JP2002270121A - Electron beam generator, image forming apparatus, and support spacer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: In an electron beam generator having an electrode and an electron source particularly using a surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron-emitting device, an intermediate member is arranged between the electron source and the electrode. In addition, the present invention provides an electron beam generator in which the trajectory of emitted electrons does not fluctuate. An electron source having a plurality of cold cathode type electron-emitting devices, an electrode disposed opposite to the electron source and acting on electrons emitted from the electron source, and disposed between the electron source and the electrode In the electron beam generator having the insulating spacer 5 formed as described above, the spacer 5 has an island-shaped metal film 5 b on the surface thereof, and the island-shaped metal film is disposed on the electron source 1 and / or the electrode 8. It is electrically connected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron beam generating apparatus, an image forming apparatus such as a display apparatus to which the apparatus is applied, and a supporting spacer used for the apparatus. The present invention relates to an electron beam generator, an image forming apparatus, and a support spacer used for the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an image forming apparatus using electrons includes an envelope for maintaining a vacuum atmosphere, an electron source for emitting electrons and a driving circuit thereof, and a phosphor which emits light by collision of electrons. An image forming member, an accelerating electrode for accelerating electrons toward the image forming member, and a high-voltage power supply are required. In an image forming apparatus using a flat envelope such as a thin image display apparatus, a support column (spacer) may be used as an atmospheric pressure resistant structure.

As an electron-emitting device used for an electron source of an image forming apparatus, a cold cathode is known in addition to a hot cathode conventionally used in a CRT or the like. The cold cathode includes a field emission type (hereinafter abbreviated as “FE” type), a metal / insulating layer / metal type (hereinafter abbreviated as “MIM” type), a surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the like.

As an example of the FE type, WP Dyke & WW
Dolan, "Field Emission", Advance in Electron Phys
ics, 8, 89 (1956) or CA Spindt, "Physical P
roperties of Thin-Film Field Emission Cathodes wit
h Molybdenium Cones ", J. Appl. Phys., 47, 5248 (19
76) are known.

As an example of the MIM type, CA Mead, "Ope
ration of tunnel-emission devices, J. Appl. Phys.,
32, 646 (1961) "and the like.

As an example of a surface conduction electron-emitting device, M.
I. Elinson, Radio Eng. ElectronPhys., 10, 1290,
(1965).

The surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which electron emission occurs 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 Sn02 thin film by Elinson et al. And a device using an Au thin film [G. Dittmer: "Thin Solid Films", 9, 317 (197)
2)], based on In2O3 / SnO2 thin film [M. Hartwel
l and CG Fonstad: "IEEETrans. ED Conf.", 519 (1
975)], using a carbon thin film [Hisashi Araki et al .: Vacuum,
26, No. 1, p. 22 (1983)].

As a typical device configuration of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, the above-mentioned M.S. FIG. 1 shows an element configuration of the Hartwell. In the figure, reference numeral 3001 denotes an insulating substrate. Reference numeral 3002 denotes a thin film for forming an electron emission portion, which is formed of a metal oxide thin film or the like formed by sputtering in an H-shaped pattern, and the electron emission portion 3003 is formed by an energization process called forming described later.

Conventionally, in these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, the electron-emitting portion forming thin film 3 is formed before electron emission.
In general, the electron-emitting portion 3003 is formed in advance by performing an energizing process called “forming”. In other words, forming is an electron emitting portion in which a voltage is applied to both ends of the electron emitting portion forming thin film 3002 and the electron emitting portion forming thin film is locally destroyed, deformed or deteriorated, and is in an electrically high resistance state. 3003.
Note that the electron-emitting portion 3003 is a thin film
002 is formed by a crack generated in a part of 002, and electrons are emitted from the vicinity of the crack. Hereinafter, the electron-emitting-portion-forming thin film 3002 including the electron-emitting portion 3003 formed by forming is referred to as “a thin film including an electron-emitting portion” 3004. The surface-conduction electron-emitting device that has been subjected to the forming process applies a voltage to the thin film 3004 including the electron-emitting portion and causes a current to flow through the device, thereby causing the electron-emitting portion 3003
It causes more electrons to be emitted.

As an example of arranging a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices, a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in parallel, and a large number of rows in which both ends of each element are connected by wiring are arranged. An electron source is mentioned (for example, JP-A-1-31332 of the present applicant).

Various images can be obtained by combining an electron source having a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices and a phosphor as an image forming member for emitting visible light by the electrons emitted from the electron source. Although a forming device mainly comprises a display device (for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,883 of the present applicant), a self-luminous type device which can be manufactured relatively easily even with a large screen device and has excellent display quality. Since it is a display device, it is expected as an image forming device replacing a CRT.

For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
In an image forming apparatus as described in JP-A-257551 or the like, selecting an arbitrary element from a large number of formed surface conduction electron-emitting devices involves arranging and connecting the surface conduction electron-emitting devices in parallel. Appropriate driving to the wiring (row direction wiring) and the wiring (column direction wiring) installed in the space between the electron source and the phosphor in the direction orthogonal to the row direction wiring (column direction) and connected to the control electrode It depends on the signal.

[0013]

As a method of realizing an image forming apparatus using a surface conduction electron-emitting device with a simpler configuration, the present applicant has proposed a method of forming a plurality of row wirings and a plurality of column wirings. By connecting a pair of device electrodes facing each other of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, a simple matrix type electron source in which the surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix is formed, and A system capable of selecting a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices and controlling the amount of electron emission by giving appropriate drive signals in the column direction is being considered.

In studying an image forming apparatus using the above-mentioned simple matrix type surface conduction electron-emitting device electron source, the present inventors have found that a light emitting position (electron collision position) on a phosphor forming an image forming member and It has been found that the emission shape may deviate from the expected value. In particular, when an image forming member for a color image is used, in addition to the shift of the light emitting position, a decrease in luminance and the occurrence of color shift may be observed. It has been confirmed that such a phenomenon occurs near a support frame or a support column (spacer) disposed between the electron source and the image forming member, or at a peripheral portion of the image forming member.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an electron beam generator having an electrode and an electron source using an electron-emitting device. We propose an electron beam generator that does not change the orbit.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which, for example, a surface conduction electron-emitting device is used as an electron-emitting device and an image is formed by electrons emitted from the electron source, there is no displacement of light emission. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new image forming apparatus having a long life and high reliability.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a support spacer used in the above-mentioned electron beam generator.

[0018]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of intensive studies, the present inventors have found that the above-mentioned phenomenon is mainly caused by electrons emitted from an electron source.

In the above-mentioned electron beam generator and image forming apparatus, the electrons emitted from the electron source collide with a phosphor or the like which is an image forming member, or with a low probability, but with a residual gas in a vacuum. . Some of the scattering particles (ions, secondary electrons, and neutral particles) generated at a certain probability at the time of the collision collide with the exposed portion of the insulating material in the image forming apparatus, and the exposed portion is charged. Become. Due to this charging, the electric field changes near the exposed portion. It is considered that the change in the electric field causes a shift in the trajectory of the emitted electrons, and as a result, the light emission position and the light emission shape of the phosphor change.

Further, from the state of the change of the light emitting position and the shape of the phosphor, it was found that mainly the positive charges were accumulated in the exposed portion. This may be caused by the case where the positive ions of the scattering particles are attached and charged, or the case where the positive charging is caused by secondary electron emission generated when the scattering particles collide with the exposed portion.

Therefore, the electron beam generator of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, an electron source having a plurality of cold-cathode-type electron-emitting devices, an electrode disposed opposite to the electron source and acting on electrons emitted from the electron source, and disposed between the electron source and the electrode. The intermediate member has an island-shaped metal film on its surface, and the island-shaped metal film is electrically connected to the electron source and / or the electrode. It is characterized by being connected.

