JPH09161664A - Electron source, device and method for manufacturing electron source, and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To even the distribution of luminance, and to enable the high luminance and high quality by raising the activating pulse wave high value, which is to be applied to an electron source substrate, in response to the advance of the activation. SOLUTION: A control unit 106 controls a waveform generating unit 102 at the previously stored step-up rate, and a line selecting unit 103 outputs the selected line command. Voltage waveform generated by the generating unit 102 is amplified to the required voltage and the required current by an amplifying unit 104, and input to the line selecting unit 103, and applied to a selecting line of an electron source substrate 101. In the case of the substrate 101 in matrix at (m)×(n), the selecting unit 103 is connected to terminals Dx1-Dx(m) of the substrate 101 through the number (m) of parallel connecting switches. Each switch is controlled by the control unit 106, and the voltage waveform output from the amplifying unit 104 is applied to an electrifying activating line, and the applying pulse voltage is raised at the step-up rate. When the applying pulse voltage rises to a constant voltage, activation of one line is concluded, and this operation is repeated per each line. At this stage, lines except for the selected line are grounded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

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

[0002]

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

As an example of the FE type, for example, WPDyke
& WWDolan, "Field emission", Advance in Electron
Physics, 8,89 (1956) or CASpindt, "Physi
calproperties of thin-film field emission cathodes
with molybdenium cones ", J.Appl.Phys., 47,5248 (197
6) etc. are known.

As an example of the MIM type, for example,
CAMead, "Operation of tunnel-emission Devices, J.
Appl.Phys., 32,646 (1961) and the like are known.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device is, for example, MIElinson, Radio Eng. Electron Phys., 10, 12
90, (1965) and other examples described below.

[0006] The surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which an electron is emitted when a current flows in a small-area thin film formed on a substrate in parallel with the film surface. As this surface conduction type emission element, Sn described by Elinson et al.
In addition to those using O2 thin films, those using Au thin films [G. Di
ttmer: "Thin Solid Films", 9,317 (1972)], In2O3
/ SnO2 thin film [M.Hartwell & CGFonstad: "
IEEE Trans.ED Conf. ", 519 (1975)] and carbon thin films [Hiraki Araki et al .: Vacuum, Vol. 26, No. 1, 22]
(1983)] and the like have been reported.

As a typical example of the element structure of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, FIG. Hartwel
1 shows a plan view of an element according to the present invention. In FIG.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a substrate, and reference numeral 3004 denotes a conductive thin film made of a metal oxide formed by sputtering. The conductive thin film 3004 is formed in an H-shaped planar shape as shown. An electron emission portion 3005 is formed by performing an energization process called energization forming described later on the conductive thin film 3004. The interval L in the figure is 0.5 to 1 [mm], and W is
It is set at 0.1 [mm]. In addition, for convenience of illustration, the electron emitting portion 3005 is shown in a rectangular shape at the center of the conductive thin film 3004, but this is a schematic one, and the position and shape of the actual electron emitting portion are faithfully represented. Not necessarily.

M. In the above-described surface conduction electron-emitting device including the device by Hartwell et al., The electron-emitting portion 3005 is formed by subjecting the conductive thin film 3004 to an energization process called energization forming before electron emission.
It was common to form That is, the energization forming energizes by applying a constant DC voltage or a DC voltage boosting at a very slow rate of, for example, about 1 V / min to both ends of the conductive thin film 3004,
The electron emitting portion 30 in a state where the conductive thin film 3004 is locally destroyed, deformed or deteriorated, and is in an electrically high resistance state.
05 is formed. Note that a part of the conductive thin film 3004 that has been locally broken, deformed, or altered includes
Cracks occur. When an appropriate voltage is applied to the conductive thin film 3004 after the energization forming, electron emission is performed in the vicinity of the crack.

The above surface conduction electron-emitting device has an advantage that a large number of devices can be formed over a large area because the structure is simple and the production is easy. Therefore, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-31332 by the present applicant, a method for arranging and driving a large number of elements has been studied.

As for applications of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, for example, image forming devices such as image display devices and image recording devices, and charged beam sources have been studied.

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

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present inventors have developed various materials, including those described in the above-mentioned prior art.
A surface conduction electron-emitting device having a manufacturing method and a structure has been tried. Furthermore, research has been conducted on a multi-electron beam source in which a number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged, and on an image display device using the multi-electron beam source.

The inventors have tried a multi-electron beam source by an electrical wiring method shown in FIG. 25, for example. That is, it is a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged two-dimensionally and these devices are arranged in a matrix as shown in the drawing.

In the figure, 4001 schematically shows a surface conduction electron-emitting device, 4002 shows a wiring in a row direction, and 4003 shows a wiring in a column direction. The row wiring 4002 and the column wiring 4003 actually have a finite electric resistance, but in the figure, the wiring resistances 4004 and 4005
It is shown as The above-described wiring method is called simple matrix wiring.

Although a 6 × 6 matrix is shown for convenience of illustration, the scale of the matrix is not limited to this. For example, in the case of a multi-electron beam source for an image display device, a desired image is displayed. The elements are arranged and wired in a quantity sufficient for displaying.

In a multi-electron beam source in which surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a simple matrix, an appropriate electric signal is applied to the row wiring 4002 and the column wiring 4003 in order to output a desired electron beam. For example, in order to drive any one row of surface conduction electron-emitting devices in the matrix, the selection voltage Vs is applied to the row direction wiring 4002 of the selected row, and at the same time, the row direction wiring 400 of the non-selected row is applied.
2, a non-selection voltage Vns is applied. In synchronization with this, a drive voltage Ve for outputting an electron beam is applied to the column wiring 4003. According to this method, the wiring resistance 400
Neglecting the voltage drop due to Nos. 4 and 4005, a voltage of Ve-Vs is applied to the surface conduction type emission devices of the selected row, and Ve-Vs is applied to the surface conduction type emission devices of the non-selected row.
A voltage of Vns is applied. If Ve, Vs, and Vns are set to voltages of appropriate magnitudes, an electron beam of a desired intensity should be output only from the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the selected row, and a different drive voltage is applied to each of the column wirings. If Ve is applied, each of the elements in the selected row should output a different intensity electron beam. Further, since the response speed of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is high, if the length of time for applying the driving voltage Ve is changed, the length of time for outputting the electron beam should be changed.

