JPH11176362A - Image forming method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrict the dispersion of the number of electrons emitted from elements due to voltage drop resulting from wiring resistance and restrict the dispersion of the brightness of an image to be formed. SOLUTION: In a image forming device to emit light from a phosphor with electrons emitted from an electron source 101 for displaying an image, plural intermediate electrodes 102a-102d with plural openings to pass electrons emitted from the electron source 101 therethrough are provided between the electron source 101 and the phosphor to independently apply voltage from variable voltage sources 102a-103d thereto. In this case, voltage to compensate the number of electrons which are reduced by voltage drop in wiring in row and in column of cold cathode elements driven by applying voltage is applied to each of the intermediate electrodes 102a to 102d.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming method and apparatus for forming an image using an electron source in which a plurality of cold cathode devices are arranged in a matrix on a two-dimensional plane.

[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 them, as the cold cathode device, 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. .

[0003] As a surface conduction type emission element, for example, M.
I. Elinson, Radio E-ng. Electron Phys., 10, 1290,
(1965) and other examples described later.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which an electron is emitted when a current flows in a small-area thin film formed on a substrate in parallel with the film surface. Examples of the surface conduction electron-emitting device include a device using an SnO2 thin film by Elinson et al., And a device using an Au thin film [G. Dittmer: “Thin Solid Films”, 9,317 (1)
972)] and those based on In2O3 / SnO2 thin films [M. Hart
well and CG Fonstad: "IEEE Trans. ED Conf."
519 (1975)] and those using carbon thin films [Hisashi Araki
Others: Vacuum, Vol. 26, No. 1, 22 (1983)].

FIG. 24 shows a plan view of the above-mentioned device by M. Hartwell et al. As a typical example of the device configuration of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices. In the figure, reference numeral 3001 denotes a substrate, and reference numeral 3004 denotes a conductive thin film made of a metal oxide formed by sputtering. The conductive thin film 3004 is formed in an H-shaped planar shape as shown. An electron emission portion 3005 is formed by applying an energization process called energization forming to be described later to the conductive thin film 3004. The interval L in the figure is 0.5 to 1 [mm], and the width W is
It is set to 0.1 [mm]. In addition, for convenience of illustration, the electron emitting portion 3005 is shown in a rectangular shape at the center of the conductive thin film 3004, but this is a schematic one, and the position and shape of the actual electron emitting portion are faithfully represented. Not necessarily.

In the above-described surface conduction electron-emitting device including the device by M. Hartwell et al., An electron emission portion 3005 is formed by performing an energization process called energization forming on the conductive thin film 3004 before electron emission. Was common. That is, energization forming is
This is a step of forming an electron-emitting portion by energization, for example, by applying a constant DC voltage to both ends of the conductive thin film 3004 or a DC voltage that increases at a very slow rate of, for example, about 1 V / min. And the conductive thin film 30
04 is locally destroyed or deformed or altered,
This is to form the electron-emitting portion 3005 in a state of being electrically high in resistance. Note that a crack is generated in a part of the conductive thin film 3004 that 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.

As an example of the FE type, for example, WP Dyke
& WW Dolan, “Field emission”, Advance in Ele
ctron Physics, 8, 89 (1956) or CA Spind
t, “Physical properties of thin-film field emissi
on cathodes with molybdeniumcones ”, J. Appl. Phy
s., 47, 5248 (1976).

As a typical example of the FE-type device configuration, FIG. 25 shows a cross-sectional view of the device by CA 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 configuration 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.

Further, examples of the MIM type include, for example, C.I.
A. Mead, “Operation of tunnel-emission Devices,
J. Appl. Phys., 32,646 (1961) and the like are known.
FIG. 26 shows a typical example of the MIM type element configuration.
The figure is a cross-sectional view, in which 3020 is a substrate,
3021 is a lower electrode made of metal, 3022 is a thickness of 100
An insulating layer as thin as about Å, and 3023 has a thickness of 8
The upper electrode is made of a metal of about 0 to 300 angstroms. 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-described 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. Further, even when a large number of elements are arranged on a substrate at a high density, problems such as thermal melting of the substrate hardly occur. Also, unlike the response speed is slow because the hot cathode element operates by heating the heater,
In the case of a cold cathode device, there is also an advantage that the response speed is high. For this reason, research for applying the cold cathode device has been actively conducted.

For example, a surface conduction electron-emitting device has the advantage that a large number of devices can be formed over a large area because it is particularly simple in structure and easy to manufacture among cold cathode devices. Therefore, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 32, a method for arranging and driving a large number of elements has been studied.

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

Particularly, as an application to an image display device, for example, as disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,066,883, JP-A-2-257551 and JP-A-4-28137 by the present applicant, surface conduction is disclosed. An image display device using a combination of a mold emission element and a phosphor that emits light by electron irradiation 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 excellent in that it is a self-luminous type and does not require a backlight and has a wide viewing angle.

A method of arranging and driving a large number of FE elements is disclosed in, for example, US Pat. No. 4,904,89 by the present applicant.
5 is disclosed. Further, as an example of applying the FE type to an image display device, for example, a flat panel display device reported by R. Meyer et al. Is known. [R. Meyer: “Recent D
evelopment on Microtips Display at LETI ”, Tech.Di
gest of 4th Int.Vacuum Microelectronics Conf., Na
gahama, 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.
No. 5738.

The inventors have tried cold cathode devices of various materials, manufacturing methods and structures, including those described in the above prior art. Further, research has been conducted on a multi-electron source in which a large number of cold cathode devices are arranged, and on an image display device using the multi-electron source.

The present inventors have tried a multi-electron source by an electrical wiring method shown in FIG. 27, for example. That is,
This is a multi-electron 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.

In the drawing, 4001 schematically shows a cold cathode element, 4002 shows a row direction wiring, and 4003 shows a column direction wiring. Row direction wiring 4002 and column direction wiring 4003
Actually have a finite electrical resistance, but are shown as wiring resistances 4004 and 4005 in the figure. The above-described wiring method is called simple matrix wiring. Note that, for convenience of illustration, the matrix is shown as a 6 × 6 matrix, but the size of the matrix is not limited to this. For example, in the case of a multi-electron source for an image display device, a desired image is displayed. In this case, only enough elements are arranged and wired.

In a multi-electron source in which cold cathode elements are arranged in a simple matrix wiring, appropriate electric signals are applied to the row wiring 4002 and the column wiring 4003 in order to output desired electrons. For example, any one in the matrix
To drive the cold-cathode elements of a row, a selection voltage Vs is applied to the row-direction wiring 4002 of the selected row, and at the same time, a non-selection voltage Vns is applied to the row-direction wiring 4002 of the non-selected row. In synchronization with this, a driving voltage Ve for outputting electrons 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 (Ve−Vs) is applied to the cold cathode element of the selected row.
Is applied, and the voltage (Ve
-Vns). If these voltages Ve, Vs, and Vns are set to appropriate values, electrons 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-directional wirings. Applying Ve should output electrons of different intensities from each of the elements in the selected row. Further, if the length of time during which the drive voltage Ve is applied is changed, the length of time during which electrons are output should be changed. Here, the element applied voltage (Ve-Vs) at the time of selection is hereinafter referred to as Vf. As another method of obtaining electrons from a multi-electron source wired in a simple matrix,
Instead of connecting a voltage source for applying the drive voltage Ve to the column direction wiring, there is also a method of driving by connecting a current source for supplying a current necessary for outputting desired electrons. Here, the current flowing through the electron source is hereinafter referred to as an element current If, and the amount of emitted electrons is referred to as an emission current Ie.