Still another electron beam generator of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, an electron source having a plurality of cold-cathode-type electron-emitting devices, an electrode arranged opposite to the electron source and acting on electrons emitted from the electron source, and an insulating member arranged between the electron source and the electrode An electron beam generator having a neutral intermediate member, characterized in that the electron beam generating device includes means for trapping charged particles that are to adhere to the intermediate member.

First, since the charge to be prevented is generated on the surface of the insulating intermediate member, it is sufficient for the intermediate member to have an antistatic function only on its surface. Therefore, in the electron beam generator of the present invention, a conductive thin film is formed on the surface of the intermediate member.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the conductive thin film has a surface resistance of 10 5 to 10 12 [Ω / □].

Thus, the generation of the electron beam having a sufficiently low resistance value to neutralize the charge on the surface of the intermediate member and keeping the amount of leakage current small enough not to significantly increase the power consumption of the entire device. The device can be realized. In other words, the thickness of the cold cathode can be reduced without impairing the low heat generation characteristic of the cold cathode.
A large-area image forming apparatus can be obtained.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the conductive thin film is characterized in that a metal thin film is discretely applied on the surface of the intermediate member in an island shape.

As described above, charging is generated by cations trapped on the surface of the intermediate member. For this reason, in order to prevent charging, a minute current can be prevented by flowing the intermediate member surface. However, there is a problem that the increase in the minute current increases the current consumption of the device. In an island-shaped metal film, electrons move between islands by surface conduction, so that current can be concentrated only on the surface of the intermediate member, and cations, which are trapped on the surface of the insulator as an intermediate member and cause charging, can be efficiently located. Can be summed up. Further, since the metal portion of the island-shaped metal film has a low resistance, the amount of energy consumed by the heat generated by the current is small. From the above results, the island-shaped metal film can reduce the amount of current not involved in neutralization, and can prevent charging very efficiently.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the intermediate member has an upright surface between the electron source and the electrode. That is, as the intermediate member,
Since the electron source and the electrode have a uniform sectional shape with respect to the normal direction of the electrode, the electric field is not disturbed by the intermediate member. Therefore, as long as the intermediate member does not block electron activation from the electron-emitting device, the intermediate member and the electron-emitting device can be arranged close to each other, so that the electron-emitting devices can be arranged at a high density. Moreover,
Since the leak current flows only on the surface of the intermediate member, it is possible to suppress the leak current to a small value without devising the electron source or the electrode to the intermediate member in a pointed manner and joining them. Was.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the intermediate member is flat or columnar.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the electrode is an accelerating electrode.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the electron-emitting device is a surface conduction electron-emitting device including a pair of opposing device electrodes and a thin film including an electron-emitting portion extending between the device electrodes. There is a feature.

Particularly preferred among the cold cathode devices are surface conduction electron-emitting devices (surface conduction electron-emitting devices). The surface conduction electron-emitting device has a simple structure and is easy to manufacture, and a large-area device can be easily manufactured. In recent years, particularly in a situation where a large-screen and inexpensive display device is required, it can be said that the cold-cathode element is particularly suitable. In addition, the present applicant, among the surface conduction electron-emitting devices,
It has been found that an electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion formed from a fine-particle film is preferable in terms of characteristics or a large area.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, in the electron source, a plurality of row-direction wirings and a plurality of column-direction wirings are arranged via an insulating layer. The plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on an insulating substrate by connecting wiring and the pair of device electrodes of each of the electron-emitting devices.
That is, since the charging is prevented by providing the conductive thin film, the intermediate member of the present invention, which does not require a complicated additional structure, has several row-direction wirings and a plurality of column-direction wirings proposed by the present applicant. By connecting a pair of opposing device electrodes of the surface-conduction type electron-emitting device with wiring, the simple matrix-type surface-conduction electron-emitting device in which the surface-conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix. By applying the present invention to an image forming apparatus using a simple matrix type electron source, a thin and large-area image forming apparatus capable of forming a high-quality image with a simple apparatus configuration can be provided.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, in the electron source, a plurality of row-directional wirings are arranged, and the pair of element electrodes of each of the electron-emitting devices are formed of the plurality of row-directional wirings. The plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on an insulating substrate by being connected to a pair of row-direction wirings. The electron beam generator according to the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus using an electron source other than the simple matrix type. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
This is a case where the intermediate member is used in an image forming apparatus for selecting a surface conduction electron-emitting device using a control electrode as described in Japanese Patent No. 257551 or the like.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the row wiring or the column wiring. The conductive thin film is electrically connected to one wiring on the electron source side, and can avoid unnecessary electrical coupling between the wirings on the electron source.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the intermediate member is provided on the row wiring or the column wiring.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the intermediate member has a flat plate shape arranged in parallel or orthogonal to the row wiring or the column wiring.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the pair of device electrodes of each of the electron-emitting devices are arranged to face each other in a direction parallel to the intermediate member. Since the plate-like intermediate member is arranged along the electron activation shifted from the electron-emitting device, the electron-emitting devices can be arranged at a high density without being interrupted by the intermediate member.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, a plurality of the intermediate members are arranged at intervals.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the intermediate member is an atmospheric pressure resistant member.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the atmospheric pressure resistant member is characterized in that it is a support frame of an envelope for maintaining a vacuum atmosphere or a support member installed in the envelope.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electron beam generating apparatus comprising: an electron source having a plurality of cold cathode type electron-emitting devices; An electrode that acts on the electrons emitted from the electron source and a case member that separates the electron source and the electrode from the outside, wherein the case member has a conductive thin film on its inner surface. Wherein the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the electron source and / or the electrode.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising: an electron source having a plurality of cold-cathode-type electron-emitting devices; At least one electrode acting on electrons emitted from a source, an image forming member disposed to face the electron source with the electrode interposed therebetween, and between the electron source and the electrode or between the electrode and the image forming member or An image forming apparatus comprising: an insulating intermediate member disposed between the electrodes; and an image formed by electrons emitted from the electron source. The image forming apparatus includes: a conductive thin film on a surface of the intermediate member; The conductive thin film is electrically connected to the outside.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus further includes an image forming member disposed to face the electron source with the electrode interposed therebetween.

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a support spacer used in a closed partition wall in which electrons are generated is provided with a main body made of an electrically insulating material and a main body made of an electrically insulating material. Having a conductive thin film,
At a contact point between the spacer and the partition of the chamber, the thin film is formed to extend to an end of the spacer so as to be electrically connected to a predetermined conductor provided near the partition. It is characterized by the following.

The support spacer has an effect of securing, for example, a vacuum in the partition chamber and neutralizing the charge by the trapped charged particles.

The thickness and the resistance of the island-shaped metal film used in the preferred embodiment of the present invention may be optimally selected according to the size and form of the image device and the electron generating device to be constituted. Good results are shown within the following range. The sheet resistance value is 1 × 10 ^{5 to} 9 ×
Within the range of 10 ¹² Ω / □, optimally 1 × 10 ⁶ to 1
× 10 ¹⁰ Ω / □. The film thickness at this time is in the range of 0.5 to 10 nm, and optimally 1 to 4 nm.
nm.

The island-shaped metal material is made of Pt, Au, A
g, Pd, Rh, Ir, Cu, Al, Si, Cr, M
n, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, In, Sn and the like can be suitably used, but other metals and intermetallic compounds can be used as long as the metal can be formed in an island shape. It is.

