JPH0955160A - Electron emission element, electron source substrate, image forming device, and manufacture of these components - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately position an electron emission part by inclining the side faces of one of electrodes to a substrate face by a prescribed angle in an electron emission element whose electron omission part is formed on a conductive thin film for electrically connecting a pair of element electrodes. SOLUTION: A pair of element electrodes 2a, 2b are formed on a substrate 1 by an etching treatment under such a state as inclining the substrate and the side faces of one electrode 2b are inclined to the substrate 1 by roughly 20-70 deg., less than 90 deg.. These electrodes 2a, 2b are electrically connected to a conductive thin film 3 and an electron emission part 4 is formed along the edge between the electrode sides of this thin film 3 electrode 2b so that the electron emission element whose emission part 4 is accurately positioned is formed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron-emitting device, an electron source substrate provided with the same, and an image forming apparatus,
In particular, the electron-emitting device relates to a surface conduction electron-emitting device.
The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing these electron-emitting device, electron source substrate, and image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional flat panel image forming devices include simple matrix liquid crystal display devices (LCD), thin film transistor liquid crystal display devices (TFT / LCD), plasma displays (PDP), low-speed electron beam fluorescent display tubes (VFD),
There are multiple electron source flat CRTs.

As an example of these plane type image forming apparatuses,
There are a light emitting element that causes a phosphor to emit light by a multi electron source, and an image forming apparatus including the element. In this image forming apparatus, a method of causing a phosphor to emit light using an electron emitting element is adopted. A surface conduction electron-emitting device is generally known as an electron-emitting device used in this method (MI Elinson, Radio En).
g. ElectronPhys. , 10, (196
5)). This electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which electrons are emitted when a current is applied to a small-area conductive thin film formed on a substrate in a direction parallel to the film surface.

As the conductive thin film of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, a SnO ₂ thin film (MI Elinson, Rad) is used.
io Eng. Electron Phys. , 10
(1965)), Au thin film (G. Dittmer, Th.
in Solid Films, 9, 317 (197)
2)), In ₂ O ₃ / SnO ₂ thin film (M. Hartwel
land C.I. G. Fonstad, IEEE Tra
ns. ED Conf. , 519 (1975), carbon thin film (Hiroshi Araki et al., Vacuum, 26, 1, 22 (19)
83)) and the like have been reported.

A typical example of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is shown in FIG. The structure of this electron-emitting device is as described in M. Ha
rtwell, 151 is an insulating substrate, 1
Reference numeral 53 is a conductive thin film, and 154 is an electron emitting portion. In FIG. 15, L ₁ is set to 0.5 to ₁ mm and Wa is set to about 0.1 mm. The conductive thin film (153) is formed by forming an H-shaped metal oxide thin film on the substrate (151) by sputtering, and then forming an electron emitting portion (154) by an energization process called forming. Forming means applying a voltage across both ends of a conductive thin film (153) to locally destroy, deform, or alter the conductive thin film.
This is to form an electron emitting portion (154) having a high electrical resistance. The electrons may be emitted near the crack of the conductive thin film (153).

On the other hand, the applicant of the present invention arranges a conductive thin film made of an electron emitting material (fine particle film) in which fine particles are dispersed and arranged between a pair of device electrodes to form a novel surface conduction electron emitting device. Developed and disclosed the technology (USP
5,066,883). In this electron-emitting device, the electron-emitting position (electron-emitting portion) can be controlled more precisely than in the conventional device, and the electron-emitting devices can be arranged with higher precision. A typical example of this electron-emitting device is shown in FIG. 16A is a plan view and FIG. 16B is a plan view.
It is sectional drawing of the DD line in (a). In FIG. 16, 161 is an insulating substrate, 162 is an element electrode for electrical connection, 163 is a conductive thin film made of an electron emitting material (fine particle film) in which fine particles are dispersed, and 164 is an electron emitting portion. . It is suitable that the distance (L ₂ ) between the pair of device electrodes (162) is 0.01 to 100 μm and the sheet resistance value of the electron emitting portion (164) is 1 × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ⁹ ohm / □.

Conventionally, in the production of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, a conductive thin film (1
53, 163) is generally formed in advance to form the electron emitting portions (154, 164). By applying a voltage and applying a current to both electrodes of the conductive thin film on which the electron emitting portion is formed, an electron emitting portion (154, 1
64) emits electrons.

[0008]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional electron-emitting device, the position of the electron-emitting portion formed on the conductive thin film varies depending on the forming conditions of the conductive thin film, forming conditions, etc. It was difficult to accurately place it in the predetermined position. Further, the electron emitting portion has a considerably meandering shape on the conductive thin film, so that the effective length of the electron emitting portion cannot be designed.
Generally, the distance (L ₂ ) between the electrodes is 0.5 to 50 μm, but it has been difficult to control the position of the electron emitting portion as the conductive thin film between the electrodes is wide and the distance between the electrodes is long.

Such variation in the position of the electron emitting portion causes variation in the amount of electron emission of the electron emitting device. Further, in the electron source substrate in which a plurality of these electron-emitting devices are arranged, there is a problem that the amount of electron emission differs depending on the position on the substrate.

As an effective application of the electron source substrate,
An image forming apparatus may be combined with an image forming member (face plate or the like) that forms an image by irradiation of electrons. However, when the above-mentioned conventional electron source substrate is used as the electron source substrate of this image forming apparatus, brightness unevenness occurs on the screen due to the difference in electron emission amount of each electron emitting element, and the electron emission position of each electron emitting element. However, there is a problem in that the light emitting points are displaced and uneven display occurs.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to control the electron emission characteristics of an electron emission element by forming an electron emission portion at a predetermined position of a conductive thin film between a pair of element electrodes, and Providing an electron-emitting device with a small variation,
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electron source substrate and an image forming apparatus capable of displaying a good image by using this electron-emitting device.

[0012]

The present inventor has completed the present invention as a result of various studies in order to achieve the above object.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a conductive thin film is formed between a pair of device electrodes so as to be electrically connected to each electrode, and an electron emitting portion is formed in a region between the device electrodes of the conductive thin film. In addition, the present invention relates to an electron-emitting device in which the side surface of one of the device electrodes on the inter-electrode side is inclined at less than 90 degrees with respect to the upper surface of the substrate between the electrodes.

The second invention relates to the electron-emitting device of the first invention, wherein the side surface of one of the device electrodes on the interelectrode side is inclined by 20 to 60 degrees with respect to the upper surface of the substrate between the electrodes.

A third invention relates to an electron source substrate in which a plurality of electron-emitting devices of the first or second invention are arranged on an insulating substrate.

