JPH0927288A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device in which destruction of surface conduction type electron emitting elements due to a discharge can be prevented. SOLUTION: This image forming device using electron sources arranged in a matrix has an envelope 88 which has an electron source substrate 71 and a phosphor film therein, with a plurality of surface conduction type electron emission elements 74 placed on the electron source substrate. An inorganic gas, e.g. a gas selected from among CO, CO2 , NO, NO2 , NH3 , N2 , and H2 , or a mixture of these, is sealed inside the envelope 88. A pair of electrodes constituting the surface conduction type electron emitting element 74 is electrically connected to (m) X-direction wires 72 and to (n) Y-direction wires 73 by means of connecting wires each made of a conductive metal, etc.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron beam generator and an image forming apparatus such as a display device which is an application of the electron beam generator, and more particularly to a method for preventing discharge when an electron beam is generated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are roughly two types of electron-emitting devices, and those using a thermoelectron-emitting device and a cold cathode electron-emitting device are known. The cold cathode electron-emitting device includes a field emission type (hereinafter referred to as “FE type”), metal / insulating layer /
There are a metal type (hereinafter referred to as “MIM type”), a surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the like. As an example of the FE type, W. P. Dy
ke & W. W. Dolan, "Field Emi
ssion ”, Advance in Electro
n Physics, 8, 89 (1956) or C.I. A. Spindt, "PHYSICAL Prop
erties of thin-film field
emission cathodes with mo
lybdenium cones ”, J. Appl. P
hys. , 47, 5248 (1976) and the like are known. Examples of the MIM type include C.I. A. M
eaad, "Operation of Tunnel-
Emission Devices ", J. Appl
y. Phys. , 32, 646 (1961) and the like are known.

As an example of the surface conduction electron-emitting device type,
M. I. Elinson, Radio Eng. Ele
ctron Phys. 10, 1290 (1965)
Etc. have been disclosed. The surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which electron emission occurs when a current is applied to a thin film having a small area formed on a substrate in parallel with the film surface. As this surface conduction electron-emitting device,
Using the SnO ₂ thin film by Erinson et al., A
u thin film [G. Dittmer: "Thin
Solid Films ", 9 317 (197)
2)], an In ₂ O ₃ / SnO ₂ thin film [M. H
artwell and C.I. G. FIG. Fonstad: "
IEEE Trans. ED Conf. "519
(1975)], by a carbon thin film [Hiraki Araki
Others: Vacuum, Vol. 26, No. 1, p. 22 (1983)] and the like are reported. As a typical example of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, the above-mentioned M. The Hartwell device configuration is schematically shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a substrate.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a conductive thin film, which is formed of a metal oxide thin film or the like formed by sputtering on an H-shaped pattern, and the electron emission portion 3 is formed by an energization process called energization forming described later. The element electrode interval L in the figure is 0.5 to 1 m.
m and W ′ are set at 0.1 mm. Conventionally, in these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, it is general that the electron-emitting portion 3 is formed in advance by conducting an energization process called energization forming on the conductive thin film 2 before the electron emission. The energization forming means a DC voltage or a very slow rising voltage across the conductive thin film 2, for example, 1
Applying a current of about V / min to locally destroy the conductive thin film,
This is to form the electron emitting portion 3 which is deformed or altered to have a high electrical resistance. This electron emission part 3
Is a crack generated in a part of the conductive thin film 2, and electrons are emitted from the vicinity of the crack. The surface conduction electron-emitting device that has been subjected to the energization forming treatment is the above-mentioned conductive thin film 2
Electrons are emitted from the electron emitting portion 3 by applying a voltage to the element and passing a current through the element. The surface conduction electron-emitting device described above has an advantage that a large number of devices can be arrayed over a large area because of its simple structure and easy manufacture. Therefore, various applications that make use of this feature are being studied. For example, a charged beam source, a display device, and the like can be given. As an example in which a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are formed in an array, as will be described later, surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in parallel, and both ends of each device are connected by wiring (also called common wiring). There is an electron source in which a large number of such lines are arranged (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-0).
31332, JP-A-1-283749, 2-25755.
2 etc.). In addition, as an example of an image forming apparatus which is a display apparatus in which an electron source in which a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged and a phosphor that emits visible light by electrons emitted from the electron source are combined, for example, USP 50668883 is used.
Is raised.

[0004]

An image forming apparatus using an electron-emitting device, such as a flat television, is desired to stably provide a display image without pixel defects. However, in the surface conduction electron-emitting device, when the electron emission portion is formed by the energization process called forming described above, and / or the device electrodes are locally heated during electron emission, the surface conduction electron emission device is In some cases, the gas mixed in the member constituting the above or the gas adsorbed on the surface of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is released to the outside. Further, although the inside of the image forming apparatus is kept in vacuum, there are cases where gases such as H ₂ O and H ₂ remain. Gas released into these image forming devices,
Alternatively, the gas remaining in the image forming apparatus is positively ionized by collision with the electrons emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device, so that the gas is accelerated toward the negative electrode of the surface conduction electron-emitting device and the electrode is It is damaged and pixel defects occur. Therefore, it has been desired that the gas is not present in the electron beam generator at the time of electron emission, or that the electrode is operated under the condition that the electrode is not damaged even if the gas is present.

[0005]

The present invention has been made through intensive studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has the structure described below. That is, the image forming apparatus of the present invention has an envelope having an electron source substrate having a plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged therein and a fluorescent film, and an inorganic gas is not contained in the image forming apparatus (envelope). Being enclosed, having an ionization potential lower than the first ionization potential of the gas existing in the envelope, and being composed of polyatoms, and further, the difference between the ionization potential and the dissociation energy of the electron beam generator. It is characterized in that an inorganic gas having a work function not more than twice the work function of the material forming the negative electrode is enclosed. A second invention is characterized by having an interlayer insulating layer containing 0.1 to 0.5% by weight of the inorganic gas on the electron source substrate. According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the electric discharge during the driving of the element is suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to manufacture an image forming apparatus in which damage to an element due to discharge is reduced and which has no pixel defect. Specifically, the first invention is CO,
It is characterized in that a gas selected from CO ₂ , NO, NO ₂ , NH ₃ or a mixed gas thereof is sealed in the image forming apparatus. The second invention is specifically C
It is characterized by containing 0.1 to 0.5% by weight of a gas selected from O, CO ₂ , NO, NO ₂ , NH ₃ or a mixed gas thereof in the interlayer insulating layer.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail. First, the surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a flat surface conduction electron-emitting device to which the present invention can be applied, and FIG.
b is a sectional view. In FIG. 1, 1 is a substrate, 2 and 3
Is an element electrode, 4 is a conductive thin film, and 5 is an electron emitting portion.
As the substrate 1, quartz glass, glass with a reduced content of impurities such as Na, blue plate glass, a glass substrate obtained by laminating SiO ₂ formed on a blue plate glass by a sputtering method, ceramics such as alumina, and a Si substrate are used. Can be. As the material of the opposing device electrodes 2 and 3,
General conductor materials can be used. For example, Ni,
Cr, Au, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Al, Cu, Pd
Such as metals or alloys thereof and Pd, Ag, Au,
Printed conductor composed of RuO _2, metal or metal oxide such as Pd-Ag and glass, etc., In ₂ O ₃ -SnO ₂
Can be appropriately selected from transparent conductors such as and semiconductor materials such as polysilicon. The element electrode interval L, the element electrode length W, the shape of the conductive thin film 4 and the like are designed in consideration of the applied form and the like. The element electrode spacing L can be preferably in the range of several thousand angstroms to several hundreds of micrometers, and more preferably several micrometers to several tens of micrometers in consideration of the voltage applied between the device electrodes. It can be a range. The device electrode length W can be set in the range of several micrometers to several hundreds of micrometers in consideration of the resistance value of the electrodes and the electron emission characteristics. The film thickness d of the device electrodes 2 and 3 can be in the range of several hundred angstroms to several micrometers. Note that the planar surface conduction electron-emitting device does not have the configuration shown in FIG.
Alternatively, the device electrodes 2 and 3 facing each other may be laminated in this order.

