JPH10275573A - Vacuum envelope and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce electric power cost and provide an image forming device and a vacuum envelope almost free of deterioration of luminance, reduced service life, or deterioration of a getter effect by employing an adhesive essentially consisting of a fusion liquid crystal polymer resin as a bonding agent. SOLUTION: An element substrate 101 and a face plate 102 are bonded with a surrounding support frame 103 via adhesives 104 and 105 essentially consisting of a fusion liquid crystal resin with a melting point of 300 to 380 deg.C. At this time, one adhering process at 300 to 380 deg.C in maximum heat treatment temperature is enough, therefore, an adhering process lower than about 400 deg.C at minimum required for a flit adhering process is allowed, and thus electric power cost reduction, lowering of luminance, and reduced service life are ensured. Here, when a melting point is 380 deg.C or higher, the significance in temperature difference with 400 deg.C due to a conventional flit is reduced, and when it is 300 deg.C, a fusion liquid crystal polymer resin flows during baking in vacuum, and displacement among a plate 102, an element substrate 101, the support frame 103, and the element substrate 101, plate 102, and a spacer occurs.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum envelope for maintaining a vacuum inside a glass member mainly by using a bonding agent and an image forming apparatus provided with the vacuum envelope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to manufacture a vacuum envelope capable of maintaining a vacuum inside, a frit (low-melting glass) is used as a bonding agent at a joint between a face plate, a rear plate, and an outer frame. Have been.

[0003] That is, a frit (low melting point glass) is formed and baked on a joining portion as a joining agent, whereby the joining portion is hermetically sealed and a vacuum envelope capable of maintaining a vacuum inside is produced. Glass sealing using this frit (low-melting glass) requires baking at about 400 to 500 ° C. in the atmosphere (normal pressure).

Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus generally using electrons, a vacuum envelope for maintaining a vacuum (reduced pressure) atmosphere composed of a face plate, a rear plate and an outer frame, which are glass members, and an electron inside the vacuum envelope. An electron source for emitting light, a driving circuit for driving the electron source according to an image signal, an image forming member having a phosphor or the like that emits light by collision of electrons, and an image forming member for accelerating the electrons toward the image forming member. An accelerating electrode and its high-voltage power supply are required.

As an image forming apparatus using an electron-emitting device, an apparatus as shown in FIG. 17 is known (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-83578 of the present applicant). In FIG. 17, a vacuum envelope is composed of a rear plate 801, an outer frame 802, and a front plate 806, and the rear plate 8
01, an electron-emitting device 704, a row electrode 702 (Dox1 to Doxm) and a column electrode 703 for taking in a scanning signal from the outside.
(Doy1 to Doyn) are formed, and the face plate 806 is formed.
Inside are a metal back 805 as a transparent electrode and a phosphor 8
04 and a face plate 803,
High voltage terminal HV8 for supplying high voltage to metal back 805
07. FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of one part of BB 'of the image forming apparatus. As shown in FIG. 18, a rear plate (electron-emitting device substrate) 1701 and a face plate (phosphor substrate) 1702 are joined (sealed) by a frit via bonding agents 1704 and 1705, respectively, at a joint portion with an outer frame 1703. Wear). In the figure, 1701 is a rear plate made of soda-lime glass, 1702 is a face plate made of soda-lime glass,
1703 is an outer frame made of soda lime glass, 1706 is an upper wiring, 1707 is an element electrode (upper wiring side), 1708 is a conductive thin film including an electron emitting portion, 1709 is a phosphor, 1710
Is a metal back. The lower wiring and the element electrode (lower wiring side) are not shown.

Further, in an image forming apparatus using a flat vacuum envelope such as a thin image forming apparatus, a spacer is often used as an atmospheric pressure-resistant support structure (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-399136). ). The spacer is similarly fixed by the frit.

Conventionally, in a surface-conduction electron-emitting device, an electron-emitting portion is generally formed by applying an energization process called energization forming to a conductive thin film before electron emission. In other words, energization forming is an electron in which a direct current voltage or a very slowly increasing voltage is applied to both ends of a conductive thin film and energized to locally destroy, deform or alter the conductive thin film, thereby making the conductive thin film an electrically high-resistance state. The formation of the emission part. In the electron emitting portion, a crack is generated in a part of the conductive thin film, and electrons are emitted from the vicinity of the crack. The surface conduction type electron-emitting device that has been subjected to the energization forming process is configured to apply a voltage to the conductive thin film and cause a current to flow through the device to cause the electron-emitting portion to emit electrons.

It is preferable to perform an activation process on the device after the forming of the electron-emitting portion. The activation treatment can be performed, for example, by repeatedly applying a pulse to both ends of the conductive thin film in an atmosphere containing an organic substance gas, similarly to the energization forming. By this processing, carbon or a carbon compound is deposited on the device from organic substances existing in the atmosphere in the container, and the amount of emitted electrons of the electron-emitting device increases, so that the electron emission current increases. Furthermore, after the activation is completed, in order to reduce the variation of the device current with respect to the voltage applied between the two electrodes of the electron-emitting device, a pulse wave of a constant voltage or a pulse wave whose amplitude is temporarily increased is applied and stabilized. Perform stabilization processing.

[0009]

However, when frit bonding (sealing) is used as a bonding agent at a bonding portion of a vacuum envelope including the above-described conventional image forming apparatus, at least approximately Since firing at 400 ° C. is necessary, there are the following problems.