A fourth invention relates to an image forming apparatus provided with the electron source substrate of the third invention.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in manufacturing the electron-emitting device according to the first or second aspect, dry etching is performed obliquely to the upper surface of the substrate so that the side surface on the interelectrode side of one of the element electrodes is The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electron-emitting device, characterized in that the device electrodes are formed so as to be inclined to the upper surface of the substrate between the electrodes by less than 90 degrees.

A sixth aspect of the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an electron-emitting device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in which the substrate is tilted to perform dry etching from an oblique direction on the upper surface of the substrate.

A seventh invention relates to a method of manufacturing an electron-emitting device according to the sixth invention, wherein the substrate is tilted by 20 to 60 degrees.

The eighth invention relates to a method of manufacturing an electron source substrate for forming an electron-emitting device by the method of the fifth, sixth or seventh invention.

The ninth invention relates to a method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus for forming an electron-emitting device on an electron source substrate by the method of the fifth, sixth or seventh invention.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an electron-emitting device (also referred to as "surface conduction electron-emitting device") of the present invention. 1A is a plan view, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1 is an insulating substrate, 2
Reference numerals a and 2b are device electrodes, 3 is a conductive thin film, and 4 is an electron emitting portion.

In the electron-emitting device of the present invention, it is necessary that the inter-electrode side surface of one of the pair of device electrodes is inclined by less than 90 degrees with respect to the upper surface of the substrate between the electrodes. . This is illustrated in FIG. 1B, for example, and the inter-electrode side surface of the device electrode (2b) is inclined less than 90 degrees with respect to the upper surface of the substrate between the electrodes. This inclination angle is preferably 10 to 70 degrees, more preferably 20 to 6 degrees.
0 degrees.

The shape of the other element electrode (2a) is not particularly limited, but it is desirable that the side surface of the element electrode on the interelectrode side is not the same shape as the element electrode (2b). That is, it is desirable that the inter-electrode side surface of the device electrode (2a) is not inclined less than 90 degrees with respect to the upper surface of the substrate between the electrodes. In addition, in FIG. 1B, the manufacturing method causes
The inter-electrode side surfaces of the device electrodes 2a and 2b are in a parallel relationship.

An electron emitting portion (4) as shown in FIG. 1 is formed on the conductive thin film (3) formed between the pair of device electrodes having the above-described shape. This electron emission part (4) is
The element electrodes (2b) are formed substantially linearly along the edges on the interelectrode side.

An insulating material is used for the substrate (1),
Examples thereof include quartz glass, glass containing few impurities such as Na, soda-lime glass, soda-lime glass laminated with SiO ₂ by a sputtering method, ceramics such as alumina, and the like.

As the material of the element electrodes (2a, 2b),
There is no particular limitation as long as it has conductivity, but for example, Ni, Cr, Au, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Al, and Cu.
・ Pd ・ Ag ・ Ru ・ Ta ・ Pb ・ Zr ・ Hf ・ Sb ・
Metals such as L or alloys or oxides thereof, printed conductors composed of these metals / alloys / metal oxides and glass, semiconductor materials such as polysilicon, In ₂ O ₃ —SnO
Examples thereof include transparent conductors such as ₂ .

The distance (L) between the pair of device electrodes is determined in consideration of the applied voltage, the electrolytic strength, etc.
Several hundred μm is suitable, and preferably several μm to several tens μm. The length (W) of the device electrode is suitably in the range of several μm to several hundreds μm.

The material of the conductive thin film (3) is Pd.
Pt / Ru / Ag / Au / Cu / Fe / Zn / Sn / C
Metals such as r ・ Ti ・ In ・ Ta ・ Ni ・ W ・ Pb, Pd
O ・ NiO ・ PbO ・ TiO ₂・ MoO ₂・ SnO ₂・ I
n ₂ O ₃ · PtO ₂ · RuO ₂ · WO ₂ · ZrO ₂ · Sb ₂ O ₃
Oxides such as TiN, ZrN, HfN and other nitrides, Ti
Carbides such as C, ZrC, HfC, TaC, SiC, WC, HfB ₂ , ZrB ₂ , LaB ₆ , CeB ₆ , YB ₄ , G
Examples thereof include borides such as dB ₄ , semiconductors such as Si / Ge, carbon, AgMg, and NiCu.

The conductive thin film made of these materials is preferably a fine particle film in order to obtain good electron emission characteristics. Incidentally, the fine particle film in the present invention is a film in which a plurality of fine particles are aggregated, and the fine structure thereof has a state in which the fine particles are individually dispersed and arranged, a state in which the fine particles are adjacent to each other, or a state in which they overlap each other ( Membranes that include islands). The particle size of the fine particles is several angstroms to several thousand angstroms, preferably 10 to 2
It is 00Å.

The thickness of the conductive thin film is several angstroms to several thousand angstroms, preferably several tens angstroms to several hundreds angstroms. This thickness is appropriately determined depending on the resistance value between the electron emitting portion (4) and the device electrodes (2a, 2b), the diameter of the conductive fine particles in the electron emitting portion, and the energization processing condition. The width (Wb) of the conductive thin film is set to several μm to several hundreds μm.

The device electrode (2) through the electron emitting portion (4)
A sheet resistance value of 1 × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ⁷ ohm / □ is suitable for the resistance value between a and 2 b).

The above-mentioned electron emission portion (4) is an electrically high resistance crack formed in a part of the conductive thin film (3) by the forming process. The cracks may contain conductive fine particles of several angstroms to several hundred angstroms. The conductive fine particles contain at least one element of the substance forming the conductive thin film (3). Further, the electron emitting portion (4) and the conductive thin film (3) in the vicinity thereof may contain carbon and a carbon compound.

Next, a method of manufacturing the electron-emitting device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

Step (a): A layer (5) made of the above material for the device electrode is formed on the insulating substrate (1) (FIG. 2).
(A)).

Step (b): A mask layer (6) is formed on the layer (5) by a photolithography method at the portion where the device electrode is to be formed (FIG. 2B).