[0049]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The image forming apparatus according to this embodiment is basically a multi-electron source in which a large number of cold cathode elements are arranged on a substrate in a thin vacuum vessel, and forms an image by irradiating electrons. And an image forming member.

The cold cathode device is manufactured by using a manufacturing technique such as photolithography and etching.
Since they can be formed on the substrate by being precisely positioned, it is possible to arrange a large number of them at minute intervals.
In addition, as compared with a hot cathode conventionally used in a CRT or the like, the cathode itself and its peripheral portion can be driven at a relatively low temperature, so that a multi-electron source with a finer arrangement pitch can be easily realized. The apparatus of the embodiment relates to an image forming apparatus using such a cold cathode device as a multi-electron source.

Among the cold cathode devices, a surface conduction electron-emitting device (surface conduction electron-emitting device) is particularly preferable. That is, among the cold cathode devices, the MIM type device needs to control the thickness of the insulating layer and the upper electrode relatively accurately, and the FE type device precisely controls the tip shape of the needle-like electron emitting portion. There is a need. For this reason, these elements have a relatively high manufacturing cost, and it is sometimes difficult to manufacture a large-area element due to limitations in the manufacturing process.

On the other hand, the surface conduction electron-emitting device has a simple structure and is easy to manufacture, and a large-area one can be easily manufactured. In recent years, particularly in a situation where a large-screen and inexpensive display device is required, it can be said that the cold-cathode element is particularly suitable.

The present applicant has found that among the surface conduction electron-emitting devices, the one in which the electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film is preferable in terms of characteristics or a large area. I have.

Therefore, in the embodiments described below, an image display device using a surface conduction electron-emitting device formed using a fine particle film as a multi-electron source will be described as a preferred example of the image forming device as an embodiment. . Therefore, a preferred embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the image forming apparatus of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view (A-A) of the main part of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. A part of A 'section)
It is.

2 and 3, an electron source 1 having a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices (hereinafter abbreviated as “electron-emitting devices”) 15 arranged in a matrix is fixed to a rear plate 2. I have. In the electron source 1, a face plate 3 as an image forming member, in which a fluorescent film 7 and a metal back 8 as an accelerating electrode are formed on the inner surface of a glass substrate 6, has a support frame 4 made of an insulating material. A high voltage is applied between the electron source 1 and the metal back 8 by a power source (not shown). The rear plate 2, the support frame 4 and the face plate 3 are sealed with each other with frit glass or the like, and the rear plate 2, the support frame 4 and the face plate 3
Is configured.

Further, since the inside of the envelope 10 is maintained at a vacuum of about 10 ⁻⁶ Torr, the anti-atmospheric structure is used for the purpose of preventing the destruction of the envelope 10 due to an atmospheric pressure or an unexpected impact. A thin plate-shaped spacer 5 is provided inside the envelope 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the spacer 5 is made of a member in which the island-shaped metal film 5b is formed on the surface of the insulating base material 5a, and is necessary for achieving the above-mentioned purpose of the atmospheric pressure resistant structure. They are arranged in parallel in the X direction by a number and at necessary intervals, and are sealed to the inner surface of the envelope 10 and the surface of the electron source 1 with frit glass or the like. The island-shaped metal film 5b is electrically connected to the inner surface of the face plate 3 and the surface of the electron source 1 (X-direction wiring 12 described later).

Hereinafter, each of the above components will be described in detail.

Electron Source 1 FIG. 4 is a plan view of a main part of the electron source 1 of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is BB ′ of the electron source 1 shown in FIG.
It is a line sectional view.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, on an insulating substrate 11 made of a glass substrate or the like, m X-directional wirings 12 and n Y-directional wirings 13 are provided with an interlayer insulating layer 14 (FIG. 4). (Not shown) and are electrically separated and arranged in a matrix. An electron-emitting device 15 is electrically connected between each X-direction wiring 12 and each Y-direction wiring 13. Each of the electron-emitting devices 15 has a pair of device electrodes 16 and 17 and a device electrode 1 that are arranged at intervals in the X direction.
6 and 17, and one of the pair of device electrodes 16 and 17 is electrically connected to the X-direction wiring 12, and the other device electrode 17 is formed. Is electrically connected to the Y-directional wiring 13 via a contact hole 14a formed in the interlayer insulating layer 14. The X-direction wiring 12 and the Y-direction wiring 13 are respectively shown in FIG.
The external terminals Dox1 to Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn shown in FIG.
And is drawn out of the envelope 10.

As the insulating substrate 11, quartz glass, N
Glass members such as glass having reduced impurity content such as a, soda lime glass, glass substrates such as soda lime glass laminated with SiO 2 formed by sputtering or the like, or ceramic members such as alumina are exemplified. The size and thickness of the insulating substrate 11 depend on the number of electron-emitting devices provided on the insulating substrate 11 and the design shape of each electron-emitting device, and the electron source 1 itself forms part of the envelope 10. It is set as appropriate depending on conditions for maintaining the vacuum in the configuration.

Each of the X-directional wiring 12 and the Y-directional wiring 13 is made of a conductive metal or the like formed in a desired pattern on the insulating substrate 11 by a vacuum deposition method, a printing method, a sputtering method, or the like. The material, film thickness, and wiring width are set so that a voltage as uniform as possible is supplied to the element 15.

The interlayer insulating layer 14 is formed by a vacuum evaporation method, a printing method,
It is made of SiO2 or the like formed by a sputtering method or the like, and is formed in a desired shape on the entire surface or a part of the insulating substrate 11 on which the Y-directional wiring 13 is formed.
The thickness, material, and manufacturing method are appropriately set so as to withstand the potential difference at the intersection of No. 3.

The device electrodes 16 and 17 of the electron-emitting device 15
Are made of a conductive metal or the like, and are formed in a desired pattern by a vacuum deposition method, a printing method, a sputtering method, or the like.

The conductive metals of the X-directional wiring 12, the Y-directional wiring 13, and the device electrodes 16 and 17 may have the same or some of the constituent elements, or may be different from each other. Au, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Al,
Metals or alloys such as Cu and Pd, and Pd, Ag and A
printed conductors composed of a metal such as u, RuO2, Pd-Ag, or a metal oxide and glass, or In2O3-SnO
It is appropriately selected from transparent conductors such as 2 and semiconductor materials such as polysilicon.

Specific examples of the material constituting the electron-emitting portion forming thin film 18 include Pd, Ru, Ag, Au, Ti, and I.
metals such as n, Cu, Cr, Fe, Zn, Sn, Ta, W, Pd, PdO, SnO2, In2O3, PbO, Sb2O
Oxides such as HfB2, ZrB2, LaB6, CeB6,
Borides such as YB4 and GdB4, TiC, ZrC, HfC,
Carbides such as TaC, SiC, WC, TiN, ZrN, H
nitrides such as fN, semiconductors such as Si and Ge, carbon, A
gMg, NiCu, Pb, Sn, etc., and is composed of a fine particle film.

The X-direction wiring 12 is electrically connected to scanning signal generating means (not shown) for applying a scanning signal for arbitrarily scanning a row of the electron-emitting devices 15 arranged in the X-direction. ing. On the other hand, the Y-direction wiring 13 is electrically connected to a modulation signal generating means (not shown) for applying a modulation signal for arbitrarily modulating each column of the electron-emitting devices 15 arranged in the Y direction. . Here, the drive voltage applied to each electron-emitting device 15 is supplied as a difference voltage between a scanning signal and a modulation signal applied to the electron-emitting device.

Here, an example of a method of manufacturing the electron source 1 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. Note that the following steps a to h correspond to (a) to (h) in FIG.

