JPH11185678A - Electron emitting element flat panel display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently and stably emit electrons with a low voltage by providing barrier ribs protruded on a back substrate into a vacuum space, and providing second barrier ribs protruded on a front substrate to the surface of phosphor layers. SOLUTION: Barrier ribs RR on a back substrate 10 side are arranged at prescribed intervals on an insulating support section 17 to be protruded into a vacuum space 4 from the back substrate 10. A plurality of second barrier ribs FR having the height larger than the distance to the surface of phosphor layers 3R, 3G, 3B on the vacuum space 4 are provided on a translucent front substrate 1. The barrier ribs RR on the back substrate 10 side and the second barrier ribs FR on the translucent front substrate 1 side are brought into contact with each other, and both substrates 10, 1 are faced to each other across the vacuum space 4. A plurality of ohmic electrodes 11 extended in parallel are formed on the inner face of the back substrate 10 on the vacuum space 4 side. A plurality of bus electrodes 16 connected on part of metal thin film electrodes 15 of electron emitting elements S and vertically extended on the ohmic electrodes 11 are provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an electron-emitting device, and more particularly to an electron-emitting device flat panel display device in which a plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in an image display array such as a matrix.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an FED (field emission displa) of a flat panel display device of a field emission device.
y) is known as a planar light emitting display with an array of cold cathode electron emitters that does not require heating of the cathode. For example, the light emission principle of an FED using a spindt type cold cathode is based on a CRT (cathode) although the cold cathode array is different.
As in the case of a ray tube, electrons are extracted into a vacuum by a gate electrode separated from the cathode, and collide with a phosphor applied to the transparent anode to emit light.

However, this field emission source has a
The production process of the spindt-type cold cathode is complicated, and the number of processes is large, so that there is a problem that the production yield is low. Further, there is an electron-emitting device having a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structure as a surface electron source. The electron emission device having the MIM structure has an Al layer serving as a cathode on a substrate and an A1 ₂ layer having a thickness of about 10 nm.
Some have a structure in which an O ₃ insulator layer and an Au layer as an anode having a thickness of about 10 nm are sequentially formed. When this is placed under the counter electrode in a vacuum and a voltage is applied between the lower Al layer and the upper Au layer and an acceleration voltage is applied to the counter electrode, some of the electrons jump out of the upper Au layer to the counter electrode. Reach.

[0004] However, an electron-emitting device having an MIM structure
But the emission current is 1 × 10^-FiveA / cm ^TwoDegree, emission current
The ratio is 1 × 10^-3And only enough power for image display
The number of elements was not obtained, and a flat
Panel display devices are still not enough.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is directed to a flat panel using an electron emission element having a high electron emission efficiency and capable of stably emitting electrons at a low voltage. It is an object to provide a display device.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a pair of rear substrates and a light-transmitting front substrate facing each other across a vacuum space are formed on the surface of the rear substrate on the vacuum space side. An electron supply layer formed of a metal or a semiconductor formed on the ohmic electrode, an insulator layer formed on the electron supply layer, and an electron formed of a metal thin film electrode formed on the insulator layer and facing the vacuum space. A plurality of emission devices, wherein the front substrate has a collector electrode formed on the surface on the vacuum space side thereof and a phosphor layer formed on the collector electrode, and a plurality of phosphor layers corresponding to the phosphor layer. An electron-emitting device flat panel display device having an image display array consisting of a light-emitting portion, wherein the back substrate,
A plurality of insulating members each disposed between the electron-emitting devices and having a height greater than the distance from the back substrate to the surface of the metal thin-film electrode on the vacuum space side and projecting into the vacuum space; A first partition having a height greater than a distance from the front substrate to a surface of the phosphor layer on the vacuum space side, and projecting into the vacuum space and contacting the partition; It has a plurality of second partition walls in contact with each other. With this, while ensuring a substrate interval for preventing a short circuit between the collector electrode and the bus electrode,
The continuity of the vacuum space of the plurality of electron-emitting devices can be maintained.

In the above-mentioned electron-emitting device flat panel display device, the second partition extends in a direction in which the ohmic electrode extends, and is in contact with a plurality of the partitions. The above-mentioned electron-emitting device flat panel display device, further comprising an insulating support formed on the back substrate and disposed between the adjacent electron-emitting devices, wherein the first partition is formed on the insulating support. It is characterized by having been done.

[0008] In the above-mentioned flat panel display device, the first partition may have an overhang portion protruding in a direction substantially parallel to the rear substrate on an upper portion thereof.