Step (c): The layer (5) is dry-etched through the mask layer (6) to form a device electrode.
The dry etching at this time is performed by obliquely performing dry etching with respect to the upper surface of the substrate so that the inter-electrode side surface of one of the device electrodes is inclined less than 90 degrees with respect to the upper surface of the substrate between the electrodes. Form electrodes. For that purpose, for example, when an ion beam etching apparatus is used, the irradiation direction of the ion beam may be set obliquely with respect to the upper surface of the substrate, and in the case of a parallel plate type dry etching apparatus, the method shown in FIG. ), The substrate (1) may be inclined and dry etching may be performed.
For ease of operation, it is desirable that the substrate (1) be inclined and dry etching be performed. By these methods,
The side surface on the inter-electrode side of one of the device electrodes (2b) has a shape inclined by less than 90 degrees with respect to the upper surface of the substrate between the electrodes. At the same time, the inter-electrode side surface of the other element electrode (2a) also
It has an inclined shape parallel to the side surface of the element electrode (2b) on the interelectrode side. Since the thickness of the device electrode and the inclination angle of the substrate during etching affect the coverage of the conductive thin film (3), an appropriate value is required depending on the thickness of the conductive thin film (3) to be formed and the film forming method. It The thickness of the device electrode is 0.0
1-10 μm is suitable, and preferably 0.05-5.
0 μm. The inclination angle of the substrate during etching is preferably 10 to 70 degrees, more preferably 20 to 60 degrees.

Step (d): The mask layer (6) is removed (FIG. 2 (d)).

Step (e): A conductive thin film (3) is formed between the device electrodes (2a, 2b) (2 (e)). The conductive thin film (3) is formed by vacuum vapor deposition, sputtering, chemical vapor deposition, spin coating, spray coating, Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) single molecule accumulation method, printing method, etc. The film can be formed by, and then heated and baked. After forming the film, the formed film is patterned into a desired shape by an etching method, a lift-off method or the like.

Step (f): Forming is performed to form an electron emitting portion (4) on the conductive thin film (3) (FIG. 2).
(F)). The forming is performed by applying a voltage between the device electrodes (2a, 2b) in the form of a pulse or a high-speed rising voltage. The electron emitting portion (4) is formed in a substantially linear shape along the edge of the device electrode (2b) on the interelectrode side. It is considered that this is because the coverage of the conductive thin film on the element electrode (2b) side is poorer than that on the element electrode (2a) side, so that electrolytic concentration is likely to occur at the edge portion.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the voltage waveform in forming. The voltage waveform is preferably a pulse waveform, and when a voltage pulse with a constant pulse peak value is continuously applied (see FIG. 3).
(A)) and the case where the voltage pulse is applied while increasing the pulse peak value (FIG. 3 (b)).

In FIG. 3A, which is the former case, T
₁And T₂Is the pulse width and pulse interval of the voltage waveform
It is. T₁Is 1 microsecond to 10 milliseconds, T₂Is 10
Set it to icrosecond to 100 milliseconds. Crest value of triangular wave
(Peak voltage during forming) is the shape of the electron-emitting device.
The degree of vacuum is appropriately selected according to the condition, for example, 1 × 10
^-FiveIt is applied for several seconds to several tens of minutes in a vacuum atmosphere of about torr.
The waveform is not limited to a triangular wave, and a desired waveform such as a rectangular wave is used.
A waveform may be used.

In the latter case of FIG. 3 (b), T ₁ and T ₂ are the same as in the above case, and the peak value of the triangular wave is increased by, for example, about 0.1 V to obtain an appropriate vacuum. Apply in atmosphere. In this case, the forming process is terminated by measuring the element current at a voltage that does not locally break or deform the conductive thin film in the pulse interval (T ₂ ), for example, a voltage of about 0.1 V to measure the resistance value. For example, the forming is terminated when the value becomes 1 mega ohm or more.

As described above, the electron-emitting device of the present invention is
Can be made, but should be further activated
Is desirable. The activation process is, for example, 1 × 10^-Four~ 1x
10 ^-6Forming under a vacuum atmosphere of about torr
Similarly, a voltage pulse with a constant pulse peak value is repeatedly applied.
Processing. As a result, organic matter existing in the vacuum atmosphere
Deposition of quality-induced carbon and carbon compounds on conductive thin films
However, the device current (If) and the device current (Ie) change significantly.
Become This device current (If) and emission current (Ie)
Measure, for example, when the emission current (Ie) is saturated
Terminates the activation process of. The applied voltage pulse is
It is preferable to use an operating drive voltage. Also here carbon
And carbon compounds are graphite (single crystal and polycrystal
Refers to both. ) And amorphous carbon (amorphous carbon
And a mixture of polycrystalline graphite. )
The thickness of the deposited film by these is preferably less than 500Å,
More preferably, it is 300 Å or less.

It is desirable that the electron-emitting device of the present invention thus produced is driven and operated at a vacuum degree higher than the vacuum degree in forming and activation.
Furthermore, in this high vacuum atmosphere, 80 to 150 ° C
It is preferable to drive the device after heating it to the above temperature. The high degree of vacuum is, for example, a degree of vacuum of 1 × 10 ⁻⁶ torr or more, preferably an ultra-vacuum system in which carbon and carbon compounds are hardly newly deposited on the conductive thin film. By doing so, the device current (If) and the emission current (Ie) can be stabilized during the driving operation of the electron-emitting device.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic structure of an evaluation apparatus for measuring the electron emission characteristics of the electron-emitting device, and FIG. 5 shows the electron emission characteristics of the electron-emitting device of the present invention measured by this evaluation apparatus. Note that FIG. 5 is shown in arbitrary units because the sizes of If and Ie are significantly different (Ie is approximately 1/2000 of If).

As is apparent from FIG. 5, this electron-emitting device has three characteristics with respect to Ie. First characteristic: In this electron-emitting device, Ie rapidly increases when a device voltage (Vf) higher than a certain voltage (threshold voltage (Vth)) is applied, while Ie is hardly detected at Vth or lower.
That is, this electron-emitting device has a clear Vth for Ie.
Is a non-linear element having Second characteristic: Since Ie depends on Vf, Ie can be controlled by Vf. Third characteristic:
The emitted charge trapped by the metal back depends on the time of applying Vf. That is, the amount of charges captured by the metal back can be controlled by the application time of Vf. Since the electron-emitting device according to the present invention has the above three characteristics, it can be expected to be applied to various fields. In FIG. 5, the solid line curve indicates the above-mentioned characteristic (M where If increases monotonically with Vf).
I characteristic) is shown, but as another characteristic (curve shown by a dotted line), If may show a voltage control type negative resistance characteristic (VCNR characteristic) with respect to Vf. In this case as well, the present electron-emitting device has the above three characteristics.

Next, the electron source substrate of the present invention will be described. The electron source substrate of the present invention is formed by arranging a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices on the substrate. As a method of arranging the surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices, a ladder-type arrangement (hereinafter referred to as "ladder-type arrangement") in which the surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices are arranged in parallel and both ends of each element are connected by wiring. A simple matrix arrangement (hereinafter referred to as “matrix arrangement”) in which an X-axis direction wiring and a Y-axis direction wiring are connected to a pair of device electrodes of the surface conduction electron-emitting device can be mentioned. The image forming apparatus having the ladder-shaped electron source substrate requires a control electrode (for example, the grid electrode (112) in FIG. 11) which is an electrode for controlling the flight of electrons from the electron-emitting device.