[0010] (1) In the frit bonding step, usually, a step of removing a binder called a calcination step is performed, and then a sealing step is performed. As compared with the bonding process that can be performed in one process, the temperature is higher and more time is required, so that the power cost increases.

(2) In an image forming apparatus using an electron-emitting device, when frit bonding (sealing) is performed after forming and activating beforehand, the higher the bonding temperature is, the lower the characteristic deterioration due to heat, that is, the higher the bonding temperature. In some cases, a reduction in emission current causes a decrease in luminance and a shortened life.

(3) When a resin spacer is used as the spacer, if the temperature is raised to about 400 ° C., thermal deformation may occur. Therefore, a deviation from the original position occurs, which adversely affects the electron beam trajectory and causes display. The quality may be reduced.

(4) In the case where a getter is used, if the temperature is raised to about 400 ° C., the getter material may be oxidized and the gettering effect may be reduced.

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, the present invention realizes a bonding step lower than at least about 400 ° C. required for a frit bonding (sealing) step, lowers power cost, and reduces brightness and life. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a vacuum envelope including an image forming apparatus having a high display quality and a sufficient getter effect, and an image forming apparatus using the vacuum envelope.

[0015]

Means for Solving the Problems The present inventors have made intensive studies in order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the vacuum envelope including the conventional image forming apparatus and achieve the object of the present invention. As a result, the vacuum envelope including the image forming apparatus provided by the present invention is as follows.

That is, the present invention comprises: (1) a face plate, a rear plate disposed to face the face plate, and an outer frame between the face plate and the rear plate and surrounding the periphery; And in a vacuum envelope for maintaining the interior of the vacuum made of a bonding agent for joining the outer frame and the face plate and for joining the outer frame and the rear plate, a molten liquid crystal polymer resin as the main component (2) a face plate, a rear plate disposed to face the face plate, and a periphery between the face plate and the rear plate. An outer frame and a spacer disposed between the face plate and the rear plate as an atmospheric pressure resistant support structure A bonding agent for bonding the outer frame and the face plate and a bonding agent for bonding the outer frame and the rear plate, respectively, and an internal bonding agent for bonding the spacer and the face plate or bonding the spacer and the rear plate. In a vacuum envelope that maintains a vacuum, a vacuum envelope characterized by using an adhesive mainly composed of a molten liquid crystal polymer resin as the bonding agent,
(3) The vacuum envelope according to (2), wherein a resin spacer is used as the spacer. (4) The vacuum envelope according to (1) to (3). (5) An image forming apparatus using the vacuum envelope described in (1) to (4), wherein the getter is arranged inside the vacuum envelope. A phosphor and an electron accelerating electrode are formed on the face plate, and an electron source is formed on the rear plate. (6) The electron source is a surface conduction electron-emitting device. (5) The image forming apparatus according to (5), wherein (7) the bonding agent for bonding the outer frame and the face plate and the bonding between the outer frame and the rear plate is mainly a liquid crystal polymer resin. (1) to (6), wherein the adhesive is a component. Vacuum envelope and an image forming apparatus mounting a.

By using an adhesive mainly composed of a molten liquid crystal polymer resin as a bonding agent, it is possible to perform a single bonding process at a maximum heat treatment temperature of about 300 to 380 ° C., so that frit bonding (sealing) is performed. Since the bonding process below the required temperature of about 400 ° C. can be realized, it is possible to reduce the power cost, reduce the brightness and shorten the service life, and further improve the display quality and vacuum of image forming devices and other devices with sufficient getter effect. An envelope can be provided.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

<Structure of Image Forming Apparatus> The vacuum envelope of the present invention can be used for an image forming apparatus. Preferably, a phosphor and an electron accelerating electrode are formed on a face plate of the vacuum envelope. The plate is used in an image forming apparatus in which an electron source is formed. This electron source is preferably a surface conduction electron-emitting device. Further, the vacuum envelope of the present invention,
The image forming apparatus is preferably used in an image forming apparatus in which a spacer of an anti-atmospheric pressure support structure is installed.

In this embodiment, a molten liquid crystal polymer is used as an adhesive instead of a conventional frit (low melting glass) as a bonding agent. The conditions of the adhesive applicable to the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment are as follows.

(1) Sealability: High vacuum can be maintained (minimum vacuum leak, minimum gas permeation), but only where vacuum maintenance is required. (2) Heat resistance: Baking in vacuum (high vacuum formation) process (3) Emission gas characteristics: low emission gas (high vacuum maintained) characteristics (4) Heat treatment temperature: maximum heat treatment temperature is lower than about 400 ° C. in the frit bonding (sealing) process. thing.

In the present embodiment, the adhesive satisfying the above conditions is a liquid crystal polymer (Thermotropic Liquid Crys).
tal Polymer) resin and has a melting point of about 30
Those having a temperature of about 0 to 380 ° C. are preferably used. This is because if the melting point is 380 ° C. or higher, the significance of the temperature difference from the conventional frit bonding at 410 ° C. is reduced. If the melting point is 300 ° C. or lower, the baking temperature in vacuum under the condition (2) is used. If the temperature is close to the above, the molten liquid crystal polymer resin may flow during baking in a vacuum, causing a positional shift between the face plate and the rear plate and the outer frame, and between the two plates and the spacer. Since the molten liquid crystal polymer resin is a molded product of a wholly aromatic polyester resin, for example, a plate-shaped molten liquid crystal polymer resin is arranged at a joint portion, and heated while being pressed at a melting temperature or higher, thereby forming a plate-shaped molten liquid crystal polymer resin. Because the liquid crystal polymer resin melts easily and has excellent flow properties, the joints are sealed,
Conditions (1) to (4) can be satisfied.

