. 14. In the forming step, all the device electrodes of one of the selected surface conduction electron-emitting devices and one electrode of the charge accumulator are grounded or connected to each other,
12. After charging all of the other device electrodes in a floating state to charge the charge storage body, the other device electrodes in the floating state are all connected to the other electrode of the charge storage body. 13. The method for manufacturing an electron source according to any one of 13 to 13. 15. The electron source according to claim 11, further comprising a stabilizing step of applying a voltage to the surface conduction electron-emitting device under a higher vacuum degree than the forming step after the forming step. Production method. 16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising an activation step of applying a voltage to each surface conduction electron-emitting device in the presence of an organic substance after the forming step.
4. Any one of the electron source manufacturing methods. 17. The electron emitting device according to claim 16, further comprising a stabilizing process of applying a voltage to each surface conduction electron-emitting device under a higher vacuum degree than the forming process and the activating process after the activating process. Source manufacturing method. 18. An electron source manufactured by the method according to claim 11. 19. The electron source according to claim 18, wherein the surface conduction electron-emitting device is of a flat type in which the device electrodes are formed on the same surface. 20. The surface conduction electron-emitting device is of a vertical type in which its device electrodes are located above and below an insulating layer and a conductive thin film including an electron-emitting portion is formed on a side surface of the insulating layer. The electron source according to claim 18, characterized in that 21. At least one device row in which a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged is provided, and wirings for driving each surface conduction electron-emitting device are arranged in a matrix. The electron source according to any one of claims 18 to 20. 22. At least one device row in which a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged is provided, and a wiring for driving each surface conduction electron-emitting device is arranged in a ladder shape. The electron source according to any one of claims 18 to 20. 23. An image forming apparatus comprising: the electron source according to claim 18; and an image forming member that forms an image by irradiation of an electron beam from the electron source. 24. An electron source according to claim 18, modulation means for modulating an electron beam emitted from the electron source according to an information signal, and an image is formed by irradiating the electron beam from the electron source. An image forming apparatus having an image forming member to be formed. 25. A method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus, characterized in that the electron source according to any one of claims 18 to 21 is combined with an image forming member that forms an image by irradiation of an electron beam from the electron source. 26. An electron source according to claim 18, modulation means for modulating an electron beam emitted from the electron source according to an information signal, and an image is formed by irradiating the electron beam from the electron source. An image forming apparatus manufacturing method, characterized in that an image forming member to be formed is combined.