Therefore, the multi-electron source in which the 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, the device can be suitably used as an electron source for an image display device.

[0021]

However, when a multi-electron source in which cold cathode devices are arranged in a simple matrix wiring is applied to an image display device, the brightness varies.
There is a problem that it is difficult to obtain a high-quality image.

That is, when a current flows into the cold-cathode device via the wiring resistance in the row direction and the column direction in which the matrix wiring is performed, a voltage drop occurs, and a phenomenon occurs in which voltages applied to the respective devices are different from each other. As a result, the electron emission amount of each element varies, and the emission luminance of the phosphor that emits light by the electrons also varies.

FIG. 28 is a diagram for explaining the cause of the voltage drop in more detail. FIG. 28 shows the voltage applied to the electrodes of each element in the row direction (or X direction). .

In the 6 × 6 simple matrix shown in FIG. 27, a voltage is applied from one direction in both the row direction (X direction) and the column direction (Y direction). Further, the row-direction wiring and the column-direction wiring have resistance components of rx and ry in element units, respectively. The cold-cathode elements are arranged at equal intervals in both the row direction and the column direction. As long as the film thickness does not vary in manufacturing, the device has substantially the same wiring resistance in the row direction and the column direction for each element. Further, all the cold cathode elements have substantially the same resistance.

As is clear from FIGS. 27 and 28, the element closer to the voltage application end is not affected by the voltage drop due to the wiring resistance, so a larger voltage is applied, and the element farther from the voltage application end is applied. The voltage decreases. Therefore, the applied voltage applied to each element has a variation corresponding to the distance from the voltage application end. Therefore, it is considered that the electron emission amount and the luminance output from the cold cathode element also vary according to the distance from the voltage application terminal.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and suppresses the variation in the amount of electrons emitted from each element due to the voltage drop due to the wiring resistance, and suppresses the variation in the brightness of the formed image. It is an object to provide a method and an apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the variation in the amount of emitted electrons due to the voltage drop caused by the wiring resistance connecting the elements wired in a matrix, and to reduce the variation in the amount of emitted electrons between the electron source and the image forming means. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming method and apparatus in which the variation in luminance of an image to be formed is suppressed by controlling the potential by applying a potential to the image.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an image forming method and apparatus which facilitates adjustment of color balance by controlling the amount of electrons emitted to the phosphor of each color component for each color.

[0029]

In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention has the following arrangement.
That is, an image forming apparatus having an electron source in which a plurality of cold cathode devices are arranged in a matrix, and in accordance with an image signal, each of the plurality of cold cathode devices is connected via a row wiring and a column wiring. A driving unit that drives by applying a voltage, an image forming unit that emits light by the electrons emitted from the electron source to form an image, and the electron source that is provided between the electron source and the image forming unit. A plurality of intermediate electrodes having a plurality of openings for letting electrons emitted from pass through, and voltage applying means for independently applying a voltage to each of the plurality of intermediate electrodes, wherein the voltage applying means A voltage for compensating for a decrease in the amount of electrons due to a voltage drop in the row direction wiring and the column direction wiring in the cold cathode element driven by applying a voltage by the driving unit is applied to each of the plurality of intermediate electrodes. It applied, characterized in that.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, an image forming apparatus having an electron source in which a plurality of cold cathode devices are arranged in a matrix, and in accordance with an image signal, each of the plurality of cold cathode devices is connected via a row wiring and a column wiring. Drive means for applying a voltage to drive, image forming means for emitting light from the electrons emitted from the electron source to form a color image, and a plurality of openings for passing electrons emitted from the electron source A plurality of intermediate electrodes provided between the electron source and the image forming means for each color component of the color image, and independently for each of the plurality of intermediate electrodes corresponding to each color component Voltage applying means for applying a voltage, wherein the voltage applying means is reduced by a voltage drop in the row direction wiring and the column direction wiring in the cold cathode element driven by applying a voltage by the driving means. And applying a voltage for compensating for the amount of electrons in each of the plurality of intermediate electrodes corresponding to the respective color components.

To achieve the above object, the image forming method of the present invention comprises the following steps. That is, an image forming method using a display panel having an electron source in which a plurality of cold cathode devices are arranged in a matrix, wherein a row direction wiring and a column are provided to each of the plurality of cold cathode devices in accordance with an image signal. A driving step of driving by applying a voltage via a directional wiring, an image forming step of forming an image by causing a phosphor to emit light by electrons emitted from the electron source, and a step of forming an image between the electron source and the phosphor. A voltage application step of independently applying a voltage to each of a plurality of intermediate electrodes having a plurality of openings for allowing electrons emitted from the electron source to pass therethrough, and in the voltage application step, A voltage is applied to each of the plurality of intermediate electrodes to compensate for the amount of electrons that decreases due to a voltage drop in the row-direction wiring and the column-direction wiring in the cold-cathode element to which a voltage is applied and driven in the driving step. Characterized in that it pressure.

To achieve the above object, the image forming method of the present invention comprises the following steps. That is, an image forming method for forming an image using an electron source in which a plurality of cold cathode devices are arranged in a matrix, wherein a row-direction wiring and a column are provided to each of the plurality of cold cathode devices in accordance with an image signal. A driving step of driving by applying a voltage through the directional wiring, an image forming step of forming a color image by causing a phosphor to emit light by the electrons emitted from the electron source, and an electron emitting from the electron source. A voltage that has a plurality of openings for passing therethrough and independently applies a voltage to each of a plurality of intermediate electrodes provided between the electron source and the phosphor corresponding to each color component of the color image Applying step,
In the voltage applying step, a voltage for compensating for the amount of electrons that is reduced by a voltage drop in the row-direction wiring and the column-direction wiring in the cold-cathode element to which a voltage is applied in the driving step and driven is applied to each of the color components. It is characterized in that a voltage is applied to each of a corresponding plurality of intermediate electrodes.

[0033]

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

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of an image display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a surface conduction electron-emitting device is used as a cold cathode device, and a multi-electron source 101 in which these are wired in a simple matrix is used.

The multi-electron source 101 has row terminals Dx1 to DxM,
One end of each of the row wiring and the column wiring is connected to an external circuit via the column terminals Dy1 to DyN. From among the terminals Dx1 to DxM, the scanning signal generator 105 applies a scanning signal for sequentially driving the surface conduction electron-emitting devices arranged in a matrix of M rows and N columns one row at a time in accordance with an image signal. . On the other hand, the column direction terminals Dy1 to DyN
, An image signal corresponding to one row selected by the scanning signal is modulated and input. The modulation signal is for controlling the amount of electrons emitted from each of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices, and is generated and input to the modulation signal generator 106. Further, a phosphor (described later) connected to a high-voltage power supply via a metal back (described later) is disposed to face the multi-electron source 101, and electrons emitted from each element are accelerated in the direction of the phosphor to become a phosphor. These phosphors are configured to emit light upon collision. In the image display device of the present embodiment, the phosphor plays the role of an acceleration electrode.