For the conductive thin film 4, it is preferable to use a fine particle film composed of fine particles in order to obtain good electron emission characteristics. The film thickness is appropriately set in consideration of the step coverage to the device electrodes 2 and 3, the resistance value between the device electrodes 2 and 3, and the forming conditions described later.
Usually, it is preferably in the range of several angstroms to several thousand angstroms, more preferably in the range of 10Å to 500Å. The resistance value is such that Rs is 10 ² to 10 ⁷ Ω / □. Note that Rs is the resistance R of a thin film having a thickness t, a width w, and a length l, R = Rs (l / w)
Appears when you say In the specification of the application, the forming process will be described by taking an energization process as an example, but the forming process is not limited to this.
It includes a process of causing a crack in the film to form a high resistance state.

The material forming the conductive thin film 4 is Pd, P
t, Ru, Ag, Au, Ti, In, Cu, Cr, F
e, Zn, Sn, Ta, W, Pb and other metals, PdO, S
oxides such as nO ₂ , In ₂ O ₃ , PbO and Sb ₂ O ₃ ;
HfB ₂ , ZrB ₂ , LaB ₆ , CeB ₆ , YB ₄ , G
borides such as dB ₄ , TiC, ZrC, HfC, TaC,
It is appropriately selected from carbides such as SiC and WC, nitrides such as TiN, ZrN 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 has a state in which the fine particles are individually dispersed and arranged, or a state in which the fine particles are adjacent to each other or overlap each other (some fine particles are aggregated). However, it also includes the case where an island-shaped structure is formed as a whole). The particle size of the fine particles is in the range of several angstroms to several thousand angstroms, preferably in the range of 10Å to 200Å. In this specification, the term “fine particles” is frequently used, and the meaning will be described. Small particles are called "fine particles" and smaller ones are called "ultra fine particles". It is widely practiced to call a “cluster” smaller than “ultrafine particles” and having a few hundred atoms or less. However, each boundary is not strict, and changes depending on what kind of property is considered and classified. In addition, "fine particles" and "ultrafine particles" may be collectively referred to as "fine particles". For example, "Experimental physics course 14 Surfaces and fine particles" (edited by Yoshio Kinoshita, Kyoritsu Publishing 1
It is described as follows in (issued on September 1, 986). "In this paper, the term" fine particles "refers to particles having a diameter of about 2 to 3 µm to about 10 nm, and particularly, the term" ultrafine particles "refers to particles having a diameter of about 10 nm to 2 to 3 nm. Since it is simply written as fine particles, it is not a strict term, but it is a rough guide.If the number of atoms that make up a particle is from 2 to several tens to several hundreds, it is called a cluster. ”(19
Page 5, lines 22-26) On the other hand, the definition of "ultrafine particles" in the "Hayashi-ultrafine particle project" of the New Technology Development Corporation was as follows, with the lower limit of particle size being smaller. "Ultra-fine particle project" (1981-1986) for precision in promoting creative science and technology
Then, if the size (diameter) of the particles is in the range of about 1 to 100 nm, it is referred to as "ultrafine pa".
I decided to call it the "ricle". Then, one ultrafine particle is an aggregate of about 100 to 108 atoms. Ultra-fine particles are large to giant particles on an atomic scale. "(" Ultrafine particles-Creative science and technology- "Hayashi tax,
Ryoji Ueda, Akira Tasaki, edited by Mita Shuppan, 1988, page 2, lines 1 to 4) "A particle smaller than ultrafine particles, that is, one particle composed of several to several hundred atoms is usually called a cluster. (2 ibid, pages 12 to 13)
Line).

Based on the above general term,
In the present specification, “fine particles” are an aggregate of a large number of atoms and molecules, and the lower limit of the particle size is several Å to 10 Å, and the upper limit is several μm.
I will refer to something of a degree.

The electron emitting portion 5 is composed of a crack having a high resistance formed in a part of the conductive thin film 4, and depends on the film thickness, film quality, material of the conductive thin film 4 and a method such as energization forming described later. It will be what you did. Inside the electron emitting portion 5,
In some cases, conductive fine particles having a particle size in the range of several angstroms to several hundred angstroms are present. The conductive fine particles are part of the elements of the material constituting the conductive thin film 4,
Alternatively, it contains all elements. The electron emitting portion 5 and the conductive thin film 4 in the vicinity thereof can also contain carbon and a carbon compound. There are various methods for manufacturing the above-mentioned surface conduction electron-emitting device, and one example thereof is schematically shown in FIG. Hereinafter, an example of the manufacturing method will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Also in FIG.
The same parts as those shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 1) The substrate 1 is thoroughly washed with a detergent, pure water, an organic solvent and the like, and after the element electrode material is deposited by a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method or the like, the element electrode 2 is formed on the substrate 1 by using, for example, a photolithography technique. And 3 (FIG. 2
(A)). 2) An organic metal solution is applied to the substrate 1 provided with the device electrodes 2 and 3 to form an organic metal thin film. As the organic metal solution, a solution of an organic metal compound containing the metal of the material of the conductive film 4 as a main element can be used. The organic metal thin film is heat-fired and patterned by lift-off, etching, etc. to form the conductive thin film 4 (FIG. 2).
(B)). Although the method of applying the organic metal solution has been described here, the formation of the conductive thin film 4 is not limited to this, and the vacuum deposition method, the sputtering method, the chemical vapor deposition method, the dispersion coating method, the dipping method, and the like. Method, spinner method, etc. can also be used. 3) Subsequently, a forming process is performed. As an example of a method of the forming step, a method by an energization process will be described. When electricity is applied between the device electrodes 2 and 3 by using a power source (not shown), an electron emitting portion 5 having a changed structure is formed at the site of the conductive thin film 4. (FIG. 2 (c)). According to the energization forming, a portion where the structure such as destruction, deformation or alteration is locally formed in the conductive thin film 4 is formed.
This portion constitutes the electron emission section 5. FIG. 3 shows an example of the voltage waveform of the energization forming.