[0009]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a flat panel display device of an electron-emitting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, one electron-emitting device S of the electron-emitting device flat panel display device is used.
Is to form an ohmic electrode 11 made of aluminum (Al), tungsten (W) or the like on a rear substrate 10 made of glass or the like, and then form, for example, silicon (Si) thereon.
An electron supply layer 12 made of, for example, is formed thereon. An insulator layer 13 made of, for example, SiO _x (X = 0.1 to 2.0) is formed thereon, and platinum (Pt), gold (Au) ) Etc. are laminated. The material of the back substrate 10 is not only glass but also Al ₂ O ₃ , S
Ceramics such as i ₃ N ₄ and BN may be used. For example, on the inner surface of the rear substrate, a metal ohmic electrode is formed with a thickness of about 300 nm, an electron supply layer is formed thereon with a thickness of about 5 μm, and an insulator layer is formed with a thickness of about 400 nm. A metal thin-film electrode having a thickness of about 10 nm is formed thereon, thereby completing the electron-emitting device alone.

The front substrate 1 has a collector electrode 2 made of indium tin oxide (so-called ITO), tin oxide (SnO), zinc oxide (ZnO) or the like on its inner surface. Receive the electron. Phosphors 3R, G, B are applied on the transparent collector electrode 2.
As described above, the light-emitting panel portion of the electron-emitting device flat panel display device of the present invention has a transparent front substrate 1.
And a pair of back substrates 10 having a plurality of electron-emitting devices S on the inner surface facing each other with the vacuum space 4 interposed therebetween. The pair of back and front substrates 10 and 1 are held by a spacer or the like with the vacuum space 4 interposed therebetween and sealed.

The principle of light emission of the electron-emitting device can be explained by a diode structure in which the metal thin film electrode 15 on the front surface has a positive potential Vd and the back ohmic electrode 11 has a ground potential, as shown in FIG. When a voltage Vd is applied between the ohmic electrode 11 and the metal thin-film electrode 15 to inject electrons into the electron supply layer 12, a diode current Id flows, and the insulator layer 13 has a high resistance. It covers the insulator layer 13. The electrons are transferred to the insulating layer 13 toward the metal thin film electrode 15 side.
Move in. The electrons reaching the vicinity of the metal thin film electrode 15 are
Therefore, a part of the metal thin-film electrode 15 is tunneled by the strong electric field and is released into the outside vacuum. The electrons e (emission current Ie) emitted from the metal thin-film electrode 15 by the tunnel effect are accelerated by the high acceleration voltage Vc applied to the opposing collector electrode (transparent electrode) 2 and collected at the collector electrode 2. If the phosphor 3 is applied to the collector electrode, the corresponding visible light is emitted.

As a material of the electron supply layer 12 of the electron-emitting device, amorphous silicon (a-Si) or hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si: H) in which a-Si dangling bond is terminated with hydrogen (H) is used. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC: H) in which part of Si is replaced by carbon (C) is effective, but hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride in which part of Si is replaced by nitrogen (N) is effective. A compound semiconductor such as Ride (a-SiN: H) may be used, and silicon doped with boron or antimony may also be used.

The insulating layer 13 is made of a dielectric material and has a thickness of 50 nm or less.
It has a very thick film thickness. Insulator layer 13
As a dielectric material, silicon oxide SiO_x(X is the atomic ratio
Is particularly effective, but LiO_x, LiN_x, Na
O_x, KO_x, RbO_x, CsO_x, BeO_x, MgO_x, M
gN_x, CaO_x, CaN_x, SrO_x, BaO_x, Sc
O_x, YO_x, YN_x, LaO_x, LaN_x, CeO_x, Pr
O_x, NdO_x, SmO_x, EuO_x, GdO_x, TbO_x,
DyO_x, HoO_x, ErO_x, TmO_x, YbO_x, Lu
O_x, TbO_x, DyO_x, HoO_x, ErO_x, TmO_x,
YbO_x, LuO_x, TiO_x, TiN_x, ZrO_x, Zr
N_x, HfO_x, HfN_x, ThO_x, VO_x, VN_x, Nb
O_x, NbN_x, TaO_x, TaN_x, CrO_x, CrN_x,
MoO_x, MoN_x, WO_x, WN_x, MnO_x, ReO_x,
FeO_x, FeN_x, RuO_x, OsO_x, CoO_x, Rh
O_x, IrO_x, NiO_x, PdO_x, PtO_x, CuO_x,
CuN_x, AgO_x, AuO_x, ZnO_x, CdO_x, Hg
O_x, BO_x, BN_x, AlO_x, AlN_x, GaO_x, Ga
N _x, InO_x, TiO_x, TiN_x, SiN_x, GeO_x,
SnO_x, PbO_x, PO_x, PN_x, AsO_x, SbO_x,
SeO_x, TeO_xMetal oxide or metal nitride
Good.