Further, between the multi-electron source and the phosphor,
Four intermediate electrodes 102a to 102d are arranged for equalizing the amount of electrons transmitted from the multi-electron source 101 to the phosphor. Each of these intermediate electrodes 102 a to 102 d is electrically insulated from each other by an insulator 104. Further, the intermediate electrodes 102a to 102d are connected to the corresponding variable voltage sources 1 through the terminals Sv1 to Sv4, respectively.
03a to 103d, and the intermediate electrode 102a
Each of the potentials Vs1 to Vs4 can be set independently. The intermediate electrodes 102a to 102d are provided with a large number of mesh-shaped passage openings for the purpose of passing electrons from the multi-electron source 101 to the phosphor. What
These passages may be provided in a circular shape one by one corresponding to the cold cathode element to be written.

Next, the intermediate electrodes 102a to 102a of the first embodiment
A method of setting the potential applied to each intermediate electrode so that the amount of electrons passing through 102d becomes uniform will be described.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the potential Vs applied to the intermediate electrode and the amount of electrons passing through the intermediate electrode according to the present embodiment.

In the surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the first embodiment, the amount of electrons passing through the intermediate electrode increases as shown in the figure as the potential Vs of the intermediate electrode increases. Therefore, in the multi-electron source 101, the potential of the intermediate electrode above the emitting element, which is located far from the voltage application terminal and has a large wiring resistance and causes a voltage drop due to a small amount of electron emission, is increased. If the potential applied to the intermediate electrode above the emission element which emits a large amount of electrons due to low wiring resistance and a small voltage drop is reduced, the amount of electrons passing through each intermediate electrode and reaching the phosphor is reduced by the electron source 101. It can be made substantially uniform over the entire surface conduction electron-emitting device.

In the first embodiment, the potential Vs1 of the intermediate electrode 102a located above the portion closest to the voltage application terminal is minimized, and the intermediate electrode 102a located above the portion furthest from the voltage application terminal is minimized. The potential Vs4 of the intermediate electrodes 102b and 102c located above the portion where the distance from the voltage application terminal is intermediate is maximized while the potential Vs4 of the intermediate electrode 102d is maximized.
The potential of s3 is set to an intermediate value between the potentials Vs1 and Vs4.

The relationship between these potentials Vs1 to Vs4 is expressed by the following equation: Vs1 <(Vs2 = Vs3) <Vs4.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, in the surface emitting devices arranged in a matrix, the surface conduction is emitted from each of the emitting devices due to the variation in the voltage applied to each device due to the wiring resistance. Even if the amount of electrons varies, the variation in the amount of electrons reaching the phosphor can be suppressed using the intermediate electrode. As a result, variations in display luminance were able to be suppressed.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of an image display apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Portions common to those in FIG. Is omitted. In the second embodiment, six intermediate electrodes 102a to 102f are arranged on the multi-electron source 101, and the respective intermediate electrodes are connected to the corresponding variable voltage sources 103a to 103f via terminals Sv1 to Sv6.

The potentials Vs1 to Vs6 output from the variable voltage sources 103a to 103f respectively correspond to the intermediate electrodes 102a
The amount of electrons that pass through .about.102f and reaches the phosphor is applied to the intermediate electrode 102a above the element closest to the voltage application end so that the surface conduction is substantially uniform over the entire emission element. The potential Vs1 is minimized, and Vs1 <(Vs2 = Vs4) <(Vs3 = Vs5) <Vs6 according to the distance from the voltage application terminal.
Are established such that the relationship
Each output potential of 3f was set.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the effect of suppressing the variation of the light emission luminance is greater than that of the first embodiment, and the display can be performed with substantially uniform luminance over the entire screen. We were able to. Although the number of intermediate electrodes is set to six in the second embodiment, the effect of suppressing variation in luminance can be increased by further increasing the number of intermediate electrodes.

[Embodiment 3] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of an image display apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. Portions common to FIGS. 1 and 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals. And its explanation is omitted. In the third embodiment, the scanning signal is applied from both ends of the row wiring of the multi-electron source 101, and the modulation signal generator 106 is applied to both ends of the column wiring.
a and 106b are connected, and three intermediate electrodes 102a to 102c are arranged on the multi-electron source 101.

The output potentials Vs1 to Vs3 of the variable voltage sources 103a to 103c are less affected by a voltage drop so that the amount of electrons passing through the intermediate electrodes 102a to 102c and reaching the phosphor is substantially uniform. The voltage applied to the intermediate electrodes 102a and 102c on both sides located above the element is reduced, and the voltage applied to the central intermediate electrode 102b is increased. That is, it is set so that the relationship of (Vs1 = Vs3) <Vs2 is satisfied.

In the third embodiment, the variation in the amount of electron emission due to the voltage drop is different from that in the first and second embodiments.
Since the voltage is smaller than that of the multi-electron source in which the voltage is applied only from one side, the effect of suppressing the variation can be sufficiently recognized even with a smaller number of intermediate electrodes than when the voltage application end is in one direction.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an image display panel 1000 using the above-mentioned multi-electron source, in which a part of the display panel 1000 is cut away to show its internal structure.

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

The rear plate 1005 has a substrate 1001
Are fixed, and N × M cold cathode elements 1002 are formed on the substrate 1001. (Here, 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 the number to 1000 or more. In the present embodiment, N = 3072 and M = 1024. The N × M cold cathode elements are arranged in a simple matrix by M row-directional wirings 1003 and N column-directional wirings 1004. The portion constituted by 1001 to 1004 is referred to as a multi-electron source (corresponding to the multi-electron source 101 described above). The manufacturing method and structure of the multi-electron source will be described later in detail.

In this embodiment, the substrate 1001 of the multi-electron source is fixed to the rear plate 1005 of the airtight container. However, when the substrate 1001 of the multi-electron source has a sufficient strength, The substrate 1001 of the multi-electron source may be used as the rear plate of the airtight container.

On this multi-electron source, an intermediate electrode 1500 having a conductive thin plate (eg, aluminum) (the above-described intermediate electrodes 102a to 102d, 102e, 102f) is provided.
, Etc.), each of which is disposed via an insulator 1503.

FIG. 6 shows an intermediate electrode 1500 of this embodiment.
7 (A) and 7 (B) are partial perspective views showing in detail the structure of FIG. However, in FIGS. 6 and 7, components denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the above-described drawings indicate that they are members equivalent to the components in the above-described drawings.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 1001 denotes a substrate of a multi-electron source, 1003 denotes a wiring in a row direction, 1004 denotes a wiring in a column direction, and 1002 denotes a cold cathode element. Intermediate electrode 1500
Are provided on the row wiring 1003 via the insulator 1502, and the intermediate electrodes 1500 arranged adjacent to each other are electrically insulated from each other by the insulator 1503. An electron passage hole 1501 is formed in the intermediate electrode 1500 so as to cover the upper part of each cold cathode element 1002 and not to block the activation of electrons emitted from the electron emission part of each element 1002. Note that the electron passage hole 1501 is constituted by a large number of mesh-like passage ports.

FIG. 7A is a sectional view taken along the line CC ′ of FIG. 6, and FIG. 7B is a sectional view taken along the line DD ′ of FIG.

In FIG. 5, the face plate 10
A fluorescent body 1008 is formed on the lower surface of 07. Since the image display device of 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 phosphor 1008. The phosphors of each color are separately applied in stripes as shown in FIG. 13A, 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 irradiation position of the electron beam, or to prevent the reflection of external light to prevent the display contrast from being lowered. This is to prevent charge-up of the fluorescent film by the electron beam. The black conductor 1010 has
Although graphite is used as a main component, other materials may be used as long as they are suitable for the above purpose.