The voltage waveform is preferably a pulse waveform. This
In this, pulses with a pulse peak value as a constant voltage are continuously printed.
Add the technique shown in Figure 3a and increase the pulse crest value.
However, there is a method shown in FIG. 3b for applying a voltage pulse.
You. T in FIG. 3a₁ And T_Two Is the pulse width of the voltage waveform
And the pulse interval. Normal T ₁ 1 microsecond to 10 Mi
Resecond, T_Two Is in the range of 10 microseconds to 100 milliseconds
Is set. Peak value of triangular wave (Peak during energization forming
Voltage is suitable for the surface conduction electron-emitting device.
Selected. Under such conditions, for example, a few seconds
Voltage for several tens of minutes. Pulse waveform is limited to triangular wave
Adopted a desired waveform such as a rectangular wave
be able to. T in FIG. 3b₁ And T_Two Is shown in FIG.
It can be similar to that shown in. Crest value of triangular wave
(Peak voltage during energization forming) is, for example, 0.1
It can be increased in steps of V steps. Energization
The end of the warming process is the pulse interval T_Two Conductive inside
Apply a voltage that does not locally destroy or deform the thin film 2.
However, the current can be detected. For example, about 0.1V
Measure the element current flowing by applying the voltage to determine the resistance value.
When a resistance of 1 MΩ or more is exhibited, energization forming
To end.

It is preferable to perform a process called an activation process on the element which has finished forming. The activation step
This step is a step in which the device current If and the emission current Ie change remarkably. The activation step can be performed, for example, by repeating the application of the pulse in the atmosphere containing the gas of the organic substance, similarly to the energization forming. This atmosphere can be formed by using an organic gas remaining in the atmosphere when the inside of the vacuum vessel is evacuated using, for example, an oil diffusion pump or a rotary pump, or is sufficiently evacuated once by an ion pump or the like. It can also be obtained by introducing a gas of an appropriate organic substance into a vacuum. The preferable gas pressure of the organic substance at this time varies depending on the above-described application form, the shape of the vacuum vessel, the type of the organic substance, and the like, and is appropriately set according to the case. Suitable organic substances include aliphatic hydrocarbons such as alkanes, alkenes and alkynes, aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, amines, phenols, carboxylic acids, organic acids such as sulfonic acids, etc. there may be mentioned, specifically, methane, ethane, saturated hydrocarbon represented by C _n H _{2n + 2} such as propane, ethylene, propylene, etc. C _n
Unsaturated hydrocarbons represented by composition formulas such as H _2n , benzene,
Toluene, methanol, ethanol, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methylamine, ethylamine, phenol, formic acid,
Acetic acid, propionic acid, etc. can be used. With this process,
Carbon or a carbon compound is deposited on the element from the organic substance existing in the atmosphere, and the element current If and the emission current Ie are significantly changed. To determine the end of the activation process,
This is appropriately performed while measuring the device current If and the emission current Ie. The pulse width, pulse interval, pulse crest value, and the like are set as appropriate. Here, carbon and carbon compounds include, for example, graphite (so-called HOPG, PG, and GC. HOPG is a crystal structure of almost perfect graphite, P
G indicates that the crystal grains were about 200Å and the crystal structure was slightly disturbed, and GC indicates that the crystal grains were about 20Å and the crystal structure was further disturbed. ), Amorphous carbon (referring to amorphous carbon and a mixture of amorphous carbon and fine crystals of graphite), and its film thickness is preferably 500 Å or less, and 300 Å
It is more preferable to set the following.

It is preferable that the electron-emitting device obtained through the above steps is further stabilized. This step is a step of exhausting the organic substance in the vacuum container. It is preferable to use a vacuum exhaust device that does not use oil so that the oil generated from the device does not affect the characteristics of the element. Specifically, a vacuum evacuation device such as a sorption pump or an ion pump can be used. In the activation step, when an oil diffusion pump or a rotary pump is used as an exhaust device and an organic gas derived from an oil component generated from the oil diffusion pump or the rotary pump is used, the partial pressure of this component needs to be suppressed as low as possible. The partial pressure of the organic components in the vacuum container is preferably 1 × 10 ⁻⁸ Torr or less, and more preferably 1 × 10 ⁻¹⁰ Torr or less, in terms of the partial pressure at which the carbon and carbon compound are not newly deposited. Further, when evacuating the inside of the vacuum vessel, it is preferable to heat the entire vacuum vessel to facilitate evacuating the organic substance molecules adsorbed on the inner wall of the vacuum vessel and the electron-emitting device. The heating condition at this time is preferably 80 to 200 ° C. for 5 hours or more, but is not particularly limited to this condition and may be appropriately selected depending on various conditions such as the size and shape of the vacuum container and the configuration of the electron-emitting device. To do. The pressure in the vacuum container is required to be as low as possible, and is preferably 1 to 3 × 10 ⁻⁷ Torr or less, particularly preferably 1 × 10 ⁻⁸ Torr or less.

It is preferable that the atmosphere at the time of driving after the stabilization step is maintained at the atmosphere at the end of the above-mentioned stabilization process. However, the atmosphere is not limited to this, and if the organic substance is sufficiently removed. Even if the degree of vacuum itself is lowered to some extent, it is possible to maintain sufficiently stable characteristics. By adopting such a vacuum atmosphere, the deposition of new carbon or carbon compound can be suppressed, and as a result, the device current If and the emission current I
e becomes stable.