Also, LiAlO_Two, Li_TwoSiO_Three, Li_Two
TiO_Three, Na_TwoAl_{twenty two}O₃₄, NaFeO_Two, Na_FourSiO
_Four, K_TwoSiO_Three, K_TwoTiO_Three, K_TwoWO_Four, Rb_TwoCr
O_Four, CS_TwoCrO_Four, MgAl_TwoO_Four, MgFe_TwoO_Four, M
gTiO_Three, CaTiO_Three, CaWO_Four, CaZrO_Three, S
rFe₁₂O₁₉, SrTiO_Three, SrZrO_Three, BaAl_Two
O_Four, BaFe₁₂O₁₉, BaTiO_Three, Y_ThreeAl_FiveO₁₂, Y
_ThreeFe_FiveO₁₂, LaFeO_Three, La_ThreeFe_FiveO₁₂, La_TwoTi
_TwoO₇, CeSnO_Four, CeTiO_Four, Sm_ThreeFe_FiveO₁₂, E
uFeO_Three, Eu_ThreeFe_FiveO₁₂, GdFeO_Three, Gd_ThreeFe_Five
O₁₂, DyFeO_Three, Dy_ThreeFe_FiveO₁₂, HoFeO_Three, H
o_ThreeFe_FiveO₁₂, ErFeO_Three, Er_ThreeFe_FiveO ₁₂, Tm_ThreeF
e_FiveO₁₂, LuFeO_Three, Lu_ThreeFe_FiveO₁₂, NiTi
O_Three, Al_TwoTiO_Three, FeTiO_Three, BaZrO_Three, Li
ZrO_Three, MgZrO_Three, HfTiO_Four, NH_FourVO_Three, A
gVO_Three, LiVO_Three, BaNb_TwoO₆, NaNbO_Three, S
rNb_TwoO₆, KTaO_Three, NaTaO_Three, SrTa_TwoO₆,
CuCr_TwoO_Four, Ag_TwoCrO_Four, BaCrO_Four, K_TwoMoO
_Four, Na_TwoMoO_Four, NiMoO_Four, BaWO_Four, Na_TwoWO
_Four, SrWO_Four, MnCr_TwoO_Four, MnFe_TwoO_Four, MnTi
O_Three, MnWO_Four, CoFe_TwoO_Four, NnFe_TwoO_Four, FeW
O_Four, CoMoO_Four, CoTiO_Three, CoWO_Four, NiFe
_TwoO_Four, NiWO_Four, CuFe_TwoO_Four, CuMoO_Four, CuT
iO_Three, CuWO_Four, Ag_TwoMoO_Four, Ag_TwoWO_Four, ZnA
l_TwoO_Four, ZnMoO_Four, ZnWO_Four, CdSnO_Three, Cd
TiO_Three, CdMoO_Four, CdWO_Four, NaAlO_Two, Mg
Al_TwoO_Four, SrAl_TwoO_Four, Gd_ThreeGa_FiveO₁₂, InFeO
_Three, MgIn_TwoO_Four, Al_TwoTiO_Five, FeTiO_Three, MgT
iO_Three, Na_TwoSiO_Three, CaSiO_Three, ZrSiO_Four, K_Two
GeO_Three, Li_TwoGeO_Three, Na_TwoGeO_Three, Bi_TwoSn
_ThreeO₉, MgSnO_Three, SrSnO_Three, PbSiO_Three, Pb
MoO_Four, PbTiO_Three, SnO_Two-Sb_TwoO_Three, CuSe
O_Four, Na_TwoSeO_Three, ZnSeO_Three, K_TwoTeO_Three, K_TwoT
eO_Four, Na_TwoTeO_Three, Na_TwoTeO_FourMetal complex acids such as
Compound, FeS, Al_TwoS_ThreeOf sulfur, MgS, ZnS, etc.
Material, LiF, MgF_Two, SmF_ThreeSuch as fluoride, HgC
1, FeCl_Two, CrCl_ThreeChloride, such as AgBr, C
uBr, MnBr_TwoBromide such as PbI_Two, CuI, F
eI_TwoSuch as iodide or metal such as SiAlON
Even oxynitride is effective as a dielectric material for the insulator layer 13.
is there.

Further, as a dielectric material of the insulator layer 13, carbon such as diamond, fullerene (C _2n ) or A
l ₄ C ₃ , B ₄ C, CaC ₂ , Cr ₃ C ₂ , Mo ₂ C, MoC, NbC, SiC, TaC,
Metal carbides such as TiC, VC, W ₂ C, WC, and ZrC are also effective. Fullerene (C _2n ) consists only of carbon atoms
₆₀ include C ₃₂ -C ₉₆₀ spherical cage molecules represented by, In the above formula, O _x, of N _x x represents an atomic ratio. Less than,
the same.

The thickness of the insulator layer is 50 nm or more, preferably about 100 to 1000 nm. As the material of the metal thin-film electrode 15 on the electron emission side, metals such as Pt, Au, W, Ru, and Ir are effective, but Al, Sc, Ti, V, C
r, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Y,
Zr, Nb, Mo, Tc, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, L
n, Sn, Ta, Re, Os, Tl, Pb, La, C
e, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, D
y, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, etc. can also be used.