FIG. 1 shows how to paint the three primary color phosphors.
The arrangement is not limited to the stripe arrangement shown in FIG. 3A, and may be, for example, a delta arrangement as shown in FIG. 13B or another arrangement.

When a monochrome display panel is manufactured, a monochromatic phosphor material may be used for the phosphor film 1008, and a black conductive material is not necessarily used. In addition, the surface of the fluorescent film 1008 on the rear plate side includes:
A metal back 1009 known in the field of CRT is provided. The purpose of providing the metal back 1009 is to
A part of the light emitted by the light emitting element 008 is specularly reflected to improve the light utilization factor, the fluorescent film 1008 is protected from the collision of negative ions, and the electrode is used as an electrode for applying an electron beam acceleration voltage. And making the fluorescent film 1008 act as a conductive path for the excited electrons. Metal back 1
009, the fluorescent film 1008 is
After that, the surface of the fluorescent film was smoothed, and Al (aluminum) was formed thereon by vacuum evaporation. 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.

The row terminals Dx1 to DxM and the column terminals Dy1
DyN, Ts1 to Tsi (i is the number of intermediate electrodes 1500), and Hv are electric connection terminals having an airtight structure provided for electrically connecting the display panel 1000 and an electric circuit (not shown). The row terminals Dx1 to DxM are the column wirings 1003 of the multi-electron source, the column terminals Dy1 to DyN are the column wirings 1004 of the multi-electron source, the terminals Sv1 to Svi are each the intermediate electrode 1500, and the terminal Hv is the It is electrically connected to the metal back 1009 of the face plate 1007.

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 [to
rr]. 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, and the inside of the hermetic container is 1 × 10 −5 to 5 − due to the adsorbing action of the getter film. The degree of vacuum is maintained at 1 × 10 −7 [torr].

[Fourth Embodiment] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image display device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, a display panel 101 is the same display panel as described above. The display panel 101 has row terminals Dx1 to DxM, column terminals Dy1 to DyN, and terminals Dg connected to intermediate electrodes arranged corresponding to the phosphors of each color.
R, DgG, and DgB, and the display panel 101 and an external electric circuit are connected via these terminals.
As shown in FIG. 5 and described above, the high-voltage terminal Hv of the face plate 1007 is also connected to an external high-voltage power supply so as to accelerate electrons emitted from the electron source in the direction of the phosphor. These row terminals Dx1 to DxM include a multi-electron source provided on the display panel 101,
That is, a scanning signal is applied to sequentially drive the surface conduction electron-emitting devices arranged in a matrix of M rows and N columns in a matrix. On the other hand, to the column terminals Dy1 to DyN, a modulation signal for controlling electrons emitted from each of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices in the row selected by the scanning signal in accordance with an image signal is applied.

Next, the scanning circuit 205 will be described.
The scanning circuit 205 includes M switching elements therein, and each switching element selects either the output voltage of a DC voltage source (not shown) or 0 [V] (ground level). , Are electrically connected to the row terminals Dx1 to DxM of the display panel 101. Each switching element operates based on a control signal Tscan output from the control circuit 204, but actually, for example, FE
It can be easily configured by combining switching elements such as T.

In the case of the present embodiment, the DC voltage source scans based on the characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device (electron emission threshold voltage Vth is 8 [V]) described later with reference to FIG. It is set to output a constant voltage of 7 [V] so that the drive voltage applied to the element connected to the row-directional wiring is equal to or higher than this threshold voltage.

The control circuit 204 adjusts the operation of each part based on a synchronization signal of a video signal input from the outside so that an appropriate display is performed. In the present embodiment,
The control circuit 204 sends the scan timing signal Tscan to the scan circuit 205 and the shift clock Tsft to the shift register 20 based on the input synchronization signal Tsync.
1, the latch signal Tmry to the latch circuit 202, and the mode signal Tmod indicating the modulation mode to the modulation circuit 20.
3 is output.

The shift register 201 inputs a digital video signal in synchronization with a shift clock, and when video data for one scan is stored, outputs the data Id1 to IdN to the latch circuit 202. The latch circuit 202 synchronizes the parallel data Id1 to Id with the aforementioned latch signal Tmry.
It takes in N and outputs it to the modulation circuit 203.

The modulation circuit 203 outputs the parallel image data I
In order to appropriately drive each of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices in one row of the display panel 101 according to each of d1 to IdN, the input video signal is modulated. The modulated output signals Sy1 to SyN are applied to the surface conduction type emission elements of the display panel 101 through the column terminals Dy1 to DyN of the display panel 101. Here, by changing the peak value Vm of the modulation signal pulse according to the original image data, it is possible to perform modulation so as to control the amount of emitted electrons (luminance). In this case, as the modulation circuit 203, a voltage modulation circuit that generates a voltage pulse of a fixed length and modulates the peak value of the pulse appropriately according to input image data is used. Alternatively, it is possible to control the amount of electrons output by changing the pulse width Pw. In this case, a pulse width modulation type circuit that generates a voltage pulse having a constant peak value and changes the pulse width according to input image data is used as the modulation circuit 203.

Each of 206 to 208 is an RGB
Is a variable voltage source that generates a voltage to be applied to an intermediate electrode provided corresponding to each of the above.

Next, a detailed structure of the display panel 101 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the display panel 101 as viewed from the upper right. In order to clarify the internal structure of the display panel 101, an outer wall is partially cut away. In the figure, VC is a vacuum container made of glass, and a face plate (FP), which is a part thereof, indicates a face plate on the display surface side. Transparent electrodes made of, for example, ITO are formed on the inner surface of the face plate (FP), and red (R), green (G), and blue (B) phosphors are striped on these transparent electrodes. (FIG. 13A). Here, in order to avoid complicating the drawing, the transparent electrode and the phosphor are collectively shown as PH. Note that a black matrix or black stripe known in the field of CRT may be provided between the phosphors of the respective colors, and a metal back layer also known may be formed on the phosphors. The above-mentioned transparent electrode is electrically connected to the outside of the vacuum vessel through a terminal EV so that an acceleration voltage of electrons can be applied.

Reference numeral 1001 denotes a substrate of a multi-electron source fixed to the bottom of the vacuum vessel VC, and a plurality of cold cathode devices are arranged in a matrix as described above. In this embodiment, M rows are provided in each of which N elements are wired in parallel. Each row direction wiring is connected to row terminals Dx1 to DxM provided on the side surface of the display panel 101, and each column direction wiring is connected to column terminals Dy1 to DyN.
A drive electric signal can be applied from outside the vacuum vessel VC.

A plurality of stripe-shaped intermediate electrodes GR are provided between the substrate 1001 and the face plate (FP) in accordance with the arrangement of the phosphors arranged in a stripe. N intermediate electrodes GR are provided in the direction of the column wiring orthogonal to the row wirings (that is, in the Y direction). Each intermediate electrode has an opening through which electrons emitted from the electron source pass. Gh is provided. Each of the openings Gh is provided in a circular shape corresponding to each of the cold cathode elements, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a large number of openings may be provided in a mesh shape.