Therefore, various applications of the multi-electron beam source in which the surface conduction electron-emitting devices are wired in a simple matrix have been considered. For example, if a voltage signal according to image information is appropriately applied, the electron source for an image display device can be used. It is expected to be applicable as. On the other hand, the inventors of the present invention have earnestly conducted research to improve the characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and as a result, have found that conducting current activation treatment is effective in the manufacturing process.

As described above, when forming the electron emitting portion of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, an electric current is applied to the conductive thin film to locally break, deform or alter the thin film to form a crack. Processing (energization forming processing) is performed. After that, the electron emission characteristic can be significantly improved by further performing the energization activation treatment.

That is, the energization activation process is a process of energizing the electron-emitting portion formed by the energization forming process under appropriate conditions to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity thereof. For example, the energization activation process is a process of energizing the electron-emitting portion formed by the energization forming process under appropriate conditions to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity thereof. For example, organic matter having an appropriate partial pressure is present, and the total pressure is 10
Minus 4 to 10 Minus 5 [torr]
By periodically applying a voltage pulse in the vacuum atmosphere of No. 1, 500 [angstrom] of any one of single crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof is provided in the vicinity of the electron emission portion.
Deposit with the following film thickness. However, it is needless to say that this condition is just an example and should be appropriately changed depending on the material and shape of the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

By carrying out such a treatment, it is possible to increase the emission current at the same applied voltage typically 100 times or more as compared with immediately after the energization forming. It should be noted that it is desirable to reduce the partial pressure of the organic substance in the vacuum atmosphere after the completion of the energization activation.

Therefore, it is needless to say that it is desirable to carry out the energization activation process for each element even when manufacturing a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are wired in a simple matrix.

By adding the energization activation step,
The electron emission characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device have been stabilized, but when this is applied to a multi-surface conduction electron-emitting device such as a simple matrix wiring, the following problems occur.

FIG. 26 shows an equivalent circuit when the second row is energized and activated in the energization activation process of the m-row, n-column multi-surface-conduction-type emission device having simple matrix wiring. 27A shows an equivalent circuit focusing only on the second row to which the voltage is applied at this time. In the case of the simple matrix arrangement as shown in FIG. 26, it can be seen that wiring resistances r1 to rn exist between the elements as shown in FIG.
FIG. 28 shows the states of the device current If and the emission current Ie that increase as the second row is activated. As shown in the figure, at the time of activation, both the current value If flowing in one row and the emission current Ie thereby increase. In other words, since almost no If flows in the initial state of activation, there is almost no voltage drop, and therefore the distribution of the voltage applied to the elements on one row is as shown by the line (a) in FIG. However, as the activation progresses, the current If starts to flow, causing a voltage drop. At the end of activation, the line (a) in FIG. 27B is reached. In the case of the element in the central portion, this means that the applied voltage is substantially lowered as the activation progresses. In FIG. 27B, at the end of activation, the element voltage of the central element is reduced by ΔV. As a result, the progress of activation of the element in the central portion is slower than that in the both end portions, resulting in inferior emission characteristics. Therefore, when such a simple matrix electron source is used as the electron source of the image forming apparatus, the brightness or density of the central portion of the image becomes insufficient, which is inconvenient.

Such a problem also occurs in a case where a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices arranged in a ladder shape shown in FIG. 29 are arranged (hereinafter referred to as a ladder type wiring). As shown in FIG. The resistance is distributed, and as a result, FIG.
The voltage drop as shown in (b) occurs, and in this case, the emission characteristic is inferior because the element voltage drops at the portion with a large element number, which is far from the voltage supply terminal, and the electron source is used to generate an image. In the case of forming the forming apparatus, it is inconvenient because the brightness or density is insufficient at one end of the image.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the applied voltage is not lowered in each element by gradually increasing the voltage applied to the voltage supply terminal as the activation progresses. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electron source having uniform emission characteristics, a manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method thereof, and an image forming apparatus.

[0026]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an electron source manufacturing apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a manufacturing apparatus for activating the emission characteristics of each element in an electron source in which a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in row units, and selecting means for selecting one row in a predetermined order; Pulse applying means for applying a pulse while increasing the voltage for each pulse application is provided for the element group of the row selected by the selecting means.

More preferably, the pulse applying means is
Pulse generating means for generating a rectangular pulse of a predetermined waveform, and the voltage of the rectangular pulse generated by the pulse generating means,
Amplification means for amplifying at a predetermined rate.

More preferably, the amplifying means inputs a rectangular pulse, outputs a rectangular pulse in which the pulse height of the pulse is increased at a predetermined rate for each input pulse, and the pulse applying means increases the pulse stepwise. Is applied.

More preferably, the amplifying means receives a rectangular pulse as input, increases the waveform of the input pulse at a predetermined rate, and the selecting means elapses a predetermined time from the start of pulse application by the pulse applying means. Until the same row is selected, and the next row is selected after a predetermined time has elapsed.

More preferably, the selecting means selects the next row for each application of the pulse by the pulse applying means.

More preferably, the electron source is formed by connecting a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices in a matrix.

More preferably, the electron source is formed by connecting a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices in a ladder shape.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the method for manufacturing an electron source of the present invention has the following constitution. That is, a manufacturing method for activating the emission characteristics of each element in an electron source in which a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in rows, comprising a selecting step of selecting one row in a predetermined order, A pulse application step of applying a pulse while increasing the voltage for each pulse application for the element group of the row selected in the selection step, and the selection step until a predetermined time elapses from the start of pulse application in the pulse application step. The same row is selected by and the next row is selected after a lapse of a predetermined time.