The basic characteristics of the electron-emitting device to which the present invention is applicable obtained through the above steps will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an example of a vacuum processing apparatus, and this vacuum processing apparatus also has a function as a measurement evaluation apparatus. 4, the same parts as those shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, 55 is a vacuum container, and 56 is an exhaust pump. An electron-emitting device is provided in the vacuum vessel 55. That is, 1 is a substrate constituting an electron-emitting device, 2 and 3 are device electrodes, 4 is a conductive thin film, and 5 is an electron-emitting portion. 51 is a power supply for applying the device voltage Vf to the electron-emitting device, 50 is the device electrode 2,
An ammeter for measuring the device current If flowing through the conductive thin film 4 between the electrodes 3, and 54 is an anode electrode for capturing the emission current Ie emitted from the electron emission portion of the device. 53
Is a high-voltage power supply for applying a voltage to the anode electrode 54,
Reference numeral 52 denotes an emission current Ie emitted from the electron emission portion 5 of the device.
Is an ammeter for measuring. As an example, the measurement can be performed with the voltage of the anode electrode in the range of 1 kV to 10 kV and the distance H between the anode electrode and the electron-emitting device in the range of 2 mm to 8 mm. The vacuum container 55 is provided with a device such as a vacuum gauge (not shown) necessary for measurement in a vacuum atmosphere so that measurement and evaluation can be performed in a desired vacuum atmosphere. The exhaust pump 56 is composed of a normal high vacuum system including a turbo pump and a rotary pump, and an ultra high vacuum system including an ion pump. The entire vacuum processing apparatus provided with the electron source substrate shown here can be heated up to 200 degrees by a heater (not shown). Therefore, by using this vacuum processing apparatus, the steps after the above-described energization forming can be performed.
FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing the relationship between the emission current Ie, the device current If, and the device voltage Vf measured using the vacuum processing apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the emission current Ie
Is significantly smaller than the element current If, and is shown in arbitrary units. The vertical and horizontal axes are linear scales. As apparent from FIG. 5, the surface conduction electron-emitting device to which the present invention can be applied has three characteristic properties with respect to the emission current Ie. That is, (i) in the present device, the emission current Ie rapidly increases when a device voltage higher than a certain voltage (Vth in FIG. 5 which is called a threshold voltage) is applied, while the emission current Ie decreases below the threshold voltage Vth. Hardly detected. That is, the emission current Ie
Is a non-linear element having a clear threshold voltage Vth with respect to. (Ii) Since the emission current Ie depends monotonically on the device voltage Vf, the emission current Ie can be controlled by the device voltage Vf. (Iii) The emission charge captured by the anode electrode 54 depends on the time during which the device voltage Vf is applied. That is, the amount of charge captured by the anode electrode 54 can be controlled by the time during which the device voltage Vf is applied. As can be understood from the above description, the surface conduction electron-emitting device to which the present invention is applicable,
The electron emission characteristics can be easily controlled according to the input signal. By utilizing this property, it is possible to apply to various fields such as an electron source and an image forming apparatus having a plurality of electron-emitting devices. In FIG. 5, an example in which the element current If monotonously increases with respect to the element voltage Vf (hereinafter, referred to as “MI characteristic”) is shown by a solid line. Device current If is device voltage V
voltage control type negative resistance characteristic (hereinafter referred to as “VCNR
Characteristics ". ) (Not shown). These properties can be controlled by controlling the steps described above. Various arrangements of electron-emitting devices can be adopted. As an example, a plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix in the X and Y directions, one of the electrodes of the plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged in the same row is commonly connected to a wiring in the X direction, and the same column is used. The other of the electrodes of the plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged in 1 is commonly connected to the wiring in the Y direction. Such is a so-called simple matrix arrangement.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device to which the present invention can be applied is as described above in (i) to (iii).
There is a characteristic of. That is, when the electron emission from the surface conduction electron-emitting device is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage, it can be controlled by the peak value and the width of the pulse voltage applied between the opposing device electrodes. On the other hand, below the threshold voltage, almost no electrons are emitted. According to this characteristic, even when a large number of electron-emitting devices are arranged, if a 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 is increased. Can be controlled. Based on this principle, an electron source substrate obtained by arranging a plurality of electron-emitting devices to which the present invention can be applied will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, 71 is an electron source substrate, 72 is an X-direction wiring, 7
3 is a Y-direction wiring. 74 is a surface conduction electron-emitting device, and 75 is a connection. m X-direction wirings 72 are D
_x 1, D _x 2, ... D _x m, vacuum deposition method, printing method,
It can be made of a conductive metal or the like formed by a sputtering method or the like. The material, thickness, and width of the wiring are appropriately designed. The Y-direction wiring 73 has n of D _y 1, D _y 2, ... D _y n.
The wiring is made of a book and is formed similarly to the x-direction wiring 72. These m X-direction wires 72 and n Y-direction wires 7
An interlayer insulating layer (not shown) is provided between
Both are electrically separated (m and n are both positive integers). The interlayer insulating layer (not shown) is made of SiO ₂ or the like formed by using a vacuum deposition method, a printing method, a sputtering method, or the like. For example, it is formed in a desired shape on the entire surface or a part of the substrate 71 on which the X-direction wiring 72 is formed.
The film thickness, material, and manufacturing method are appropriately set so as to withstand the potential difference at the intersection of the 2 and Y-direction wiring 73. The X-direction wiring 72 and the Y-direction wiring 73 are respectively drawn out as external terminals. The pair of electrodes (not shown) forming the surface conduction electron-emitting device 74 include m X-direction wirings 72 and n Y electrodes.
The direction wiring 73 is electrically connected to a connection 75 made of a conductive metal or the like. The material forming the wiring 72 and the wiring 73, the material forming the connection 75, and the material forming the pair of element electrodes may have some or all of the same or different constituent elements. These materials are appropriately selected, for example, from the above-described materials for the device electrodes. When the material forming the element electrode is the same as the wiring material, the wiring connected to the element electrode can also be called an element electrode. A scanning signal applying unit (not shown) for applying a scanning signal for selecting a row of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 74 arranged in the X direction is connected to the X-direction wiring 72. on the other hand,
The Y-direction wiring 73 is connected to a modulation signal generating means (not shown) for modulating each column of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 74 arranged in the Y direction according to an input signal. The driving voltage applied to each electron-emitting device is supplied as a difference voltage between the scanning signal and the modulation signal applied to the device.

An image forming apparatus constructed by using an electron source having such a simple matrix arrangement will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display panel of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of an electron source substrate on which a plurality of electron-emitting devices shown in FIG. 7 are arranged. In FIG. 7, 71 is an electron source substrate on which a plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged, 8
Reference numeral 1 is a rear plate to which the electron source substrate 71 is fixed, and 86 is a face plate in which a fluorescent film 84, a metal back 85 and the like are formed on the inner surface of the glass substrate 83. Reference numeral 82 denotes a support frame. The rear plate 81 and the face plate 86 are connected to the support frame 82 by using frit glass or the like. Reference numeral 88 denotes an envelope, which is sealed and formed by firing in the air or nitrogen in the temperature range of 400 to 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more. 74 corresponds to the electron emitting portion 5 in FIG. Reference numerals 72 and 73 are an X-direction wiring and a Y-direction wiring connected to a pair of device electrodes of the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

The envelope 88 is composed of the face plate 86, the support frame 82, and the rear plate 81 as described above. Since the rear plate 81 is provided mainly for the purpose of reinforcing the strength of the substrate 71, if the substrate 71 itself has sufficient strength, the separate rear plate 81 can be unnecessary. That is, the support frame 82 is directly sealed to the substrate 71, and the envelope 8 is formed by the face plate 86, the support frame 82 and the substrate 71.
8 may be configured. On the other hand, by providing a support (not shown) called a spacer between the face plate 86 and the rear plate 81, an envelope 88 having sufficient strength against atmospheric pressure can be formed.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a fluorescent film. In the case of monochrome, the fluorescent film 84 shown in FIG. 7 can be composed of only fluorescent material. In the case of a color fluorescent film, it can be composed of a black conductive material 101 called a black stripe or a black matrix and a fluorescent material 102 depending on the arrangement of the fluorescent materials. The purpose of providing the black stripes and the black matrix is to provide each of the phosphors 102 of the three primary color phosphors necessary for color display.
It is intended to make the mixed colors and the like inconspicuous by blackening the colored portions between them and to suppress the deterioration of the contrast due to the reflection of external light on the fluorescent film 84. As the material of the black stripe, in addition to a commonly used material containing graphite as a main component, a material having conductivity and having little light transmission and reflection can be used. In FIG. 7, the glass substrate 8
The method of applying the phosphor to 3 may be a precipitation method, a printing method or the like regardless of monochrome or color. Usually, a metal back 85 is provided on the inner surface side of the fluorescent film 84. The purpose of providing the metal back is to improve the brightness by specularly reflecting the light toward the inner surface side of the light emission of the phosphor toward the face plate 86 side, and to act as an electrode for applying an electron beam acceleration voltage, This is to protect the phosphor from damage due to collision of negative ions generated in the envelope, and then it can be produced by depositing Al using vacuum deposition or the like. The face plate 86 has
Furthermore, in order to increase the conductivity of the fluorescent film 84, a transparent electrode (not shown) may be provided on the outer surface side of the fluorescent film 84. When performing the above-described sealing, in the case of color, it is necessary to make each color phosphor correspond to the electron-emitting device, and sufficient alignment is indispensable.