Next, the correspondence between the arrangement of the phosphors on the face plate (FP) and the intermediate electrodes is shown in FIGS. 10 (A) and 10 (B).
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 10A is a diagram showing the arrangement of phosphors, and FIG. 10B is a plan view of the corresponding intermediate electrode viewed from the Z direction in FIG.

In these intermediate electrodes, the intermediate electrode corresponding to phosphor R (which emits red light) is connected to terminal DgR, and the intermediate electrode corresponding to phosphor G (which emits green light) is connected to terminal DgG. The intermediate electrodes corresponding to B (which emit blue light) are respectively wired in the vacuum vessel and electrically connected to the outside of the vacuum vessel so as to be connected to the terminal DgB.

Next, using the intermediate electrode of this embodiment, R,
G. FIG. The principle of adjusting the luminance for each B will be described.

First, let the potential of the intermediate electrode during normal driving be Vs1, and let the potential of the intermediate electrode corresponding to the color during color adjustment be Vs2. Here, how to select these potentials Vs1 and Vs2 will be described.

For the voltage Vs1 during the image display period, it is desired that the electron emitted from the electron source has a high probability of reaching the phosphor surface through the opening provided in the intermediate electrode. In the fourth embodiment, the potential of the intermediate electrode is set so as not to disturb the parallel electric field formed by the surface of the multi-electron source and the phosphor surface, and is set to Vs1. That is, assuming that the distance between the multi-electron source and the phosphor is h1 and the distance between the multi-electron source and the intermediate electrode is h2, the relationship of Vs1 = Vaxh2 / h1 is established. For example, h1 = 4 mm,
When h2 = 200 μm and Va = 10 kV, the potential Vs1 =
500 [V]. In addition, the position of the opening in the XY plane is set so that the electron transmittance is maximized under such conditions. At this time, the present inventors have confirmed that even if the potential Vs2 is higher than or lower than the potential Vs1, the ratio of emitted electrons reaching the phosphor is reduced.

In the fourth embodiment, as described above with reference to FIG. 3, the intermediate electrodes corresponding to the phosphors of the respective colors are commonly wired, and the terminal D connected to each of the common wires is connected.
Since gR, DgG, and DgB are taken out of the vacuum vessel VC, for example, when the potential of DgR is changed, control is performed so that the amount of electrons emitted to the entire red phosphor is reduced.
Similarly, the emission luminance of green is controlled by the potential of the terminal DgG, and the emission luminance of blue is controlled by the potential of the terminal DgB.

The shape and installation position of the intermediate electrode GR described above are not necessarily shown in FIG. 9 as long as they can control the amount of electrons emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device. May be.

Each of the power supplies 206 to 208
Terminals DgR, DgG, D connected to the aforementioned intermediate electrode GR
gB, and generates a variable DC voltage that can adjust the luminance of each color. By changing the DC voltage, color adjustment of the color image display device of the fourth embodiment can be performed. FIG. 12 is an external perspective view of the display panel 101 shown in FIG. 9, and portions corresponding to the above-described configuration in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 11 shows an intermediate electrode 15 according to the fourth embodiment.
00a is a partial perspective view showing in detail the structure of FIG.
The cross-sectional view taken along the line C ′ and the line DD ′ are shown in FIG.
This is the same as that shown in FIG.

In FIG. 11, reference numeral 1001 denotes a substrate of a multi-electron source, 1003 denotes a wiring in a row direction, 1004 denotes a wiring in a column direction, and 1002 denotes a cold cathode element. Intermediate electrode 150
Numeral 0a covers an upper portion of each cold cathode element 1002, and an electron passage hole 1501a is formed so as not to block activation of electrons emitted from an electron emission portion of each element 1002. Each of these intermediate electrodes is connected to a column wiring 1004.
Are provided for a plurality of cold cathode devices that irradiate phosphors of the same color arranged in stripes along the line.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, it is possible to easily adjust the color balance and display a high-quality color image without lowering the gradation of the luminance of each color. is there.

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

Next, the display panel 1000 of the present embodiment
A method for manufacturing the multi-electron source used in the above will be described. The multi-electron source used in the image display device according to the present embodiment is not limited as long as the cold cathode device is a simple matrix-wired electron source. Therefore, for example, a cold cathode device such as a surface conduction type emission device, an FE type, or an MIM type can be used. However, in a situation 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, an extremely high-precision manufacturing technique 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. In addition, the present 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 are particularly excellent in electron-emitting characteristics and can be easily manufactured. Therefore, for use in a multi-electron source of a high-brightness, large-screen image display device,
It can be said that it is the most suitable. Therefore, in the display panel 1000 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 structure, manufacturing method and characteristics of a suitable surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described first, and then the structure of a multi-electron source in which a large number of devices are arranged in a simple matrix will be described.

(Suitable Device Configuration and Manufacturing Method of Surface Conduction Emission Device) A typical configuration of a surface conduction electron-emitting device in which an electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film is a flat type or a vertical type. Kinds are given.

(Planar surface conduction electron-emitting device) First, the structure and manufacturing method of a plane surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. FIG. 14 shows a plan view (A) and a cross-sectional view (B) for describing the configuration of a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device. In the figure, 1101 is a substrate, 1102 and 1103 are device electrodes, 1104 is a conductive thin film, 1105
Are electron-emitting portions formed by an energization forming process;
Reference numeral 113 denotes a thin film formed by the activation process.

As the substrate 1101, for example, various glass substrates such as quartz glass or blue plate glass, various ceramics substrates such as alumina, or an insulating layer made of, for example, SiO 2 is formed on the various substrates described above. A stacked substrate or the like can be used.

The device electrodes 1102 and 1103 provided on the substrate 1101 in parallel with the substrate surface are formed of a conductive material. For example, N
i, Cr, Au, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Cu, Pd,
Materials may be appropriately selected and used from metals such as Ag and the like, alloys of these metals, metal oxides such as In 2 O 3 —SnO 2, and semiconductors such as polysilicon. 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 using other methods (for example, printing techniques). I can't wait.

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. However, for application to a display device, it is preferable that the electrode spacing L be more than a few micrometers. It is in the range of ten micrometers. As for the thickness d of the device electrode, an appropriate numerical value is usually selected from a range of several hundred angstroms to several micrometers.

Further, a fine particle film is used for the portion of the conductive thin film 1104. The fine particle film described here refers to a film including a large number of fine particles as constituent elements (including an island-shaped aggregate). When the fine particle film is examined microscopically, usually, a structure in which the individual fine particles are spaced apart from each other, 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 Å to several thousand Å, but is more preferably in the range of 10 Å to 200 Å.
Further, the thickness of the fine particle film is appropriately set in consideration of various conditions described below. That is, conditions necessary for good electrical connection to the element electrode 1102 or 1103, conditions necessary for performing energization forming described later, and
Conditions necessary for setting the electric resistance of the fine particle film itself to an appropriate value described later, and the like. Specifically, it is set in the range of several Angstroms to several thousand Angstroms, but the range is preferably between 10 Angstroms and 500 Angstroms.

Materials that can be used to form the fine particle film include, for example, Pd, Pt, Ru, Ag,
Au, Ti, In, Cu, Cr, Fe, Zn, Sn, T
a, W, Pb and other metals, PdO, Sn
Oxides such as O2, In2O3, PbO, Sb2O3, etc .; HfB2, ZrB2, LaB6, CeB6, YB
4, borides such as GdB4, TiC, Zr
Carbides such as C, HfC, TaC, SiC, WC, etc .; nitrides such as TiN, ZrN, HfN, etc .; semiconductors such as Si, Ge, etc .; and carbon. Are appropriately selected from these.