Step a: A 50 angstrom thick Cr film and a 5000 angstrom thick film are formed by vacuum deposition on an insulating substrate 11 having a 0.5 μm thick silicon oxide film formed on a cleaned soda lime glass by a sputtering method. Are sequentially laminated, and then the photoresist (AZ137)
(Available from Hoechst Co., Ltd.) using a spinner, followed by baking. After baking, expose the photomask image,
By developing, a resist pattern of the Y-directional wiring 13 is formed, and the Au / Cr deposited film is wet-etched to form the Y-directional wiring 13 having a desired shape.

Step b: Next, an interlayer insulating layer 14 of a silicon oxide film having a thickness of 1.0 μm is deposited by RF sputtering.

Step c: A photoresist pattern for forming a contact hole 14a is formed in the silicon oxide film deposited in step b, and the photoresist pattern is used as a mask to form an interlayer insulating layer 1
4 is etched to form a contact hole 14a. Etching is performed using RIE (Rea) using CF4 and H2 gas.
ctive Ion Etching) method.

Step d: Thereafter, a pattern to be a gap between the device electrodes and the device electrode is formed by a photoresist (RD-2).
000N-41 manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.), a 50 Å thick Ti, 100
0 angstrom Ni is sequentially deposited. The photoresist pattern was dissolved with an organic solvent, the Ni / Ti deposited film was lifted off, and the distance L1 between device electrodes (see FIG. 4) was 3 μm.
m, device electrodes 16 and 17 having a device electrode width W1 (see FIG. 4) of 300 μm are formed.

Step e: After forming a photoresist pattern of the X-directional wiring 12 on the device electrodes 16 and 17, 50 Å thick Ti and 6000 Å thick Au are sequentially deposited by vacuum evaporation, and unnecessary by lift-off. Is removed to form an X-directional wiring 12 having a desired shape.

Step f: As shown in FIG. 7, a pair of device electrodes 16, which are located at a distance L1 between device electrodes,
A Cr film 21 having a thickness of 1000 angstroms is deposited and patterned by vacuum evaporation using a mask having an opening 20a that straddles an organic Pd solution (c).
cp4230 manufactured by Okuno Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) is spin-coated with a spinner and heated and baked at 300 ° C. for 10 minutes.

The thus formed electron emitting portion forming thin film 18 composed of fine particles containing Pd as the main element has a thickness of about 100 Å and a sheet resistance of 5 × 10 4.
[Ω / □]. In addition, the fine particle film described here is
A film in which a plurality of fine particles are aggregated. The fine structure of the film is not only a state in which the fine particles are individually dispersed and arranged, but also a film in which the fine particles are adjacent to each other or overlapped (including an island shape). The particle diameter refers to the diameter of the fine particles whose particle shape can be recognized in the above state.

The organic metal solvent (organic Pd solvent in this example) is the above-mentioned Pd, Ru, Ag, Au, Ti, In,
This is a solution of an organic compound containing a metal such as Cu, Cr, Fe, Zn, Sn, Ta, W, and Pb as a main element. Further, in the present example, the method of producing the thin film 18 for forming the electron-emitting portion 18 is a coating method of an organic metal solvent. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a vacuum evaporation method, a sputtering method, a chemical vapor deposition method, It may be formed by a coating method, a dipping method, a spinner method, or the like.

Step g: Cr film 2 with acid etchant
1 is removed to form an electron-emitting-portion-forming thin film 18 having a desired pattern.

Step h: A pattern is formed such that a resist is applied to portions other than the contact hole 14a, and 50 angstrom Ti and 50 angstrom are formed by vacuum evaporation.
Au of 00A is sequentially deposited. Unnecessary portions are removed by lift-off to bury the contact holes 14a.

Through the above steps, the X-directional wirings 12, the Y-directional wirings 13, and the electron-emitting devices 15 are two-dimensionally formed and arranged at equal intervals on the insulating substrate 11.

Then, the envelope 10 in which the electron source 1 is installed
(See FIG. 2) is evacuated by a vacuum pump through an exhaust pipe (not shown), and after reaching a sufficient degree of vacuum, the external terminal Dox1
Through the Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, the electron-emitting device 1
The electron emitting portion 23 is formed by applying a voltage between the element electrodes 16 and 17 of No. 5 and applying a current to the electron emitting portion forming thin film 18 (forming process). As a forming process, a triangular wave having a pulse width T1 of 1 millisecond and a peak value (peak voltage at the time of forming) of 5 V as shown in FIG. 8 in a vacuum atmosphere of 10 @ -6 Torr at a pulse interval T2 of 10 milliseconds. Electric current is applied between the device electrodes 16 and 17 for 60 seconds.

FIG. 9 shows a characteristic evaluation of the electron-emitting device of the embodiment manufactured by the above-described configuration and manufacturing method.
This will be described with reference to the schematic configuration diagram of the evaluation device shown in FIG. FIG.
Corresponds to an electron source in which one electron-emitting device is formed, 11 is an insulating substrate, 15 is an entire electron-emitting device formed on the insulating substrate 11, and 16 and 17 are devices. The electrode, 18 is a thin film including an electron emitting portion, and 23 is an electron emitting portion. Reference numeral 31 denotes a power supply for applying a device voltage Vf between the device electrodes 16 and 17, and reference numeral 30 denotes a power source for applying the device voltage Vf.
The device current I flowing through the thin film 18 including the electron-emitting portion between
f is an ammeter for measuring f, 34 is an anode electrode for capturing an emission current Ie emitted from the electron emission section 23, 33 is a high voltage power supply for applying a voltage Va to the anode electrode 34, 32 is an electron emission device. This is an ammeter for measuring the emission current Ie emitted from the unit 23. In measuring the device current If and the emission current Ie of the electron-emitting device,
A power supply 31 and an ammeter 30 are connected to the device electrodes 16 and 17, and an anode 34 connected to a power supply 33 and an ammeter 32 is disposed above the electron-emitting device 15. Further, the electron-emitting device 15 and the anode electrode 34 are installed in a vacuum device, and the vacuum device is provided with devices necessary for a vacuum device such as an exhaust pump (not shown) and a vacuum gauge. The device can be measured and evaluated.

The voltage Va of the anode electrode is 1 kV to
10 kV, the distance H between the anode electrode and the electron-emitting device is 3
Measure in the range of mm to 8 mm.

In the following, characteristics of the characteristics of the electron-emitting device according to the embodiment which the inventors have found will be described. FIG. 10 shows a typical example of the relationship between the emission current Ie, the device current If, and the device voltage Vf measured by the measurement and evaluation device shown in FIG. In FIG. 10, since the magnitudes of If and Ie are significantly different, they are shown in arbitrary units. As is clear from FIG. 10, the electron-emitting device according to the embodiment has three characteristics with respect to the emission current Ie.

First, when an element voltage Vf higher than a certain voltage (referred to as a threshold voltage, Vth in FIG. 10) is applied to the electron-emitting device, the emission current Ie sharply increases. Below Vth, the emission current 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. The element current I
f indicates a characteristic that increases monotonically with the element voltage Vf (referred to as MI characteristic).

Second, since the emission current Ie depends on the device voltage Vf, the emission current Ie can be controlled by the device voltage Vf.

Thirdly, the amount of the emitted charges captured by the anode electrode 34 depends on the time during which the device voltage Vf is applied. That is, the amount of charge captured by the anode electrode 34 can be controlled by the time during which the device voltage Vf is applied.