The structure of the matrix-type electron source substrate will be described below with reference to FIG. The matrix-type electron source substrate is composed of the substrate (1), the X-axis direction wiring (6
1), Y-axis direction wiring (62), surface conduction electron-emitting device (63), and connection (64).

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

The X-axis direction wiring (61) includes Dx1, Dx2, ...
.., It consists of m wirings indicated by Dxm. The Y-axis direction wiring (62) is represented by Dy1, Dy2, ..., Dyn.
It is composed of a book wiring (both m and n are positive positive numbers). Also,
The wiring material, film thickness, and width are appropriately set so that a substantially uniform voltage is supplied to a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices (63). The m number of X-axis wirings (61) and the n number of Y-axis wirings (62) are electrically separated by an interlayer insulating film (not shown) to form a matrix-type wiring. The interlayer insulating film (not shown) is formed on the entire surface of the substrate (1) on which the X-axis direction wiring (61) is formed or in a desired region thereof. The X-axis direction wiring (61) and the Y-axis direction wiring (62) are respectively drawn to the external terminals. Also m
X-axis wiring (61) and n Y-axis wiring (6
2) is electrically connected to a device electrode (not shown) of each surface conduction electron-emitting device by a connection (64). At this time, the surface conduction electron-emitting device (63)
May be formed either on the substrate (1) or on an interlayer insulating film (not shown). In addition, the X-axis direction wiring (61) is
Electrically connected to a scanning signal generating means (for example, a scanning circuit (92) in FIG. 9) for applying a scanning signal for scanning the surface conduction electron-emitting devices (63) in each column in the axial direction according to an input signal. Has been done. On the other hand, in the Y-axis direction wiring (62),
Modulation signal generating means for applying a modulation signal for modulating the surface conduction electron-emitting devices (63) in each row in the Y-axis direction according to an input signal (for example, the modulation signal generator (97) in FIG. 9).
Is electrically connected to The drive voltage applied to each surface conduction electron-emitting device is supplied as a difference voltage between the scanning signal and the modulation signal applied to the device.

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

Next, a display panel provided with a matrix type electron source substrate will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a basic configuration diagram of the display panel of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a fluorescent film used in the display panel of the present invention.

In FIG. 7, the display panel of the present invention comprises an electron source substrate (71), a rear plate (72) for fixing the electron source substrate, and a fluorescent film (74) on the inner surface of the glass substrate (73).
A face plate (76) having a metal back (75) and the like, a support frame (77) and the like. Electron source substrate (7
The X-axis direction wiring (61) and the Y-axis direction wiring (62) electrically connected to the pair of device electrodes of the surface conduction electron-emitting device (63) are formed on 1).

The envelope (78) includes a face plate (7
6), a support frame (77) and a rear plate (72). To bond these members, for example, a method of applying glass frit to the bonding portion of each member, bonding the members, and then firing in a furnace to bond them. Since the rear plate is provided mainly for the purpose of reinforcing the strength of the electron source substrate (71), when the electron source substrate itself has sufficient strength, the rear plate is not used and the support frame is directly supported on the electron source substrate. May be provided to configure the envelope.

A plan view of the fluorescent film (74) in FIG. 7 is shown in FIG. In the case of a monochrome fluorescent film, it is composed of only the phosphor, but in the case of a color fluorescent film, it is composed of a black conductive material (81) and a phosphor (82) and has a black stripe (see FIG. 8).
(A)), a black matrix (FIG. 8B), and the like. The purpose of providing the black conductive material is to blacken the portions of the three primary color phosphors, which are necessary for color display, between the respective phosphors to make the color mixture inconspicuous, and to reduce the contrast due to external light reflection in the phosphor film. Is to suppress. As the material of the black conductive material, a material containing graphite as a main component is usually used, but the material is not limited to this as long as it is conductive and has little light transmission and reflection. As a method of applying the phosphor to the glass substrate (73), a precipitation method or a printing method is used regardless of the distinction between monochrome and color.

In FIG. 7, a metal back (75) is usually provided on the inner surface side of the fluorescent film (74). The purpose of the metal back is to improve the brightness by specularly reflecting the light emitted to the inner surface side of the phosphor to the face plate (76) side, to be used as an electrode for applying an electron beam acceleration voltage, and the envelope. This is to protect the phosphor from damage due to collision of negative ions generated inside. The metal back can be manufactured by forming the fluorescent film, smoothing the inner surface of the fluorescent film (usually called filming), and then depositing Al (aluminum) by vacuum evaporation or the like. The face plate may be provided with a transparent electrode (not shown) on the outer surface side of the fluorescent film in order to further increase the conductivity of the fluorescent film.

When color phosphors are used for sealing the envelope (78), it is necessary to positionally correspond the phosphors of each color and the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and it is necessary to position them sufficiently. It is necessary to make adjustments.

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

Next, referring to the block diagram of FIG. 9, a schematic configuration of a drive circuit for performing television display based on an NTSC television signal using a display panel provided with a matrix type electron source substrate will be described. explain. This represents one of the embodiments of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. The configuration of the drive circuit includes a display panel (91) and a scanning circuit (9
2), a control circuit (93), a shift register (94), a line memory (95), a synchronizing signal separation circuit (96), a modulation signal generator (97) and a DC power supply (Vx, Va).

The display panel (91) has terminals (Dox1, Do).
x2, ..., Doxm), terminals (Doy1, Doy2, ...)
Doyn) and a high voltage terminal (Hv) are connected to an external electric circuit. Of these terminals (Dox1, Dox2, ...
, Doxm) sequentially drive one row (n elements) of surface conduction electron-emitting devices grouped in a matrix of m rows and n columns on the electron source substrate in the display panel (91). A scanning signal for moving is applied. On the other hand, the terminal (Doy
, Doy2, ..., Doyn) is applied with a modulation signal for controlling the output electron beam of each element in the surface conduction electron-emitting devices of one row selected by the scanning signal. Further, the high voltage terminal (Hv) is supplied with a DC voltage of, for example, 10 kV from a DC power supply (Va). This DC voltage is an accelerating voltage for giving enough energy to excite the phosphor to the electron beam output from the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

The scanning circuit (92) has m switching elements (S1, S2, ..., Sm) inside.
Each switching element selects either the output voltage of the DC voltage source (Vx) or 0V (ground level), and the terminals (Dox1, Dox2, ...) Of the display panel (91).
·, Doxm) electrically connected. The switching elements (S1, S2, ..., Sm) operate based on the control signal Tscan output from the control circuit (93), but are actually configured by combining switching elements such as FETs. be able to. The direct current voltage (Vx) is such that the drive voltage applied to the non-scanned device is equal to or lower than the electron emission threshold voltage based on the characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device (electron emission threshold voltage). It is set to output a constant voltage.