The molten liquid crystal polymer used in the present embodiment will be described below.

<Characteristics and Molecular Structure> The molten liquid crystal polymer (Th
Ermotropic Liquid Crystal Polymer) is a highly heat-resistant thermoplastic resin that exhibits liquid crystallinity in the molten state. It can be injection-molded and has excellent fluidity.

The product obtained by injection molding is
It has a skin-core structure unique to liquid crystal polymers, while the polymer is a rigid rod-shaped polymer, so it is highly oriented in the molten state and has the effect of fiber reinforcement. This is why it is called a self-fiber reinforced polymer.
LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) is one of the major factors that has attracted attention in the world.

The heat resistance, which is one of the features of the LCP, is divided into three types for convenience using the resin load deflection temperature (TDUL) as an index. In general, type I for TDUL ≥ 260 ° C and type III for TDUL ≤ 220 ° C
The LCP in the middle temperature range is classified into Type II.

The various characteristics of the LCP as described above are as follows:
It depends on what monomer is used for the parahydroxybenzoic acid to copolymerize the linear rigid straight chain. Commonly used monomers include terephthalic acid, biphenols, 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, hydroxynaphthoic acid, isophthalic acid, and the like. In addition, there are LCPs containing an amide bond or an ether bond. In the present embodiment, the type I is preferably used.

<Adhesion of Outer Frame and Spacer to Rear Plate and Face Plate> An image forming apparatus using a surface conduction electron-emitting device, which is most preferably used in this embodiment, will be described in the first embodiment. An example will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of one end of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, a rear plate (electron-emitting device substrate) 101 and a face plate (phosphor substrate) 102 are connected to both plates 10 through adhesives 104 and 105 mainly composed of a molten liquid crystal polymer resin.
At the joint of the outer frame 103 around the first and second 102,
Each is joined. In the figure, 101 is a rear plate made of soda lime glass, 102 is a face plate made of soda lime glass, 103 is an outer frame made of soda lime glass, 10
6 is an upper wiring, 107 is a device electrode (upper wiring side), 108 is a conductive thin film including an electron emitting portion, 109 is a phosphor, 110
Is a metal back. The lower wiring and the element electrode (lower wiring side) are not shown. Here, the upper wiring 106 refers to any one of a row and a column connected to one electrode of the electron-emitting device, and the lower wiring similarly refers to any of a row or a column paired with the upper wiring 106. And an element electrode refers to an electrode of a two-terminal electron-emitting device.

In FIG. 1, by using an adhesive containing the above resin as the main component for the joints 104 and 105, the bonding process can be performed at a maximum heat treatment temperature of about 300 to 380 ° C., so that frit bonding (sealing) is performed. (Adhesion)), an adhesion step lower than at least about 400 ° C. required for the step can be realized.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show a resin spacer 213 as an anti-atmospheric pressure support structure in the image forming apparatus of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of one end of a CC ′ cross-section of the image forming apparatus (FIG. 3) in which is disposed. In FIG. 3, the resin spacer 21
Numerals 3 are provided everywhere in parallel to the column electrodes 703 (Doy1 to Doyn) to prevent the face plate 806 and the rear plate 801 from being distorted by the pressure caused by the atmospheric pressure with respect to the vacuum inside the vacuum vessel.

As shown in FIG. 2A, since the spacer 213 exists, in addition to the joints 204 and 205,
A rear plate (electron-emitting device substrate) 20 made of soda lime glass via an adhesive mainly containing 1,212 resins
1 and a face plate (phosphor substrate) 202 made of soda lime glass are joined at a joint portion with an outer frame 103 made of a soda lime glass. In the figure, 206 is an upper wiring side, 207 is an element electrode (upper wiring side), 208 is a conductive thin film including an electron emitting portion, 209 is a phosphor, and 210 is a metal back.

In FIG. 2A, the joints 204, 20
By using an adhesive containing the above-mentioned molten liquid crystal polymer as a main component for 5, 211, 212, the maximum heat treatment temperature is 30
Since the bonding process can be performed at about 0 to 380 ° C,
400 ℃ minimum required for frit bonding (sealing) process
Can be realized.

The spacer 213 may be joined on one side between the face plate and the rear plate. FIG. 2B is a diagram in a case where the bonding of the spacer 213 is performed only on the rear plate side. Further, the bonding of the spacer 213 is performed by using an adhesive 4 that can be applied to the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment.
Of the conditions, (2) to (4) are necessary, but the sealing property of (1): maintaining a high vacuum is not always necessary if the spacer 213 can be fixed because it is inside the vacuum vessel. The adhesive used for bonding the spacer 213 to the face plate 202 and the spacer 213 to the rear plate 202 can be used as long as the spacer 213 can be fixed.
Applicable.

From the beginning, the outer frame 203 and the face plate 202 or the outer frame 203 and the rear plate 201
It is needless to say that the present embodiment is effective even in the case of using a combination of the above.

<Structure of Image Forming Apparatus> Here, an image forming apparatus using a surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. FIG. 17 is a perspective view in which a part of the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment is cut away. A face plate 806, a rear plate 801 and an outer frame 802, and an envelope 808 which is adhered to the adhesive by an adhesive (not shown) for joining these components are formed, and a vacuum is maintained inside.