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

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

The electron-emitting portion 1105 is a crack-like portion formed in a part of the conductive thin film 1104, and has an electrically higher 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, they are schematically shown in FIG.

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

The thin film 1113 is made of any one of single-crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, and amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and has a thickness of 500 [Å] or less, but 300 [Å] or less. Is more preferred. The actual thin film 1113
Since it is difficult to accurately illustrate the position and shape of
Is schematically shown.

The basic structure of the preferred element has been described above. In the embodiment, the following element is 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 is 1000 [angstrom], and the electrode interval L
Is 2 [micrometers].

As a main material of the fine particle film, Pd or P
Using dO, the thickness of the fine particle film was set to about 100 [angstrom], and the width W was set to 100 [micrometer].

Next, a description will be given of a method of manufacturing a preferred flat surface conduction electron-emitting device. FIGS. 15A to 15D
Is a cross-sectional view for explaining the manufacturing process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the notation of each member is the same as that in FIG.

(1) First, as shown in FIG.
Element electrodes 1102 and 1103 are formed over a substrate 1101. In forming these electrodes, the substrate 1101 is sufficiently washed beforehand with a detergent, pure water, and an organic solvent, and then the material of the device electrode is deposited (for example, a deposition method such as an evaporation method or a sputtering method). Vacuum film forming technology may be used). Thereafter, the deposited electrode material is patterned by using a photolithography / etching technique, and a pair of device electrodes (1102 and 1102) shown in FIG.
Form 3).

(2) Next, a conductive thin film 1104 is formed as shown in FIG. This conductive thin film 1104
In forming (1), first, an organic metal solution is applied to the substrate (a), dried, heated and baked to form a fine particle film, and then patterned into a predetermined shape by photolithography and etching. Here, the organic metal solution is a solution of an organic metal compound containing, as a main element, a material of fine particles used for a conductive thin film (specifically, in this embodiment, Pd was used as a main element. In the embodiment, a dipping method is used as a coating method.
Other than that, for example, a spinner method or a spray method may be used).

As a method of forming a conductive thin film made of a fine particle film, other than the method of applying an 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, a deposition method or the like is used.

(3) Next, as shown in FIG. 9C, the forming power supply 1110 switches the device electrodes 1102 and 1111 from each other.
The electron emitting portion 1105 is formed by applying an appropriate voltage during the period 03 and performing the energization forming process.

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

FIG. 16 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. Also, monitor pulses Pm for monitoring the state of formation of the electron-emitting portion 1105 are inserted at appropriate intervals between the triangular-wave pulses, and the current flowing at that time is measured by the ammeter 1.
It was measured at 111.

In the embodiment, for example, in a vacuum atmosphere of about 10 −5 [torr], for example, the pulse width T1 is set to 1 [millisecond], and the pulse interval T2 is set to 10
[Milliseconds], and the peak value Vpf is set to 0.1 for each pulse.
The voltage was increased by [V]. Then, each time five triangular waves were applied, the monitor pulse Pm was inserted at a rate of once.
In order not to adversely affect the forming process,
The monitor pulse voltage Vpm was set to 0.1 [V].
Then, when the electric resistance between the element electrodes 1102 and 1103 becomes 1 × 10 6 [ohm], that is, when the current measured by the ammeter 1111 when the monitor pulse is applied becomes 1
At the stage where the power became × 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 of this embodiment, and the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, such as the material and thickness of the fine particle film or the distance L between the device electrodes, is changed. In such a case, it is desirable to appropriately change the energization conditions accordingly.

(4) Next, as shown in FIG.
The device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are supplied from the activation power source 1112.
During the energization activation process, apply an appropriate voltage during
Improve electron emission characteristics. This energization activation process
This 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). Note that by performing the energization activation process, the emission current at the same applied voltage can be typically increased by 100 times or more as compared with before the energization activation process.

Specifically, 10 minus the fourth power to 1
In a vacuum atmosphere in the range of 0 to the fifth power [torr],
By periodically applying a voltage pulse, carbon or a carbon compound originating from an organic compound existing in a vacuum atmosphere is deposited. The deposit 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, more preferably 300 Å or less.

FIG. 17A shows an example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from the activation power supply 1112 in order to describe the energization method in more detail. In the present embodiment, the energization activation process is performed by applying a rectangular wave of a constant voltage periodically, but specifically, the rectangular wave voltage Vac is 14
[V], pulse width T3 is 1 [millisecond], pulse interval T
4 is 10 [milliseconds]. The above-mentioned energization conditions are as follows:
This is a preferable condition for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present embodiment, and when the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is changed, it is desirable to appropriately change the condition accordingly.

Reference numeral 1114 shown in FIG. 15D denotes an anode electrode for capturing an emission current Ie emitted from the surface conduction electron-emitting device. The anode electrode 1114 is connected to a DC high-voltage power supply 1115 and an ammeter 1116. (Note that the substrate 1101
When the activation process is performed after the display panel is incorporated into the display panel, the phosphor screen of the display panel is connected to the anode electrode 1114.
Used as). While the voltage is applied from the activation power supply 1112, the emission current Ie is measured by the ammeter 1116 to monitor the progress of the energization activation processing, and the activation power supply 111
2 is controlled. One example of the emission current Ie measured by the ammeter 1116 is shown in FIG. Activation power supply 11
When the pulse voltage starts to be applied from 12, 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. If the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is changed, the conditions should be changed accordingly. Is desirable.

As described above, the flat surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 15E was manufactured.

(Vertical Surface Conduction Emitting Element) Next, another typical structure of a surface conduction electron-emitting device in which the electron-emitting portion or its periphery is formed of a fine particle film, that is, a vertical surface-conduction emission device. The configuration of the element will be described.

FIG. 18 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a vertical basic structure of the present embodiment.
01 is a substrate, 1202 and 1203 are device electrodes, 1206
Denotes a step forming member, 1204 denotes a conductive thin film using a fine particle film, 1205 denotes an electron emitting portion formed by an energization forming process, and 1213 denotes a thin film formed by an energization activation process.

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

Next, a method of manufacturing a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. FIGS. 19A to 19F are cross-sectional views for explaining a manufacturing process.
Is the same as

(1) First, as shown in FIG.
An element electrode 1203 is formed over a substrate 1201.

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

3) Next, as shown in FIG. 13C, 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. 11E, a conductive thin film 1204 using a fine particle film is formed. For the formation, as in the case of the flat type, a film forming technique such as a coating method may be used.

6) Next, as in the case of the flat type, the energization forming process is performed to form an electron emission portion (the same process as the flat type energization forming process described with reference to FIG. 15C). Just do it.)

(7) Next, as in the case of the flat type,
An energization activation process is performed to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity of the electron emission portion (the same process as the planar energization activation process described with reference to FIG. 15D may be performed).

As described above, a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 19F was manufactured.

(Characteristics of Surface Conduction Emission Element Used in Display Device) The element structure and manufacturing method of the planar and vertical surface conduction electron-emitting devices have been described above. Next, the characteristics of the element used in the display device will be described. Is described.

