JPH10106456A - Electron beam generator and its image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electron beam generator and its image formation device in which an image of high picture quality can be formed by suppressing the displacement of electron beam orbit. SOLUTION: High resistance film 120 is formed on the surface of a spacer 94 and connection portions 95, 96. By making the connection portions 95, 96 to be conductive connection portions, the same are electrically connected to the high resistance film 120. By applying a voltage to a metal pack (an acceleration electrode) 97 from an acceleration power source 102, a slight current flows in the high resistance film 120 and flows to an element drive power source 101 side. The slight current acts so as to neutralize charge on the spacer 94, and as a result, electron orbits 107 to 110 become the ideal ones having no displacement.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electron beam generator,
Also, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a display device as an application thereof, and more particularly, to an electron beam generating apparatus and an image forming apparatus having a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices.

[0002]

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

[0003] As a surface conduction type emission element, for example,
M.I.Elinson, Radio E-ng.ElectronPhys., 10, 1290, (196
5) and other examples described later are known. Surface conduction emission
The device is formed on a thin film with a small area formed on a substrate,
By applying a current to a row, the phenomenon of electron emission
To use. As this surface conduction type emission element,
SnO by Elinson et al._TwoOther than those using thin films
In addition, a thin film of Au [G. Dittmer: "Thin Solid Film
s ", 9,317 (1972)] and In _TwoO_Three / SnO_TwoBy thin film
[M.Hartwell and C.G.Fonstad: "IEEE Trans.ED Con
f. ", 519 (1975)] and those using carbon thin films [Hisashi Araki
Others: Vacuum, Vol. 26, No. 1, 22 (1983)]
ing.

[0004] As a typical example of the element structure of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, FIG. Hartwell
1 shows a plan view of an element according to the present invention. In the figure, 3001
, A substrate; and 3004, a conductive thin film made of metal oxide formed by sputtering. The conductive thin film 3004 is formed in an H-shaped planar shape as shown. An electron emission portion 3005 is formed by performing an energization process called energization forming described later on the conductive thin film 3004. The interval L in the figure is 0.5 to 1 [mm], and W is 0 to 1 [mm].
It is set at 1 [mm]. In addition, for convenience of illustration, the electron emitting portion 3005 is shown in a rectangular shape at the center of the conductive thin film 3004, but this is a schematic one, and the position and shape of the actual electron emitting portion are faithfully represented. Not necessarily.

[0005] M. In the above-described surface conduction electron-emitting device including the device by Hartwell et al., The electron-emitting portion 3005 is formed by subjecting the conductive thin film 3004 to an energization process called energization forming before electron emission.
It was common to form That is, the energization forming means that a constant DC voltage is applied to both ends of the conductive thin film 3004, or a DC voltage which is increased at a very slow rate of, for example, about 1 V / min, and the conductive thin film 3004 is energized. The purpose is to locally destroy, deform, or alter 3004 to form an electron-emitting portion 3005 in an electrically high-resistance state.

A crack is generated in a part of the conductive thin film 3004 which is locally broken, deformed or altered. When an appropriate voltage is applied to the conductive thin film 3004 after the energization forming, electron emission is performed in the vicinity of the crack. Examples of the FE type are, for example, W.
P.Dyke & W.W.Dolan, "Fie-ld emission", Advance in Elec
tron Physics, 8, 89 (1956) or CASpindt, "Ph
ysicalproperties of thin-film field emissioncathod
es with molybdenium cones ", J. Appl. Phys., 47, 5248 (19
76) are known.

As a typical example of the FE type device configuration, FIG. A. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a device by Spindt et al. In the figure, 3010 is a substrate, 3011 is an emitter wiring made of a conductive material, 3012 is an emitter cone, 3013 is an insulating layer, and 3014 is a gate electrode. This device comprises an emitter cone 3012 and a gate electrode 3
By applying an appropriate voltage during 014, field emission is caused from the tip of the emitter cone 3012.

As another element structure of the FE type, FIG.
There is also an example in which an emitter and a gate electrode are arranged on a substrate almost in parallel with the substrate plane instead of the laminated structure as described above. Also,
Examples of the MIM type include, for example, CAMead, "Operatio
nof tunnel-emission Devices, J.Appl.Phys., 32,646 (19
61) are known. FIG. 25 shows a typical example of the MIM element configuration. The figure is a sectional view, in which 3020 is a substrate, 3021 is a lower electrode made of a metal, 3022 is a thin insulating layer having a thickness of about 100 Å, and 3023 is an upper layer made of a metal having a thickness of about 80 to 300 Å. Electrodes. In the MIM type, electrons are emitted from the surface of the upper electrode 3023 by applying an appropriate voltage between the upper electrode 3023 and the lower electrode 3021.

The above-mentioned cold cathode device can obtain electrons at a lower temperature than the hot cathode device, and therefore does not require a heater for heating. Therefore, the structure is simpler than that of the hot cathode element, and a fine element can be produced. Also,
Even if a large number of elements are arranged on a substrate at a high density, problems such as thermal melting of the substrate hardly occur. In addition, unlike the hot cathode device, which operates by heating the heater, the response speed is slow, and the cold cathode device also has the advantage that the response speed is fast.

For this reason, research for applying the cold cathode device has been actively conducted. For example, the surface conduction electron-emitting device has the advantage of being able to form a large number of devices over a large area since it has a particularly simple structure and is easy to manufacture among cold cathode devices. Therefore, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-31332 by the present applicant, a method for arranging and driving a large number of elements has been studied.

As for the application of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, for example, an image forming apparatus such as an image display device and an image recording device, and a charged beam source have been studied. In particular, as an application to an image display device, for example, US Pat. No. 5,066,883 by the present applicant and JP-A-2-2575.
51 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-28137, an image display device using a combination of a surface conduction electron-emitting device and a phosphor that emits light when irradiated with an electron beam has been studied. An image display device using a combination of a surface conduction electron-emitting device and a phosphor is expected to have better characteristics than other conventional image display devices. For example,
Compared to a liquid crystal display device that has become widespread in recent years, it can be said that it is superior in that it does not require a backlight because it is a self-luminous type and that it has a wide viewing angle.

A method of driving a large number of FE types is disclosed in US Pat. No. 4,904,89 by the present applicant.
5 is disclosed. Further, as an example in which the FE type is applied to an image display device, for example, R.F. The flat panel display reported by Meyer et al. Is known. [R.Meyer: "Re
cent Development on MicrotipsDisplay at LETI ", Tec
h.Digest of 4th Int.Vacuum Microele-ctronics Con
f., Nagahama, pp. 6-9 (1991)] An example in which a number of MIM types are arranged and applied to an image display device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-55738 by the present applicant. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present inventors have proposed various materials, including those described in the above-mentioned prior art.
We have tried cold cathode devices with manufacturing method and structure. Furthermore, research has been conducted on a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of cold cathode devices are arranged, and on an image display device using the multi-electron beam source.

The inventors have tried a multi-electron beam source by the electric wiring method shown in FIG. 3, for example. That is, it is a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of cold cathode devices are two-dimensionally arranged and these devices are wired in a matrix as shown. In the figure, 4001 schematically shows a cold cathode element, 4002 shows a row wiring, and 4003 shows a column wiring. Although the row direction wiring 4002 and the column direction wiring 4003 actually have a finite electric resistance, they are shown as wiring resistances 4004 and 4005 in the figure. The above-described wiring method is called simple matrix wiring.

Although a 6 × 6 matrix is shown for convenience of illustration, the size of the matrix is not limited to this. For example, in the case of a multi-electron beam source for an image display device, a desired image display is performed. Are arranged and wired only to perform the above. In a multi-electron beam source in which cold cathode devices are arranged in a simple matrix, a row-direction wiring 4 is used to output a desired electron beam.
An appropriate electric signal is applied to 002 and the column direction wiring 4003. For example, in order to drive one row of the cold cathode elements in the matrix, the row direction wiring 400 of the selected row is required.
2, the selection voltage Vs is applied, and at the same time, the non-selection voltage Vns is applied to the row direction wiring 4002 of the non-selected row. In synchronization with this, a drive voltage Ve for outputting an electron beam is applied to the column wiring 4003. According to this method, if the voltage drop due to the wiring resistances 4004 and 4005 is ignored, the voltage of Ve−Vs is applied to the cold cathode elements of the selected row, and Ve−Vs is applied to the cold cathode elements of the non-selected rows. -V
A voltage of ns is applied. If Ve, Vs, and Vns are set to appropriate voltages, an electron beam of a desired intensity should be output only from the cold cathode elements in the selected row, and different driving voltages are applied to each of the column wirings. If Ve is applied, each of the elements in the selected row should output a different intensity electron beam. Further, if the length of time during which the drive voltage Ve is applied is changed, the length of time during which the electron beam is output should be changed.