Next, a ladder type electron source and an image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a ladder-type electron source. In FIG. 11, reference numeral 110 denotes an electron source substrate, and 111 denotes an electron-emitting device. 112 D _x 1~D _x 10 is a common wiring for connecting the electron-emitting device 111. A plurality of electron-emitting devices 111 are arranged on the substrate 110 in parallel in the X direction (this is called an element row). A plurality of the element rows are arranged to constitute an electron source. By applying a drive voltage between the common wires of each element row, each element row can be driven independently. That is, a voltage equal to or higher than the electron emission threshold is applied to an element row that wants to emit an electron beam, and a voltage equal to or lower than the electron emission threshold is applied to an element row that does not emit an electron beam. Common wiring between each element row D _x 2 to D _x 9
For example, D _x 2 and D _x 3 can be the same wiring.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing an example of a panel structure in an image forming apparatus provided with a ladder-type electron source. 122 is a grid electrode, 123 is a hole for passing electrons, and 125 is a terminal outside the container made of D _ox 1, D _ox 2, ... D _ox m. 124 is a grid electrode 122
, Gn connected to the outside terminal of the container composed of G1, G2, ..., Gn, and 120 is an electron source substrate in which common wiring between each element row is the same wiring. A major difference between the image forming apparatus shown here and the image forming apparatus having the simple matrix arrangement shown in FIG. 7 is whether or not the grid electrode 122 is provided between the electron source substrate 120 and the face plate 121. FIG.
2, the grid electrode 122 is provided between the substrate 120 and the face plate 121. The grid electrode 122 is for modulating the electron beam emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and in order to pass the electron beam through the striped electrodes provided orthogonal to the ladder-shaped element rows, A circular opening 123 is provided for each element. The shape and installation position of the grid are not limited to those shown in FIG. For example, a large number of passage openings may be provided in a mesh shape as openings, and a grid may be provided around or near the surface conduction electron-emitting device. Terminal 12 outside grid container
4 and the terminal 125 outside the grid container are electrically connected to a control circuit (not shown).

In the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, the modulation signals for one image line are simultaneously applied to the grid electrode columns in synchronization with the sequential driving (scanning) of the element rows one column at a time. This makes it possible to control the irradiation of the phosphor with each electron beam and display the image line by line. The image forming apparatus of the present invention can be used not only as a display apparatus for television broadcasting, a display apparatus such as a video conference system or a computer, but also as an image forming apparatus as an optical printer configured by using a photosensitive drum or the like. it can. FIG. 9 shows a sectional view of the surface conduction electron-emitting device when the electron-emitting devices are arranged in a simple matrix. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 8, taken along the line AA ′ across the X-direction wiring and the Y-direction wiring connected to the pair of device electrodes. In FIG. 9, 91 is an insulating substrate, 92 is a Y-direction wiring, 93 is an X-direction wiring, 94 is an interlayer insulating layer, 96 and 97 are device electrodes, 98 is an electron emitting portion forming thin film, and 98a is an electron emitting portion. There is. When the interlayer insulating layer 94 is made of SiO ₂ formed by the argon sputtering method, argon gas is mixed into the insulating layer. When argon contained in the insulating layer is released into the envelope 88 due to local heat generation during forming or driving of the element, the argon is positively ionized by collision with electrons emitted from the electron emitting portion. Phenomena may occur. Here, when the argon ions reach the negative electrode with energy larger than the work function of the negative electrode material, secondary electrons are generated from the negative electrode. The secondary electrons further ionize the argon in the envelope 88, and the argon ions are further absorbed from the negative electrode.
Generates the next electron. When the number of secondary electrons increases avalanche by such a mechanism, the collision between the argon gas emitted from the interlayer insulating layer 94 and the electrons emitted from the electron emission portion is one cause of the continuous discharge phenomenon. Can be. In addition, the gas remaining in the envelope 88 may be positively ionized by collision with the electrons emitted from the electron emitting portion.
In this case, these ions may reach the negative electrode with energy larger than the work function of the negative electrode material and generate secondary electrons from the negative electrode. It is considered that the secondary electrons further ionize other residual gas in the envelope 88, and the newly generated ions repeat the phenomenon of releasing secondary electrons from the negative electrode to increase the number of secondary electrons avalanche. Then, the collision between the gas remaining inside the envelope 88 and the electrons emitted from the electron emission portion may be one of the causes of the continuous discharge phenomenon. Further, this phenomenon may occur even when the surface conduction electron-emitting device is arranged in a ladder structure.
Here, consider a case in which argon is released from the interlayer insulating layer 94 or a discharge suppressing gas composed of polyatoms that is more easily ionized than the gas remaining in the envelope 88 is present in the envelope 88. View. In this case, the discharge suppressing gas is ionized instead of argon or the residual gas. At this time, if the ionization potential is larger than the dissociation energy, another discharge inhibiting gas is dissociated. Further, when the energy reaches the vicinity of the negative electrode and is larger than the work function of the negative electrode, electrons are extracted from the electrode and the argon ions are neutralized and reach the negative electrode.
If the energy at the time of reaching the surface of the negative electrode is lower than the work function of the electrode, no secondary electron is generated from the electrode. As a result, the discharge phenomenon is expected to be avoided.

From the viewpoint of energy, it can be explained as follows. The ionization potential of the discharge suppressing gas is defined as Ei, the work function of the negative electrode material is defined as φ, and the dissociation energy of the discharge suppressing gas is defined as Ed. Since Ei is smaller than the ionization potential of argon, residual gas, or ions emitted into the envelope 88 from the vicinity of the electron emission portion 74,
Even when the argon or the residual gas or the gas emitted from the electron emission portion 74 into the envelope 88 is ionized by the collision with the emitted electrons, it is replaced by the ionization of the discharge suppressing gas. The discharge suppressing gas ions dissociate other molecules and become ions having Ei-Ed energy. When the surface of the negative electrode is further approached, when Ei-Ed> φ, electrons are extracted from the surface and reach the surface of the electrode as neutral molecules having energy of Ei-Ed-φ. At this time, E
When i−φ−Ed <φ, secondary electrons are not emitted from the electrode even when the electrode surface is reached, and continuous discharge is suppressed. As means for achieving the above-mentioned effect, a means for always allowing an inorganic gas for suppressing discharge to exist in the envelope 88, and at least argon, residual gas, or an electron emitting portion 74 to emit the gas into the envelope 88. Means for being present when the ions are ionized are possible.

That is, the first invention is that the discharge suppressing gas, specifically H ₂ , N ₂ and C, is provided in the electron beam generator.
The image forming apparatus is characterized in that a gas selected from O, CO ₂ , NO, NO ₂ , and NH ₃ or a gas obtained by appropriately mixing the gas is enclosed in an envelope 88. Here, the discharge suppressing gas is not limited to the above components as long as it satisfies the above potential relationship.