Alternatively, it is a manufacturing method for activating the emission characteristics of each element in an electron source formed by arranging a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices in units of rows, and selecting a row in a predetermined order. And a pulse applying step of applying a pulse while increasing the voltage for each pulse application to the element group of the row selected by the selecting step, and the selecting is performed for each pulse application by the pulse applying step. The next row is selected by the process, and a pulse is applied to the selected row.

More preferably, in the pulse applying step,
A rectangular pulse is increased at a predetermined rate and output, and a pulse that increases stepwise is applied.

More preferably, the pulse applying step is
The waveform of the rectangular pulse is increased with time, and a pulse that gradually increases is applied.

More preferably, the electron source is formed by connecting a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices in a matrix.

More preferably, the electron source is formed by connecting a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices in a ladder shape.

[0039]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. <First Embodiment> FIG. 1 shows an example of an energization activation device for a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present embodiment. 1 in this figure
Reference numeral 01 denotes a multi-surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate (the substrate which is an electron source in the present embodiment is matrix-wired and the forming is completed) which is connected for activation by energization. It is connected to the illustrated vacuum exhaust device and is a power of 10 −4 to −5 To
It is evacuated to about rr. Further, 102 is a waveform generation unit that generates a voltage waveform required for energization activation, 103 is an activation line selection unit, 104 is an amplification unit that amplifies the voltage waveform generated by the waveform generation unit to a required voltage current, 106
Is a control unit that controls the energization activation waveform and the line selection unit.

The operation of the energization activation device will be described with reference to FIG. The waveform generator 102 generates a voltage waveform required for energization activation, and outputs a pulse waveform as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, each of T1 and T2 indicates a pulse width and a pulse interval of the voltage waveform.
1 was 1 millisecond and T2 was 10 milliseconds. Also, the voltage V
f is controlled by the control unit 106 according to the progress of activation. In this embodiment, the initial value of Vf is 14V.
It is about. The control unit 106 controls the waveform generation unit 102 based on the boosting rate stored in advance and instructs the line selection unit 103 to select a selected line. The voltage waveform output from the waveform generation unit 102 is output to the amplification unit 104.
Is amplified to the required voltage and current at the line selection unit 10
3 is applied to the selected line of the electron source substrate 101.

The line selection unit 103 will be described with reference to FIG. The line selection unit 103 is composed of switches such as a relay and an analog switch. When the surface-conduction type electron-emitting device substrate 101 is an m × n matrix, m switches are arranged in parallel like sw1 to swm and are arranged in electronic form. The x wiring terminals Dx1 to Dxm of the source substrate are connected. Each switch is controlled by the control unit 106, and operates so that the voltage waveform from the amplification unit 104 is applied to the line to be energized and activated. In FIG. 3, line 1 is selected, sw1 is active and the other lines are connected to ground. The amplification unit 104 increases the voltage of the applied pulse at a boosting rate as described below.

Next, how Vf changes will be described. FIG. 4A shows the boosting rate of Vf performed in the present embodiment. In this figure, ΔV is
28 (b) is the same as the maximum value ΔV of the voltage difference between the activation start time and the activation start time shown in FIG.
It is the same as the time t at which the activation of the emission current Ie is considered to have almost finished after the increase.

When the activation of one line selected by the line selection unit 103 is completed in this way, the control unit 106 instructs the selection unit 103 to select the next line and activates each line. The conversion is carried out.

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the control procedure by the control unit 106 at this time. This flowchart can be realized by causing the CPU 1062 to execute a program stored in the memory 1061 built in the control unit 106.

First, the line selection unit 103 is caused to select the first line, and the waveform generation unit 102 is reset to Vf.
Is set (step S801).

Thereafter, the waveform generator 102 generates one activation pulse (step S802), and the time t
If it has not elapsed, it is determined that the activation is not completed (step S803-No), and after the pulse interval T2 (step S804), the next pulse Vf is set to (ΔV) based on the boosting rate shown in FIG. / T) · T2, and then the next pulse is applied (step S808).

If the activation of one line is completed, it is tested whether all the lines are completed (step S805). If not completed, the amplifier 104 is reset to set the applied voltage to V.
Return to f (step S806), line selection unit 103
To select the next line (step S80
7).

In this way, the activation pulse is applied to each line to activate all the elements on the element substrate 101. The state of the activation pulse at this time is shown in FIG. With the switch 1 turned on, the output of the amplifier 104, that is, the activation pulse is gradually amplified, and its voltage is Vf + over time t.
The activation of one line ends when the voltage is boosted to ΔV. Repeat this for all lines.

As described above, when the multi-surface conduction electron-emitting device was activated using the current activation device of the present embodiment, electron emission characteristics of a certain level or higher were obtained even in the central portion.

The step-up of the voltage of the activation pulse is shown in FIG.
The element substrate 101 can be uniformly activated even if the above-described profile is used. Where △
V and t are the same as those in FIG. 4A, and Δt is a cycle in which the voltage is changed stepwise. In this case, control is performed according to the procedure of the flowchart of FIG.

First, the line selector 103 selects the first line, resets the waveform generator 102, and sets the output voltage = Vf (step S1001).

After that, an activation pulse is generated by the waveform generator 102 (step S1002), and the boosting cycle Δt.
Wait for a while and continue pulse application (step S100
3). Next, if the elapsed time has not reached t (step S1004), Vf is increased by (ΔV / t) × Δt so that the boost rate shown in FIG. 4 (b) is obtained (step S1004).
1005) The pulse application is repeated.

When the activation of one line is completed, it is tested whether all lines are completed (step S1006). If not completed, the amplifier 104 is reset to return the applied voltage to Vf (step S1007). Line selector 1
The next line is selected by 03 (step S10).
08).

In this way, the activation pulse is applied to each line to activate all the elements on the element substrate 101. The state of the activation pulse at this time is shown in FIG. Switch 1
With the switch on, the output of the amplifier 104, that is, the activation pulse is amplified stepwise, and the activation of one line is completed when the voltage is boosted to Vf + ΔV over time t. Repeat this for all lines.