Therefore, a multi-electron beam source in which cold cathode devices are arranged in a simple matrix has various applications. For example, if an electric signal corresponding to image information is appropriately applied, it is suitable as an electron source for an image display device. Can be used. However, the multi-electron beam source in which the cold cathode devices are arranged in a simple matrix has actually had the following problems.

Further, in an image forming apparatus using a flat envelope such as a thin image display device, a support column (intermediate material) may be used as an atmospheric pressure resistant structure. The support pillar can reduce the thickness of the envelope while maintaining the mechanical strength of the envelope. In particular, a large-sized apparatus is effective for reducing the weight of the apparatus and the cost of raw materials. As these support columns,
An insulating member is used to separate the driving potential of the cold cathode element from the accelerating electrode.

However, in a multi-electron source in which cold cathode devices having supporting columns are simply wired in a matrix,
There has been a problem that the support portion formed of the insulating member is easily charged and affects the electron trajectory in the vicinity of the support column, thereby causing a light emission position shift. For example, in the case of an image device, this causes image deterioration such as a decrease in light emission luminance and color blur of pixels near the support pillar.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and provides an electron beam generator capable of forming a high-quality image by suppressing the deviation of the trajectory of an electron beam, and an image forming apparatus therefor. Aim.

[0019]

In order to achieve the above object, an electron beam generator and an image forming apparatus of the present invention have the following arrangement. That is, an electron source having a plurality of cold-cathode-type electron-emitting devices each including an electron-emitting portion and a pair of device electrodes for applying a voltage to the electron-emitting portion to emit electrons, and An accelerating electrode for applying an accelerating voltage acting on electrons emitted from the emitting portion, an insulating member disposed between the electron source and the accelerating electrode, and a high-resistance film on a surface of the insulating member; The high-resistance film has one connected to the acceleration electrode and the other connected to the electron source, and the high-resistance film has a predetermined pattern.

Another aspect of the present invention is directed to an electron source having a plurality of cold cathode type electron-emitting devices each including an electron-emitting portion and a pair of device electrodes for applying a voltage to the electron-emitting portion to emit electrons. An accelerating electrode that is disposed opposite to the emitting portion and applies an accelerating voltage acting on electrons emitted from the electron emitting portion; an insulating member disposed between the electron source and the accelerating electrode; and a surface of the insulating member A high-resistance film, and an image forming member on which an image is formed by collision of an electron beam accelerated by the acceleration voltage. One of the high-resistance films is connected to the acceleration electrode, and the other is connected to the electron source. And the high resistance film has a predetermined pattern.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, the points of an electron beam generator and an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be summarized, and then the detailed description thereof will be described. As a result of intensive studies, the present inventors have found that the above-mentioned problem is mainly caused by electrons emitted from an electron source.

In the above-described image forming apparatus, the electrons emitted from the electron source collide with the fluorescent material serving as the image forming member, and also collide with the residual gas in a vacuum with a low probability. Some of the scattering particles (ions, secondary electrons, neutral particles, etc.) generated at a certain probability at the time of these collisions collide with the exposed portions of the insulating material in the image forming apparatus, and the exposed portions are charged. I understood that. It is considered that, due to this charging, the electric field changed near the exposed portion, causing a shift in the electron trajectory, causing a change in the light emission position and light emission shape of the phosphor.

Further, it was also found from the state of change in the light emitting position and the shape of the phosphor that positive charges were mainly accumulated in the exposed portion. This may be caused by the case where the positive ions of the scattering particles are attached or charged, or the case where the positive charging is caused by secondary electron emission generated when the scattering particles collide with the exposed portion. As a result of further study, it has been found that the phenomenon that the electron orbit changes due to the positive charging of the insulator surface can be solved by the method described below.

First, how the beam changes due to positive charging will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus in the vicinity of the spacer, where 91 is an electron source substrate, 92 is an electron-emitting device section, 93 is a row wiring, 94 is an insulating spacer, 95 and 96 are insulating connecting sections, and 97 Is metal back,
Reference numeral 98 denotes a black stripe, 99 denotes a phosphor portion, 100 denotes a face plate substrate, 101 denotes a power supply for driving an electron-emitting device, and 102 denotes an acceleration voltage power supply. 103 to 110
Are arrows indicating main electron trajectories emitted from the respective electron-emitting devices 92, 103 to 106 are electron trajectories when there is no charge, 107 to 110 are electron trajectories shifted by charging, and 111 is an orbit. 2 shows a positively charged region on an insulator.

As described above, in the vicinity of the spacer, the electron beam is deviated from the original arrival position, and does not hit the phosphor portion 99 or protrudes into the adjacent phosphor portion, thereby causing an image defect. Therefore, as a result of diligent studies, it was found that it was effective to form a high-resistance film on the surface of the spacer, which is an insulating member, to pass a weak current between the accelerating electrode and the electron source to neutralize the charge. .

That is, the desired pattern is a pattern in which a part of the surface of the spacer made of an insulating member is coated with a high-resistance film, and the conductive path of the weak current flowing from the acceleration electrode to the electron source is made long. Here, this method will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of this method, in which a high resistance film 120 is formed on the surfaces of the spacer 94 and the connection portions 95 and 96.
Shows a state in which is formed. In addition, the connection portions 95 and 96 are made to be conductive connection portions, so that they are electrically connected to the high-resistance film 120. When a voltage is applied from the acceleration power supply 102 to the metal pack (acceleration electrode) 97, a weak current flows through the high-resistance film 120 and flows toward the element driving power supply 101. This weak current serves to neutralize the charge on the spacer 94, and as a result, the electron trajectories 107 to 110 are at desired positions.

The high resistance film 120 may be formed on the entire spacer 94, but the area of the high resistance film 120 can be reduced as long as the trajectory of the electron beam does not shift. In other words, a pattern is formed on the spacers 94 that allows the conductive paths of the high-resistance film 120 to be formed within a range in which the trajectory of the electron beam does not shift. In this case, the insulating portion is exposed to some extent, but since the charge of the exposed portion is neutralized by the pattern of the high-resistance film 120, the trajectory of the electron beam does not shift.

It is preferable to increase the exposed insulating portion of the spacer 94 on the anode side (the metal back 97 side) because the influence on the trajectory of the electron beam is reduced. This is because electrons are sufficiently accelerated and the trajectory of electrons is easily stabilized on the anode side where the energy is increased. Further, as a result of intensive studies, the surface resistance of the high-resistance film 114 is set to 1 as a region where the antistatic effect can be practically obtained.
0 ¹³ [Ω / □] or less is desirable. Further, the range where a practical film can be obtained is preferably 10 ⁸ to 10 ¹⁰ Ω / □.

As a material of the high resistance film, for example, Pt,
In addition to precious metals such as Au, Ag, Rh, and Ir, Al, Sb,
Sn, Pb, Ga, Zn, In, Cd, Cu, Ni, C
o, Rh, Fe, Mn, Cr, V, Ti, Zr, Nb,
An island-like metal film made of a metal such as Mo and W and an alloy composed of a plurality of metals, and a conductive oxide such as NiO, SnO ₂ , and ZnO can be given.

As a method of forming a high-resistance film, a method using a vacuum film forming method such as a vacuum evaporation method, a sputtering method, or a chemical vapor deposition method, or dipping an organic solution or a dispersion solution, or using a spinner is used. A coating method including a step of coating and baking using an electroless plating solution that can form a metal film on an insulator surface by a chemical reaction from the metal compound and the compound can also be used. It is appropriately selected according to the material and the productivity.

In order to increase the strength of the atmospheric pressure resistant structure, it is effective to increase the number of spacers or one spacer, but these increase the current consumption of the device. Further, in order to obtain a desired resistance value with semiconductivity, the film thickness must be reduced, and it is often difficult to form the film stably. For example, 10 ⁸
To obtain a resistance value of 10 ¹⁰ [Ω / □], Au is 50 to 6
The film thickness is about 0 °, and about 200 to 800 ° for NiO.