The control circuit (93) has a function of matching the operation of each part so that an appropriate display is performed based on the image signal input from the outside. The control signals Tscan, Tsft, and Tmry are generated for each unit based on the synchronization signal Tsync sent from the synchronization signal separation circuit (96) described below.

The synchronizing signal separating circuit (96) is a circuit for separating the synchronizing signal component and the luminance signal component from the NTSC system television signal input from the outside, and uses a frequency separating circuit (filter circuit). Can be configured. The sync signal separated by the sync signal separation circuit is composed of a vertical sync signal and a horizontal sync signal.
Represented as TA signal. This signal is input to the shift register (94).

The shift register (94) is for serial / parallel conversion of the DATA signal serially input in time series for each line of the image.
Control signal Tsf sent from the control circuit (93)
It operates based on t. That is, it may be said that the control signal Tsft is the shift lock of the shift register. The data of one line of the serial / parallel converted image (corresponding to driving data for n electron-emitting devices) is
(Id1, Id2, ..., Idn) are output from the shift register (94) as n parallel signals.

The line memory (95) is a storage device for storing data for one line of the image for a required time, and the control signal Tmry sent from the control circuit (93).
According to the parallel signals (Id1, Id2, ..., I
dn) contents are stored. The stored contents are output as parallel signals (Id'1, Id'2, ..., Id'n) and input to the modulation signal generator (97).

The modulation signal generator (97) controls each of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices according to each of the parallel signals (Id'1, Id'2, ..., Id'n) of the image data. It is a signal source for proper drive modulation, and its output signal is a terminal (D
Display panel (9) through oy1, Doy2, ..., Doyn)
It is applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device in 1).

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

As a method for driving and modulating the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to an input signal, a voltage modulation method, a pulse modulation method or the like is used. When the voltage modulation method is implemented, the modulation signal generator (97) has a constant width (P
A device having a voltage modulation circuit for generating the voltage pulse of w) but appropriately modulating the crest value (Vm) of the voltage pulse according to the input data is used. In the case of implementing the pulse modulation method, the modulation signal generator (97) generates a voltage pulse having a constant peak value (Vm), but the width (Pw) of the voltage pulse is appropriately adjusted according to the input data. A device having a pulse-modulation type circuit for performing is used.

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

When a digital signal is used, it is necessary to convert the output signal DATA of the sync signal separation circuit (96) into a digital signal, which is A at the output of the sync signal separation circuit.
It is possible if a / D converter is provided. In the voltage modulation method, for example, a D / A conversion circuit may be used in the modulation signal generator (97), and an amplification circuit and the like may be added as necessary. Further, in the pulse modulation method, the modulation signal generator, for example, a high-speed oscillator, a counter (counter) for calculating the number of waves output by the oscillator, and the output value of the counter and the output value of the line memory. It can be configured using a circuit in which comparators for comparison are combined. If necessary, an amplifier that amplifies the modulation signal output from the comparator, in which the pulse width Pw is modulated, to the drive voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device may be added.

When an analog signal is used, in the voltage modulation method, an amplifier circuit using, for example, an operational amplifier may be used for the modulation signal generator (97), and a level shift circuit or the like may be added if necessary. Good. In the pulse modulation method, for example, a voltage control type oscillator circuit (VC
O) may be used, and an amplifier for amplifying a signal up to the driving voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device may be added if necessary.

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

The image display by the image forming apparatus thus completed is performed by displaying terminals (Dox1, Dox2, ...
.., Doxm) and terminals (Doy1, Doy2, ..., Doy)
A voltage is applied to each surface conduction electron-emitting device through m) to emit electrons, and at this time, a high voltage is applied to the metal back (75) or the transparent electrode (not shown) through the high voltage terminal (Hv), It is performed by accelerating the emitted electrons to collide with the fluorescent film (74) to excite and emit the fluorescent substance.

Next, a ladder-type electron source substrate and a display panel / image forming apparatus equipped with this electron source substrate will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

The construction of the ladder-shaped electron source substrate is shown in FIG.
As shown in 0, it comprises a substrate (1), a surface conduction electron-emitting device (63), and common wirings (101, 102) connected to the surface conduction electron-emitting device. A plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices (63) are arranged in parallel in the X-axis direction on the substrate (hereinafter referred to as "device row"). A plurality of these element rows are arranged in parallel on the substrate, and common wirings (101, 102) are provided between these element rows to form a ladder-type electron source substrate. At this time, the common wiring (1
01, 102) are provided as in (a) or (b) of FIG. By appropriately applying a drive voltage between the common wirings of each element row of the electron source substrate, each element row can be independently driven. That is, a voltage higher than the threshold value (Vth) may be applied to the element row that emits the electron beam, and a voltage lower than the threshold value (Vth) may be applied to the element row that does not emit the electron beam.

FIG. 11 is a basic structural diagram of a display panel of the present invention having an electron source substrate arranged in a ladder shape. The difference between this display panel and the display panel (FIG. 7) having the electron source substrate of the matrix type arrangement is that the face plate (7
6) and the electron source substrate (111) between the grid electrode (1
12) is provided. Grid electrode (11
2) is provided with a large number of openings (113) through which electrons pass, and the external terminals (G1, G2, ...
., Gn). Grid electrode (112)
Is capable of modulating the electron beam emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device (63), and is provided in stripes perpendicular to the ladder-shaped device rows. The opening (113) for passing electrons is provided corresponding to each element in position, and its shape is circular. The shape and installation position of the grid electrode do not necessarily have to be as shown in FIG. The openings (113) may be provided with a large number of passage openings, for example, in a mesh shape, and the grid electrodes may be appropriately provided around or near the surface conduction electron-emitting device. On the other hand, the electron source substrate (71) is connected to the external terminals (Dox1, Dox2, ..., Doxm) of the envelope. The outer terminals of the enclosure (Dox1, Dox2, ..., Doxm) and the outer terminals of the enclosure (G1, G2, ..., Gn) connected to the grid electrode (112) are not shown. The image forming apparatus of the present invention is formed by being electrically connected to the control circuit.

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

As described above, according to the electron-emitting device of the present invention and the electron source substrate, the display panel, and the image forming apparatus equipped with the electron-emitting device, not only the display device for television broadcasting,
An image forming apparatus suitable for a display device such as a video conference system and a computer can be provided. Further, the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus as an optical printer including a photosensitive drum or the like.