The second aspect of the present invention is to use the above-mentioned discharge suppressing gas, namely H ₂ , N ₂ , CO, CO ₂ , N in the interlayer insulating layer 94 or in the electron emitting portion (74 in FIGS. 7 and 8 and 98a in FIG. 9).
The image forming apparatus is configured to include a gas selected from O, NO ₂ , and NH ₃ or a gas in which the gas is appropriately mixed. Here, the discharge suppressing gas is not limited to the above components as long as it satisfies the above potential relationship, that is, Ei-Ed <2φ.

As the gas existing in the image forming apparatus, for example, N ₂ (first ionization potential 15.6 eV, detected by a quadrupole mass spectrometer when discharge occurs in the image forming apparatus, The same shall apply hereinafter), H ₂ (15.5e
V), H ₂ O (12.6eV), CH ₄ (12.8e)
V) and Ar (15.76 eV). Among them, NH ₃ (10.15 eV) and NO (9.26) are used as a gas composed of polyatoms having a lower first ionization potential than CH _{4 having} the lowest ionization potential.
eV) and NO ₂ (9.75 eV). When Ar is mainly detected, CO ₂ (13.78e
V) and CO (14.0 eV) are also included. Moreover,
When a gas having a higher ionization potential than the gas is present in the envelope 88, H ₂ and N ₂ can also be used. On the other hand, the dissociation energy Ed is H ₂ (4.5 eV),
N ₂ (9.7 eV), CO ₂ (5.5 eV), CO
(7.5 eV), NH ₃ (4.6 eV), NO (6.5
eV) and NO ₂ (3.2 eV). P as a negative electrode
When t is used, its work function φ is 5.7 eV, so N ₂ , H ₂ , CO ₂ , CO, NH ₃ , NO ₂ , and NO are E.
There is a high possibility that the gas will be a gas that suppresses the discharge satisfying i-Ed <2φ.

In the first aspect of the invention, the gas pressure sealed in the image forming apparatus can be arbitrarily selected. However, if the filling pressure is too high, the electrons emitted from the electron source frequently collide with the filling gas, and the emitted electrons cannot be effectively used. A suitable filled gas pressure may be in the range of 1 × 10 −7 Torr to 1 × 10 −5 Torr.
Next, a configuration example of a driver circuit for performing television display based on an NTSC television signal on a display panel configured using an electron source having a simple matrix arrangement will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 13, 131 is an image display panel, 132 is a scanning circuit, 133 is a control circuit, 1
34 is a shift register, 135 is a line memory, 136
Is a synchronizing signal separation circuit, 137 is a modulation signal generator, and Vx and Va are DC voltage sources. Display panel 131 is connected terminals D _ox 1 to D _ox m, terminal D _oy 1 to D _oy n, and an external electric circuit through the high voltage terminal Hv. An electron source provided in the display panel, that is, a group of surface conduction electron-emitting devices that are matrix-wired in a matrix of M rows and N columns, are connected to the terminals D _ox 1 to D _ox m for each row (N elements). A scanning signal for sequentially driving is applied.

A modulation signal for controlling the output electron beam of each element of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices of one row selected by the scanning signal is applied to the terminals D _y 1 to D _y n. The high-voltage terminal Hv is connected to the DC voltage source Va, for example, by one.
A direct current voltage of 0 K [V] is supplied, which 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 132 will be described. This circuit includes M switching elements inside (in the drawing, S1 to Sm are schematically shown). Each switching element selects either the output voltage of the DC voltage source Vx or 0 [V] (ground level),
The terminals D _x 1 to D _x m of the display panel 131 are electrically connected. Each of the switching elements S1 to Sm operates based on the control signal Tscan output from the control circuit 133, and can be configured by combining switching elements such as FETs. In the case of the present example, the DC voltage source Vx determines that the driving voltage applied to the element which is not scanned based on the characteristics (electron emission threshold voltage) of the surface conduction electron-emitting element is equal to or lower than the electron emission threshold voltage. It is set to output a constant voltage such that The control circuit 133 has a function of matching the operation of each unit so that an appropriate display is performed based on an image signal input from the outside. The control circuit 133, based on the sync signal Tsync sent from the sync signal separation circuit 136, outputs Tscan, Tsft, and Tm to each unit.
ry control signals are generated.

The sync signal separation circuit 136 is a circuit for separating a sync signal component and a luminance signal component from an NTSC television signal input from the outside, and uses a general frequency separation (filter) circuit or the like. Can be configured. The sync signal separated by the sync signal separation circuit 136 is composed of a vertical sync signal and a horizontal sync signal, but is shown here as a Tsync signal for convenience of description. On the other hand, the luminance signal component of the image separated from the television signal is represented as a DATA signal for convenience. The DATA signal is input to the shift register 134. The shift register 134 performs serial / parallel conversion of the DATA signal serially input in time series for each line of the image, and operates based on the control signal Tsft sent from the control circuit 133. (That is, it can be said that the control signal Tsft is the shift clock of the shift register 134.). The serial / parallel converted image data for one line (corresponding to drive data for N electron emission elements) is output from the shift register 134 as N parallel signals Id1 to Idn. Line memory 135
Is a storage device for storing data for one line of an image for a required time, and stores the contents of Id1 to Idn as appropriate according to a control signal Tmry sent from the control circuit 133. The stored contents are output as I'd1 to I'dn and input to the modulation signal generator 137. The modulation signal generator 137 is a signal source for appropriately driving and modulating each of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices according to each of the image data I'd1 to I'dn, and the output signal thereof is a terminal D. Display panel 131 through _oy 1 to D _oy n
Is applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device inside.

As described above, the electron-emitting device to which the present invention can be applied has the following basic characteristics with respect to the emission current Ie. That is, a clear threshold voltage V is required for electron emission.
and electron emission occurs only when a voltage equal to or higher than Vth is applied. For a voltage equal to or higher than the electron emission threshold value, the emission current also changes according to the change in the voltage applied to the device. From this, when a pulsed voltage is applied to this element, for example, electron emission does not occur even if a voltage below the electron emission threshold is applied, but an electron beam is output when a voltage above the electron emission threshold is applied. To be done. At this time, the intensity of the output electron beam can be controlled by changing the pulse peak value Vm. In addition, it is possible to control the total amount of charges of the output electron beam by changing the pulse width Pw. Therefore, a voltage modulation method, a pulse width modulation method, or the like can be adopted as a method of modulating the electron-emitting device according to the input signal. When implementing the voltage modulation method, as the modulation signal generator 137,
It is possible to use a voltage modulation type circuit that generates a voltage pulse of a fixed length and appropriately modulates the peak value of the pulse according to the input data. When carrying out the pulse width modulation method, the modulation signal generator 137 uses a pulse width modulation method that generates a voltage pulse having a constant peak value and appropriately modulates the width of the voltage pulse according to the input data. A circuit can be used. Shift register 134
The line memory 135 may be of a digital signal type or an analog signal type. This is because the serial / parallel conversion and storage of the image signal may be performed 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 136 into a digital signal, which may be provided with an A / D converter at the output portion of 136. In connection with this, the line memory 13
Depending on whether the output signal of 5 is a digital signal or an analog signal,
The circuit used for the modulation signal generator 137 is slightly different. That is, in the case of the voltage modulation method using a digital signal, the modulation signal generator 137 may have, for example, a D / A
A conversion circuit is used, and an amplification circuit and the like are added as necessary. In the case of the pulse width modulation method, the modulation signal generator 137 includes, for example, a high-speed oscillator and a counter for counting the number of waves output from the oscillator, and a comparator for comparing the output value of the counter with the output value of the memory. A circuit that combines (comparators) is used. If necessary, an amplifier for amplifying the pulse-width-modulated modulation signal output from the comparator up to the drive voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device may be added.