The present inventors have further studied and found the following method which is effective when a large or a large number of spacers are used. (1) An electron beam generating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of cold cathode type electron emitting devices including an electron emitting portion and a pair of device electrodes for applying a voltage to the electron emitting portion to emit electrons. An electron source having an accelerating electrode disposed opposite to the electron emitting portion and applying an accelerating voltage acting on electrons emitted from the electron emitting portion; and an insulating member disposed between the electron source and the accelerating electrode. A high resistance film on the surface of the insulating member, one of the high resistance films being connected to the acceleration electrode and the other being connected to the electron source, and the high resistance film having a predetermined pattern. (2) In the electron beam generator according to the embodiment of the present invention, the predetermined pattern has a stripe shape. (3) In the electron beam generator according to the embodiment of the present invention, the predetermined pattern is such that the width of the stripe shape decreases on the side of the acceleration electrode. (4) In the electron beam generator according to the embodiment of the present invention, the predetermined pattern has a spiral shape. (5) In the electron beam generator according to the embodiment of the present invention, the electron-emitting device includes a pair of opposing device electrodes and a thin film including an electron-emitting portion extending between the device electrodes. It is a discharge element. (6) In the electron beam generator according to the embodiment of the present invention, the thin film is a film composed of conductive fine particles. (7) In the electron beam generator according to the embodiment of the present invention, in the electron source, a plurality of row-direction wirings and column-direction wirings for supplying current to the element electrodes are arranged via an insulating layer. The pair of device electrodes are connected to the row wiring and the column wiring, whereby the plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on an insulating substrate. (8) In the electron beam generator according to the embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of row direction wirings are arranged in the electron source, and a plurality of the element electrodes of the plurality of electron-emitting devices are provided in the plurality of the electron emitting devices. A plurality of the electron-emitting devices are arranged in rows and columns on the insulating substrate by being connected to a pair of row-direction wirings among the row-direction wirings. (9) Further, in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of cold cathode type electron-emitting devices including an electron-emitting portion and a pair of device electrodes for applying a voltage to the electron-emitting portion to emit electrons. An electron source having: an acceleration electrode disposed opposite to the electron-emitting portion to apply an acceleration voltage acting on electrons emitted from the electron-emitting portion; and an insulating member disposed between the electron source and the acceleration electrode. And a high-resistance film on the surface of the insulating member, and an image forming member on which an image is formed by collision of an electron beam accelerated by the acceleration voltage, wherein one of the high-resistance films corresponds to the acceleration electrode. The other is connected to the electron source, and the high-resistance film has a predetermined pattern.

Also, the embodiment according to the present invention
The present invention can be applied to any of the cold cathode type electron-emitting devices other than the above. As a specific example, there is a field emission type electron-emitting device in which one facing electrode is formed along the surface of a substrate forming an electron source as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-27447 by the present applicant. According to the concept of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to an image forming apparatus suitable for display, but may be any of the above-described alternative light emitting sources such as a light emitting diode of an optical printer including a photosensitive drum and a light emitting diode. An image forming apparatus can also be used.

At this time, by appropriately selecting the above-mentioned m row-directional wirings and n column-directional wirings, the present invention can be applied not only to a linear light emitting source but also to a two-dimensional light emitting source. Further, according to the concept of the present invention, the present invention can be applied to a case where a member to be irradiated with electrons emitted from an electron source is a member other than an image forming member, such as an electron microscope. Therefore, the present invention can take a form as an electron beam generator that does not specify an irradiation target member.

Hereinafter, an electron beam generating apparatus and an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. First, a display panel configuration and a manufacturing method of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. (Structure and Manufacturing Method of Display Panel) Next, the structure and manufacturing method of the display panel of the image display device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to specific examples.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the display panel used in the embodiment, in which a part of the panel is cut away to show the internal structure. In the figure, 1005 is a rear plate,
1006 is a side wall, 1007 is a face plate,
An airtight container for maintaining the inside of the display panel at a vacuum is formed by 1005 to 1007. In assembling the airtight container, it is necessary to seal the joints of the members to maintain sufficient strength and airtightness.For example, frit glass is applied to the joints, and in the air or nitrogen atmosphere, Sealing was achieved by firing at 400 to 500 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes or more. A method of evacuating the inside of the airtight container to a vacuum will be described later.

The rear plate 1005 has a substrate 1001
Is fixed, but the cold cathode device 1002 is provided on the substrate.
N × M are formed. (N and M are positive integers of 2 or more and are appropriately set according to the target number of display pixels. For example, in a display device for displaying high-definition television, N = 3000, M It is desirable to set a number equal to or greater than 1000. In the present embodiment, for example, N = 3072 and M = 1024.

The N × M cold cathode devices are arranged in a simple matrix by M row-directional wirings 1003 and N column-directional wirings 1004. The part constituted by 1001 to 1004 is called a multi-electron beam source. In addition, regarding the manufacturing method and structure of the multi-electron beam source,
I will elaborate later. In this embodiment, the substrate 1 of the multi-electron beam source is provided on the rear plate 1005 of the hermetic container.
Although 001 is fixed, if the substrate 1001 of the multi-electron beam source has a sufficient strength, the substrate 1001 of the multi-electron beam source itself may be used as the rear plate of the airtight container.

On the lower surface of the face plate 1007, a fluorescent film 1008 is formed. Since this embodiment is a color display device, phosphors of three primary colors of red, green, and blue used in the field of CRT are separately applied to a portion of the fluorescent film 1008. The phosphors of each color are separately applied in stripes as shown in FIG. 7A, for example, and black conductors 1010 are provided between the stripes of the phosphors. The purpose of providing the black conductor 1010 is to prevent the display color from being shifted even if there is a slight shift in the electron beam irradiation position, and to prevent the reflection of external light to prevent a decrease in display contrast. And preventing charge-up of the fluorescent film by the electron beam. Although graphite is used as a main component for the black conductor 1010, any other material may be used as long as it is suitable for the above purpose.

The method of applying the three primary color phosphors is not limited to the stripe arrangement shown in FIG. 7A, but may be, for example, a delta arrangement as shown in FIG. 7B or another arrangement. You may. When a monochrome display panel is manufactured, a single-color phosphor material may be used for the fluorescent film 1008, and a black conductive material is not necessarily used.

A metal back 1009 known in the CRT field is provided on the surface of the fluorescent film 1008 on the rear plate side.
Is provided. The purpose of providing the metal back 1009 is
A part of the light emitted from the fluorescent film 1008 is specularly reflected to improve the light utilization rate, and the fluorescent film 10
08, protect the electrode 08, and act as an electrode for applying an electron beam acceleration voltage, and act as a conductive path for the excited electrons of the fluorescent film 1008. The metal back 1009 was formed by forming a fluorescent film 1008 on the face plate substrate 1007, smoothing the surface of the fluorescent film, and vacuum-depositing Al thereon. Note that when a fluorescent material for low voltage is used for the fluorescent film 1008, the metal back 1009 is not used.

Although not used in the present embodiment,
For the purpose of applying acceleration voltage and improving the conductivity of the fluorescent film,
A transparent electrode made of, for example, ITO may be provided between the face plate substrate 1007 and the fluorescent film 1008. Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn and Hv are
It is an electric connection terminal having an airtight structure provided for electrically connecting the display panel and an electric circuit (not shown). Dx1
Dxm is the row direction wiring 1003 of the multi-electron beam source,
Dy1 to Dyn are column direction wirings 1004 of the multi-electron beam source.
And Hv are electrically connected to the metal back 1009 of the face plate.

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

The basic configuration and manufacturing method of the display panel according to the embodiment of the present invention have been described above. Next, a method of manufacturing the multi-electron beam source used for the display panel of the above embodiment will be described. The material, shape, and manufacturing method of the cold cathode device are not limited as long as the multi-electron beam source used for the image display device of the present invention is an electron source in which cold cathode devices are arranged in a simple matrix. Therefore, for example, a surface conduction electron-emitting device or F
E-type or MIM-type cold cathode devices can be used.