[0081]

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

Example 1 An electron-emitting device of the present invention was manufactured as follows according to the steps shown in FIG.

Step (a): A 2500 Å-thickness Pt film (layer (5) made of the material of the device electrode) was formed on the washed soda-lime glass substrate (1) by the sputtering method (FIG. 2 (a)). .

Step (b): A 1.2 μm-thick photoresist (AZ1370SF manufactured by Hoechst Co., Ltd.) was applied, and then exposed and developed to form a mask layer (6) in the region corresponding to the upper part of the device electrode (FIG. 2). (B)). At this time, the length (L) between the pair of device electrodes formed later was set to 10 μm.

Step (c): The Pt film (5) was dry-etched using Ar gas while the substrate (1) was tilted at 45 degrees (FIG. 2C). The etching conditions at this time were an input power of 150 W and an etching pressure of 2.0 Pa.

Step (d): The mask layer (6) was removed by a remover to obtain device electrodes (2a, 2b) (FIG. 2).
(D)).

Step (e): A Pd film having a thickness of 50Å is formed by the sputtering method, and then 300 ° C. in the atmosphere.
Pd was oxidized by heating for 5 hours to form a conductive thin film (3) made of PdO. Next, it was patterned into a predetermined shape by a dry etching method using Ar gas (FIG. 2).
(E)).

Step (f): In a vacuum, a voltage of 0 to 20 V is applied between the pair of device electrodes (2a, 2b) at 0.5 V / se.
A forming process was performed by applying the voltage at a rising voltage speed of c to form an electron emitting portion (4) (FIG. 2F). Following this forming treatment, an activation treatment was performed.

In the electron-emitting device of the present invention manufactured as described above, the electron-emitting portion (4) is almost formed on the conductive thin film (3) along the edge of the device electrode (2b) on the interelectrode side. It was formed in a straight line.

Using the evaluation apparatus shown in FIG. 4, the electron emission characteristics of the electron emission device manufactured in this example were measured. The measurement condition is that the distance between the anode electrode and the electron-emitting device is 4 m.
m, and the potential of the anode electrode was 4 kV. A voltage is applied to the device electrode of the electron-emitting device, and the device current (I
When f) and the emission current (Ie) were measured, the electron emission characteristics shown by the solid line in FIG. 5 were obtained.

Example 2 An electron-emitting device of the present invention was manufactured as follows according to the steps shown in FIG.

Step (a): A Pt film (a layer (5) made of a material for an element electrode) having a thickness of 1700Å was formed on the washed soda-lime glass substrate (1) by a sputtering method (FIG. 2 (a)). .

Step (b): A 1.2 μm-thick photoresist (AZ1370SF manufactured by Hoechst Co., Ltd.) was applied, and then exposed and developed to form a mask layer (6) in the region corresponding to the upper part of the device electrode (FIG. 2). (B)). At this time, the length (L) between the pair of device electrodes formed later was set to 10 μm.

Step (c): With the substrate (1) tilted by 30 degrees, the Pt film (5) was replaced with Ar / HBr gas (5/1).
0 sccm) was used for dry etching (FIG. 2).
(C)). The etching condition at this time is that the input power is 15
The etching pressure was 0 W and the etching pressure was 2.5 Pa.

Step (d): The mask layer (6) was removed by a remover to obtain device electrodes (2a, 2b) (FIG. 2).
(D)).

Step (e): A Ni film having a thickness of 120 Å was formed by an electron beam evaporation method, and then patterned into a predetermined shape by a dry etching method using Ar gas. Next, the surface of Ni was oxidized by heating in air at 300 ° C. for 30 minutes to form a conductive thin film (3) made of Ni and its oxide (FIG. 2E).

Step (f): In a vacuum, a voltage of 0 to 20 V is applied between the pair of device electrodes (2a, 2b) at 0.5 V / se.
A forming process was performed by applying the voltage at a rising voltage speed of c to form an electron emitting portion (4) (FIG. 2F). Following this forming treatment, an activation treatment was performed.

In the electron-emitting device of the present invention produced as described above, the electron-emitting portion (4) is formed on the conductive thin film (3) substantially along the edge of the device electrode (2b) on the interelectrode side. It was formed in a straight line.

Using the evaluation apparatus shown in FIG. 4, the electron emission characteristics of the electron emission device manufactured in this example were measured. The measurement condition is that the distance between the anode electrode and the electron-emitting device is 4 m.
m, and the potential of the anode electrode was 5 kV. A voltage is applied to the device electrode of the electron-emitting device, and the device current (I
When f) and the emission current (Ie) were measured, the electron emission characteristics as shown in FIG. 5 were obtained.

Example 3 An electron-emitting device of the present invention was manufactured as follows according to the steps shown in FIG.

Step (a): A 3000 Å-thick Pt film (a layer (5) made of the material for the device electrode) was formed on the washed soda-lime glass substrate (1) by a sputtering method (FIG. 2 (a)). .

Step (b): A 1.2 μm-thick photoresist (AZ1370SF manufactured by Hoechst Co., Ltd.) was applied, and then exposed and developed to form a mask layer (6) in a region corresponding to the upper part of the device electrode (FIG. 2). (B)). At this time, the length (L) between the pair of device electrodes formed later was set to 5 μm.

Step (c): The Pt film (5) was dry-etched using Ar gas while the substrate (1) was tilted by 50 degrees (FIG. 2C). The etching conditions at this time were an input power of 100 W and an etching pressure of 2.0 Pa.

Step (d): The mask layer (6) was removed by a remover to obtain device electrodes (2a, 2b) (FIG. 2).
(D)).

Step (e): A Pd complex was formed into a film by the LB method. The developing solution contained behenic acid (C
₂₁ H ₄₃ COOH) and Pd complex ([(C ₁₀ H ₂₁ ) ₂ NH] ₂
-Pd- (CH ₃ COO) ₂₎ and a 4: using the mixed solution at a ratio of 1, surface pressure 18 mN / m, the pulling rate 1m
150 layers were deposited under the condition of m / sec. The pulling direction was the same as the direction along the edge of the device electrode on the interelectrode side. Next, after removing organic substances in the film by UV ozone ashing, Pd was oxidized by heating in the atmosphere at 300 ° C. for 2 hours to form a conductive thin film (3) made of PdO. Then, it was patterned into a predetermined shape by a dry etching method using Ar gas (FIG. 2E).

Step (f): In a vacuum, a voltage of 0 to 20 V is applied between the pair of device electrodes (2a, 2b) at 0.5 V / se.
A forming process was performed by applying the voltage at a rising voltage speed of c to form an electron emitting portion (4) (FIG. 2F). Following this forming treatment, an activation treatment was performed.