Regarding the boosting profile of Vf, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the effect on the stairs was also found, but it is more effective to gradually boost as shown in FIG. 4 (a). there were.

In this embodiment, the multi-surface conduction electron-emitting device can be similarly applied even if a ladder-type wiring device is connected. In this case, ΔV is ΔV shown in FIG. 30 (b). Is the same as. [Second Embodiment] The second embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail below.

The energization activation device in the second embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, but an example in which a ladder-type wiring is used as the multi-surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. This is shown in FIG. 5, the same components as those in FIG. 1 shown in the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the figure, reference numeral 110 denotes a multi-surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate (the electron source in this embodiment is a ladder-type wiring, the forming is completed) which is connected for activation by energization. , Which is connected to a vacuum exhaust device (not shown), and is 10 −4 to −5 T
It is evacuated to about orr. The overall operation of the energization activation device shown in FIG. 5 is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and thus the description thereof is omitted, but the voltage waveform generated in the amplification unit 104 different from that of the first embodiment is described. The procedure for line switching will be described below.

The activation voltage waveform generated in the amplifying section 104 will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment,
T1 is 1 msec and T2 is 2 msec.

Next, the switching timing of the line selection section will be described with reference to FIG. The applied voltage waveform is a continuous pulse waveform as described above, and this is represented by the top line in FIG. When pulse output starts, sw1 first turns on and outputs a pulse waveform to the D1 terminal of the multi-surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 110.
However, sw1 is turned on for one pulse, and immediately turned off and sw2 is turned on immediately thereafter. In this way, according to the pulse output, sw1 to swm
Are sequentially switched, and one pulse is applied from D1 to Dm, and then sequentially repeated from sw1.

At this time, FIG. 7 shows the change over time of the peak value of the voltage pulse applied to each line. Here, the amount of voltage increase ΔV is the same as ΔV shown in FIG. 30B, and the time T at which boosting ends is obtained from the duty ratio and the number of rows of ladders when only one line is activated. , T = t × m / 5. (T is the same as t shown in FIG. 28.) This will be described below. If the progress of activation is about 1/10 duty or less, when compared with activation pulses having the same pulse width, it is almost determined by the total number of applied pulses. In the first embodiment, the total number of applied pulses is t × 100 when the activation ends at time t [sec]. In the present embodiment, since a pulse is applied to each line at a period of 2 msec × m, in order to apply a t × 100 pulse, 2 msec × m × t × 100, that is, t × m / 5 [sec]. The time will be needed.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the procedure of such control. In the procedure of FIG. 12, the program stored in the memory 1061 built in the control unit 106 is executed by the CPU.
This can be realized by executing the command 1061.

[Explanation of Flowchart (FIG. 12)] First, the line selection unit 103 selects the first line and sets the waveform generation unit 102 to the initial state to set the applied voltage to Vf (step S1201). Next, the waveform generator generates one activation pulse (step 1202). The waveform is not applied to the last line (step S1203-N), after waiting for 2 msec (step S1204), the next line is selected (step S1205). If the activation end time has not been reached after one cycle from the first line to the last line (step S1206-N), Vf is increased by a predetermined voltage (step S1207), and then the first line is reselected (step S1207). S1208), a pulse is applied.

As described above, when the multi-surface conduction electron-emitting device is activated using the energization activation device of this embodiment, the electron emission characteristic of a certain level or more can be obtained even at the ends far from the power supply terminals D1 to Dn. It was Moreover, in the present embodiment, the entire activation time is shortened to about 1/5 as compared with the first embodiment.

Regarding the boosting profile of Vf, the effect was seen even by people on the stairs, but it was more effective to gradually boost as shown in FIG. 7A as compared with the first embodiment. It was similar.

In this embodiment, the multi-surface conduction electron-emitting device can be similarly applied even if a matrix wiring is connected, but ΔV in this case is ΔV shown in FIG. 27 (b). become. (Configuration and Manufacturing Method of Display Panel) Next, the configuration and manufacturing method of the display panel of the image display device to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to specific examples.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the display panel used in the embodiment, in which a part of the panel is cut away to show the internal structure.

In the figure, 1005 is a rear plate, and 1006.
Is a side wall, 1007 is a face plate, 1005
˜1007 form an airtight container for maintaining a vacuum inside the display panel. When assembling an airtight container, it is necessary to seal the joints of each member to maintain sufficient strength and airtightness.For example, apply frit glass to the joints, and in air or nitrogen atmosphere, Sealing was achieved by baking at 400 to 500 degrees for 10 minutes or more. A method of evacuating the inside of the airtight container to a vacuum will be described later.

The rear plate 1005 has a substrate 1001.
Are fixed, but N × M surface conduction electron-emitting devices 1002 are formed on the substrate. (N and M are positive integers of 2 or more and are appropriately set according to the target number of display pixels. For example, in a display device for displaying high-definition television, N = 3000, M = 10
It is desirable to set the number to 00 or more. In this embodiment, N = 3072 and M = 1024. ) The N × M surface conduction electron-emitting devices are M row-direction wirings 1.
003 and N column-direction wirings 1004 form a simple matrix wiring. The portion constituted by 1001 to 1004 is called a multi-electron beam source. The manufacturing method and structure of the multi-electron beam source will be described later in detail.

In this embodiment, the multi-electron beam source substrate 1001 is fixed to the rear plate 1005 of the airtight container, but the multi-electron beam source substrate 10 is fixed.
01 has sufficient strength, the substrate 10 of the multi-electron beam source is used as a rear plate of the hermetic container.
01 itself may be used.