However, under the circumstances where a display device having a large display screen and an inexpensive display device is required, among these cold cathode devices, a surface conduction type emission device is particularly preferable. That is, in the FE type, since the relative position and shape of the emitter cone and the gate electrode greatly affect the electron emission characteristics, extremely high-precision manufacturing technology is required, but this achieves a large area and a reduction in manufacturing cost. Is a disadvantageous factor. In the case of the MIM type, it is necessary to make the thicknesses of the insulating layer and the upper electrode thin and uniform, which is also a disadvantageous factor in achieving a large area and a reduction in manufacturing cost. On the other hand, since the surface conduction electron-emitting device has a relatively simple manufacturing method, it is easy to increase the area and reduce the manufacturing cost. The inventors have found that among the surface conduction electron-emitting devices, those in which the electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film have particularly excellent electron-emitting characteristics and can be easily manufactured. Therefore, it can be said that it is most suitable for use in a multi-electron beam source of a high-luminance, large-screen image display device. Therefore, in the display panel of the above embodiment, a surface conduction electron-emitting device in which the electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film is used. Therefore, the basic configuration, manufacturing method and characteristics of a suitable surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described first, and then the structure of a multi-electron beam source in which many devices are arranged in a simple matrix will be described. (Suitable device configuration and manufacturing method of surface conduction type emission device) The typical configuration of the surface conduction type emission device in which the electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film is a flat type or a vertical type.
Kinds are given. (Flat-type surface conduction electron-emitting device) First, an element configuration and a manufacturing method of a flat-type surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. FIGS. 8A and 8B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, for explaining the configuration of the planar surface conduction electron-emitting device. In the figure, 1101 is a substrate, 1102 and 11
03, a device electrode; 1104, a conductive thin film; 1105, an electron-emitting portion formed by an energization forming process;
Reference numeral 3 denotes a thin film formed by the activation process.

As the substrate 1101, for example, various glass substrates such as quartz glass and blue plate glass, various ceramics substrates such as alumina, or
For example, a substrate in which an insulating layer made of SiO ₂ is stacked on the above-described various substrates can be used. The device electrodes 1102 and 1103 provided on the substrate 1101 so as to be opposed to the substrate surface in parallel are formed of a conductive material. For example, Ni, Cr, A
Metals such as u, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Cu, Pd, Ag and the like, alloys of these metals, metal oxides such as In ₂ O ₃ -SnO ₂ , and semiconductors such as polysilicon The material may be appropriately selected from the following. The electrodes can be easily formed by using a combination of a film forming technique such as vacuum evaporation and a patterning technique such as photolithography and etching. However, the electrodes can be formed by other methods (for example, printing techniques). I don't mind.

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

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

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

Specifically, it is set within a range of several angstroms to several thousand angstroms, and a preferable value is between 10 angstroms and 500 angstroms. Materials that can be used to form the fine particle film include, for example, Pd, Pt, R
u, Ag, Au, Ti, In, Cu, Cr, Fe, Z
Metals such as n, Sn, Ta, W, Pb, etc., oxides such as PdO, SnO ₂ , In ₂ O ₃ , PbO, Sb ₂ O ₃ , HfB ₂ , ZrB ₂ , LaB
_{6, CeB 6, YB 4,} GdB borides and, including such as _{4, TiC, ZrC, HfC,} TaC, SiC, WC,
And other carbides, TiN, ZrN, Hf
Nitrides such as N, etc., semiconductors such as Si, Ge, etc., carbon, and the like are listed, and are appropriately selected from these.

As described above, the conductive thin film 1104 is formed of a fine particle film.
It was set to be included in the range of 10 3 to 10 7 [Ohm / sq]. Note that since the conductive thin film 1104 and the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are desirably electrically connected well, they have a structure in which a part of each of them overlaps. 8A and 8B.
In the above example, the substrate, the device electrode, and the conductive thin film are stacked in this order from the bottom. However, in some cases, the substrate, the conductive thin film, and the device electrode may be stacked in this order from the bottom.

The electron-emitting portion 1105 is a crack-like portion formed in a part of the conductive thin film 1104, and has a higher electrical resistance than the surrounding conductive thin film. The crack is formed by performing a later-described energization forming process on the conductive thin film 1104. Fine particles having a particle size of several Angstroms to several hundred Angstroms may be arranged in the crack. Since it is difficult to accurately and accurately show the actual position and shape of the electron-emitting portion, it is schematically shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

The thin film 1113 is a thin film made of carbon or a carbon compound, and covers the electron emitting portion 1105 and its vicinity. The thin film 1113 is formed by performing an energization activation process described later after the energization forming process. The thin film 1113 is any one of single-crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, and amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and has a thickness of 500 Å or less, and more preferably 300 Å or less. preferable.

Since it is difficult to accurately show the actual position and shape of the thin film 1113, it is schematically shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. In the plan view (FIG. 8A), an element in which a part of the thin film 1113 is removed is shown. The basic configuration of the preferred elements has been described above. In the embodiment, the following elements are used.

That is, blue glass was used for the substrate 1101, and Ni thin films were used for the device electrodes 1102 and 1103. The thickness d of the device electrode was 1000 [angstrom], and the electrode interval L was 2 [micrometer]. Using Pd or PdO as the main material of the fine particle film,
The thickness of the fine particle film is about 100 [angstrom] and the width W
Was set to 100 [micrometer].

Next, a description will be given of a preferred method of manufacturing a planar type surface conduction electron-emitting device. 9A to 9E are cross-sectional views for explaining a manufacturing process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device.
The notation of each member is the same as in FIGS. 8A and 8B. 1) First, as shown in FIG. 9A, device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are formed on a substrate 1101.

Before formation, the substrate 1
After sufficiently washing 101 with a detergent, pure water and an organic solvent,
The material of the device electrode is deposited. As a method of depositing,
For example, a vacuum film forming technique such as an evaporation method or a sputtering method may be used. Thereafter, the deposited electrode material is patterned by using a photolithographic etching technique to form a pair of device electrodes (1102 and 1103) shown in FIG. 9A.

2) Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, a conductive thin film 1104 is formed. In forming, first,
An organic metal solution is applied to the substrate of FIG. 9A, dried, heated and baked to form a fine particle film, and then patterned into a predetermined shape by photolithography and etching.
Here, the organometallic solution is a solution of an organometallic compound whose main element is a material of fine particles used for the conductive thin film.
Specifically, in the present embodiment, Pd is used as a main element.

In the embodiment, the dipping method is used as the coating method, but other methods such as a spinner method and a spray method may be used. In addition, as a method of forming a conductive thin film formed of a fine particle film, other than the method of applying the organometallic solution used in the present embodiment, for example, a vacuum evaporation method, a sputtering method, or a chemical vapor deposition method In some cases, such as is used.

3) Next, as shown in FIG. 9C, an appropriate voltage is applied between the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 from the forming power supply 1110, and the energization forming process is performed to form the electron emission portion 1105. The energization forming process is a process of energizing the conductive thin film 1104 made of a fine particle film, and appropriately breaking, deforming, or altering a part of the conductive thin film 1104 to change the structure into a structure suitable for emitting electrons. That is. In a portion of the conductive thin film made of the fine particle film that has changed to a structure suitable for emitting electrons (that is, the electron emitting portion 1105), an appropriate crack is formed in the thin film. Note that, after the formation of the electron emission portion 1105, the device electrode 11 is formed after the formation.
The electrical resistance measured between 02 and 1103 increases significantly.

FIG. 10 shows an example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from the forming power supply 1110 in order to explain the energization method in more detail. When forming a conductive thin film made of a fine particle film, a pulse-like voltage is preferable. In the case of the present embodiment, a triangular wave pulse having a pulse width T1 is continuously generated at a pulse interval T2 as shown in FIG. Was applied. At that time, the peak value Vpf of the triangular wave pulse is
The pressure was increased sequentially. In addition, monitor pulses Pm for monitoring the state of formation of the electron-emitting portion 1105 were inserted at appropriate intervals between the triangular-wave pulses, and the current flowing at that time was measured by the ammeter 1111.

In the embodiment, for example, in a vacuum atmosphere of about 10 −5 [torr], the pulse width T1 is set to 1 [millisecond], the pulse interval T2 is set to 10 [millisecond], and the The high value Vpf was increased by 0.1 [V] for each pulse. And the triangular wave is 5
Each time a pulse is applied, the monitor pulse P
m was inserted. The monitor pulse voltage Vpm is set to 0.1 so as not to adversely affect the forming process.
[V] was set. Then, the device electrodes 1102 and 110
3 when the electric resistance becomes 1 × 10 6 [ohm], that is, when the monitor pulse is applied, the ammeter 1111
When the current measured in step (1) became 1 × 10 −7 [A] or less, the energization related to the forming process was terminated.

The above method is a preferable method for the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present embodiment. For example, the material and the film thickness of the fine particle film or the device electrode distance L
For example, when the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is changed, it is desirable to appropriately change the energization conditions accordingly. 4) Next, as shown in FIG.
After that, an appropriate voltage is applied between the device electrodes 1102 and 1103, and the activation process is performed to improve the electron emission characteristics.