As a method for forming these thin films, a sputtering method is particularly effective.
(Chemical vapor deposition), laser ablation, MBE (molecular beam epitaxy), and ion beam sputtering. As described above, in each electron-emitting device, when a DC voltage is applied between the metal ohmic electrode and the metal thin-film electrode on the rear substrate so that the metal thin-film electrode becomes positive, electrons are emitted through the metal thin-film electrode. In the meantime, by applying a high voltage of, for example, about 5 kV between the metal thin film electrode and the transparent collector electrode of the front substrate, the emitted electrons are accelerated and collide with the phosphor coated on the front substrate. The phosphor emits light by the energy.

In order to actually form a flat display using the electron emission and the phosphor emission, the following steps are necessary. ~ 3. Therefore, it is necessary to solve these problems. 1. The phosphor on the front substrate is changed to R, G,
B must be painted separately. R, G, B on front substrate
Although it is necessary to apply phosphors of three colors, R, G, and B are alternately applied along a line that is the same as the ohmic electrode direction when bonded to the back substrate in order to apply three colors to one pixel. There must be.

2. When displaying an image, for example, electron-emitting devices corresponding to a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix must be formed. When an image is displayed by simple matrix driving, it is necessary to form an electrode thin film including a metal ohmic electrode and a bus electrode constituting an electron-emitting device in a stripe shape on the rear substrate, and to make the electrodes orthogonal to each other. The intersection between the ohmic electrode and the bus electrode is one pixel, and its size is determined by the relationship between the screen size and the display definition. The pixel pitch has a size including the R, G, and B light emitting units, but the basic unit is the cell pitch.

3. When a phosphor for a color CRT is used, the electron acceleration voltage must be 5 kV or more in order to obtain light emission luminance to some extent. Actual CRT
Applies an acceleration voltage of about 20 kV. What matters here is the distance between the metal thin film electrode and the transparent collector electrode on the front substrate. After the front substrate and the rear substrate are opposed to each other and sealed, the inside is evacuated, but when a high voltage is applied in a state where the distance between the substrates is short, a discharge phenomenon occurs between the metal thin film electrode and the transparent collector electrode and electron emission The element is destroyed. Therefore, the distance between the metal thin film electrode and the transparent collector electrode needs to be 1 mm or more. If the screen size is small, there is no problem if a spacer for gap formation is installed around the panel and the front substrate and the back substrate are held, but from about 5 inches or more, it is sufficient to hold only the spacer around the panel edge. Without sufficient strength of both substrates,
There is a problem that the substrates are broken or the substrates are bent so that they come into contact at the center. Therefore, we form a partition which also has a spacer effect inside the screen. It is a matter of how often the partition walls should be installed and how large the partitions should be. In any case, the aperture ratio is reduced, and it is not easy to manufacture a partition having a height of 1 mm.

In view of this, an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment having a partition wall inside is also shown in FIG. The flat panel display device according to the embodiment includes a pair of light-transmitting front and back substrates 1 and 10 made of glass or the like.
R and the second partition FR on the front substrate 1 side are in contact with each other, and both substrates are opposed to each other with the vacuum space 4 interposed therebetween.

A plurality of ohmic electrodes 11 extending in parallel with each other are formed on the inner surface of the rear substrate 10 on the vacuum space 4 side. The ohmic electrodes 11 are a set of three in accordance with R, G, and B color signals of red, green, and blue in order to form a color display panel, and a predetermined signal is applied to each of them. A plurality of electron-emitting devices S are formed on the ohmic electrode 11, and the electron-emitting devices S are arranged in a matrix. On a part of the metal thin film electrode of the adjacent element,
These are electrically connected to each other, and a plurality of bus electrodes 16 extending vertically to the ohmic electrodes and extending in parallel with each other are provided. The intersection of the ohmic electrode 11 and the bus electrode 16 corresponds to the electron-emitting device S. Therefore,
As a driving method of the display device of the present invention, a simple matrix method or an active matrix method can be applied.

As shown in FIG. 3, the electron-emitting device S includes an electron supply layer 12, an insulator layer 13, and a metal thin-film electrode 15 formed on an ohmic electrode 11 in this order. The metal thin film electrode 15 faces the vacuum space 4. In particular, an insulating support portion 17 surrounding each of the electron-emitting devices S and dividing it into a plurality of electron-emitting regions is formed. This insulating support portion 17
Supports the bus electrode 16 and prevents disconnection. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, an insulating support portion or a substance having a large electric resistance is preliminarily formed on a peripheral portion other than the electron-emitting device, and is substantially the same as the final thickness when the electron-emitting device is formed in a subsequent step. The film is formed in advance.