The rear plate 801 is usually made of soda lime glass (soda lime glass), soda lime glass having SiO ₂ formed on its surface, and the like.
Wirings 702 and 703 for supplying signals for driving the element 04 and the electron-emitting device 704 are formed on the substrate 801. On the other hand, for the face plate 806, the above-described glass or the like is usually used as a substrate, and a phosphor 804 and a non-light-emitting portion made of, for example, a black body are formed in a matrix (black matrix) or stripe ( (Black stripe), and a metal back (electron acceleration electrode) 805 is formed. The electrons emitted from the electron-emitting device 704 are supplied to the high-voltage terminal Hv8.
From 07, it is accelerated by the high voltage applied to the metal back 805, collides with the phosphor 804, and causes the phosphor 804 to emit light. When the conductivity of the metal back 805 is not sufficient, a transparent conductive layer may be provided between the glass substrate 803 and the black stripe (black matrix) and the phosphor 804 as auxiliary means. Also, the rear plate 8
It is also possible to mount a substrate on which the electron-emitting device 704 is directly formed on the substrate 01.

FIG. 4 schematically shows a fluorescent film formed on the face plate 806 of the image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. The fluorescent film 804 in FIG. 3 can be composed of only a phosphor in the case of monochrome. In the case of a color display, the non-light-emitting portions 9 between the necessary three primary color phosphors 902 in FIG.
01. It is preferable that the non-light-emitting portion be a black body because a decrease in contrast due to reflection of external light can be suppressed. The pattern of the non-light-emitting portion is preferably a stripe shape or a matrix shape according to the pixel arrangement.

As a method for applying the fluorescent substance to the glass substrate 803, a precipitation method, a printing method, a slurry method, etc. can be adopted regardless of whether it is monochrome or color. Fluorescent film 804
Is usually provided with a metal back 805.
In the case of color, it is necessary to make each color phosphor correspond to an electron-emitting device, and sufficient alignment is indispensable.

<Structure of Electron Emitting Element> The electron emitting element used here is not limited, and a thermionic electron source and a cold cathode electron source can be used. FIG.
A flat surface conduction electron-emitting device as shown in FIG. 6 and a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device as shown in FIG. 6 can be used. 5A is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 5B is a sectional view thereof, wherein 301 is a substrate, 302 and 303 are device electrodes, 304 is a conductive thin film, and 305 is an electron emitting portion. By supplying a device current between the device electrodes 302 and 303, a high voltage is applied to the opposing surface, an electron beam is emitted from the electron emission unit 305, an emission current flows, and a metal back for applying the high voltage is applied. An image can be formed by the front or rear phosphor film. In FIG. 6,
Reference numeral 421 denotes a step forming portion, which includes a substrate 401, device electrodes 402 and 403, a conductive thin film 404, an electron emitting portion 405, and the like. The operation of the vertical type is the same as that of the horizontal type. In both the planar surface conduction electron-emitting device and the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device, device electrodes 302, 303 or 402, 403 are formed on insulating substrates 301, 401, and both are overlapped on a part of the device electrodes. Conductive thin film 3 for conducting electrodes
04 and 404 are formed, and then a pulse wave of a fixed level or a pulse wave that is temporarily increased in level is applied to the element electrode, and an energization forming process is performed to execute the electron emission section 30.
By forming 5,405 and further performing an activation process or a stabilization process, an electron-emitting device can be formed. By arranging the vertical surface conduction electron-emitting devices two-dimensionally in a matrix, an image can be formed on a fluorescent film or a metal back surface that emits electrons and faces each other.

<Explanation of Image Formation> The electron-emitting devices of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 3 are arranged in a simple matrix. This is schematically shown in FIG. 7, reference numeral 701 denotes a substrate; 702, an X-direction wiring;
3 is a Y-direction wiring. 704 is a surface conduction electron-emitting device, and 705 is a connection. Note that the surface conduction electron-emitting device 704 may be either the flat type shown in FIG. 5 or the vertical type shown in FIG.

In FIG. 7, m X-direction wirings 702 are provided.
Is composed of Dx1, Dx2,..., Dxm, and can be made of a conductive metal or the like formed using a vacuum deposition method, a printing method, a sputtering method, or the like. The material, thickness, and width of the wiring are appropriately designed. The Y-direction wiring 703 includes Dy1, Dy
X-directional wiring 7 composed of n wirings y2,.
02 is formed in the same manner. These m X-direction wirings 70
An interlayer insulating layer (not shown) is provided between the two and the n Y-directional wirings 703 to electrically separate them (m and n are both positive integers).

A pair of electrodes (not shown) constituting the surface conduction electron-emitting device 704 are composed of m X-direction wirings 702 and n
Y-directional wiring 703 and connection 70 made of conductive metal or the like
5 are electrically connected.

The X-direction wiring 702 is connected to a scanning signal applying means (not shown) for applying a scanning signal for selecting a row of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 704 arranged in the X direction. On the other hand, a modulation signal generating means (not shown) for modulating each column of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices 704 arranged in the Y direction according to an input signal is connected to the Y-direction wiring 703. The driving voltage applied to each electron-emitting device is supplied as a difference voltage between a scanning signal and a modulation signal applied to the device. In this way, an electron beam is emitted from the element, and an image can be formed on the opposing fluorescent film or metal back surface.