Fluorescent Film 7 The fluorescent film 7 is made of only a phosphor when the display device is monochrome, but is black stripe (FIG. 11) depending on the arrangement of the phosphor as shown in FIGS. 11) or a black conductive material 7b called a black matrix (FIG. 12) and a phosphor 7a. The black stripes and the black matrix are provided for the purpose of making the color mixture inconspicuous by making the painted portions between the respective phosphors 7a of the three primary color phosphors necessary for color display less noticeable. The purpose is to suppress a decrease in contrast due to reflection. As the material of the black conductive material 7b, not only a material mainly containing graphite, which is often used, but also a material having conductivity and low transmission and reflection of light can be applied. The method of applying the phosphor 7a to the glass substrate 6 is monochrome,
A precipitation method or a printing method is used regardless of the color.

[0089] The purpose of the metal back 8 metal backs 8, to improve the luminance by mirror-reflecting light to the face plate 3 side to the inner surface side of the light emission from the phosphor 7a, applying an electron beam accelerating voltage Acting as an accelerating electrode for the envelope 10
And protection of the phosphor 7a from damage caused by collision of negative ions generated in the inside. The metal back 8 can be manufactured by performing a smoothing process (usually called filming) on the inner surface of the fluorescent film 7 after manufacturing the fluorescent film 7 and then depositing A1 by vacuum evaporation or the like. The face plate 3
Further, in order to increase the conductivity of the fluorescent film 7, a transparent electrode (not shown) such as ITO may be provided between the fluorescent film 7 and the glass substrate 6.

[0090] The envelope 10 envelope 10, through the exhaust pipe (not shown), after being a vacuum of about 10 ^-6 Torr, sealed. Therefore, the envelope 1
0, the rear plate 2, the face plate 3, and the support frame 4 can withstand the atmospheric pressure applied to the envelope 10 and maintain a vacuum atmosphere, and a high voltage applied between the electron source 1 and the metal back 8. It is preferable to use one having an insulating property enough to withstand the above. Examples of the material include quartz glass, glass having a reduced impurity content such as Na, soda lime glass, and ceramic members such as alumina. However, it is necessary to use a face plate 3 having a certain or higher transmittance for visible light. In addition, it is preferable to combine the members whose thermal expansion coefficients are close to each other.

In the case of forming the envelope 10 in the color image forming apparatus, the phosphors 7a of each color need to be arranged corresponding to the electron-emitting devices 15, so
It is necessary to accurately align the face plate 3 having a with the rear plate 2 to which the electron source 1 is fixed.

Further, a getter process may be performed to maintain the degree of vacuum after the envelope 10 is sealed. this is,
Immediately before or after sealing of the envelope 10, a getter disposed at a predetermined position (not shown) in the envelope 10 is heated by resistance heating, high-frequency heating, or the like to form a deposition film. Processing. A getter typically contains Ba as a principal component, the adsorption effect of the vapor deposition film, for example, 10 ^-5
It maintains a vacuum of 10 ^-7 Torr.

Spacer 5 The spacer 5 has an insulating property enough to withstand a high voltage applied between the electron source 1 and the metal back 8, and has a surface
An island-shaped metal film having surface conductivity sufficient to prevent charging is formed.

Examples of the insulating substrate 5a of the spacer 5 include quartz glass, glass with a reduced impurity content such as Na, soda lime glass, and ceramic members such as alumina. Preferably, the insulating base material 5a has a coefficient of thermal expansion that is close to that of the member forming the envelope 10 and the insulating substrate 11 of the electron source 1.

The surface resistance of the island-shaped metal film 5b is set at 10 ⁵ to 10 in consideration of maintaining the antistatic effect and suppressing the power consumption due to the leak current.
It is preferably in the range of ¹² [Ω / □], and examples of the material include Pt, Au, Ag, Rh, and It.
r, etc., as well as Al, Sb, Sn, Pb, Ga,
Zn, In, Cd, Cu, Ni, Co, Rh, Fe, M
Examples thereof include metals such as n, Cr, V, Ti, Zr, Nb, Mo, and W, and alloys composed of a plurality of metals.

The island-shaped metal film 5b may be formed by a vacuum film forming method such as a vacuum evaporation method, a sputtering method, or a chemical vapor deposition method, or by applying an organic solution or a dispersion solution by dipping or using a spinner. A coating method comprising a baking step or the like; a metal compound and an electroless plating solution capable of forming a metal film on an insulator surface by a chemical reaction from the compound; and a target material and production. It is appropriately selected according to the nature.

The island-shaped metal film 5b is formed on the insulating base material 5a.
The film may be formed on at least the surface of the envelope 10 exposed to the vacuum in the envelope 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the island-shaped metal film 5b is electrically connected to, for example, the black conductive material 7b or the metal back 8 of the fluorescent film 7 on the face plate 3 side and to the X-direction wiring 12 on the electron source 1 side. Connected to.

Structure of spacer 5, installation position, installation method,
The electrical connection between the face plate 3 side and the electron source 1 side is not limited to the above-mentioned case, and has a sufficient atmospheric pressure resistance and a high voltage applied between the electron source 1 and the metal back 8. Any kind of island-shaped metal film may be used as long as it has insulating properties enough to withstand and has surface conductivity enough to prevent the surface of the spacer 5 from being charged.

The driving method of the image forming apparatus described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a driving circuit for performing television display on the display device of the embodiment based on an NTSC television signal. In the figure, a display panel 1701 is an apparatus manufactured and operated as described above. The scanning circuit 1702 operates a display line, and the control circuit 1703 generates a signal to be input to the scanning circuit. The shift register 1704 is 1
The data for each line is shifted, and the
Inputs one line of data from the shift register 1704 to the modulation signal generator 1707. The synchronization signal separation circuit 1706 separates the synchronization signal from the NTSC signal.

Hereinafter, the function of each unit of the apparatus shown in FIG. 13 will be described in detail.

First, the display panel 1701 is connected to the terminal Dox1
To Doxm and terminals Doy1 to Doyn, and a high voltage terminal Hv. Of these, the terminals Dox1 to Doxm are provided with electron sources provided in the display panel 1701, ie, electron emission element groups arranged in a matrix of m rows and n columns in one row (n elements).
A scanning signal for sequentially driving each is applied.

On the other hand, to the terminals Doy1 to Doyn, a modulation signal for controlling the output electron beam of each of the electron-emitting devices in one row selected by the scanning signal is applied.
The high voltage terminal Hv is connected to the DC voltage source Va by, for example, 5 V.
A DC voltage of (kV) is supplied, which is an accelerating voltage for applying sufficient energy to the electron beam output from the electron-emitting device to excite the phosphor.

Next, the scanning circuit 1702 will be described.

The circuit 1702 includes m switching elements (schematically indicated by S1 to Sm in the figure), and each switching element includes a DC voltage source Vx
Output voltage or 0 V (ground level), and the terminals Dox1 to Dox1 of the display panel 1701 are selected.
It is electrically connected to oxm. Each of the switching elements S1 to Sm operates based on the control signal Tscan output from the control circuit 1703, but can be easily configured in practice by combining switching elements such as FETs.

In this embodiment, the DC voltage source Vx is not searched based on the characteristics of the electron-emitting device illustrated in FIG. 10 (in this case, the electron-emitting threshold voltage Vth is 8 V). It is set so as to output a constant voltage of 7 V so that the drive voltage applied to the element is equal to or lower than the electron emission threshold voltage Vth.

The control circuit 1703 has a function of coordinating the operation of each unit so that appropriate display is performed based on an image signal input from the outside. The synchronization signal T sent from the synchronization signal separation circuit 1706 described next
Based on SYNC, TSCAN and TSFT and TM for each part
Generates RY control signals.