Further, in the present embodiment, a partition RR on the rear substrate side is formed on the insulating support portion 17 so as to protrude from the rear substrate 10 into the vacuum space 4. The partition walls RR are arranged at predetermined intervals. In FIG. 2, the partition RR
Is formed between them for each electron-emitting device S,
The partition walls RR may be formed with an interval between every two or three electron-emitting devices S, for example. Also, in FIG.
R is formed continuously in a direction substantially perpendicular to the ohmic electrode 11, but may be formed intermittently while leaving an upper area including a portion in contact with the second partition FR on the front substrate 1 side. Thereby, the direction in which the bus electrode 16 extends can be matched with the phosphor layers 3R, 3G, and 3B. In any case, the partition RR is formed between the electron-emitting devices S.

Further, it is preferable that the partition RR has an upper bottom area larger than a lower bottom area in contact with the rear substrate. That is, it is preferable that the partition RR is formed so as to have an overhang portion projecting in a direction substantially parallel to the rear substrate on the upper part. Further, in FIG. 2, the bus electrode 1 provided on the metal thin film electrode 15 of the back substrate 10 is shown.
6 is formed in a simple linear shape, but the bus electrode 16 is not linear, but the metal thin film electrode 15 of the electron-emitting device is formed.
Between the electron-emitting devices, that is, it is preferable that the electron-emitting devices are formed so as to have a width larger than that of the device. Thereby, the resistance value of the bus electrode can be reduced.

The ohmic electrode 11 is made of a material such as Au, Pt, Al, W or the like generally used for IC wiring, a three-layer structure of chromium, nickel, and chromium.
An alloy of l and Nd, an alloy of Al and Mo, and an alloy of Ti and N can also be used, and have a uniform thickness that supplies substantially the same current to each element. Although not shown in FIG. 2, between the back substrate 10 and the ohmic electrode 11, SiO _x , Si
An insulator layer made of an insulator such as N _x , Al ₂ O ₃ , or AlN may be formed. The insulator layer has a function of preventing adverse effects on the element from the rear substrate 10 made of glass (elution of impurities into alkali components and the like, and unevenness of the substrate surface).

The material of the metal thin-film electrode 15 is a material having a small work function φ from the principle of electron emission. In order to increase the electron emission efficiency, the material of the metal thin film electrode 15 is preferably a Group I or Group II metal of the periodic table, for example, Cs, R
b, Li, Sr, Mg, Ba, Ca, etc. are effective.
These alloys may be used. In addition, the metal thin film electrode 15
The material is preferably a highly conductive and chemically stable metal in terms of ultra-thinness. For example, a simple substance of Au, Pt, Lu, Ag, Cu or an alloy thereof is desirable. It is also effective to coat or dope these metals with a metal having a small work function.

As the material of the bus electrode 16, Au, P
Materials generally used for IC wiring, such as t, Al, and Cu, may be used. The thickness is sufficient to supply substantially the same potential to each element, and 0.1 to 50 μm is appropriate. However, if the resistance value is acceptable, the material used for the metal thin film electrode can be used without using the bus electrode. On the other hand, a transparent collector electrode 2 made of ITO is integrally formed on an inner surface (a surface facing the rear substrate 10) of a light-transmitting front substrate 1 such as a transparent glass, which is a display surface, and a high voltage is applied thereto. Is applied. When a black stripe or a back metal is used, these can be used as collector electrodes without providing ITO.

A plurality of front ribs (second barrier ribs) FR are formed on the collector electrode 2 so as to be parallel to the ohmic electrode 11. On the collector electrode 2 between the extending front ribs, phosphor layers 3R, 3G, 3B made of phosphors corresponding to R, G, B are formed so as to face the vacuum space 4, respectively. ing. As described above, the distance between the rear substrate and the front substrate is fixed at the boundary between the phosphors (for example,
1 mm) is provided for the front rib (second partition) FR. Since the front rib (second partition) FR is provided on the front substrate 1 in a direction orthogonal to the rear rib (partition) RR provided on the rear substrate 10, the phosphor on the front substrate corresponds to the three primary colors of light. R, G, and B are surely applied separately.

As described above, the electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to the embodiment has an image display array which is arranged in a matrix and includes a plurality of light-emitting pixels each including a red R, green G, and blue B light-emitting portion. doing. of course,
Instead of the RGB light emitting portions, a monochrome display panel can be formed as a single color light emitting portion. Next, a manufacturing process of the electron-emitting device flat panel display device will be described. <Preparation of Back Substrate> As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of ohmic electrodes 11 are formed in a plurality of parallel stripes on an insulating substrate such as glass by a patterning process.
As the ohmic electrode material, any material can be used as long as it has a small electric resistance and can be formed as a film, and particularly, aluminum and tungsten are preferable. As an example of the dimensions of the stripe, the width is 160 μm, the thickness is 0.3 μm, and the line interval is 300 μm.