In the above configuration, individual elements can be selected and driven independently using a simple matrix wiring.

Next, an example of the configuration of a drive circuit for displaying a television image based on an NTSC television signal on a display panel configured using electron sources of simple matrix wiring will be described with reference to FIG. explain. 8, reference numeral 1001 denotes a display panel; 1002, a scanning circuit;
03 is a control circuit, and 1004 is a shift register. 1
005 is a line memory, 1006 is a synchronization signal separation circuit,
1007 is a modulation signal generator, and Vx and Va are DC voltage sources.

In the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, which can take such a configuration, electron emission is generated by applying a voltage to each electron-emitting device via the external terminals Dox1 to Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn. . A high voltage (several kV to tens of kV) is applied to the metal back 805 or a transparent electrode (not shown) via the high voltage terminal Hv to accelerate the electron beam. The accelerated electrons are transferred to the fluorescent film 804
And light is emitted to form an image.

The configuration example of the image forming apparatus described here is merely an example, and various modifications are possible based on the technical concept of the present embodiment. The input signal is not limited to the NTSC system, but may be a PAL or SECAM system or a TV signal composed of a larger number of scanning lines (for example, MUS).
High-quality TV (E) and other high-definition TV systems can also be used.

<Image Forming Apparatus Having Ladder-Type Electron Source> Further, the present embodiment can be applied to an image forming apparatus having a ladder-type electron source. This is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing an example of a ladder-type electron source. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 1100 denotes an electron source substrate, and 1101 denotes an electron-emitting device. 1102 (Dx1
To Dx10) are common wirings connected to the electron-emitting device 1101. A plurality of electron-emitting devices 1101 are arranged on the substrate 1100 in parallel in the X direction (this is called an element row). A plurality of the element rows are arranged to constitute an electron source. By applying a drive voltage between the common wires of each element row, each element row can be driven independently. That is, a voltage equal to or higher than the electron emission threshold is applied to an element row that wants to emit an electron beam, and a voltage equal to or lower than the electron emission threshold is applied to an element row that does not emit an electron beam. The common lines Dx2 to Dx9 between each element row are
x3 may be the same wiring.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a panel structure in an image forming apparatus having a ladder-type electron source. 1200 is a grid electrode, 1201 is a hole opening through which electrons pass, and 1202 is Dox1 and Dox.
2,..., Doxm. 1203
Are G1, G2, connected to the grid electrode 1200.
.. Are external terminals made of Gn. In FIG. 10, the same portions as those shown in FIGS. 3 and 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those shown in these drawings. A major difference between the image forming apparatus shown here and the image forming apparatus having the simple matrix arrangement shown in FIG.

The grid electrode 1200 modulates the electron beam emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device 1101, and passes the electron beam to a stripe-shaped electrode provided orthogonal to the ladder-shaped element row. To make
One circular opening 1201 is provided for each electron-emitting device 1101. The shape and installation position of the grid electrode 1200 are not limited to those shown in FIG. For example, a large number of passage openings may be provided in a mesh shape as the openings 1201, and the grid electrode 1200 may be provided.
May be provided around or near the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

The outer container terminal 1202 and grid outer terminal 1203 are electrically connected to a control circuit (not shown).

In the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, a modulation signal for one line of an image is simultaneously applied to the columns of the grid electrodes 1200 in synchronization with the sequential driving (scanning) of the element rows one by one. Thereby, the phosphor film 8 of the phosphor of each electron beam is formed.
It is possible to display the image one line at a time by controlling the irradiation of the light to the image data 04.

In the case of an image forming apparatus having such a ladder-shaped arrangement of electron sources, the conductive spacer is disposed on a region of the grid where there is no electron passing hole (opening), and the above-mentioned image forming apparatus is provided with a conductive spacer. It can be manufactured in the same manner as manufacturing.

The image forming apparatus of the present embodiment is characterized in that it is large and thin,
In addition to display devices such as video conference systems and computers,
It can also be used as an image forming apparatus as an optical printer constituted by using a photosensitive drum or the like.

Although the vacuum envelope according to the present embodiment is applied to an image forming apparatus, the present invention is not limited to this example, and other apparatuses having a vacuum envelope for maintaining a vacuum degree according to the present invention are also applicable. Of course, it can be applied.

Further, the shape of the spacer includes a flat plate type as described above, a cross shape, an L-shape, a comb shape, and the like. In addition, as shown in FIGS. The substrate may have a shape in which holes are formed in a matrix or a line in accordance with each electron source or a plurality of electron sources, and are appropriately selected. The effect of utilizing the spacer 213 becomes remarkable as the size of the image forming apparatus increases.

[0058]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the contents described in the embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to more specific examples.

Embodiment 1 As Embodiment 1, an image forming apparatus using an adhesive mainly composed of a molten liquid crystal polymer resin instead of a frit (low-melting glass) as a conventional bonding agent will be described.

In this embodiment, the energization forming and activation of the electron-emitting devices formed on the substrate are performed after the completion of the adhesion (seal) of the vacuum envelope.

First, an example in which a flat surface conduction electron-emitting device is used as an electron-emitting device and an image forming apparatus using an electron source arranged in a simple matrix is manufactured is shown in FIGS. 14 is used.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a part of the electron source. FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ in FIG.
And FIG. However, FIGS. 11, 12, 13,
In FIG. 14, the same reference numerals indicate the same members.