A fluorescent film 1008 is formed on the lower surface of the face plate 1007. Since the present embodiment is a color display device, the fluorescent film 1008 has C
Phosphors of three primary colors of red, green and blue used in the field of RT are separately applied. The phosphors of each color are shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4 (a), the conductors are painted in stripes, and black conductors 1010 are provided between the stripes of the phosphor. The purpose of providing the black conductor 1010 is to prevent the display color from shifting even if the electron beam irradiation position is slightly shifted, and to prevent the reflection of external light to prevent the display contrast from lowering. And preventing charge-up of the fluorescent film by the electron beam. Although graphite was used as a main component for the black conductor 1010, other materials may be used as long as they are suitable for the above purpose.

The method of separately coating the phosphors of the three primary colors is not limited to the stripe-shaped arrangement shown in FIG. 14 (a), and for example, the delta arrangement shown in FIG. 14 (b), Other arrangements may be used.

When a monochrome display panel is produced, a monochromatic phosphor material may be used for the phosphor film 1008, and a black conductive material may not necessarily be used.

On the surface of the fluorescent film 1008 on the rear plate side, a metal back 1009 known in the field of CRT is used.
Is provided. The purpose of providing the metal back 1009 is
A part of the light emitted from the fluorescent film 1008 is specularly reflected to improve the light utilization rate, or the fluorescent film 1008
8 to protect it, to act as an electrode for applying an electron beam acceleration voltage, and to act as a conductive path for excited electrons of the fluorescent film 1008. The metal back 1009 was formed by forming a fluorescent film 1008 on the face plate substrate 1007, smoothing the surface of the fluorescent film, and vacuum-depositing Al thereon.
The metal back 1009 is not used when a low voltage fluorescent material is used for the fluorescent film 1008.

Although not used in this embodiment, for the purpose of applying an accelerating voltage and improving the conductivity of the fluorescent film, a transparent material such as ITO is formed between the face plate substrate 1007 and the fluorescent film 1008. Electrodes may be provided.

Dx1 to Dxm, Dy1 to Dyn, and Hv are terminals for electrical connection having an airtight structure provided to electrically connect the display panel and an electric circuit (not shown). Dx1 to Dxm are the row wirings 10 of the multi-electron beam source.
03, Dy1 to Dyn are column direction wirings 1004 of the multi-electron beam source, and Hv is the metal back 1 of the face plate.
009 electrically.

To evacuate the inside of the airtight container to a vacuum, after assembling the airtight container, an exhaust pipe (not shown) and a vacuum pump are connected, and the inside of the airtight container is reduced to the power of 10 −7 [T].
orr]. Then, the exhaust pipe is sealed, but in order to maintain the degree of vacuum in the airtight container, a getter film (not shown) is formed at a predetermined position in the airtight container immediately before or after the sealing. The getter film is, for example, a film formed by heating and depositing a getter material containing Ba as a main component by a heater or high-frequency heating,
Due to the adsorption action of the getter film, the inside of the airtight container is 1 × 10−5 or 1 × 10−7 [Torr].
Is maintained at a vacuum degree.

The basic structure and manufacturing method of the display panel according to the embodiment of the present invention have been described above.

Next, a method of manufacturing the multi-electron beam source used in the display panel of the above embodiment will be described. The material, shape, and manufacturing method of the surface conduction electron-emitting device are not limited as long as the multi-electron beam source used in the image display device of the present invention is an electron source in which surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a simple matrix. However, the inventors have found that among the surface conduction electron-emitting devices, those in which the electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film have excellent electron-emitting characteristics and can be easily manufactured. Therefore, it can be said that it is most suitable for use in a multi-electron beam source of a high-luminance, large-screen image display device. Therefore, in the display panel of the above embodiment, a surface conduction electron-emitting device in which the electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film is used. Therefore, the basic configuration, manufacturing method and characteristics of a suitable surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described first, and then the structure of a multi-electron beam source in which many devices are arranged in a simple matrix will be described. (Preferable element structure and manufacturing method of surface conduction electron-emitting device) A typical structure of a surface conduction electron-emitting device in which an electron emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film is a flat type or a vertical type.
There are different types. (Plane-type surface conduction electron-emitting device) First, the element structure and manufacturing method of the plane-type surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. FIG. 15 shows a plan view (a) and a cross-sectional view (b) for explaining the configuration of a flat surface conduction electron-emitting device.
It is. In the figure, 1101 is a substrate, 1102 and 1103 are element electrodes, 1104 is a conductive thin film, 1105 is an electron emission portion formed by an energization forming process, and 1113 is a thin film formed by an energization activation process.

As the substrate 1101, for example, various glass substrates such as quartz glass and soda lime glass, various ceramic substrates such as alumina, or an insulating layer made of, for example, SiO 2 is laminated on the above various substrates. Substrate, etc. can be used.

Further, the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 provided on the substrate 1101 so as to face each other in parallel with the substrate surface are formed of a conductive material. For example, N
i, Cr, Au, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Cu, Pd,
A material may be appropriately selected from metals such as Ag, alloys of these metals, metal oxides such as In2O3-SnO2, semiconductors such as polysilicon, and the like. To form the electrodes, film-forming techniques such as vacuum deposition and photolithography,
It can be easily formed by using a combination of patterning techniques such as etching, but it may be formed by using other methods (for example, printing techniques).

The shapes of the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are appropriately designed according to the application purpose of the electron-emitting device.
Generally, the electrode spacing L is usually designed by selecting an appropriate value from the range of several hundreds of angstroms to several hundreds of micrometers. It is in the range of ten micrometers. Further, regarding the thickness d of the device electrode,
Usually, an appropriate numerical value is selected from the range of several hundred angstroms to several micrometers.

A fine particle film is used for the conductive thin film 1104. The fine particle film mentioned here is a film containing many fine particles as a constituent element (including an island-shaped aggregate).
I mean If you examine the microparticle film microscopically, usually
A structure in which the individual particles are spaced apart, a structure in which the particles are adjacent to each other, or a structure in which the particles overlap each other is observed.