As a method of forming the striped ohmic electrode 11, for example, there is a method of forming a film only on the ohmic electrode portion using a mask, or a method of forming an electrode film on the entire surface of the substrate and then performing various etchings. Only the method of leaving only is good. Further, a screen printing method or a photosensitive paste method may be used. In the insulating support part process,
As shown in FIG. 5, on the surface of the manufactured ohmic electrode, an electrically insulating insulating support portion 17 is formed by removing a portion to be an electron-emitting device in a later step as an opening 17a. The material of the insulating support portion 17 is, for example, polyimide. Opening 1
7 a exposes the ohmic electrode 11. The thickness of the insulating support portion 17 is finally made substantially the same as the thickness of the electron-emitting device, and is set to, for example, 5 μm in the embodiment.

The opening of a portion to be an electron-emitting device has a width of 200 μm, which is larger than that of the electrode, and has a longitudinal length of 440.
μm. The width of the opening takes into account the misalignment at the time of mask overlay, and the ohmic electrode 11 may be in direct contact with SiO _x (X = 0.1 to 2.0) formed in a later step. It is considered so as not to be. In this insulating support portion process, in a later process, a silicon film of an electron supply layer is formed to a thickness of 5 μm for each electron-emitting device, and finally, a metal thin film is electrically continuously formed in a direction orthogonal to the metal ohmic electrode direction. It is necessary to form an electrode or a bus electrode for electrically connecting the island-shaped metal thin-film electrodes. However, if the insulating support portion 17 other than the electron-emitting device is not provided, the electron supply layer material is used. Due to the step of the silicon layer having a thickness of 5 μm, the probability of disconnection of the uppermost continuous metal thin film electrode or bus electrode becomes extremely high. If any one of the lines is broken, all the lines in the display panel become defective, but this is resolved.

The insulating support portion 17 may be formed by, for example, a screen printing method. The reason why the formation of the insulating support portion is included in this step is that the influence of heat is not applied to the next step. By applying heat before the device is manufactured, the device is not affected by extra heat. Next, in the partition wall forming step, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of electrically insulating rear ribs RR projecting from above the back substrate 10 are arranged so that the insulating supporting portions 1 are orthogonal to the ohmic electrode 11 extending direction.
7 is formed. That is, at least a part of the ohmic electrode 11 is exposed between the rear ribs RR. In the direction orthogonal to the metal ohmic electrode,
The dimensions of the rear rib RR formed on the insulating support portion 17 between the electron-emitting devices are, for example, 100 μm in width and height (thickness).
10 μm. The rear rib RR may be formed by, for example, a screen printing method.

The following effects can be achieved as effects of the rear rib RR. It is not possible to form a partition extending continuously in the same direction as the ohmic electrode 11 on the rear substrate because the metal thin film electrode is disconnected. When the rear substrate and the front substrate are bonded together using only the front rib FR, there is no problem in arrangement, but since the front rib FR having a height of 1 mm is in direct contact with the metal thin film electrode, the probability that the metal thin film electrode on the rear substrate is broken is also high. Will be very high.
However, if an insulating rear rib RR orthogonal to the ohmic electrode 11 is provided, the front electrode FR of the front substrate comes into contact with the rear rib RR of the rear substrate, so that disconnection of the bus electrode cannot occur. In addition, since the partition walls are formed from both the rear substrate and the front substrate, the height of each partition wall can be reduced, so that there is an effect that the fabrication is facilitated and the strength after bonding is increased. Further, after the lamination, the inside is evacuated, a vacuum space 4 is formed, and then a sealing is performed, which is equivalent to a CRT. However, since the front rib FR and the rear rib RR are orthogonal to each other, all the spaces are continuous. Therefore, there is also an effect that the evacuation can be easily performed.

Although the cross section of the rear rib RR may be a rectangular parallelepiped, the length of the portion (lower bottom) in contact with the insulating support portion 17 in the electrode direction is shorter than that of the upper surface (upper bottom), and the cross section in the electrode direction is smaller. A trapezoid is more preferable. That is,
An overhang portion 18 protruding above the rear rib RR in a direction parallel to the substrate is formed along the extending direction of the rear rib RR. In addition to screen printing, the overhang portion 18 can be formed as an undercut of the rear rib RR by using a method such as a photolithography method.

A non-photosensitive polyimide is formed as an example of a partition material on the ohmic electrode 11 of the rear substrate to a predetermined thickness by, for example, a spin coating method, and a photoresist mask of a photoresist is formed thereon. The rear rib RR is etched into a pattern shape using a technique such as active ion etching. By etching the polyimide film with an alkaline solution as an etchant, the rear rib RR is in an undercut state.