FIG. 20 shows the (emission current Ie) versus (element applied voltage Vf) characteristics of the element used in the display device of this embodiment.
And typical examples of (device current If) versus (device applied voltage Vf) characteristics. Note that the emission current Ie is significantly smaller than the device current If, and it is difficult to show the same current on the same scale. In addition, these characteristics are changed by changing design parameters such as the size and shape of the device. For,
The two graphs are shown in arbitrary units.

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

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

Secondly, since the emission current Ie changes depending on the voltage Vf applied to the element, the emission current Ie depends on the voltage Vf.
Size can be controlled.

Third, since the response speed of the current Ie emitted from the element is faster with respect to the voltage Vf applied to the element, the amount of charge of the electrons emitted from the element depends on the length of time during which the voltage Vf is applied. Can control.

Because of the above characteristics, 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, display can be performed by sequentially scanning the display screen. That is,
The driving element has a threshold voltage Vth according to a desired light emission luminance.
The above voltage is appropriately applied, and a voltage lower than the threshold voltage Vth is applied to the non-selected elements. By sequentially switching the elements to be driven, the display screen can be sequentially scanned and displayed.

In addition, by using the second characteristic or the third characteristic, the light emission luminance can be controlled, so that a gradation display can be performed.

(Structure of a Multi-Electron Source in Which Many Devices are Wired in a Simple Matrix) Next, the structure of a multi-electron source in which the above-mentioned surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged on a substrate and wired in a simple matrix will be described.

FIG. 21 shows the display panel 10 described above.
It is a top view of the multi-electron source used for 00. Substrate 100
1, a surface conduction electron-emitting device similar to that shown in FIG. 14 is arranged.
003 and the column-directional 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. 22 shows a cross section taken along line AA ′ of FIG.

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

FIG. 23 shows a configuration in which 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 source. It is a figure for showing an example of a multifunctional display device. In the figure, 1000 is the display panel described above, 2101 is a display panel driving circuit, 2102 is a display controller, 2103 is a multiplexer, 2104 is a decoder,
2105 is an input / output interface circuit, 2106 is C
PU 2107 is an image generation circuit, 2108 and 210
9 and 2110 are image memory interface circuits,
2111 is an image input interface circuit, 2112 and 2113 are TV signal receiving circuits, and 2114 is an input unit.

(Note that, when the present display device receives a signal containing both video information and audio information, such as a television signal, for example, it reproduces the audio simultaneously with the display of the video. Descriptions of circuits, speakers, and the like relating to reception, separation, reproduction, processing, storage, and the like of audio information that are not directly related to the characteristics of the present invention are omitted. go.

First, the TV signal receiving circuit 2113 is a circuit for receiving a TV image signal transmitted using a wireless transmission system such as radio waves or spatial optical communication. The format of the received TV signal is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, various systems such as the NTSC system, the PAL system, and the SECAM system. Further, a TV signal (for example, a so-called high-definition TV including the MUSE system) composed of a larger number of scanning lines than the above 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 type of the TV signal to be received is not particularly limited, and the TV signal received by this circuit is also output to the decoder 2104.

The image input interface circuit 21
Reference numeral 11 denotes a circuit for capturing an image signal supplied from an image input device such as a TV camera or an image reading scanner. The captured image signal is output to a decoder 2104.

The image memory interface circuit 2
110 is a video tape recorder (hereinafter abbreviated as VTR)
Is a circuit for capturing the image signal stored in the decoder 2104. The captured image signal is output to the 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 2
Reference numeral 108 denotes a circuit for taking in an image signal from a device that stores still image data, such as a so-called still image disk.
04 is output.

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. .

Further, 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 CPU.
A circuit for generating display image data based on the image data and character / graphic information output from 2106.
Within this circuit, for example, a rewritable memory for storing image data and character / graphic information, a read-only memory for storing image patterns corresponding to character codes, and a processor for performing image processing Circuits necessary for generating an image, such as those described above, are incorporated. The display image data generated by this circuit is
The data is output to an external computer network or a printer via the input / output interface circuit 2105 in some cases.

The CPU 2106 mainly performs operations related to operation control of the present display device and generation, selection, and editing of a display image.

For example, a control signal is output to the multiplexer 2103, and an image signal to be displayed on the display panel is 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 display frequency, a scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced), and the number of scanning lines per screen are displayed. The operation of the device is appropriately controlled.

Further, image data and character / graphic information are 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.

The CPU 2106 may, of course, be involved in work for other purposes. For example,
It may be directly related to a function of generating and processing information, such as a personal computer or a word processor.

Alternatively, as described above, the computer may be connected to an external computer network via the input / output interface circuit 2105 to perform operations such as numerical calculations in cooperation with external devices.

The input unit 2114 is connected to the CPU 21.
06 is for the user to input commands, programs, data, and the like. For example, in addition to a keyboard and a mouse, various input devices such as a joystick, a barcode reader, and a voice recognition device can be used.

The decoder 2104 is provided with the 2107
And 2113 are circuits for inversely converting various image signals inputted from 2113 into three primary color signals or luminance signals and I and Q signals. It is to be noted that the decoder 2104 desirably includes an image memory therein, as indicated by a dotted line in FIG. This is for handling television signals that require an image memory when performing inverse conversion, such as the MUSE method. Further, the provision of the image memory facilitates the display of a still image, or enables image processing and editing including image thinning, interpolation, enlargement, reduction, and synthesis in cooperation with the image generation circuit 2107 and the CPU 2106. This is because there is an advantage that it 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, a signal for controlling, for example, a screen display frequency and a scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced), which is related to the display panel driving method, is output to the driving circuit 2101.

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 1000. The drive circuit 2101 is a circuit for generating an image signal input from the multiplexer 2103 and the display panel controller 21.
02 operates based on a control signal input from the control unit 02.

The function of each section has been described above. With the configuration illustrated in FIG. 23, the present display device can display image information input from various image information sources on the display panel 1.
000 can be displayed. That is, various image signals including television broadcasting are transmitted to the decoder 21.
After the inverse conversion at 04, the multiplexer 2103
And is input to the driving circuit 2101 as appropriate. 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 1 based on the image signal and the control signal.
000 is applied to the drive signal. Thus, an image is displayed on display panel 1000. These series of operations are totally controlled by the CPU 2106.

In the present display device, the image memory incorporated 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,
It is also possible to perform image processing such as rotation, movement, edge enhancement, thinning, interpolation, color conversion, image aspect ratio conversion, and image editing such as synthesis, erasure, connection, replacement, and fitting. is there. 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 is a television broadcast display device, a video conference terminal device, an image editing device for handling still images and moving images, a computer terminal device, an office terminal device such as a word processor,
It can be equipped with the functions of a game machine etc. by one unit, and has a very wide application range for industrial or consumer use.

FIG. 23 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 source, and it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this. No. For example, among the components shown in FIG. 23, circuits relating 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, a display panel using a surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron source can be easily thinned, so that the depth of the entire display device can be reduced. In addition, since the display panel using the surface conduction electron-emitting device as the electron source is easy to enlarge the screen, has high brightness, and has excellent viewing angle characteristics, this display device is capable of displaying images full of immersion and full of powerful images with good visibility. It is possible to display.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent a variation in luminance due to a variation in the amount of electrons emitted from each emitting element due to a voltage drop caused by wiring resistance in a multi-electron source. be able to.