In the case of the voltage modulation method using an analog signal, the modulation signal generator 137 may be, for example, an amplifier circuit using an operational amplifier or the like, and a level shift circuit or the like may be added if necessary. In the case of the pulse width modulation method, for example, a voltage controlled oscillation circuit (VCO) can be adopted, and an amplifier for voltage amplification up to the drive voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device can be added if necessary. In the image display device to which the present invention having such a configuration can be applied, a voltage is applied to each electron-emitting device via the terminals outside the container D _ox 1 to D _ox m and D _0y 1 to D _oy n. As a result, electron emission occurs. High voltage terminal H
A high voltage is applied to the metal back 85 or a transparent electrode (not shown) via v to accelerate the electron beam. The accelerated electrons collide with the fluorescent film 84 and emit light to form an image. The configuration of the image forming apparatus described here is an example of the image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention. As for the input signal, the NTSC system is mentioned, but the input signal is not limited to this, and other than the PAL, SECAM system, etc.
A TV signal composed of a large number of scanning lines (for example,
A high-definition TV system such as the MUSE system can also be adopted.

[0035]

EXAMPLES The present invention is described in detail below with reference to examples.

Example 1 The basic structure of the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention is the same as the plan view and sectional view of FIGS. 8 and 9. First, the basic structure of the device according to the present invention and the manufacturing method when the electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix will be described with reference to FIG.

The manufacturing method will be described below step by step based on FIG.
Explain the law. Steps a to h are shown in FIG.
Corresponds to (h). Step a 0.5 micron thick silicon on cleaned blue sheet glass
Vacuum is formed on the substrate 141 on which an oxide film is formed by sputtering.
300 Å Cr, 6000 Å Cu, and
And 300 Å Cr layers are sequentially laminated, and then the photoresist method is used.
The X-direction wiring 143 was formed. Step b Next, SiO is formed by RF sputtering using argon gas.
_Two And depositing a 1.2 μm thick interlayer insulating layer 144
Was. Process c SiO deposited in process b_Two Contact hole 144 in the film
Make a photoresist pattern to form a.
Using this as a mask, the interlayer insulating layer 144 is etched and
The contact hole 144a was formed. Etching is CF
_Four And H_Two RIE (Reactive Io) using gas
Netching) method. Step d After that, the element electrodes 146 and 147 and the element electrode gap are
The pattern to be cut is photoresist (RD-200
0N-41 manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.)
Deposit 100 Å Ti and 400 Å Pt in sequence
Was. Dissolve the photoresist pattern with an organic solvent, and add Pt /
The Ti deposition film was lifted off, and the device electrode spacing L (Fig. 1a)
Is 10 microns, and the width W of the device electrode is 300 (FIG. 1a).
Forming device electrodes 146 and 147 having micron
Was. Step e Next, the X-direction wiring 142 is formed on the device electrodes 146 and 147.
After forming the photoresist pattern, the thickness is 150 on
Gström Ta, 1 μm thick Au
Parts that are sequentially deposited by vacuum evaporation and unnecessary by lift-off
To remove the portion to form the X-direction wiring 142 having a desired shape.
Was. Step f As shown in FIG.
An opening that straddles the pair of element electrodes 146 and 147 located
1000 angstrom film thickness using mask with mouth 20a
Throm Cr film 145 is deposited by vacuum evaporation and putter
And organic Pd (ccp4230 Okuno Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Co., Ltd.) spin coated with a spinner at 300 ° C
It was heated and baked in the atmosphere for 10 minutes. Thus formed
Conductive thin film composed of fine particles mainly composed of PdO
The film thickness of 148 is 100 angstrom, sheet resistance value
Was 2 × 10 4 Ω / □. Step g Next, the Cr film and the conductive thin film 148 after baking are acid-etched.
Etch with a chant to form the desired pattern
Was. Process h: Apply resist to areas other than the contact hole 144a.
A pattern is formed and the thickness is 150 on by vacuum evaporation.
Ta of Gstrom and Au of 1 micrometer are sequentially
Deposited. Remove unnecessary parts by lift-off method.
The contact hole 144a was filled by using. that's all
The wiring in the X direction 142 and the Y direction on the substrate 141 by the process of
Directional wiring 143, interlayer insulating layer 144, device electrodes 146, 1
47, the electron emitting portion forming thin film 148 and the like in two dimensions
Formed at intervals. Electron emission produced by the above process
Diagram of panel structure using electron source substrate with multiple elements
This will be described using 7. 71 is produced by the above process
Same as the electron source substrate 141 having a plurality of electron-emitting devices.
is there. 81 is a rear plate to which the electron source substrate 71 is fixed,
Reference numeral 86 denotes a fluorescent film 84 and a metal bag on the inner surface of the glass substrate 83.
It is a face plate on which a groove 85 is formed. 82 is support
The support frame 82 includes a rear plate 81 and a fader.
Splat 86 is connected using frit glass etc.
I have. 88 is an envelope, for example, in the atmosphere or
Sintering in a temperature range of 400 to 500 degrees for 10 minutes or more
By doing so, it is configured by sealing. Next, forming
Electrons not shown in the electron emission portion forming thin film 148 by the treatment.
The emission part was formed. Formin using FIG. 7 and FIG.
The grouping process will be described. The electrode formed by the above process
The sub-source substrate 71 is evacuated through a vacuum pump (not shown).
After exhausting and reaching a sufficient vacuum, the terminal D outside the container_x1 to
D_xm and D_y1 to D _yelement of the electron-emitting device 74 through n
A voltage is applied between the electrodes 96 and 97 to form an electron emission portion forming thin film.
The power is applied to the 98 by energization processing (forming processing).
The child discharge part 98a was formed. 1 as forming process
Shown in Figure 3 under a vacuum atmosphere of 0 minus 6 torr
Such a pulse width T₁ 1 ms, peak value (forming
A peak voltage of 5V for a triangular wave with a pulse of 10 milliseconds
Electric current was applied between the device electrodes 96 and 97 for 60 seconds. Above
Of the present invention produced by the structure and manufacturing method as described above.
The evaluation device shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to a schematic diagram of the device. 16 is shown in FIG.
Emission of one of the simple matrix electron sources
Corresponding to the element, 161 and 1641 are insulating
Substrate, 162 Y-direction wiring, 163 X-direction wiring, 16
Reference numeral 4 is an interlayer insulating layer, 164a is an X-direction wiring 163 and a device charge.
Contact holes for connecting the poles 166, 166, 1
67 is an element electrode and 168 is a thin film including an electron emission portion 168a.
Membrane, 169 is an envelope, 1631 is device electrodes 166, 16
7 is a power supply for applying a device voltage, and 1632 is a device power supply.
Inter-electrode voltmeter, 1633 is an anode electrode, 1634 is an anode
Power supply, 1635 is an ammeter between anode elements, 1636
Is a valve for introducing gas into the envelope 169, and 1637 is a gas valve.
1639 is an exhaust valve and 1640 is an exhaust pump.
You. The valve 1636 shown in FIG. 16 is closed and the valve 1639 is opened.
The exhaust pump 1640 to move the inside of the envelope 169 to 10
-After exhausting to 9th Torr level, close valve 1639.
Open 1636 to open the gas cylinder 1637 from the NH_Three 10
To the −7th power Torr level, and the valve 1636 is closed to set N
H_Three The gas was enclosed in the envelope 169. After this,
Apply element voltage (Vf) = 17V between poles 166 and 167
did. Here, a 3 KV mark is placed between the electron-emitting device and the anode.
Added.