Incidentally, what has heretofore been referred to as polyimide contains a substance in a precursor state before imidization, and becomes a real polyimide when cured at about 300 ° C. by post-baking. However, as the material instead of the polyimide, any material may be used as long as the lower supporting material is not etched, and an electrically insulating material that can maintain the strength before forming the electron supply layer material can be used.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, in an electron supply layer forming step, silicon as an electron supply layer material is deposited on each of the exposed portions of the ohmic electrode 11 via a mask 31 to form at least one layer. Is formed. Although a portion to be an electron-emitting device when the insulating support portion 17 is formed is left as an opening, a similar opening is also provided in the mask 31.
Silicon is deposited at 0 μm and 480 μm in the longitudinal direction.
The thickness is 5 μm. The height of the silicon layer 12 substantially coincides with the height of the insulating support portion 17, and the step is eliminated. However, although some swelling is seen at the boundary, the mask 31
Is located on the rear rib RR having a height of 10 μm, so that silicon is diffused, a clear step cannot be formed, and a smooth curve is formed. Silicon may be formed by either a vapor deposition method or a sputtering method.

[0039] Then, in the insulating layer forming step, as shown in FIG. 8, SiO _x (X on the entire surface of the silicon layer 12 =
0.1 to 2.0) is applied to the insulating layer 13 having a thickness of about 0.4 μm.
Is formed by a vapor deposition method, a sputtering method, or the like. Since SiO _x is insulative, no problem occurs even if the film is uniformly formed in a solid state. On the contrary, it also serves to electrically separate the electron-emitting devices from each other. In addition, there is also an effect of alleviating a step caused by film formation of each substance. This has the effect that the metal thin film electrode finally formed on the surface and the bus electrode formed thereon are not disconnected due to steps.

Next, as shown in FIG.
5 is formed on the insulator layer 13 for each electron-emitting device. If it is a direction perpendicular to the ohmic electrode, it may be continuous instead of each electron-emitting device, but when actually forming a film, since evaporation or sputtering is often used, the mask is formed in a continuous stripe shape as described above. It is necessary to process the mask, and it is difficult to use a mask having a large number of stripe-shaped slits in terms of mask strength in handling. Therefore, the mask 32 is formed in the same manner as when the silicon electron supply layer 12 is formed.
The metal thin-film electrodes 15 are individually formed on the electron-emitting devices by using the above method. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
Are formed as individual island electrodes to be connected by bus electrodes. The strength of the mask 32 having openings corresponding to the respective electron-emitting devices is ensured more than the mask having many stripe-shaped slits. When a continuous stripe shape can be formed, or when a stripe shape can be formed by another film formation method such as etching, the individual metal thin film electrode for each electron-emitting device using the mask as described above is used. There is no need to stick to film formation.

The material of the metal thin film electrode may be any material having a low work function, but platinum or gold is preferable. The thickness at the time of film formation is about 10 nm, and the method of film formation is preferably evaporation or sputtering, but may be etching as described above. In the next bus electrode forming step, as shown in FIG.
Is formed using a mask 33 by an evaporation method, a sputtering method, or the like. A bus electrode 16 is provided to ensure conduction between the metal thin film electrodes. The bus electrode 16 may be made of any material as long as it has a small electric resistance. Of course, a metal having a low resistivity, such as Al, Cu, or Au, is desirable.

Since the bus electrode 16 conducts in the direction orthogonal to the ohmic electrode 11, the bus electrode 16 may be provided linearly in that direction, as shown in FIG. For this purpose, a thin line width is formed on the metal thin film electrode 15 and a shape between the metal thin film electrodes 15 is made thick to secure an aperture ratio on the metal thin film electrode 15. If a second insulating layer (not shown) is formed in a grid pattern on the bus electrode 16 and the insulator layer 13 except for the exposed surface of the metal thin film electrode 15, the bus electrode is covered, thereby preventing unnecessary short circuit. it can. <Preparation of Front Substrate> First, as shown in FIG. 13, a transparent collector electrode 2 is formed on a transparent front substrate 1 such as glass. The transparent collector electrode 2 may have a high visible light transmittance and a low electric resistance.
TO and the like are optimal. This transparent collector electrode 2 is
A film is formed on the entire surface of the front substrate to a thickness of 4 μm.

Next, as shown in FIG. 14, a black stripe BM is formed on the transparent collector electrode. When this black stripe BM is attached to the back substrate,
A portion of the rear substrate corresponding to the electron-emitting device is an opening 19, and a light-absorbing substance is provided in a lattice shape in other portions. For example, the vertical and horizontal widths are 100 μm each, and the thickness is 1 μm. This can be achieved by forming CdTe into a film by screen printing.