Here, 1 is a substrate, 72 is an X-directional wiring (also referred to as a lower wiring), 73 is a Y-directional wiring (also referred to as an upper wiring), 4 is a thin film including an electron emitting portion, 2 and 3 are device electrodes,
151 is an interlayer insulating layer; 152 is an element electrode 2 and a lower wiring 72;
This is a contact hole for electrical connection with the device.

Next, the manufacturing method will be specifically described in the order of steps with reference to FIGS. The following steps a to h correspond to (a) to (h) in FIGS. 13 and 14.

(Step-a) On a substrate 1 in which a silicon oxide film having a thickness of 0.5 μm is formed on a cleaned blue plate glass by a sputtering method, 50 angstrom of Cr and a thickness of 50 Å are formed by a vacuum evaporation method. 6000 angstroms of Au
Are sequentially laminated, a host resist (AZ1370, manufactured by Hoechst) is spin-coated with a spinner, baked, exposed and developed with a photomask image to form a resist pattern of the lower wiring 72, and an Au / Cr deposited film is formed. Was wet-etched to form a lower wiring 72 having a desired shape.

(Step-b) Next, an interlayer insulating layer 151 made of a silicon oxide film having a thickness of 1.0 μm was deposited by RF sputtering.

(Step-c) A photoresist pattern for forming a contact hole 152 is formed in the interlayer insulating layer 151 of the silicon oxide film deposited in the step-b, and the interlayer insulating layer 151 is etched using the photoresist pattern as a mask. A hole 152 was formed. Etching is CF ₄ and H
_This was performed by RIE (Reactive Ion Etching) using _two gases.

(Step-d) Thereafter, a pattern to be a gap L between the device electrodes 2 and 3 and the device electrode is formed by a photoresist (RD-2000N-41, manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.).
50 Å thick Ti,
Ni having a thickness of 1000 Å was sequentially deposited.
Dissolve the photoresist pattern with an organic solvent and use Ni / Ti
The deposited film is lifted off, the element electrode interval L is 3 μm, the width W
Element electrodes 2 and 3 each having a thickness of 300 μm were formed.

(Step-e) After forming a photoresist pattern for the upper wiring 73 on the device electrodes 2 and 3,
Angstrom Ti and 5,000 Å thick Au were sequentially deposited by vacuum evaporation, and unnecessary portions were removed by lift-off to form an upper wiring 73 having a desired shape.

(Step-f) Next, a Cr film 153 having a thickness of 1000 angstroms is deposited and patterned by vacuum evaporation, and organic Pd (ccp4230, manufactured by Okuno Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) is spin-coated thereon by a spinner. , 300
A heating and baking treatment was performed at 10 ° C. for 10 minutes. The thin film 4 formed of fine particles of Pd as the main element has a thickness of 100 angstroms and a sheet resistance of 5 × 10 ⁴ Ω.
/ □. In addition, the fine particles described here are, as described above, a film in which a plurality of fine particles are aggregated, and as a fine structure, not only a state in which the fine particles are individually dispersed and arranged, but also the fine particles are adjacent to each other or overlapped. It refers to a film in a state (including an island shape), and the particle size refers to the diameter of the fine particles whose particle shape can be recognized in the above state.

(Step-g) The Cr film 153 and the fired thin film 4 were etched with an acid etchant to form a desired pattern.

(Step-h) A resist is applied to portions other than the contact hole 152 to form a pattern, and Ti is 50 Å thick and 5000 thick by vacuum evaporation.
Angstrom of Au was sequentially deposited. Unnecessary portions were removed by lift-off to bury the contact holes 152. Through the above steps, the electron source substrate 71 before forming was manufactured.

(Step—Sealing Using Adhesive) Next, a vacuum envelope using an adhesive containing a molten liquid crystal polymer as a main component will be described with reference to FIG. Rear plate 10
A large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices 107 are provided on 1. Further, in the present embodiment, no spacer was used, so that it was not used. A liquid crystal polymer resin: DuPont Zenite 6330 (melting point 3) is bonded to the joint between the face plate 102 and the rear plate 101 and the support frame 103.
After disposing a plate-like molded product having a thickness of 0.3 mm (35 ° C., containing 30% of mineral), a support frame 103 is placed thereon, and a similar liquid crystal polymer resin: DuPont Zenite 6330 is placed on the joint 105 on the support frame 103. A plate-shaped molded product having a thickness of 0.3 mm is placed, the face plate 102 is positioned and placed, and a weight is placed on the face plate 102 (1).
kg / cm ² ) and heated in a clean oven at 350 ° C. for 1 hour, whereby the plate-like liquid crystal polymer melts and flows, the joints 104 and 105 are sealed, and the inside of the vacuum is maintained in a vacuum. Was completed.

At the time of performing the above-mentioned bonding, in the case of color, the phosphors of each color must correspond to the electron-emitting devices, so that sufficient alignment was performed.

(Step—Electrification Forming) After the atmosphere in the envelope completed as described above has reached a sufficient degree of vacuum, a voltage is applied to the element through the outer terminals Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn, The electron emitting portion was produced by forming the conductive thin film 4.

The voltage waveform applied between the device electrodes 2 and 3 in the forming process is shown in FIG. In this embodiment, T1 was set to 1 millisecond, T2 was set to 10 milliseconds, and the triangular wave was formed by gradually increasing the peak value in 0.1 V steps. During the forming process, a resistance measurement pulse of 0.1 V was simultaneously inserted between T2 to measure the resistance between the device electrodes 2 and 3. Forming was terminated when the measured value of the resistance measurement pulse became about 1 MΩ or more, and voltage application to the element was terminated at the same time.