In the electron-emitting device of the present invention manufactured as described above, the electron-emitting portion (4) is formed on the conductive thin film (3) substantially along the edge between the electrode of the device electrode (2b). It was formed in a straight line.

Using the evaluation apparatus shown in FIG. 4, the electron emission characteristics of the electron emission device manufactured in this example were measured. The measurement condition is that the distance between the anode electrode and the electron-emitting device is 4 m.
m, and the potential of the anode electrode was 5 kV. When a voltage of 20 V was applied to the device electrode of the electron-emitting device and the device current (If) and emission current (Ie) at that time were measured, the electron emission characteristics shown by the solid line in FIG. 5 were obtained.

Example 4 An electron source substrate was prepared in which the electron-emitting devices of Example 1 were arranged in a matrix type with a pitch of 700 μm and a number of devices of 100 × 100.

FIG. 12 shows the electron source substrate manufactured in this example. 12A is a plan view, and FIG. 12B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB and CC in FIG. 12A.

The electron source substrate of this embodiment is shown in FIGS.
It was manufactured as follows according to the steps shown in FIG.

Step (a): Cr100Å / Cu was deposited on the washed soda-lime glass substrate (1) by vacuum deposition.
300Å / Cr100Å were laminated and the X-axis direction wiring (61) having a predetermined shape was formed by the lift-off method (FIG. 13).
(A)).

Step (b): Si by sputtering method
After forming an interlayer insulating layer (7) of O _{2 having} a thickness of 1.2 μm, a contact hole (8) was formed by dry etching using CF ₄ and H ₂ gas (FIG. 13).
(B)).

Step (c): By the sputtering method,
A Pt film (layer (5) made of the material of the device electrode) having a thickness of 2500 Å was formed (FIG. 13C).

Step (d): A 1.2 μm-thick photoresist (AZ1370SF manufactured by Hoechst) was applied, and then exposed and developed to form a mask layer (6) in the region corresponding to the upper part of the device electrode (FIG. 13). (D)). At this time, the length (L) between the pair of device electrodes formed later is 10 μm.
It was made to become.

Step (e): The Pt film (5) was dry-etched using Ar gas while the substrate (1) was tilted at 45 degrees (FIG. 13E). The etching conditions at this time were an input power of 150 W and an etching pressure of 2.0 Pa.

Step (f): The mask layer (6) was removed by a remover to obtain device electrodes (2a, 2b) (FIG. 14).
(F)).

Step (g): Ti1 is formed by a vacuum deposition method.
50 Å / Au 10000 Å are laminated, and the Y-axis direction wiring (62) having a predetermined shape and the conductive material (1
21) was formed (FIG. 14 (g)). This conducting material (12
1) is formed of the same material at the same time as wiring in the Y-axis direction, and X
This is for electrical connection with the axial wiring.

Step (h): A Pd film having a thickness of 50Å is formed by the sputtering method, and then 300 ° C. in the atmosphere.
Pd was oxidized by heating for 5 hours to form a conductive thin film (3) made of PdO. Next, it was patterned into a predetermined shape by a dry etching method using Ar gas (see FIG. 1).
4 (h)).

Step (i): In a vacuum, a voltage of 0 to 20 V is applied between the pair of device electrodes (2a, 2b) at 0.5 V / se.
Application was performed at a rising voltage rate of c to perform a forming process to form an electron emitting portion (4) (FIG. 14 (i)). Following this forming treatment, an activation treatment was performed.

In the electron-emitting device of the electron source substrate manufactured as described above, the electron-emitting portion (4) is formed on the conductive thin film (3) along the edge of the device electrode (2b) between the electrodes. It was formed in a substantially linear shape.

Using the evaluation apparatus shown in FIG. 4, the electron emission characteristics of the electron emission device manufactured in this example were measured. The measurement condition is that the distance between the anode electrode and the electron-emitting device is 4 m.
m, and the potential of the anode electrode was 4 kV. A voltage is applied to the device electrode of the electron-emitting device, and the device current (I
When f) and the emission current (Ie) were measured, the electron emission characteristics shown by the solid line in FIG. 5 were obtained.

Example 5 An image forming apparatus having an electron source substrate similar to the electron source substrate produced in Example 4 was produced as follows.

After fixing the substrate of Example 4 before forming the electron emitting portion on the rear plate (72), the face plate (76) was placed 5 mm above the substrate through the support frame (77) and sealed. It was worn (see FIG. 7). In the sealing, the phosphors of the respective colors and the electron-emitting devices have to be associated with each other, so that sufficient alignment is performed.

The fluorescent film (74) on the face plate is RG.
A striped B shape was used. This phosphor film was prepared by first forming a black stripe and applying phosphors of each color to the gaps. Also, metal back (75)
After the formation of the phosphor film, the inner surface of the phosphor film was smoothed (filming), and then Al was vacuum-deposited.

The envelope (78) thus formed
The inside is evacuated by a vacuum pump through an exhaust pipe to 1 × 10 ^-4
After the degree of vacuum is set to ˜1 × 10 ⁻⁶ torr, a voltage is applied between the pair of device electrodes of the electron-emitting device (63) through the external terminal of the envelope to form the conductive thin film, and the electron-emitting portion is formed. Formed. Subsequently, activation treatment was performed.

After forming the electron emitting portion by forming, the exhaust pipe was heated with a gas burner at a vacuum degree of about 1 × 10 ^-6 torr to seal the envelope (78). Further, a getter process was performed in order to maintain the degree of vacuum after the sealing. In this getter treatment, a getter provided at a predetermined position in the envelope immediately before sealing was heated by high frequency after the sealing to form a vapor deposition film. A getter having Ba as a main component was used.

The display panel manufactured as described above was incorporated into the drive circuit shown in FIG. 9 to complete the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

In this image forming apparatus, a voltage of 19V is applied to each electron-emitting device, while 4kV is applied to the metal back.
When the voltage was applied, variations in electron emission position and electron emission amount of each electron-emitting device were small, uniform emission spots were formed on the face plate, and a good image was displayed on the entire image area.

Example 6 An electron source substrate was prepared in which the electron-emitting devices of Example 3 were arranged in a ladder shape having a pitch of 700 μm and the number of devices of 100 × 100. The ladder arrangement is the type shown in FIG. 10 (a),
Actually, as shown in FIG. 11, an electron source substrate (111) having a common wiring (101) formed thereon was produced.

The electron source substrate was manufactured as follows.

Step (i): Cr / Cu (100 Å) was formed on the washed soda-lime glass substrate (1) by vacuum deposition.
/ 300Å) and the common wiring (101) shown in FIG. 11 was formed by the lift-off method.