When the discharge suppressing gas is not enclosed, the negative device electrode 167, which is about 1/3 of the total electron emission device, and Y
While the directional wiring 162 was destroyed, the device electrode 16
The number of devices in which the 7 and Y-direction wirings were destroyed could be reduced to about 1/5 of all electron-emitting devices.

Example 2 The point where the interlayer insulating layer 164 was formed by the sputtering method using 100% NO ₂ gas and the inside of the envelope 169 was maintained at 10 −8 Torr level without sealing the discharge suppressing gas. An electron source was produced in exactly the same manner as in Example 1 except for the above points. The N concentration in the interlayer insulating layer was adjusted to be 0.1 to 0.5 wt% in terms of NO ₂ . 100% argon
In the case where the interlayer insulating layer 164 is formed by the sputtering method in step 1, the negative device electrode 167, which is about 1/3 of all electron-emitting devices,
In addition, the Y-direction wiring 162 was destroyed, but with this method, the number of destroyed electron-emitting devices could be reduced to about 1/4 of the total.

Example 3 NO ₂ was used as a sputtering gas for forming the interlayer insulating layer 164, and 10 −7 Tor was placed in the envelope 169.
An electron source was manufactured in exactly the same manner as in Example 1 except that r units of NH ₃ gas were enclosed. An interlayer insulating layer 164 is formed by a sputtering method using 100% argon, and an envelope 169 is formed.
When the inside was maintained at a power of 10 minus 8, the negative device electrode 167 and the Y-direction wiring 162 corresponding to about 1/3 of all the electron-emitting devices were destroyed. The number could be reduced to about 1/10 of the whole.

[0041]

As described above, the discharge phenomenon that occurs in the image forming apparatus in which the surface conduction electron-emitting device is arranged is suppressed by enclosing the inorganic gas in the image forming apparatus, and the surface conduction is caused by the discharge. It was possible to prevent the electron-emitting device from being destroyed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view and a sectional view showing an example of a surface conduction electron-emitting device to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an example of a method of manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a voltage waveform in an energization forming process that can be adopted for manufacturing a surface conduction electron-emitting device to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an example of a vacuum processing apparatus having a measurement / evaluation function.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a relationship between an emission current Ie, a device current If, and a device voltage Vf for a surface conduction electron-emitting device to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an electron source to which the present invention is applicable and which is arranged in a simple matrix.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display panel of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of an electron source to which the present invention is applicable and which is arranged in a simple matrix.

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view of an electron source to which the present invention is applicable and which is arranged in a simple matrix.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing an example of a fluorescent film.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a ladder-arranged electron source to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing an example of a marking panel of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of a drive circuit for performing display according to an NTSC television signal on the image forming apparatus.

14A to 14C are schematic views sequentially showing manufacturing steps of an electron source in which a simple matrix arrangement to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 15 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a mask used when forming a thin film for forming an electron emitting portion of a surface conduction electron emitting device to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a vacuum processing apparatus having a measurement / evaluation function.

FIG. 17 is a schematic view of a typical example of a surface conduction electron-emitting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 substrate 2, 3 element electrode 4 conductive thin film 5 electron emission part 20 mask 20a opening 50 ammeter 51 power supply 52 ammeter 53 high voltage power supply 54 anode electrode 55 vacuum container 56 exhaust pump 71 electron source substrate 72 X direction wiring 73 Y direction Wiring 74 Surface conduction electron-emitting device 75 Connection 81 Rear plate 82 Support frame 83 Glass substrate 84 Fluorescent film 85 Metal back 86 Face plate 88 Envelope 91 Insulating substrate 92 X-direction wiring 93 Y-direction wiring 94 Inter-layer insulation layer 94a Contact Holes 96, 97 Device electrode 98 Electron emission part forming thin film 98a Electron emission part 101 Black conductive material 102 Phosphor 110 Electron source substrate 111 Electron emission device 112: D _x 1 to D _x 10 common wiring 120 Electron source substrate 121 Face plate 122 Grid electrode 123 Hole 1 4 Outer Container Terminal 125 Outer Container Terminal 131 Display Panel 132 Scanning Circuit 133 Control Circuit 134 Shift Register 135 Line Memory 136 Synchronous Signal Separation Circuit 137 Modulation Signal Generator Vx and Va DC Voltage Source 141 Insulating Substrate 142 Y Direction Wiring 143 X Direction Wiring 144 Interlayer insulation layer 144a Contact hole 145 Cr layer 146, 147 Device electrode 148 Electron emission part formation thin film 161 Insulating substrate 162 Y direction wiring 163 X direction wiring 164 Interlayer insulation layer 164a Contact hole 166, 167 Device electrode 168 Electron emission part Formed thin film 168a Electron emission part 169 Enclosure 1631 Power supply 1632 Ammeter 1633 Anode electrode 1634 Anode power supply 1635 Ammeter 1636 Gas introduction valve 1637 Gas cylinder 1639 Exhaust valve 16 0 exhaust pump 1641 insulating substrate

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus having an envelope having an electron source substrate having a plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged therein and a fluorescent film, wherein the electron-emitting devices are surface conduction electron-emitting devices. An image forming apparatus in which an inorganic gas is enclosed in an envelope. 2. The inorganic gas is composed of polyatoms, the first ionization potential of which is lower than the first ionization potential of the gas existing in the envelope, and the difference between the ionization potential and the dissociation energy is outside the range. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the work function of the material forming the negative electrode of the electron source in the envelope is not more than twice the work function. 3. The inorganic gas is N ₂ , H ₂ , CO, CO
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas is a gas selected from ₂ , NO, NO ₂ , and NH ₃ , or a mixed gas thereof. 4. The filling pressure of the inorganic gas is 1 × 10 ⁻⁷ T
The range of orr to 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ Torr.
An image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 5. An image forming apparatus having an envelope in which an electron source substrate having a plurality of electron-emitting devices arranged therein and a fluorescent film are provided therein, and an inorganic gas of 0.1 to 0. An image forming apparatus having an insulating layer containing 5% by weight. 6. The inorganic gas is composed of polyatoms, the first ionization potential thereof is lower than the ionization potential of the gas existing in the envelope, and the difference between the ionization potential and the dissociation energy is the envelope. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the work function is less than twice the work function of the material forming the negative electrode of the electron source. 7. The inorganic gas is N ₂ , H ₂ , CO or CO
The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the gas is a gas selected from ₂ , NO, NO ₂ , and NH ₃ , or a mixed gas thereof.