The particle diameter of the fine particles used for the fine particle film is in the range of several angstroms to several thousand angstroms, and the range of 10 angstroms to 200 angstroms is particularly preferable. Further, the thickness of the fine particle film is appropriately set in consideration of various conditions described below. That is, the device electrode 11
02, or 1103, conditions necessary for satisfactorily performing energization forming described later, conditions necessary for setting the electric resistance of the fine particle film itself to an appropriate value described later. , And so on.

Specifically, it is set within the range of several angstroms to several thousand angstroms, but the range of 10 angstroms to 500 angstroms is particularly preferable.

Materials that can be used to form the fine particle film include, for example, Pd, Pt, Ru, Ag,
Au, Ti, In, Cu, Cr, Fe, Zn, Sn, T
a, W, Pb, and other metals, PdO, S
Oxides such as nO2, In2O3, PbO, Sb2O3, etc .; HfB2, ZrB2, LaB6, CeB6,
Borides such as YB4, GdB4, etc., Ti
Carbides including C, ZrC, HfC, TaC, SiC, WC, etc., nitrides including TiN, ZrN, HfN, etc., semiconductors including Si, Ge, etc., carbon, etc. And these are appropriately selected from these.

As described above, the conductive thin film 1104 is formed of a fine particle film.
It was set to be included in the range of 10 3 to 10 7 [Ohm / sq].

The conductive thin film 1104 and the device electrode 11
Since it is desirable that the wires 02 and 1103 be electrically connected well, they have a structure in which a part of each overlaps with the other. In the example of FIG. 15, the overlapping manner is
Although the substrate, the device electrode, and the conductive thin film are stacked in this order from the bottom, in some cases, the substrate, the conductive thin film, and the device electrode may be stacked in this order from the bottom.

The electron-emitting portion 1105 is a crack-like portion formed in a part of the conductive thin film 1104, and has a higher electrical resistance than the surrounding conductive thin film. The crack is formed by performing a later-described energization forming process on the conductive thin film 1104. Fine particles having a particle diameter of several angstroms to several hundred angstroms may be arranged in the cracks. Since it is difficult to precisely and accurately show the actual position and shape of the electron emitting portion, the electron emitting portion is schematically shown in FIG.

The thin film 1113 is a thin film made of carbon or a carbon compound, and covers the electron emitting portion 1105 and its vicinity. The thin film 1113 is formed by performing an energization activation process described later after the energization forming process.

The thin film 1113 is made of any one of single crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, and amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and has a thickness of 500 [Å] or less, but 300 [Å] or less. Is more preferred.

Since it is difficult to precisely illustrate the actual position and shape of the thin film 1113, it is schematically shown in FIG. Also, in the plan view (a), the thin film 11
13 shows a device in which a part of the device 13 is removed.

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

That is, blue glass was used for the substrate 1101, and Ni thin films were used for the device electrodes 1102 and 1103. The thickness d of the device electrode was 1000 [angstrom], and the electrode interval L was 2 [micrometer].

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

Next, a description will be given of a method of manufacturing a suitable flat surface conduction electron-emitting device. 16 (a) to 16 (d)
[FIG. 15] is a cross-sectional view for explaining the manufacturing process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the notation of each member is the same as in FIG.

1) First, as shown in FIG. 16A, device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are formed on a substrate 1101.

Before forming, the substrate 1
After sufficiently washing 101 with a detergent, pure water and an organic solvent,
The material of the device electrode is deposited. (As a method of depositing, for example, a vacuum film forming technique such as a vapor deposition method or a sputtering method may be used.) After that, the deposited electrode material is patterned by using a photolithography etching technique, and the pattern shown in FIG. The pair of device electrodes (1102 and 1103) shown in () are formed.

2) Next, as shown in FIG. 16B, a conductive thin film 1104 is formed.

In forming the film, first, FIG.
The substrate is coated with an organic metal solution, dried, heated and baked to form a fine particle film, and then patterned into a predetermined shape by photolithography and etching. Here, the organometallic solution is a solution of an organometallic compound whose main element is a material of fine particles used for the conductive thin film. Specifically, Pd is used as the main element in this embodiment.
Further, although the dipping method is used as the coating method in the embodiment, other methods such as a spinner method and a spray method may be used.

As a method of forming a conductive thin film made of a fine particle film, other than the method of applying an organic metal solution used in the present embodiment, for example, a vacuum evaporation method, a sputtering method, or a chemical vapor deposition method Method may be used.

3) Next, as shown in FIG. 16C, the forming power supply 1110 to the device electrodes 1102 and 11
The electron emitting portion 1105 is formed by applying an appropriate voltage during the period 03 and performing the energization forming process.

The energization forming treatment is to energize the conductive thin film 1104 made of a fine particle film and to appropriately break, deform, or alter a part of the conductive thin film 1104 to change into a structure suitable for emitting electrons. This is the process that causes A portion of the conductive thin film made of a fine particle film that has been changed to a structure suitable for emitting electrons (that is, the electron emitting portion 110
In 5), an appropriate crack is formed in the thin film.
Note that the electric resistance measured between the element electrodes 1102 and 1103 after the formation is significantly increased as compared with before the formation of the electron emission portion 1105.

In order to explain the energizing method in more detail, FIG. 17 shows an example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from the forming power supply 1110. When forming a conductive thin film made of a fine particle film, a pulsed voltage is preferable, and in the case of the present embodiment, a triangular wave pulse having a pulse width T1 is continuously formed at a pulse interval T2 as shown in FIG. Applied to. At that time, the peak value Vpf of the triangular wave pulse was sequentially increased. In addition, a monitor pulse Pm for monitoring the state of formation of the electron-emitting portion 1105 was inserted between triangular-wave pulses at appropriate intervals, and the current flowing at that time was measured by an ammeter 1111.