The energization activation process is a process of energizing the electron-emitting portion 1105 formed by the energization forming process under appropriate conditions to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity thereof. (In the figure, a deposit made of carbon or a carbon compound is schematically shown as a member 1113.) By performing the energization activation process, the emission current at the same applied voltage is typically smaller than before the activation. Typically 10
It can be increased by a factor of 0 or more.

Specifically, 10 minus the fourth power to 1
By periodically applying a voltage pulse in a vacuum atmosphere within a range of 0 to the fifth power [torr], carbon or a carbon compound originating from an organic compound existing in the vacuum atmosphere is deposited. The deposit 1113 is any of single crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and has a thickness of 5%.
00 [angstrom] or less, more preferably 300 [angstrom] or less
[Angstrom] or less.

FIG. 11A shows an example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from the activation power supply 1112 in order to explain the energization method in more detail. In the present embodiment, the energization activation process is performed by periodically applying a rectangular wave of a constant voltage. Specifically, the voltage Vac of the rectangular wave is 14 [V], and the pulse width T3 is 1 [ Milliseconds], and the pulse interval T4 is 10 [milliseconds].

The above-mentioned energization conditions are preferable conditions for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present embodiment, and when the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is changed, the conditions should be changed accordingly. Is desirable. 11 shown in FIG. 9D
Reference numeral 14 denotes an anode electrode for capturing an emission current Ie emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device, to which a DC high-voltage power supply 1115 and an ammeter 1116 are connected.

When the activation process is performed after the substrate 1101 is incorporated into the display panel, the phosphor screen of the display panel is used as the anode electrode 1114. While applying a voltage from the activation power supply 1112, the ammeter 1116
To measure the emission current Ie to monitor the progress of the energization activation process, and control the operation of the activation power supply 1112.
FIG. 1 shows an example of the emission current Ie measured by the ammeter 1116.
As shown in FIG. 1B, when the pulse voltage is started to be applied from the activation power supply 1112, the emission current Ie increases with time, but eventually saturates and hardly increases. As described above, when the emission current Ie is substantially saturated, the application of the voltage from the activation power supply 1112 is stopped, and the energization activation process ends.

The above-described energization conditions are preferable conditions for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present embodiment, and when the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is changed, the conditions should be changed accordingly. Is desirable. As described above, the planar surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 9E was manufactured. (Vertical Type Surface Conduction Emission Element) Next, another typical configuration of a surface conduction type emission element in which the electron emission portion or its periphery is formed of a fine particle film, that is, a vertical type surface conduction emission element. Will be described.

FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the basic structure of the vertical type. In FIG.
202 and 1203 are device electrodes, 1206 is a step forming member, 1204 is a conductive thin film using a fine particle film, 1205
Are electron-emitting portions formed by an energization forming process;
213 is a thin film formed by the activation process. The difference between the vertical type and the flat type described above is that one of the element electrodes (1202) is provided on the step forming member 1206, and the conductive thin film 1204 is provided on the step forming member 1202.
6 in that it covers the side surfaces.

Accordingly, the element electrode interval L in the planar type shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B is set as the step height Ls of the step forming member 1206 in the vertical type. Note that for the substrate 1201, the element electrodes 1202 and 1203, and the conductive thin film 1204 using a fine particle film, the materials listed in the description of the planar type can be used in the same manner. In addition, the step forming member 1206 includes, for example, SiO 2
An electrically insulating material such as ₂ is used.

Next, a method for manufacturing a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. 13A to 13F are cross-sectional views for explaining a manufacturing process, and the notation of each member is the same as FIG. 1) First, as shown in FIG. 13A, an element electrode 1203 is formed on a substrate 1201.

2) Next, as shown in FIG. 13B, an insulating layer for forming a step forming member is laminated. The insulating layer
For example, SiO2 may be laminated by a sputtering method, but another film forming method such as a vacuum evaporation method or a printing method may be used. 3) Next, as shown in FIG. 13C, an element electrode 1202 is formed on the insulating layer.

4) Next, as shown in FIG. 13D, a part of the insulating layer is removed by using, for example, an etching method to expose the element electrode 1203. 5) Next, as shown in FIG. 13E, a conductive thin film 1204 using a fine particle film is formed. For the formation, as in the case of the flat type, for example, a film forming technique such as a coating method may be used.

6) Next, as in the case of the flat type, an energization forming process is performed to form an electron-emitting portion.
(A process similar to the planar type energization forming process described with reference to FIG. 9C may be performed.) 7) Next, as in the case of the planar type, an energization activation process is performed, and carbon is emitted near the electron emission portion. Alternatively, a carbon compound is deposited. (The same process as the planar activation process described with reference to FIG. 9D may be performed.) As described above, the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 13F was manufactured. (Characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the display device)
The device configuration and manufacturing method of the planar and vertical surface conduction electron-emitting devices have been described. Next, the characteristics of the devices used in the display device will be described.

FIG. 14 shows typical examples of (emission current Ie) versus (device applied voltage Vf) characteristics and (device current If) versus (device applied voltage Vf) characteristics of the device used in the display device. . Note that the emission current Ie is significantly smaller than the element current If, and it is difficult to show them on the same scale. In addition, these characteristics are changed by changing design parameters such as the size and shape of the element. Therefore, 2
The graphs in the book are shown in arbitrary units.

The element used in the display device has the following three characteristics regarding the emission current Ie. Primarily,
When a voltage higher than a certain voltage (hereinafter referred to as a threshold voltage Vth) is applied to the element, the emission current Ie sharply increases. On the other hand, when the voltage is lower than the threshold voltage Vth, the emission current Ie is increased.
e is hardly detected.

That is, the non-linear element has a clear threshold voltage Vth with respect to the emission current Ie. Second, since the emission current Ie changes depending on the voltage Vf applied to the element, the magnitude of the emission current Ie can be controlled by the voltage Vf. Third, since the response speed of the current Ie emitted from the element with respect to the voltage Vf applied to the element is high, the amount of charge of electrons emitted from the element can be controlled by the length of time during which the voltage Vf is applied.

Because of the characteristics described above, the surface conduction electron-emitting device could be suitably used for a display device. For example, in a display device in which a large number of elements are provided corresponding to pixels of a display screen, if the first characteristic is used, it is possible to sequentially scan and display the display screen. That is, a voltage equal to or higher than the threshold voltage Vth is appropriately applied to the element being driven, and a voltage lower than the threshold voltage Vth is applied to the element in a non-selected state. By sequentially switching the elements to be driven, the display screen can be sequentially scanned and displayed.

In addition, by using the second characteristic or the third characteristic, the luminance can be controlled, so that a gradation display can be performed. (Structure of a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of elements are arranged in a simple matrix) Next, the structure of a multi-electron beam source in which the above-mentioned surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged on a substrate and arranged in a simple matrix will be described.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the multi-electron beam source used for the display panel of FIG. On the board,
8A and FIG. 13B, the same surface conduction type emission elements as those shown in FIG.
3 and the column-direction wiring electrodes 1004 are wired in a simple matrix. An insulating layer (not shown) is formed between the row-directional wiring electrodes 1003 and the column-directional wiring electrodes 1004 where they intersect, so that electrical insulation is maintained.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG.
Shown in Note that the multi-electron source having such a structure includes a row-direction wiring electrode 1003, a column-direction wiring electrode 1004, an interelectrode insulating layer (not shown), a device electrode of a surface conduction electron-emitting device, and a conductive material. After forming the thin film, the row direction wiring electrode 1003 and the column direction wiring electrode 100
The device was manufactured by supplying current to each element via the device 4 and performing a current forming process and a current activation process.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) First, the most characteristic part of the embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 17 shows a spacer 1 of the image device having the above-described configuration.
11 shows a pattern of forming a high-resistance film formed on the surface of No. 011.

In FIG. 17, reference numeral 101 denotes a high resistance film, 10
Reference numerals 2, 103, and 104 indicate insulating portions. In the present embodiment, the size of the spacer 1011 is 12 × 4 × 0.3
mm, and a high resistance film is formed in a region of 12 × 4 mm. At this time, the stripe width of the high resistance film 101 is 1 m.
m, the width of the insulating part 102 was 20 μm, and the inclination of the stripe was 30 °.