(Step-Activation) Next, with a peak value of 14 V and a pulse width of 30 microseconds, the device current If and the emission current Ie
The activation step was performed while measuring. The activation process is
For example, it can be performed by applying a voltage in an atmosphere containing an organic substance gas, similarly to the energization forming.
By this treatment, carbon or a carbon compound is deposited on the device from organic substances existing in the atmosphere, and the device current I
f, the emission current Ie increases. Note that the applied voltage is appropriately set.

The forming step and the activating step were performed as described above, and a surface conduction electron-emitting device having an electron-emitting portion was manufactured.

(Step-Sealing (Chip-off)) After sufficient baking is performed at a temperature at which the liquid crystal polymer does not melt, the exhaust pipe is heated with a gas burner at a degree of vacuum of about 5 × 10 ⁻⁷ torr. Thus, the envelope was sealed (chip-off).

Finally, in order to maintain the degree of vacuum after sealing,
Getter processing was performed. This is to heat a getter disposed at a predetermined position (not shown) in an envelope by a heating method such as resistance heating or high-frequency heating immediately before or after sealing to form a deposited film. Processing. The getter is usually composed mainly of Ba or the like, and by the adsorption action of the deposited film,
It maintains the degree of vacuum.

A drive circuit for image formation (not shown) is attached to the envelope formed as described above, and in the completed image forming apparatus of the present invention, each of the electron-emitting devices has a terminal D outside the container.
By applying a voltage through x1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn, electrons are emitted, and through a high voltage terminal Hv,
An image was displayed by applying a high voltage to the metal back, accelerating the electron beam, colliding with the fluorescent film, and exciting and emitting light. The images were of uniform, excellent and stable quality.

Although a getter (not shown) is used in the image forming apparatus, the getter material did not oxidize and the gettering effect was sufficient.

As described above, since the bonding process using the liquid crystal polymer resin is a single bonding process at a maximum heat treatment temperature of 350 ° C., the power cost is reduced and the image forming apparatus having a sufficient gettering effect is obtained. And other vacuum envelopes.

Example 2 In Example 2, an adhesive mainly composed of a molten liquid crystal polymer resin and an adhesive mainly composed of a polyimide resin were used instead of the conventional frit (low melting point glass) as a bonding agent. An image forming apparatus using the method will be described.

In the same manner as in Example 1, the substrate provided with a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices was subjected to energization forming and activation in a vacuum chamber.

In this embodiment, the spacer 213 for supporting the atmospheric pressure is present. However, the bonding portions 204 and 205 are formed by using an adhesive mainly composed of a liquid crystal polymer resin.
Adhesives containing a polyimide resin as a main component are used for 1 and 212.

Next, a vacuum envelope using an adhesive mainly composed of a resin, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment, like the first embodiment, includes the following two bonding steps.

In this example, the liquid crystal polymer resin used as the adhesive was Sumika Super E, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
7008 (molding temperature 320 ° C) 0.3 mm thick plate-like molded product and polyimide varnish: Mitsui Toatsu Co., Ltd. product name
LARK-TPI (which was dissolved in dimethylacetamide in the state of a polyimide precursor polyamic acid) was used. The silane coupling agent used to improve the adhesiveness between the adhesive and the glass substrate or the like is not applied to the substrate in advance, but the adhesive varnish is preliminarily coated with 0.5% by weight of the silane coupling agent. It was added and used.

(1) Fixing the spacer on the rear plate In FIG. 2, a polyimide varnish to which the silane coupling agent was added in advance was loaded into a dispenser equipped with a nozzle having an inner diameter of 0.15 mm, and a discharge pressure of 0.02 k
Under the conditions of gf / cm ² , a gap (distance between the tip of the nozzle and the member to be coated) of 0.1 mm, and a nozzle feed speed of 12 mm / sec, the coating was performed on the wiring 206 of the rear plate 201 on which the polyimide molded product spacer 213 was disposed. . Subsequently, the resin spacer 213 is positioned and arranged on the wiring using a jig (not shown), and heated in a clean oven at 300 ° C. for one hour to cure the above adhesive and fix the spacer. Performed without thermal deformation. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2B, an example is shown in which the spacer is fixed only on the rear plate side, but only on the face plate side or as shown in FIG. 2A. It may be performed on both the rear plate side and the face plate side.

(2) Manufacture of Enclosure that Can Adhere Face Plate and Rear Plate to Outer Frame to Maintain Vacuum Next, on rear plate 201, the above liquid crystal polymer resin: Sumika Super E7008 of Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. After arranging a plate-like molded product having a thickness of 0.3 mm,
Align and put on. Further, a plate-shaped molded product of the same liquid crystal polymer resin is arranged at the joint 205 on the support frame 203. In addition, a polyimide varnish or a liquid crystal polymer resin which is the same bonding agent as the bonding portion 205 is appropriately disposed on the bonding portion 212 on the spacer 213. The face plate 202 is positioned and placed, and a weight is placed on the face plate 202 (1 kg / cm ² ) and heated at 320 ° C. for 1 hour in a clean oven, so that the plate-like liquid crystal polymer melts. A vacuum envelope was created that flowed, the joint was sealed, and the interior was maintained under vacuum.