The synchronizing signal separating circuit 1706 can be easily formed by using a synchronizing signal component (filter) circuit from an NTSC television signal input from the outside. As is well known, the synchronization signal separated by the synchronization signal separation circuit 1706 is composed of a vertical synchronization signal and a vertical synchronization signal, but is illustrated here as a TSYNC signal for convenience of description. On the other hand, the luminance signal component of the image separated from the television signal is represented as a DATA signal for convenience, and the signal is input to a shift register 1704.

A shift register 1704 is for serially / parallel converting the DATA signal input serially in time series for each line of an image, and is based on a control signal Tsft sent from the control circuit 1703. Operate. That is, the control signal TSFT can be rephrased as a shift clock of the shift register 1704.

The data for one line of the image after the serial / parallel conversion is output from the shift register 1704 as n parallel signals Id1 to Idn.

The line memory 1705 is a storage device for storing data for one line of an image for a required time, and stores the contents of Id1 to Idn as appropriate according to a control signal TMRY sent from the control circuit 1703. The stored contents are output as Id'1 to Id'n and input to the modulation signal generator 1707.

A modulation signal generator 1707 is a signal source for appropriately driving and modulating each of the electron-emitting devices 6 in accordance with each of the image data Id'1 to Id'n. Display panel 1701 through Doy1 to Doyn
Is applied to the electron-emitting device 15 in the inside.

As described with reference to FIG. 10, the electron-emitting device according to the embodiment has the following basic characteristics with respect to the emission current Ie. That is, as is clear from the graph of Ie in FIG.
th (8 V in the device of this embodiment), and electron emission occurs only when a voltage equal to or higher than the threshold value Vth is applied.

For a voltage equal to or higher than the electron emission threshold value Vth, the emission current Ie also changes in accordance with the voltage change as shown in the graph. The value of the electron emission threshold voltage Vth and the degree of change of the emission current with respect to the applied voltage may be changed by changing the configuration and the manufacturing method of the electron emission element. I can say that.

That is, when a pulse-like voltage is applied to the device, electron emission does not occur even if a voltage of 8 V or less, which is the electron emission threshold, is applied, but the electron emission threshold (8
v) When the above voltage is applied, an electron beam is output.

The function of each unit shown in FIG. 13 has been described above. Before proceeding to the description of the overall operation, FIGS.
6, the operation of the display panel 1701 will be described in detail.

For convenience of illustration, the number of pixels of the display panel is 6 ×
6 (that is, m = n = 6), but it goes without saying that the display panel 1701 actually used has a much larger number of pixels.

FIG. 14 shows an electron source in which the electron-emitting devices 6 are arranged in a matrix of 6 rows and 6 columns. For the sake of explanation, D (1, 1), D ( 1,
2), the position is indicated by (X, Y) coordinates like D (6, 6).

When displaying an image by driving such an electron source, a method of forming an image in a line-sequential manner by taking one line parallel to the X axis as a unit is adopted. To drive the electron-emitting device 6 corresponding to one line of the image,
Of Dox1 to Dox6, 0v is applied to the terminal of the row corresponding to the display line, and 7v is applied to the other terminals. In synchronization with that, Doy1 according to the image pattern of the line
A modulation signal is applied to each terminal of ~ Doy6.

For example, a case where an image pattern as shown in FIG. 15 is displayed will be described.

Therefore, for example, in the image of FIG.
A description will be given by taking a period during which a line emits light as an example. FIG. 16 shows the voltage values applied to the electron source through the terminals Dox1 to Dox6 and the terminals Doy1 to Doy6 while emitting the third line of the image. As is clear from the figure, D (2, 3), D (3, 3), D
An electron emission element of (4, 3) is applied with 14v (element shown in black in the figure) exceeding an electron emission threshold voltage of 8v, and outputs an electron beam. On the other hand, other than the above three elements, 7v (element shown by oblique lines in the figure) or 0v (element shown by white in the figure) is applied. Since this is below the threshold voltage of electron emission of 8v, No electron beam is output from these elements.

In a similar manner, the other lines are also shown in FIG.
The electron source is driven according to the display pattern of No. 5, but one screen is displayed by sequentially driving one line at a time from the first line, and by repeating this at a speed of 60 screens per second, flickering occurs. The image display without images is possible.

Although the above description does not refer to gray scale display, gray scale display can be performed, for example, by changing the pulse width of the voltage applied to the element.

<Deviation of Electron Trajectory> Based on the device configuration and the driving method described above, when a voltage is applied to each electron-emitting device 15 through the external terminals Dox1 to Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, the electron-emitting portion 23 emits electrons. Is released. At the same time, a high voltage of several kV or more is applied to the metal back 8 (or a transparent electrode (not shown)) through the high voltage terminal Hv to accelerate the electrons emitted from the electron emission portion 23 and collide with the inner surface of the face plate 3. Thereby, the phosphor 7a of the phosphor film 7 is excited to emit light, and an image is displayed.

This situation is shown in FIG. 17 and FIG. FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 are diagrams for explaining the generation state of electrons and scattering particles described later in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2, respectively. FIG. 17 is a diagram viewed from the Y direction.
8 is a diagram viewed from the X direction.

That is, as shown in FIG. 17, when the voltage Vf is applied to the device electrodes 16 and 17 of the electron source 1, the electrons emitted from the electron emission portion 23 shift toward the device electrode 17 on the higher potential side. Flies along a parabolic locus indicated by 25t. This shift is due to the fact that the emitted electrons are
Although it is accelerated by the acceleration voltage Va applied to the upper metal back 8, the element electrode 17 is at a high potential, and thus is shifted with respect to the normal line from the electron emission portion 23 to the surface of the electron source 1. is there. For this reason, the center of the light emitting portion of the fluorescent film 7 is shifted from the normal line from the electron emitting portion 23 to the surface of the electron source 1. It is considered that such a radiation characteristic is due to the potential distribution in a plane parallel to the electron source 1 being asymmetric with respect to the electron emission portion 23.

When the electrons emitted from the electron source 1 reach the inner surface of the face plate 3, a light emission phenomenon of the fluorescent film 7 occurs. However, among the emitted electrons, other than reaching the inner surface of the face plate 3, they may collide with electrons on the fluorescent film 7 or, with a low probability, collide with electrons on residual gas in vacuum. is there. Due to these collision phenomena, scattered particles (ions, secondary electrons, neutral particles, etc.) are generated with a certain probability, and these scattered particles are generated in the envelope 10 by a locus, for example, as indicated by 26t in FIG. It is thought to fly.

In a comparison experiment between the case where the island-shaped metal film 5b is formed on the spacer 5 and the case where the island-shaped metal film 5b is not formed on the spacer 5 in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. It is found that the light emitting position (electron collision position) and the light emitting shape on the fluorescent film 7 located near the spacer 5 may deviate from the design values. In particular, when an image forming member for a color image is used, in addition to the light emission position shift, a decrease in luminance and color shift may be observed.

The main cause of this phenomenon is that the island-like metal film 5
b, the insulating base material 5a of the spacer 5
When the part of the scattering particles collides with the exposed part of the phosphor and the exposed part is charged, the electric field changes near the exposed part, causing a shift in the electron orbit, and the light emission position and light emission shape of the phosphor. It is thought that a change in

Further, from the state of the change of the light emission position and the shape of the phosphor, it was found that mainly the positive charges were accumulated in the exposed portion. It is considered that the cause is that positive ions of the scattering particles are attached and charged, or that positive charging is caused by secondary electron emission generated when the scattering particles collide with the exposed portion.