In the embodiment, for example, in a vacuum atmosphere of about 10 to the fifth power [torr], for example, the pulse width T1 is 1 [millisecond], the pulse interval T2 is 10 [millisecond], and the peak value Vpf is The voltage was increased by 0.1 [V] for each pulse. Then, the monitor pulse Pm was inserted at a rate of one every time five triangular waves were applied. The monitor pulse voltage Vpm was set to 0.1 [V] so as not to adversely affect the forming process. Then, when the electric resistance between the element electrodes 1102 and 1103 reaches 1 × 10 6 [ohm], that is, the current measured by the ammeter 1111 when the monitor pulse is applied is 1 × 10 −7 [A]. ] At the stage below, the energization related to the forming process was terminated.

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

4) Next, as shown in FIG. 16D, an appropriate voltage is applied from the activation power supply 1112 between the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 to carry out the energization activation process, and the electron emission characteristic. Make improvements.

The energization activation process is a process of energizing the electron emitting portion 1105 formed by the energization forming process under appropriate conditions and depositing carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity thereof. In the figure, a deposit made of carbon or a carbon compound is schematically shown as the member 1113. Note that by performing the energization activation process, the emission current at the same applied voltage can be typically increased by 100 times or more as compared with before the energization activation process.

Specifically, 10 minus 4th power to 1
By applying a voltage pulse periodically in a vacuum atmosphere within the range of 0 to the fifth power [torr], carbon or a carbon compound originating from an organic compound existing in the vacuum atmosphere is deposited. The deposit 1113 is any of single crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, and amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and has a thickness of 500.
[Angstrom] or less, more preferably 300 [angstrom] or less.

In order to explain the energization method in more detail, FIG. 18 shows an example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from the activation power supply 1112. In the present embodiment, a rectangular wave having a constant pulse width and a constant pulse interval is subjected to energization activation processing by gradually increasing the peak value. Specifically, the rectangular wave voltage Vac is 14 [V]. Boosting was started further and ended at 16V. Pulse width T3 is 1 [millisecond], pulse interval T4
Was set to 10 [milliseconds]. The above-described energization conditions are preferable conditions for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present embodiment, and when the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is changed,
It is desirable to change the conditions accordingly.

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

As described above, the plane type surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 16 (e) was manufactured. (Vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device) Next, another typical configuration of the surface conduction type electron emission device in which the electron emission portion or its periphery is formed of a fine particle film, that is, the configuration of the vertical type surface conduction electron emission device. Will be described.

FIG. 19 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the basic structure of the vertical type, in which 1201 is a substrate.
202 and 1203 are device electrodes, 1206 is a step forming member, 1204 is a conductive thin film using a fine particle film, 1205
Are electron-emitting portions formed by an energization forming process;
213 is a thin film formed by the activation process.

The difference between the vertical type and the flat type described above is that one of the device electrodes (1202) is provided on the step forming member 1206, and the conductive thin film 1204 is provided on the side surface of the step forming member 1206. It is in the point of coating. Therefore, the device electrode spacing L in the planar type shown in FIG.
Is the step height L of the step forming member 1206 in the vertical type.
s. In addition, the substrate 1201, the element electrode 1
202 and 1203, conductive thin film 1 using fine particle film
204, the materials listed in the description of the planar type can be used in the same manner. An electrically insulating material such as SiO2 is used for the step forming member 1206.

Next, a method of manufacturing a vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. 20A to 20F are cross-sectional views for explaining the manufacturing process, and the notation of each member is the same as in FIG.
Is the same as

1) First, as shown in FIG. 20A, a device electrode 1203 is formed on a substrate 1201.

2) Next, as shown in FIG. 13B, an insulating layer for forming a step forming member is laminated. The insulating layer may be formed by laminating SiO2 by sputtering, for example, but other film forming methods such as vacuum deposition or printing may be used.

3) Next, as shown in FIG. 13C, the device electrode 1202 is formed on the insulating layer.

4) Next, as shown in FIG. 7D, a part of the insulating layer is removed by using, for example, an etching method to expose the device electrode 1203.

5) Next, as shown in FIG. 7E, a conductive thin film 1204 using a fine particle film is formed. For the formation, as in the case of the flat type, a film forming technique such as a coating method may be used.

6) Next, as in the case of the flat type, an energization forming process is performed to form an electron emitting portion. The same process as the planar energization forming process described with reference to FIG. 16C may be performed.

7) Next, as in the case of the planar type, an energization activation process is performed to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity of the electron emitting portion. The same process as the planar energization activation process described with reference to FIG. 16D may be performed.

As described above, the vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 20 (f) was manufactured. (Characteristics of surface conduction electron-emitting device used for display device)
The device configuration and manufacturing method of the planar and vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting devices have been described. Next, the characteristics of the device used in the display device will be described.

FIG. 21 shows typical examples of (emission current Ie) vs. (device applied voltage Vf) characteristics and (device current If) vs. (device applied voltage Vf) characteristics of the device used in the display device. . Note that the emission current Ie is significantly smaller than the element current If, and it is difficult to show the same current on the same scale.
Since these characteristics are changed by changing design parameters such as the size and shape of the element, the two graphs are shown in arbitrary units.

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

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

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

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

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

Due to the above-mentioned characteristics, the surface conduction electron-emitting device could be suitably used for the display device. For example, in a display device in which a large number of elements are provided corresponding to pixels of a display screen, if the first characteristic is used, display can be performed by sequentially scanning the display screen. That is,
The driving element has a threshold voltage Vt according to a desired light emission luminance.
h or higher, and a voltage lower than the threshold voltage Vth is applied to the non-selected elements. By sequentially switching the elements to be driven, the display screen can be sequentially scanned and displayed.

Further, by utilizing the second characteristic or the third characteristic, it is possible to control the light emission brightness, so that it is possible to perform the gradation display. (Structure of multi-electron beam source in which a large number of elements are wired in a simple matrix) Next, the structure of a multi-electron beam source in which the above surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged on a substrate and wired in a simple matrix will be described.