In this embodiment, the high-resistance film 1
01 was produced as follows. First, 100 × 10
A reverse stripe pattern of a resist is formed on a cleaned soda lime glass having a size of 0 mm using a photolithography method. Next, a nickel oxide film is formed on the soda lime glass by a vacuum film forming method, and the nickel oxide film of the insulating portion is removed by a lift-off method to form a stripe pattern of nickel oxide.

Next, after applying a resist as a protective film on the entire surface, the spacer was cut into individual spacers using a dicing saw, the end face was polished, and the resist was peeled off to produce a spacer having a patterned semiconductive film. . Note that the nickel oxide film used in this embodiment was formed by sputtering with a sputtering apparatus in a mixed atmosphere of argon and oxygen using nickel oxide as a target.

The substrate temperature during sputtering was 11
Performed at 0 °. The thickness of the nickel oxide film is 900Å.
And In the present embodiment, the surface resistance of the high-resistance film 114 is set to 10 9 [Ω / □], the acceleration voltage is set to 5 kV, and the distance between the element substrate and the tooth plate substrate is set to 4 mm. An image device was formed in which light-emitting spot rows at intervals were formed, the beam did not protrude to adjacent pixels even in the vicinity of the spacer, and light was emitted with high efficiency. Also, the current flowing through the spacer could be reduced by about 15%.

(Embodiment 2) Next, referring to FIG.
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described. As in the first embodiment, FIG. 18 shows a pattern of forming a high-resistance film formed on the surface of the spacer 1011 of the image device having the above-described configuration. In FIG. 18, reference numeral 201 denotes a high resistance film;
Indicates an insulating portion, and 203 and 204 indicate peripheral high resistance films. In the present embodiment, the size of the spacer 1011 is 1
It is 2 × 4 × 0.3 mm, and a high resistance film is formed in an area of 12 × 4 mm. At this time, the width of the stripe of the high-resistance film 101 was 1 mm, the width of the insulating portion 102 was 25 μm, and the inclination of the stripe was 30 °.

In the present embodiment, the high-resistance film 1
01 was produced as follows. First, 100 × 10
Cr was deposited on the entire surface of a cleaned soda lime glass having a thickness of 0 mm to a thickness of 5 mm by vacuum evaporation using a vacuum deposition method, and Au was continuously deposited on the entire surface of a thickness of 50 mm.
Next, after forming a stripe pattern using a resist by using a photolithography method, a part of the Au film and the Cr film is continuously removed by etching to form an insulating portion 202.

Next, after coating the entire surface as a resist protective film,
Each spacer was cut out using a dicing saw, and the end face was polished, and the resist was peeled off. Thus, a spacer having a patterned semiconductive film was produced. In this embodiment, the surface resistance of the high-resistance film 114 is 10 ¹⁰ [Ω / □], the acceleration voltage is 8 kV, and the distance between the element substrate and the tooth plate substrate is 4 mm. An array of light-emitting spots at regular intervals was formed, and an image device that emitted light with high efficiency without protruding a beam to an adjacent pixel even in the vicinity of the spacer was obtained. Also, the current flowing through the spacer could be reduced by about 10%.

Further, in this embodiment, the exposed area of the insulating portion is small, so that the electron emitting portion is not affected by a slight charge charged on the insulating portion regardless of the position of the spacer. It has the effect of. (Embodiment 3) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 19 shows a pattern of forming a high-resistance film formed on the surface of the spacer 1011 of the image device having the above-described configuration, similarly to the first embodiment. In FIG. 19, 30
Reference numerals 1302 and 303 denote high resistance films, and 303 and 304 denote insulating portions. In this embodiment, the size of the spacer 1011 is 25 × 5 × 0.4 mm, and a high-resistance film is formed in a region of 25 × 5 mm. At this time, the stripe width of the high resistance film 301 was 0.5 mm, the stripe width of the high resistance film 302 was 1.2 mm, and the width of the insulating section 304 was 50 μm.
The length of the high-resistance film 301 was set to １ of the length of the semiconductive film 302, and was arranged on the side of the acceleration electrode.

In the present embodiment, the high-resistance film 1
01 was manufactured in the same manner as in the second embodiment. In the present embodiment, the surface resistance of the high resistance film 114 is 10 ¹⁰ [Ω /
□], the acceleration voltage was 10 kV, and the distance between the element substrate and the tooth plate substrate was 5 mm.
A two-dimensional array of light emitting spots at regular intervals was formed, and an image device was obtained in which light did not protrude to adjacent pixels even in the vicinity of the spacer and emitted light with high efficiency. Also, the current flowing through the spacer could be reduced by 50%.

(Embodiment 4) Next, referring to FIG.
A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. As in the first embodiment, FIG. 20 shows a pattern of a high resistance film formed on the surface of the spacer 1011 of the image device having the above-described configuration. 20, reference numeral 401 denotes a high-resistance film, 402 denotes an insulating portion, and 403 and 404 denote connecting portions. In the present embodiment, the size of the spacer 1011 is 25 × 5 × 0.
4 mm, and a high resistance film is formed in an area of 25 × 5 mm. At this time, the stripe width of the high-resistance film 401 is equal to 0.
5 mm, and the width of the insulating portion 304 was 20 μm. In addition, connection portions 403 and 404 electrically connect the acceleration electrode and the electron source, respectively.

In the present embodiment, the high-resistance film 1
01 was manufactured in the same manner as in the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the surface resistance of the high resistance film 114 is 10 ⁸ [Ω /
□], the acceleration voltage was 10 kV, and the distance between the element substrate and the tooth plate substrate was 5 mm.
A two-dimensional array of light-emitting spots at regular intervals was formed, and an image device was obtained in which light did not protrude to adjacent pixels even in the vicinity of the spacer and emitted light with high efficiency. Also, the current flowing through the spacer could be reduced by about 50%.

(Embodiment 5) Next, FIGS.
The fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 21 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 22 is an enlarged view of the spacer 220 of the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment.

In FIG. 21, reference numeral 201 denotes an electron source;
Is an electron-emitting device, 203 is a row direction wiring, 204 is a column direction wiring, 205 is a rear plate 206 is a side wall, 207 is a face plate, 208 is a fluorescent film, 209 is a metal back, and 220 is a columnar spacer. It is formed using a method. In FIG. 22, reference numeral 501 denotes a high-resistance film, and 502 denotes an insulating unit.

In FIG. 21, an electron source 201 having a plurality of electron-emitting devices 202 arranged in a matrix is fixed to a rear plate 205. In the electron source 201, a face plate as an image forming member in which a fluorescent film 208 and a metal back 209 serving as an accelerating electrode are formed on the inner surface of a glass substrate is arranged to face each other via a support frame 206 made of an insulating material. A high voltage is applied between the electron source 201 and the metal back by a power supply (not shown). The rear plate, the support frame 206 and the face plate form an envelope. Further, a columnar spacer 220 is provided inside the envelope as an atmospheric pressure resistant structure.

In FIG. 22, a spacer 220 has a semiconductive thin film having a pattern on the surface of an insulating base material, and is sealed to the inner surface of the envelope and the surface of the electron source with frit glass or the like. You. Further, the semiconductive film is electrically connected to the inner surface of the face plate and the surface (row direction wiring) of the electron source. In this embodiment, the surface of the columnar spacer having a diameter of 0.5 mm and a height of 4 mm is formed by 50 μm.
It was prepared by depositing a nickel oxide film while rotating while winding a copper wire of m length. At this time, the film was driven under the conditions that the thickness of the nickel oxide was 0.3 μm, the surface resistance was 10 ⁶ [Ω / □], the acceleration voltage was 10 kV, and the distance between the element substrate and the face plate substrate was 4 mm. An image device was formed in which light emitting spot rows were formed at regular intervals in a dimensional manner, and the beam did not protrude to adjacent pixels even in the vicinity of the spacer, and emitted light with high efficiency. Also, the current flowing through the spacer could be reduced by about 60%.

(Embodiment 6) In this embodiment, an example in which a planar field emission (FE) type electron-emitting device is used as the electron-emitting device of the present invention will be described. FIG.
3 is a top view of the flat FE type electron-emitting device substrate, and FIG.
Reference numeral 61 denotes an electron emitting portion, and 362 and 363 denote electron emitting portions 36.
A pair of device electrodes for giving a potential to 1, 364 is a row direction wiring, and 365 is a column direction wiring electrode.