When a high pressure was applied to this image forming apparatus to form an image, the image was excellent in uniformity and stable in quality.

Although a getter (not shown) is used in the image forming apparatus, the gettering effect was sufficient without oxidation of the getter material.

As described above, since the bonding step using the adhesive mainly composed of the molten liquid crystal polymer resin and the polyimide resin is a bonding step in which the maximum heat treatment temperature is 320 ° C., the power cost is reduced, and the spacer cost is reduced. A vacuum envelope such as an image forming apparatus having a sufficient gettering effect without causing thermal deformation can be provided.

As shown in the present embodiment, the adhesive used for joining the outer frame and the face plate and the outer frame and the rear plate is made of a liquid crystal polymer resin having excellent vacuum sealing properties so that the container does not leak under vacuum. Is most preferably used. The adhesive used for bonding the spacer and the face plate and the spacer and the rear plate can be used as long as the spacer can be fixed. Therefore, the main component is a molten liquid crystal polymer resin that maintains a high vacuum, such as the polyimide resin used in this embodiment. Other than the adhesive, it is applicable.

[0095]

As described above, by using an adhesive mainly composed of a molten liquid crystal polymer resin as a bonding agent, the power cost is reduced, the brightness is reduced, the life is shortened, and the getter effect is hardly deteriorated. And a vacuum envelope including an image forming apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a fluorescent film.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing an example of a matrix arrangement type electron source substrate of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a driving circuit for performing display on the image forming apparatus in accordance with an NTSC television signal.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view illustrating an example of a ladder-positioned electron source substrate according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a display panel of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of an electron source substrate used in the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the electron source substrate of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a manufacturing process diagram of the electron source substrate of the present invention.

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

FIG. 15 is a voltage waveform diagram of a forming process.

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of the shape of a spacer.

FIG. 17 is a schematic view of an image forming apparatus of the related art and the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of a conventional image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,101,201,301,401,701,80
1,1701 Element substrate 2,3,107,207,302,303,402,4
03,1707 Electrode 4 Thin film 72,702 Lower (X direction) wiring 73,106,206,703,1706 Upper (Y direction) wiring 102,202,806,1706 Face plate 103,203,802,1702 Support frame 104, 105, 204, 205, 211, 212
Adhesives 109, 209, 804, 902, 1709 Fluorescent film 110, 210, 805, 1710 Metal back 108, 208, 1708 Thin film including electron-emitting portion 151 Interlayer insulating layer 152 Contact hole 153 Cr film 304, 404 Conductive thin film 305 , 405 electron emission part 421 step difference formation part 704 surface conduction type electron emission element 705 connection 807 high voltage terminal 808 envelope 901 black member 1001 display panel 1002 scanning circuit 1003 control circuit 1004 shift register 1005 line memory 1006 synchronization signal separation circuit 1007 modulation Signal generator 1100 Electron source substrate 1101 Electron-emitting device 1102 Dx1 to Dx10 are common wiring for wiring the electron-emitting device 1200 Grid electrode 1201 Opening for electron passing 120 Dox1, Dox2, ..., connected to the vessel terminals 1203 grid electrodes 1200 made of Doxm G1,
G2 1704, 1705 Frit

Claims (7)

[Claims] A face plate; a rear plate disposed to face the face plate; and an outer frame surrounding the periphery between the face plate and the rear plate, wherein the outer frame and the face are provided. In a vacuum envelope in which the plate is joined and the outer frame and the rear plate are joined with a bonding agent, respectively, and the inside is maintained in a vacuum, it is preferable that an adhesive mainly composed of a molten liquid crystal polymer resin is used as the bonding agent. Characteristic vacuum envelope. 2. A face plate, a rear plate disposed to face the face plate, an outer frame between the face plate and the rear plate surrounding the periphery, and the face as an atmospheric pressure resistant support structure. A bonding agent that includes a spacer disposed between a plate and the rear plate, and performs bonding of the outer frame and the face plate and bonding of the outer frame and the rear plate, and bonding of the spacer and the face plate, respectively. Alternatively, in a vacuum envelope for maintaining the inside of a vacuum made of a bonding agent for bonding the spacer and the rear plate, an adhesive having a molten liquid crystal polymer resin as a main component is used as the bonding agent. Enclosure. 3. A face plate, a rear plate disposed opposite to the face plate, an outer frame between the face plate and the rear plate surrounding the periphery, and the face as an atmospheric pressure resistant support structure. A first bonding agent, a spacer, and the face, each of which includes a spacer disposed between a plate and the rear plate, and performs bonding of the outer frame and the face plate and bonding of the outer frame and the rear plate, respectively. In a vacuum envelope for maintaining a vacuum in the inside made of a second bonding agent for bonding a plate or for bonding the spacer and the rear plate, an adhesive mainly composed of a molten liquid crystal polymer resin as the first bonding agent Using an adhesive mainly composed of a polyimide resin as the second bonding agent. Vessel. 4. The vacuum envelope according to claim 2, wherein a resin spacer is used as the spacer. 5. The vacuum envelope according to claim 1, wherein a getter is arranged inside the vacuum envelope. 6. An image forming apparatus using the vacuum envelope according to claim 1, wherein a phosphor and an electron accelerating electrode are formed on the face plate, and the rear plate is formed on the face plate. An image forming apparatus comprising an electron source. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the electron source is a surface conduction electron-emitting device.