FIG. 22 is a plan view of the multi-electron beam source used in the display panel of FIG. Surface conduction electron-emitting devices similar to those shown in FIG. 15 are arranged on the substrate, and these devices are wired in a simple matrix by row-direction wiring electrodes 1003 and column-direction wiring electrodes 1004. Row-direction wiring electrode 1003 and column-direction wiring electrode 1
An insulating layer (not shown) is formed between the electrodes at the intersection of 004.
Are formed, and electrical insulation is maintained.

A cross section taken along the line AA 'of FIG. 22 is shown in FIG.
Shown in

The multi-electron source having such a structure is
After previously forming a row direction wiring electrode 1003, a column direction wiring electrode 1004, an interelectrode insulating layer (not shown), and a device electrode and a conductive thin film of a surface conduction electron-emitting device on a substrate,
Row-direction wiring electrode 1003 and column-direction wiring electrode 1004
The device was manufactured by supplying power to each element through the device and performing an energization forming process and an energization activation process.

In the electron source manufactured as described above, each element is uniformly activated and emits a constant charge with a constant applied voltage and a constant applied time. Therefore, the display panel created by using this electron source can display a high-quality image faithful to the original image by the signal obtained by modulating the image signal.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0137]

As described above, according to the present invention, the peak value of the activation pulse applied to the power supply terminal is boosted in accordance with the progress of activation, so that an electron having excellent characteristics on the entire substrate is obtained. It is possible to manufacture a light source, and by using this electron source, it is possible to realize a high-quality image forming apparatus having a uniform luminance distribution and high luminance.

[0138]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an energization activation device for a multi-surface conduction electron-emitting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an activation pulse waveform according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a line selection unit in the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a boosting profile of Vf in the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an energization activation device for a multi-surface conduction type emission device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the timing of line switching in the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a Vf profile in the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an activation control procedure when the activation voltage is gradually increased in the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart at the time of activation when the activation voltage is gradually increased in the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of an activation control procedure when the activation voltage is stepwise increased in the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a timing diagram at the time of activation when the activation voltage is stepwise boosted in the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart of an activation control procedure when gradually increasing the activation voltage in the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a display panel in the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an arrangement example of phosphors of the display panel in the embodiment.

15A and 15B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view of a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a method for manufacturing a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a waveform of a forming voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a waveform of an activation current of the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a sectional view of a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a method of manufacturing the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a plan view of a multi-electron beam source used for the display panel in the embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of the multi-electron beam source used in the display panel in the embodiment as viewed in the direction of arrows.

FIG. 24 is a plan view of a conventional surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing wiring of a conventional multi-electron beam source.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an equivalent circuit for activating a conventional simple matrix type multi-electron beam source.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an equivalent circuit for activating a conventional simple matrix type multi-electron beam source and a diagram showing an element applied voltage at the time of activation.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing curves of emission current and device current when activating a conventional multi-electron beam source.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an equivalent circuit for activating a conventional ladder-type multi-electron beam source.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an equivalent circuit for activating a conventional ladder-type multi-electron beam source and a diagram showing an element applied voltage at the time of activation.

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A manufacturing apparatus for activating the emission characteristics of each element in an electron source comprising a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices arranged in rows, the selecting means selecting one row in a predetermined order. And a pulse applying means for applying a pulse while increasing the voltage for each pulse application to the element group of the row selected by the selecting means. 2. The pulse applying means includes pulse generating means for generating a rectangular pulse having a predetermined waveform, and amplifying means for amplifying the voltage of the rectangular pulse generated by the pulse generating means at a predetermined rate. The manufacturing apparatus of an electron source according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The amplifying means receives a rectangular pulse as an input, outputs a rectangular pulse in which the pulse height of the pulse is increased at a predetermined rate for each input pulse, and the pulse applying means applies a pulse which increases stepwise. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein
The manufacturing apparatus of the electron source according to. 4. The amplifying means receives a rectangular pulse as an input, increases the waveform of the input pulse at a predetermined rate, and outputs the waveform.
3. The electron source manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pulse applying means applies a pulse that gradually increases. 5. The selection means selects the same row until a predetermined time elapses from the start of pulse application by the pulse application means, and selects the next row after a predetermined time elapses. 5. The manufacturing apparatus for an electron source according to any one of 4 to 4. 6. The electron source manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit selects the next row for each application of the pulse by the pulse application unit. 7. The electron source manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electron source is formed by connecting a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices in a matrix. 8. The electron source manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electron source is formed by connecting a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices in a ladder shape. 9. A manufacturing method for activating the emission characteristics of each element in an electron source comprising a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices arranged in rows, the selecting step selecting one row in a predetermined order. And a pulse application step of applying a pulse while increasing the voltage for each pulse application for the element group of the row selected by the selection step, until a predetermined time elapses from the start of pulse application by the pulse application step. A method of manufacturing an electron source, wherein the same row is selected in the selecting step and the next row is selected after a predetermined time has elapsed. 10. A manufacturing method for activating the emission characteristics of each element in an electron source comprising a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices arranged in rows, wherein a selection step of selecting one row in a predetermined order. And a pulse applying step of applying a pulse while increasing the voltage for each pulse application to the element group of the row selected by the selecting step, and the selecting is performed every time the pulse is applied by the pulse applying step. A method of manufacturing an electron source, characterized in that a next row is selected by a process and a pulse is applied to the selected row. 11. The manufacturing of an electron source according to claim 9, wherein in the pulse applying step, the rectangular pulse is increased at a predetermined rate and output, and the pulse which is increased stepwise is applied. Method. 12. The apparatus for manufacturing an electron source according to claim 9, wherein in the pulse applying step, the waveform of the rectangular pulse is increased according to time, and the pulse which is gradually increased is applied. 13. The electron source comprises a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices connected in a matrix.
13. The method for manufacturing an electron source according to any one of 1 to 12. 14. The electron source is formed by connecting a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices in a ladder shape.
14. The method for manufacturing an electron source according to any one of 13 to 13. 15. An electron source manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 9. 16. An image forming apparatus, comprising: the electron source according to claim 15; and a light emitting unit that emits light with a brightness corresponding to an electric charge emitted from the electron source.