On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus of the embodiment in which the island-shaped metal film 5b is formed on the spacer 5 as shown in FIG. 2, the light emitting position (electron emission) on the fluorescent film 7 located near the spacer 5 It was confirmed that the collision position) and the light emission shape were as designed. The reason is that even if the charged particles adhere to the exposed portions of the spacers 5, a part of the current (actually, electrons or holes) flowing through the island-like metal film 5b is electrically neutralized, It is considered that even if charge is generated in the exposed portion, the charge is immediately eliminated.

Normally, the applied voltage Vf between the pair of device electrodes 16 and 17 of the electron-emitting device 15 is about 12 to 16 V, and the distance d between the metal back 8 and the electron-emitting device 15 is 2 to 8 mm.
The voltage Va between the metal back 8 and the electron-emitting device 15
Is about 1 kV to 10 kV.

The configuration described above is a schematic configuration necessary for manufacturing a suitable image forming apparatus used for image display and the like. For example, detailed parts such as materials and arrangement of each member are limited to the above-described contents. Rather, it is appropriately selected so as to be suitable for the use of the image forming apparatus.

<Experimental Example 1> The image forming apparatus of Experimental Example 1 is configured as follows. First, the unformed electron source 1 is fixed to the rear plate 2. Next, island-shaped metal films 5b made of Pt are formed on four surfaces of the insulating base material 5a made of soda lime glass, which are exposed in the envelope 10. Then, spacers 5 (height: 5 mm, plate thickness: 200 μm, length: 20 mm) on which the island-shaped metal films 5 b are formed are fixed on the electron source 1 at equal intervals in parallel with the X-direction wiring 12.
Thereafter, the face plate 3 is placed 5 mm above the electron source 1 via the support frame 4, and the joint between the rear plate 2, the face plate 3, the support frame 4 and the spacer 5 is fixed.

The junction between the electron source 1 and the rear plate 2, the junction between the rear plate 2 and the support frame 4, and the junction between the face plate 3 and the support frame 4 are made of frit glass (not shown).
Is applied, and baked at 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. in the air for 10 minutes or more to seal.

The spacer 5 is provided on the X-directional wiring 12 (line width 300 μm) on the electron source 1 side and on the black conductive material 7 b (line width 300 μm) on the face plate 3 side.
Above, placed via a conductive frit glass (not shown) mixed with a conductive material such as a metal, and 400 ° C.
Bake at 500 ° C for 10 minutes or more. Thereby, sealing and electrical connection are realized.

The spacer 5 is manufactured by forming an island-shaped metal film 5b on a cleaned insulating substrate 5a made of soda lime glass by a vacuum film forming method.

The island-like metal film used in Example 1 was
It is manufactured by sputtering a platinum target in an argon atmosphere using a sputtering apparatus. The thickness of the produced island-shaped metal film is about 1 nm, and the sheet resistance is 1 × 10 ⁹ Ω / □.

The fluorescent film 7, which is an image forming member,
As shown in FIG. 11, each color phosphor 7a adopts a stripe shape extending in the Y direction. As the black conductive material 7b, not only between the color phosphors 7a but also between the pixels in the Y direction are separated and the spacer 5 is provided. The shape to which the part for adding is added is used.
First, the black conductive material 7b is formed, and the phosphors 7a of the respective colors are applied to the respective gaps in the gaps to form the phosphor film 7. As the material for the black stripe, a material mainly containing graphite, which is usually used, is used. Phosphor 7 on glass substrate 6
The method of applying a uses a slurry method.

The metal back 8 provided on the inner surface side of the fluorescent film 7 is subjected to a smoothing process (usually called “filming”) on the inner surface of the fluorescent film 7 after the fluorescent film 7 is formed. , And Al by vacuum evaporation.
The face plate 3 may be provided with a transparent electrode on the outer surface side of the fluorescent film 7 in order to further enhance the conductivity of the fluorescent film 7. However, in the first experimental example, sufficient conductivity was obtained only by the metal back. The explanation is omitted.

When performing the above-described sealing, since the phosphors of each color must correspond to the electron-emitting devices, the rear plate 2, the face plate 3, and the spacers 5 are sufficiently aligned.

The atmosphere in the envelope 10 completed as described above is exhausted by a vacuum pump through an exhaust pipe (not shown), and after reaching a sufficient degree of vacuum, the outer terminals Dox1 to Dox1
A voltage is applied between the device electrodes 16 and 17 of the electron-emitting device 15 through oxm and Doy1 to Doyn, and the electron-emitting portion forming thin film 18 is energized (formed) to form the electron-emitting portion 23. The forming process is performed by applying a voltage having a waveform shown in FIG.

Next, at a degree of vacuum of about 10 ⁻⁶ Torr, an exhaust pipe (not shown) is welded by heating with a gas burner to form an envelope 1.
0 is sealed.

Finally, a getter process is performed to maintain the degree of vacuum after sealing.

In the image forming apparatus completed as described above, each of the electron-emitting devices 15 has external terminals Dox1 to Dox1 to D4.
oxm, Doy1 to Doyn, and applies a scanning signal and a modulation signal from signal generation means (not shown) to emit electrons.
By applying a high voltage through v, the emitted electron beam is accelerated, electrons collide with the fluorescent film 7, and the phosphor is excited and emits light to display an image. The voltage Va applied to the high voltage terminal Hv is 3 kV to 10 kV, and the element electrodes 16 and 1
The applied voltage Vf is set to 14 V between the intervals 7.

At this time, a two-dimensional array of light-emitting spots including light-emitting spots generated by electrons emitted from the electron-emitting devices 15 located close to the spacer 5 is formed at two-dimensional intervals, and a clear color image with good color reproducibility is obtained. Display was completed. This indicates that even when the spacers 5 were provided, the presence of the metal film 5b did not cause the disturbance of electrolysis that would affect the electron orbit.

<Experimental Example 2> The experimental example 2 is different from the experimental example 1 in that Au having a thickness of 0.7 nm is used as the island-shaped metal film 5b of the spacer 5 in an argon atmosphere by an ion plating method using an electron beam. This is the point where the film was formed in the inside. At this time, the surface resistance of the island-shaped metal film 5b is about 10
¹² [Ω / □].

In the image forming apparatus using the spacer 5, each of the electron-emitting devices 15 has terminals outside the container Dox 1 -Dox 1.
Electrons are emitted by applying a scanning signal and a modulation signal from signal generation means (not shown) through Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, respectively, and an emitted electron beam is applied to the metal back 8 by applying a high voltage to the metal back 8 through a high voltage terminal Hv. Accelerates and causes electrons to collide with the fluorescent film 7 to excite the phosphor.
An image is displayed by emitting light.

The applied voltage Va to the high voltage terminal Hv is 3
kV to 10 kV, voltage Vf applied between device electrodes 16 and 17
Is 14V.

At this time, it was confirmed that the antistatic effect was obtained by comparison with the image forming apparatus for a comparative experiment using the spacer 5 without the island-shaped metal film 5b.

<Experimental Example 3> The experimental example 3 differs from the experimental example 1 in that a 10 nm-thick Ni-B alloy was deposited by electroless plating as the island-shaped metal film 5b of the spacer 5. is there.

At this time, the Ni island-shaped metal film is formed by immersing the spacers in a nickel plating bath composed of nickel sulfate, malonic acid, dimethylamine borane, and ammonia water. The surface resistance of the island-shaped metal film 5b at this time was about 10 ⁷ [Ω / □]. Note that the metal back 8 was not provided on the face plate 3, but a transparent electrode made of ITO was provided between the glass substrate 6 and the fluorescent film instead.