Step (ii): Using the sputtering method,
3000 Å thick Pt film (layer made of element electrode material)
Was formed.

Step (iii): A 1.2 μm thick photoresist (AZ1370SF manufactured by Hoechst Co., Ltd.) was applied, and then exposed and developed to form a mask layer in a region corresponding to the upper part of the device electrode. At this time, the length (L) between the pair of device electrodes formed later was set to 5 μm.

Step (iv): The Pt film was dry-etched using Ar gas while the substrate was tilted by 50 degrees. The etching condition at this time is 100% input power.
W and etching pressure were 2.0 Pa.

Step (v): The mask layer was removed by a remover to obtain a device electrode.

Step (vi): A Pd complex was formed into a film by the LB method. The developing solution contained behenic acid (C
₂₁ H ₄₃ COOH) and Pd complex ([(C ₁₀ H ₂₁ ) ₂ NH] ₂
-Pd- (CH ₃ COO) ₂₎ and a 4: using the mixed solution at a ratio of 1, surface pressure 18 mN / m, the pulling rate 1m
150 layers were deposited under the condition of m / sec. The pulling direction was the same as the direction along the edge of the device electrode on the interelectrode side. Next, after removing organic substances in the film by UV ozone ashing, Pd was oxidized by heating at 300 ° C. for 2 hours in the atmosphere to form a conductive thin film made of PdO. Then, it was patterned into a predetermined shape by a dry etching method using Ar gas.

Step (vii): In a vacuum, a voltage of 0 to 20 V was applied between the pair of device electrodes at a rising rate of 0.5 V / sec to perform a forming process to form an electron emitting portion. Following this forming treatment, an activation treatment was performed.

In the electron source substrate of the present invention manufactured as described above, the electron-emitting portion of the electron-emitting device is formed on the conductive thin film in a substantially straight line along the edge between the electrodes of the device electrode. Was there.

Example 7 An image forming apparatus having an electron source substrate similar to the electron source substrate produced in Example 6 was produced. As the manufacturing method, the substrate before forming the electron emission portion of Example 6 was used, and the electron source substrate (111)
And the face plate (76) between the grid electrode (1
An image forming apparatus of the present invention was produced in the same manner as in Example 5 except that 12) was installed.

In this image forming apparatus, a voltage of 16 V was applied to each electron-emitting device, while 5 kV was applied to the metal back.
When the voltage was applied, variations in electron emission position and electron emission amount of each electron-emitting device were small, uniform emission spots were formed on the face plate, and a good image was displayed on the entire image area.

[0142]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the electron emitting portion can be formed in a predetermined shape and at a predetermined position on the conductive thin film between the pair of device electrodes. . Therefore, it is possible to control the electron emission characteristics of the electron emission element, and it is possible to provide the electron emission element with a small variation in the electron emission characteristics (electron emission position, electron emission amount, etc.) among the respective elements.

According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, such an electron-emitting device can be easily manufactured without increasing the number of steps.

The electron source substrate on which a plurality of electron-emitting devices of the present invention are arranged, and the image forming apparatus provided with this electron-source substrate, have electron emission characteristics (electron emission position, electron Since the variation in the emission amount) is small between the elements, it is possible to display a good image with no uneven brightness or uneven color over the entire image area.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an electron-emitting device of the present invention. FIG.
1A is a plan view, and FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.

FIG. 2 is a manufacturing process diagram of an electron-emitting device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a voltage waveform in forming.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an evaluation device for measuring electron emission characteristics of an electron emitting device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing electron emission characteristics of the electron emitting device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a matrix-type arrangement electron source substrate of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a display panel provided with a matrix-type electron source substrate of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a fluorescent film used in a display panel including the electron source substrate of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a drive circuit for performing television display based on an NTSC television signal.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a ladder-type electron source substrate of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a display panel including an electron source substrate having a ladder-type arrangement according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a matrix-type electron source substrate of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a manufacturing process diagram of an electron source substrate having a matrix arrangement according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a manufacturing process diagram of a matrix-type electron source substrate of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a conventional surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of a surface conduction electron-emitting device disclosed by the applicant.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 151, 161 Substrate 2a, 2b, 162 Element electrode 3, 153, 163 Conductive thin film 4, 154, 164 Electron emitting portion 5 Layer made of material of element electrode 6 Mask layer 7 Interlayer insulating layer 8 Contact hole 41 Power source 42 Element electrode side ammeter 43 Anode electrode 44 Anode electrode side ammeter 45 High voltage power supply 46 Vacuum device 47 Exhaust pump 61 X-axis direction wiring 62 Y-axis direction wiring 63 Surface conduction electron-emitting device 64 Connection 71, 111 Electron source substrate 72 Rear Plate 73 Glass substrate 74 Fluorescent film 75 Metal back 76 Face plate 77 Support frame 78 Envelope 81 Black conductive material 82 Phosphor 91 Display panel 92 Scanning circuit 93 Control circuit 94 Shift register 95 Line memory 96 Synchronous signal separation circuit 97 Modulation signal Common wiring for generators 101 and 102 12 grid electrodes 113 opening 121 conductive material

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An electron-emitting device in which a conductive thin film is formed between a pair of device electrodes so as to be electrically connected to each electrode, and an electron-emitting portion is formed in a region between the device electrodes of the conductive thin film. 2. The electron-emitting device according to, wherein the inter-electrode side surface of one of the device electrodes is inclined less than 90 degrees with respect to the upper surface of the substrate between the electrodes. 2. The electron-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the side surface of one of the device electrodes on the inter-electrode side is inclined by 20 to 60 degrees with respect to the upper surface of the substrate between the electrodes. 3. An electron source substrate in which a plurality of electron-emitting devices according to claim 1 or 2 are arranged on an insulating substrate. 4. An image forming apparatus comprising the electron source substrate according to claim 3. 5. The electron-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein dry etching is performed obliquely with respect to the upper surface of the substrate so that the side surface of one of the device electrodes on the interelectrode side is the upper surface of the substrate between the electrodes. A method of manufacturing an electron-emitting device, characterized in that the device electrode is formed so as to be tilted at less than 90 degrees. 6. The method of manufacturing an electron-emitting device according to claim 5, wherein the substrate is tilted to perform the dry etching from an oblique direction with respect to the upper surface of the substrate. 7. The substrate is tilted by 20 to 60 degrees.
A method for manufacturing the electron-emitting device according to the above. 8. A method of manufacturing an electron source substrate for forming an electron-emitting device by the method according to claim 5, 6, or 7. 9. A method for manufacturing an image forming apparatus for forming an electron-emitting device on an electron source substrate by the method according to claim 5, 6, or 7.