Electrons are emitted by applying a voltage between the device electrodes 362 and 363, whereby electrons are emitted from a sharp tip in the electron emission portion 361, and an acceleration voltage (see FIG. 4) provided opposite the device substrate. (Not shown), the electrons collide with the fluorescent material (not shown) attracted, and cause the fluorescent material to emit light. In the present embodiment, the column direction wiring 365 is formed by forming a groove (not shown) in the substrate using a dicing saw, applying a silver paste in the groove using a blade coater, and firing. did. Next, after an interlayer insulating layer (not shown) is formed on the entire surface, the device electrode portions 362 and 363 and the electron emission portion 361 are formed, and then the row direction wirings 364 and 364 are formed by using a screen printing method. . Hereinafter, Embodiment 5
An image device was manufactured by fixing and holding a columnar spacer having a φ conductive film pattern on the same surface as that described above.

In this embodiment, the thickness of the column wiring is 50 μm, the thickness of the row wiring is 60 μm, and the spacer is formed on the row wiring electrode. Embodiment 1
When driven in the same manner as in the first embodiment, a two-dimensionally-spaced light-emitting spot array is formed, a beam does not protrude to an adjacent pixel even in the vicinity of a spacer, and an image device that emits light with high efficiency is described in Embodiment 1. Was obtained as well. Also, the current flowing through the spacer could be reduced by about 60%.

(Embodiment 7) Here, an actual driving method of the image forming apparatus described in Embodiments 1 to 6 will be described. FIG. 24 is configured so that image information provided from various image information sources such as television broadcasting can be displayed on a display panel using the above-described surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron beam source. It is a figure for showing an example of a multifunctional display. In the figure, 2100 denotes a display panel, 2101 denotes a display panel driving circuit, 2102 denotes a display controller, 2103 denotes a multiplexer, 2104
Is a decoder, 2105 is an input / output interface circuit,
2106 is a CPU, 2107 is an image generation circuit, 2108
And 2109 and 2110 are image memory interface circuits, 2111 is an image input interface circuit, 2112 and 2113 are TV signal receiving circuits, 21
Reference numeral 14 denotes an input unit.

When the present display apparatus receives a signal containing both video information and audio information, such as a television signal, it naturally reproduces the audio simultaneously with the display of the video. Descriptions of circuits, speakers, and the like related to reception, separation, reproduction, processing, storage, and the like of audio information that are not directly related to the features of the present invention are omitted. Hereinafter, the function of each unit will be described along the flow of the image signal.

First, the TV signal receiving circuit 2113 is a circuit for receiving a TV image signal transmitted using a radio transmission system such as radio waves or spatial optical communication. The format of the received TV signal is not particularly limited. For example, NTSC, PAL, SECAM
Various methods such as a method may be used. A TV signal (for example, a so-called high-definition TV such as the MUSE system) composed of a larger number of scanning lines is suitable for taking advantage of the display panel suitable for a large area and a large number of pixels. Signal source. The TV signal received by the TV signal receiving circuit 2113 is output to the decoder 2104.

The TV signal receiving circuit 2112 is a circuit for receiving a TV image signal transmitted using a wired transmission system such as a coaxial cable or an optical fiber. As with the TV signal receiving circuit 2113, the system of the received TV signal is not particularly limited, and the TV signal received by the present circuit is also output to the decoder 2104.

The image input interface circuit 21
Reference numeral 11 denotes a circuit for taking in an image signal supplied from an image input device such as a TV camera or an image reading scanner.
4 is output. The image memory interface circuit 2110 is a circuit for taking in an image signal stored in a video tape recorder (hereinafter, abbreviated as VTR), and the taken-in image signal is output to a decoder 2104.

The image memory interface circuit 2
Reference numeral 109 denotes a circuit for capturing an image signal stored in the video disk, and the captured image signal is output to the decoder 2104. The image memory interface circuit 2108 is a circuit for taking in an image signal from a device storing still image data, such as a so-called still image disk, and the taken still image data is output to the decoder 2104.

The input / output interface circuit 210
Reference numeral 5 denotes a circuit for connecting the present display device to an external computer, a computer network, or an output device such as a printer. In addition to inputting and outputting image data, character data, and graphic information, control signals and numerical data can be input and output between the CPU 2106 included in the display device and the outside in some cases. is there.

The image generation circuit 2107 is provided with image data, character / graphic information input from the outside via the input / output interface circuit 2105, or a CP.
A circuit for generating display image data based on image data and character / graphic information output from U2106. For example, image data, characters,
Built-in circuits necessary for image generation, including rewritable memory for storing graphic information, read-only memory for storing image patterns corresponding to character codes, and processors for image processing Have been. The display image data generated by this circuit is output to the decoder 2104. In some cases, the display image data can be input / output to / from an external computer network or a printer via the input / output interface circuit 2105.

The CPU 2106 mainly performs operations related to operation control of the display device and generation, selection, and editing of a display image. For example, a control signal is output to the multiplexer 2103, and image signals to be displayed on the display panel are appropriately selected or combined. In this case, a control signal is generated for the display panel controller 2102 in accordance with an image signal to be displayed, and a screen display frequency, a scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced), the number of scanning lines on one screen, and the like are determined. The operation of the display device is appropriately controlled.

Further, image data or character / graphic information is directly output to the image generation circuit 2107, or an external computer or memory is accessed via the input / output interface circuit 2105 to access the image data or character / graphic information.・ Enter graphic information. Note that the CPU 2106
May of course be related to work for other purposes. For example, it may directly relate to a function of generating and processing information, such as a personal computer or a word processor.

Alternatively, the computer may be connected to an external computer network via the input / output interface circuit 2105 as described above, and work such as numerical calculation may be performed in cooperation with an external device. Also, the input unit 2114
Is a command or program by the user to the CPU 2106,
Or for inputting data, for example, in addition to a keyboard and mouse, a joystick,
Various input devices such as a barcode reader and a voice recognition device can be used.

The decoder 2104 is connected to the 2107
2113 is a circuit for inversely converting various image signals input from the input / output unit 2113 into three primary color signals or a luminance signal and I and Q signals. As shown by the dotted line in FIG.
The decoder 2104 preferably has an image memory inside. This is for handling, for example, a television signal that requires an image memory when performing inverse conversion, such as the MUSE method. In addition, the provision of an image memory facilitates display of a still image, or
This is because, in cooperation with the image generating circuit 2107 and the CPU 2106, there is an advantage that image processing and editing including image thinning, interpolation, enlargement, reduction, and synthesis can be easily performed.

The multiplexer 2103 is connected to the C
A display image is appropriately selected based on a control signal input from the PU 2106. That is, the multiplexer 2103 selects a desired image signal from the inversely converted image signals input from the decoder 2104 and outputs the selected image signal to the drive circuit 2101. In that case, by switching and selecting an image signal within one screen display time, it is possible to divide one screen into a plurality of areas and display different images depending on the areas, as in a so-called multi-screen TV. .

The display panel controller 2
Reference numeral 102 denotes a circuit for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 2101 based on a control signal input from the CPU 2106. First, as a signal related to the basic operation of the display panel, for example, a signal for controlling an operation sequence of a drive power source (not shown) for the display panel is output to the drive circuit 2101. In addition, for example, a signal for controlling a screen display frequency and a scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced) is output to the driving circuit 2101 as a signal related to the display panel driving method.

In some cases, a control signal related to image quality adjustment such as brightness, contrast, color tone, and sharpness of a display image may be output to the drive circuit 2101. The drive circuit 2101 is a circuit for generating a drive signal to be applied to the display panel 2100, and operates based on an image signal input from the multiplexer 2103 and a control signal input from the display panel controller 2102. It is.

The function of each unit has been described above. With the configuration illustrated in FIG. 24, in this display device, image information input from various image information sources is displayed on the display panel 2.
100 can be displayed. That is, various image signals including television broadcasting are transmitted to the decoder 2.
After being inverted at 104, the multiplexer 210
3 is appropriately selected and input to the drive circuit 2101. On the other hand, the display controller 2102 generates a control signal for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 2101 according to the image signal to be displayed. The drive circuit 2101 controls the display panel 2 based on the image signal and the control signal.
100 is applied with a drive signal. Accordingly, an image is displayed on display panel 2100. These series of operations are totally controlled by the CPU 2106.

In the present display device, the image memory built in the decoder 2104, the image generation circuit 21
07 and the CPU 2106 involve not only displaying a selected one of a plurality of pieces of image information but also enlarging, reducing, rotating, moving, edge emphasizing, thinning out, and interpolating the displayed image information. , Color conversion,
It is also possible to perform image processing such as image aspect ratio conversion and the like, and image editing such as synthesis, deletion, connection, replacement, and insertion.