Next, as shown in FIG. 15, a front rib (second partition) FR is formed on the front substrate 1 so as to be parallel to the ohmic electrode when the front and rear substrates are bonded.
To form The width is about 100 μm and the height is 1 mm. An insulating material is used. The insulating material may be uniformly formed on the black stripe BM to a thickness of 1 mm by a method such as a sand blast method of spraying fine solid particles or a method of increasing the thickness by screen printing or the like. The front rib (second partition) FR has an effect of creating a distance between the rear substrate and the front substrate and an effect of a separation partition at the time of applying a phosphor in a subsequent step.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 16, phosphors 3R, 3G and 3B are applied alternately between the front ribs FR. As the phosphor, for example, a phosphor used for a CRT is formed to a thickness of about 20 μm. <Laminating Step> The rear substrate and the front substrate manufactured as described above are brought into contact with the partition RR on the rear substrate 10 side and the second partition FR on the front substrate 1 side. After the substrates are sealed so as to face each other, the periphery of the substrate is sealed, and the space between the two substrates is evacuated to a vacuum. Then, the getter installed inside is scattered by induction heating, and the exhaust port is finally sealed. This is for adsorbing impurity gas generated after sealing.

The ohmic electrode and the bus electrode on the rear substrate are connected to the ground and the positive voltage, respectively, and the transparent electrode on the front substrate is connected to the positive voltage of several kV, thereby forming a pair of light transmitting members as shown in FIG. A flat panel display device including a front substrate 1 and a rear substrate 10 having different properties is completed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an electron-emitting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic partial perspective view showing an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic partial enlarged cross-sectional view of the electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to the present invention, taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in a manufacturing process of an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in a manufacturing process of an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in a process of manufacturing an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic partial enlarged sectional view of a partition wall in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic partial sectional view of a substrate in a manufacturing process of an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic partial enlarged cross-sectional view of a partition wall in an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in a manufacturing process of an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a substrate in a manufacturing process of an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in a manufacturing process of an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in a manufacturing process of an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in a manufacturing process of an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in a manufacturing process of an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a schematic partial perspective view of a substrate in a manufacturing process of an electron-emitting device flat panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transparent front substrate 2 Collector electrode 3R, 3G, 3B Phosphor layer 4 Vacuum space 10 Back substrate 11 Ohmic electrode 12 Electron supply layer 13 Insulator layer 15 Metal thin film electrode 16 Bus electrode 17 Insulating support part 18 Overhang Part RR partition FR second partition

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Atsushi Yoshizawa, Inventor 6-11, Fujimi, Tsurugashima-shi, Saitama Inside Pioneer Research Institute (72) Inventor Takashi Nakama 6-1-1, Fujimi, Tsurugashima-shi, Saitama (72) Nobuyasu Negishi, Inventor, No. 6-1, 1-1 Fujimi, Tsurugashima-shi, Saitama Prefecture Pioneer Co., Ltd. (72) Takashi Yamada, 6-1, Fujimi, Tsurugashima-shi, Saitama No. 1 Pioneer Corporation Research Laboratory (72) Inventor Shingo Iwasaki 6-1, 1-1 Fujimi, Tsurugashima City, Saitama Prefecture Pioneer Corporation Research Laboratory (72) Inventor Hiroshi Ito 6 1-1 Fujimi, Tsurugashima City, Saitama Prefecture No. 1 Pioneer Corporation Research Laboratory (72) Inventor Kiyohide Ogasawara Fuji, Tsurugashima City, Saitama Prefecture 6-1-1, Pioneer Research Institute

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pair of a rear substrate and a light-transmitting front substrate facing each other across a vacuum space, each being formed on an ohmic electrode formed on the surface of the rear substrate on the vacuum space side. An electron supply layer made of a metal or a semiconductor, a plurality of electron-emitting devices including an insulator layer formed on the electron supply layer and a metal thin film electrode formed on the insulator layer and facing the vacuum space. An image display array including a collector electrode formed on a surface on the vacuum space side of the front substrate and a phosphor layer formed on the collector electrode, and a plurality of light emitting units corresponding to the phosphor layers; An electron-emitting device flat panel display device, comprising: a back substrate, each of which is disposed between the electron-emitting devices, and is formed of the metal thin film electrode on the vacuum space side from the back substrate. A plurality of insulating first partition walls having a height greater than a distance to a surface and protruding into the vacuum space, wherein the front substrate is each of the phosphors on the vacuum space side from the front substrate; A plurality of second members having a height greater than the distance to the surface of the layer and projecting into the vacuum space and contacting the partition wall;
An electron-emitting device flat panel display device having a partition. 2. The electron-emitting device flat panel display according to claim 1, wherein the second partition extends in a direction in which the ohmic electrode extends, and is in contact with a plurality of the partitions. apparatus. 3. An insulating support formed on the rear substrate and disposed between the adjacent electron-emitting devices,
2. The flat panel display device of claim 1, wherein the first partition is formed on the insulating support. 4. The flat panel display device according to claim 1, wherein the first partition has an overhanging portion protruding in a direction substantially parallel to the rear substrate on an upper portion thereof.