According to the present embodiment, there is an effect that a high-quality color image can be formed while maintaining the luminance balance of each color.

[0172]

As described above, according to the present invention, the variation in the amount of electrons emitted from each element due to the voltage drop caused by the wiring resistance can be suppressed, and the variation in the luminance of the formed image can be suppressed.

Further, according to the present invention, the variation in the amount of emitted electrons due to the voltage drop caused by the wiring resistance connecting the elements wired in a matrix can be reduced by the intermediate electrode interposed between the electron source and the image forming means. , The variation in the luminance of the formed image can be suppressed.

Further, according to the present invention, there is an effect that the color balance can be easily adjusted by controlling the amount of electrons emitted to the phosphor of each color component for each color.

[0175]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of an image display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a relationship between a potential of an intermediate electrode and an amount of electrons passing through the intermediate electrode in the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of an image display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of an image display device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the display panel of the image display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in which a part of the display panel is cut away;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state of attachment of the intermediate electrodes according to the first to third embodiments.

7A is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 6, and FIG.
(B) is a DD ′ sectional view.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image display device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway external view showing a configuration of a display panel according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of phosphors (A) and an arrangement of intermediate electrodes (B) in the display panel according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state of attachment of an intermediate electrode according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a partially cutaway external view showing a configuration of a display panel according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a plan view illustrating a phosphor array of a face plate of the display panel of the present embodiment.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the present embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing step of the planar surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an applied voltage waveform in the energization forming process.

FIG. 17 shows an applied voltage waveform (a) at the time of the activation process.
It is a figure showing change (b) of emission current Ie.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the present embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing a step of manufacturing a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 20 is a graph showing typical characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the present embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a partial plan view of a substrate of the multi-electron source used in the present embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of the substrate of the multi-electron source of FIG. 21 used in the present embodiment.

FIG. 23 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. 24 is a plan view showing an example of a conventionally known surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 25 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventionally known FE element.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of a conventionally known MIM type device.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a wiring method of the electron-emitting device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a change in applied voltage of an element connected to a row direction wiring.

[Description of Signs] 101, 1000 Display panels 102a to 102d, 102e, 102f, 1500,
1500a Intermediate electrodes 103a to 103d, 103e, 103f, 206 to 2
08 Variable voltage source 105 Scanning signal generator 106 Modulation signal generator 1501, 1501a Opening

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hidetoshi Suzumi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc.

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus having an electron source in which a plurality of cold cathode devices are arranged in a matrix, wherein a row direction wiring and a column direction wiring are provided to each of the plurality of cold cathode devices in accordance with an image signal. A driving unit that drives by applying a voltage through, an image forming unit that forms an image by emitting light with electrons emitted from the electron source, and is provided between the electron source and the image forming unit, A plurality of intermediate electrodes having a plurality of openings for allowing electrons emitted from the electron source to pass therethrough; and voltage applying means for independently applying a voltage to each of the plurality of intermediate electrodes; Means for applying a voltage for compensating a decrease in the amount of electrons due to a voltage drop in the row-direction wiring and the column-direction wiring in the cold cathode element driven by applying a voltage by the driving means, to the plurality of intermediate electrodes; Image forming apparatus and applying to each. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of intermediate electrodes are arranged at positions where the plurality of cold cathode elements are divided into approximately 2 × 2 blocks. And 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of intermediate electrodes are arranged at positions where the plurality of cold cathode elements are divided into approximately 2 × 3 blocks. And 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of intermediate electrodes are arranged at positions where the plurality of cold cathode devices are divided into approximately 1 × 3 blocks. And 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit supplies a voltage from one end of each of the row direction wiring and the column direction wiring to drive the cold cathode element. It is characterized by doing. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit drives the cold cathode element by supplying a voltage from both ends of the row direction wiring. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the voltage applying unit is configured to apply a voltage to each of the row direction wiring and the column direction wiring to which a voltage is applied by the driving unit. Wherein the voltage applied to the intermediate electrode closest to the voltage supply end is lowest, and the voltage applied to the intermediate electrode furthest from the voltage supply end is highest. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cold cathode device is a surface conduction type emission device. 9. An image forming apparatus having an electron source in which a plurality of cold cathode devices are arranged in a matrix, wherein each of the plurality of cold cathode devices is provided with a row direction wiring and a column direction wiring according to an image signal. A driving unit that drives by applying a voltage through the device, an image forming unit that emits light by the electrons emitted from the electron source to form a color image, and a plurality of units for passing the electrons emitted from the electron source. A plurality of intermediate electrodes provided between the electron source and the image forming means for each color component of the color image, and each of the plurality of intermediate electrodes corresponding to each color component Voltage applying means for independently applying a voltage, wherein the voltage applying means applies a voltage to the row-direction wiring and the column-direction wiring in the cold-cathode element driven by applying a voltage by the driving means. Image forming apparatus and applying to each of the plurality of intermediate electrodes a voltage for compensating a decreasing amount of electrons corresponding to the respective color components Ri. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said image forming means has phosphors emitting light corresponding to each color, and said phosphors of each color are arranged in stripes. It is characterized by the following. 11. An image forming method using a display panel having an electron source in which a plurality of cold cathode devices are arranged in a matrix, wherein each of the plurality of cold cathode devices is arranged in a row direction in accordance with an image signal. A driving step of driving by applying a voltage via a wiring and a column direction wiring; an image forming step of forming an image by causing a phosphor to emit light by electrons emitted from the electron source; and the electron source and the phosphor And a voltage application step of independently applying a voltage to each of a plurality of intermediate electrodes having a plurality of openings for passing electrons emitted from the electron source. In the step, the voltage for compensating the amount of electrons reduced by the voltage drop in the row direction wiring and the column direction wiring in the cold cathode element driven by applying a voltage in the driving step is set to the plurality of intermediate electrodes. Image forming method comprising applying to each. 12. The image forming method according to claim 11, wherein, in the driving step, a voltage is supplied from one end of each of the row direction wiring and the column direction wiring to drive the cold cathode element. It is characterized by doing. 13. The image forming method according to claim 11, wherein in the driving step, a voltage is supplied from both ends of the row direction wiring to drive the cold cathode element. 14. The image forming method according to claim 11, wherein in the voltage applying step,
The voltage applied to the intermediate electrode closest to the voltage supply end of each of the row direction wiring and the column direction wiring to which a voltage is applied in the driving step is the lowest, and the intermediate electrode farthest from the voltage supply end is It is characterized in that the applied voltage is the highest. 15. An image forming method for forming an image using an electron source in which a plurality of cold cathode devices are arranged in a matrix, wherein each of the plurality of cold cathode devices is arranged in a row direction in accordance with an image signal. A driving step of applying a voltage through a wiring and a column direction wiring to drive, an image forming step of forming a color image by causing a phosphor to emit light by the electrons emitted from the electron source; Having a plurality of openings for letting through electrons, and applying a voltage independently to each of a plurality of intermediate electrodes provided between the electron source and the phosphor for each color component of the color image. Applying a voltage, wherein in the voltage applying step, the amount of electrons reduced by a voltage drop in the row-direction wiring and the column-direction wiring in the cold-cathode element to which a voltage is applied and driven in the driving step is reduced. Supplement Image forming method characterized in that the voltage to be applied to each of the plurality of intermediate electrodes corresponding to the respective color components.