Although not particularly described in the description of the present embodiment, a dedicated circuit for processing and editing audio information may be provided as in the above-described image processing and image editing. Therefore, the present display device can be used for television broadcast display devices, video conference terminal devices, image editing devices for handling still images and moving images, computer terminal devices, office devices including word processors, game machines, and the like. It is possible to have a single function, and it has a very wide range of applications for industrial or consumer use.

FIG. 24 shows only an example of the configuration of a display device using a display panel using a surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron beam source, and it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this. No. For example, FIG.
Circuits related to functions that are not necessary for the purpose of use may be omitted. Conversely, additional components may be added depending on the purpose of use. For example, when the present display device is applied as a video phone, it is preferable to add a transmission / reception circuit including a television camera, an audio microphone, an illuminator, and a modem to the components.

In the present display device, in particular, since the display panel using the surface conduction electron-emitting device as the electron beam source can be easily thinned, the depth of the entire display device can be reduced. In addition, a display panel using a surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron beam source is easy to enlarge the screen, has high brightness, and has excellent viewing angle characteristics.
This display device can display an image full of a sense of reality and powerful, with good visibility.

(Other Embodiments) In the embodiment according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a beam focusing function by using a plurality of potential regulating plates. Further, the present invention can be applied to any of the cold-cathode electron-emitting devices other than the surface conduction electron-emitting device. A specific example is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-274407 by the present applicant.
There is a field emission type electron-emitting device in which a pair of electrodes facing each other is formed along a surface of a substrate forming an electron source as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H11-163,036.

The present invention is also applicable to an image forming apparatus using an electron source other than the simple matrix type. For example, in a case where the above-described supporting member is used in an image forming apparatus for selecting a surface conduction electron-emitting device using a control electrode as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-257551 by the present applicant. It is. Further, according to the idea of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to an image forming apparatus suitable for display, and as an alternative light emitting source such as a light emitting diode of an optical printer including a photosensitive drum and a light emitting diode,
The image forming apparatus described above can also be used. In this case, by appropriately selecting the above-mentioned m row-directional wirings and n column-directional wirings, the present invention can be applied not only to a linear light emitting source but also to a two-dimensional light emitting source.

Further, according to the concept of the present invention, the present invention can be applied to a case where a member to be irradiated with electrons emitted from an electron source is a member other than an image forming member, such as an electron microscope. . Therefore, the present invention can be embodied as an electron beam generator that does not specify a member to be irradiated. In addition,
The present invention can be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.) but also to an apparatus (for example, a copying machine, a facsimile device, etc.) including one device. May be.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (or CPU) of the system or apparatus.
And MPU) read and execute the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Examples of a storage medium for supplying the program code include a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, and C
A D-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, and the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instructions of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores the program code described above. As described above, in the image display device according to the embodiment of the present invention, a high-resistance film having a pattern is formed on the surface of the spacer, and one is electrically connected to the acceleration electrode, and the other is electrically connected to the electron source. When a weak current is applied to the resistive film, the position where the electron beam emitted from the electron source collides with the phosphor and the position of the phosphor that should emit light is prevented from being shifted, and the protrusion to adjacent pixels and the loss of brightness are prevented. Clear images can be displayed.

The amount of current flowing through the high-resistance film is limited by the patterned high-resistance film, which leads to a reduction in current consumption. In addition, by suppressing the amount of current, there is also an effect that the influence on the driving of the electron source can be reduced. Further, when it is desired to obtain a desired resistance value between the accelerating electrode and the electron source, the desired resistance value can be easily obtained by patterning the high-resistance film even if the thickness of the high-resistance film is large. For this reason, there is an effect that controllability at the time of forming a high resistance film is improved.

[0132]

As described above, according to the present invention, a high-quality image can be formed by suppressing the deviation of the trajectory of the electron beam.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a conventional surface conduction type emission measure.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a conventional FE element.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a problem according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus around a spacer.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which a high-resistance film 120 is formed on the surfaces of a spacer 94 and connecting portions 95 and 96.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a display panel of the image display device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7A is a plan view illustrating a phosphor array of a face plate of a display panel.

FIG. 7B is a plan view illustrating a phosphor array of a face plate of the display panel.

FIG. 8A is a plan view of a planar type surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the embodiment.

FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view of the planar type surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the embodiment.

FIG. 9A is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of the planar type surface conduction type emission measure.

FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of the planar surface conduction emission device.

FIG. 9C is a cross-sectional view showing the manufacturing process of the planar type surface-conduction emission emission measure.

FIG. 9D is a cross-sectional view showing the manufacturing process of the planar surface-conduction emission release device.

FIG. 9E is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing step of the flat surface-conduction type emission measure.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an applied voltage waveform during energization forming processing.

FIG. 11A is a diagram showing an applied voltage waveform at the time of the activation process.

FIG. 11B is a diagram showing a change in emission current Ie during the activation process.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the embodiment.

FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view showing a step of manufacturing a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 13B is a cross-sectional view showing the manufacturing process of the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 13C is a cross-sectional view showing a step of manufacturing the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 13D is a cross-sectional view showing the step of manufacturing the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 13E is a cross-sectional view showing the step of manufacturing the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 13F is a cross-sectional view showing the step of manufacturing the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 14 is a graph showing typical characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a substrate of the multi-electron beam source used in the embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a partial cross-sectional view of the substrate of the multi-electron beam source used in the embodiment.

FIG. 17 illustrates a spacer 1011 of the image device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a view showing a formation pattern of a high resistance film formed on the surface of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a pattern of forming a high-resistance film formed on a surface of a spacer 1011 of the image device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a view showing a pattern of forming a high-resistance film formed on a surface of a spacer 1011 of the image device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a formation pattern of a high-resistance film formed on a surface of a spacer 1011 of the image device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus used in a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is an enlarged view of a spacer 220 of the image device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a top view of a planar FE-type electron-emitting device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram of a multi-function image display device using the image display device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of a conventionally known MIM type device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 92 Electron emission device 93 Row direction wiring 94 Spacer 95, 96 Conductive connection part 97 Metal back 98 Black stripe 107, 108, 109, 110 Electron beam orbit

Claims (9)

[Claims] An electron source including a plurality of cold cathode type electron emitting devices each including an electron emitting portion and a pair of device electrodes for applying a voltage to the electron emitting portion to emit electrons, and facing the electron emitting portion. An accelerating electrode for applying an accelerating voltage acting on electrons emitted from the electron-emitting portion; an insulating member disposed between the electron source and the accelerating electrode; and a high-resistance film on a surface of the insulating member. An electron beam generator, wherein one of the high-resistance films is connected to the acceleration electrode and the other is connected to the electron source, and the high-resistance film has a predetermined pattern. 2. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined pattern has a stripe shape. 3. The electron beam generator according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined pattern has a reduced width of the stripe shape on the side of the acceleration electrode. 4. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined pattern has a spiral shape. 5. The electron-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the electron-emitting device is a surface-conduction electron-emitting device including a thin film including a pair of opposing device electrodes and an electron-emitting portion extending between the device electrodes. Electron beam generator. 6. The electron beam generator according to claim 5, wherein the thin film is a film composed of conductive fine particles. 7. The electron source, wherein a plurality of row-direction wirings and column-direction wirings for supplying current to the element electrodes are arranged via an insulating layer, and the pair of element electrodes are connected to the row-direction wirings. 2. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on an insulating substrate by being connected to a column direction wiring. 8. A plurality of row-direction wirings are arranged in the electron source, and the device electrodes of the plurality of electron-emitting devices are respectively connected to a pair of row-direction wirings of the plurality of row-direction wirings. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on the insulating substrate. 9. An electron source having a plurality of cold-cathode-type electron-emitting devices each including an electron-emitting portion and a pair of device electrodes for applying electrons to the electron-emitting portion to emit electrons, and facing the electron-emitting portion. An accelerating electrode for applying an accelerating voltage acting on electrons emitted from the electron-emitting portion; an insulating member disposed between the electron source and the accelerating electrode; and a high-resistance film on a surface of the insulating member. An image forming member on which an image is formed by collision of an electron beam accelerated by the acceleration voltage, wherein one of the high-resistance films is connected to the acceleration electrode, the other is connected to the electron source, An image forming apparatus, wherein the resistive film has a predetermined pattern.