In the image forming apparatus using the spacer 5, each electron-emitting device 15 has an external terminal Dox 1 -Dox 1.
Electrons are emitted by applying a scanning signal and a modulation signal from signal generation means (not shown) through Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, respectively, and an emitted electron beam is applied to the metal back 8 by applying a high voltage to the metal back 8 through a high voltage terminal Hv. Accelerates and causes electrons to collide with the fluorescent film 7 to excite the phosphor.
An image is displayed by emitting light.

The applied voltage Va to the high voltage terminal Hv is 1
kV or less, the applied voltage Vf between the device electrodes 16 and 17 is 14
V.

At this time, a two-dimensional array of light-emitting spots including light-emitting spots from the electron-emitting devices 15 located close to the spacers 5 is formed at two-dimensional intervals, and the color image is sharper and more reproducible. Display was completed. This indicates that even when the spacers 5 were provided, the disturbance of the electrolysis that affected the electron trajectory did not occur.

<Experimental Example 4> The experimental example 4 differs from the experimental example 1 in that tetramethyltin is applied to the spacers 5 as the island-like metal film 5b of the spacers 5 by a spray method, and fired in a hydrogen reducing atmosphere. As a result, an island-shaped metal film is formed. At this time, the film pressure was about 11 nm, and the surface resistance was about 10 ⁵ [Ω / □]. Note that the metal back 8 was not provided on the face plate 3, but a transparent electrode made of an ITO film was provided between the glass substrate 6 and the fluorescent film instead. Further, a phosphor for a low-speed electron beam was used as the phosphor 7a.

In the image forming apparatus using the spacer 5, each electron-emitting device 15 has an external terminal Dox 1 to Dox 1.
Electrons are emitted by applying a scanning signal and a modulation signal from signal generation means (not shown) through Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, respectively, and an electron beam is emitted by applying a high voltage to the metal back 8 through a high voltage terminal Hv. To cause electrons to collide with the fluorescent film 7 to excite the phosphor.
An image is displayed by emitting light. The high-voltage terminal Hv
The applied voltage Va to the device electrodes 16 and 17 is around 100 V.
The applied voltage Vf is set to 14V.

At this time, a two-dimensional array of light-emitting spots including light-emitting spots generated by electrons emitted from the electron-emitting devices 15 located close to the spacer 5 is formed at two-dimensional intervals, so that a clear color image with good color reproducibility can be obtained. Display was completed. This indicates that even if the spacers 5 were provided, no disturbance of the electric field that would affect the electron trajectory occurred.

<Effects of First Embodiment> The image forming apparatuses of the first embodiment and the experimental examples described above have the following effects. First, since the charge to be prevented is generated on the surface of the spacer 5, it is sufficient for the spacer 5 to have an antistatic function only on its surface. Therefore, in this embodiment, the insulating base material 5a is used as a member forming the spacer 5, and the island-shaped metal film 5b of the insulating base material 5a is formed. This allows
The spacer 5 having a resistance value sufficient to neutralize the charge on the surface of the spacer 5 and having a leakage current amount that does not drastically increase the power consumption of the entire device could be realized.
In other words, the thin cathode can be formed without deteriorating the low heat generation which is a feature of the cold cathode such as the surface conduction type electron-emitting device 15.
A large area image forming apparatus was obtained. : Next, as the shape of the spacer 5, a flat plate having a uniform cross-sectional shape with respect to the normal direction of the electron source 1 and the face plate 3 is employed, so that the electric field is disturbed by the spacer 5 itself. There is no. Therefore, the spacer 5
Since the spacer 5 and the electron-emitting device 15 can be arranged close to each other as long as they do not block the electron trajectory from the electron-emitting device 15, the electron-emitting devices 15 can be densely arranged in the X direction orthogonal to the spacer 5. . In addition, since the leak current does not flow through the insulating base material 5a occupying most of the cross section, the spacer 5 is not connected to the electron source 1 or the face plate 3.
It was possible to suppress the leakage current to a small value without devising such as making the junction sharp. : Since the flat spacers 5 are arranged in parallel with the XZ plane along the electron trajectories shifted in the X direction from the electron-emitting devices 15, X parallel to the spacers 5 is not interrupted by the spacers 5. Electron-emitting device 15 in the direction
Could be arranged at high density. : Each spacer 5 is electrically connected to one X-direction wiring 12 on the electron source 1 side, and unnecessary electrical coupling between the wirings on the electron source 1 can be avoided. . The spacer 5 of the present invention, which exhibits the above-mentioned effects by providing a desired island-shaped metal film 5b and does not require a complicated additional structure for preventing electrification, is replaced by a surface conduction type proposed by the present applicant. By applying the present invention to an image forming apparatus using the simple matrix type electron source 1 using the electron-emitting device 15, a thin and large-area image forming apparatus capable of forming a high-quality image with a simple apparatus configuration can be provided. Was.

<Second Embodiment> The difference between the image forming apparatus of the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that the manufacturing order of the X-direction wiring 12 and the Y-direction wiring 13 is reversed, The point is that it is installed on the directional wiring 13. Also, the fluorescent film 7
Adopts the shape shown in FIG.

FIG. 19 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view (a part of a CC ′ cross-section) of a main part of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 9.

In FIGS. 19 and 20, the electron source 1 in which a plurality of electron-emitting devices 15 are arranged in a matrix is fixed to the rear plate 2. A face plate 3 as an image forming member having a fluorescent film 7 and a metal back 8 as an accelerating electrode formed on the inner surface of a glass substrate 6 is opposed to the electron source 1 via a support frame 4 made of an insulating material. A high voltage is applied between the electron source 1 and the metal back 8 by a power supply (not shown). The rear plate 2, the support frame 4 and the face plate 3 are sealed with each other with frit glass or the like, and the rear plate 2, the support frame 4 and the face plate 3 constitute an envelope 10. Further, a thin plate-shaped spacer 5 is provided inside the envelope 10 as an atmospheric pressure resistant structure. The spacer 5 is an insulating substrate 5
a is formed of a member having an island-shaped metal film 5b formed on the surface thereof, and is arranged in parallel in the Y direction by a necessary number and at a necessary interval to achieve the above object. The inner surface of the inside 10 and the surface of the electron source 1 are sealed with frit glass or the like. The island-shaped metal film 5b is electrically connected to the inner surface of the face plate 3 and the surface of the electron source 1 (the Y-direction wiring 13).

FIG. 21 is a plan view of a main part of the electron source 1 of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 19, and FIG. 22 is a sectional view of the electron source 1 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, an m number of X-direction wirings 1 are provided on an insulating substrate 11 made of a glass substrate or the like.
2 and n n-directional wirings 13 are formed by an interlayer insulating layer 14 (FIG. 2).
1 are not shown) and are electrically separated and arranged in a matrix. An electron-emitting device 15 is electrically connected between each X-direction wiring 12 and each Y-direction wiring 13. Each electron-emitting device 15 is composed of a pair of device electrodes 16 and 17 arranged at intervals in the X direction and an electron-emitting portion forming thin film 18 connecting the device electrodes 16 and 17. One of the device electrodes 16, 17 is electrically connected to the Y-direction wiring 13, and the other device electrode 16 is connected to the X-direction wiring 12 via a contact hole 14 a formed in the interlayer insulating layer 14. Is electrically connected to The X-direction wiring 12 and the Y-direction wiring 13 are external terminals Dox1 to Doxm and Doy1 shown in FIG.
ＤDoyn is drawn out of the envelope 10.

Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described with reference to some experimental examples.

Experimental Example 1 In this experimental example, first, the unformed electron source 1 is fixed to the rear plate 2. Next, the island-shaped metal film 5b made of Ir was coated on the four surfaces of the insulating base material 5a made of soda-lime glass, which were exposed in the envelope 10, by the island-shaped metal film 5b.
b is formed. Further, spacer 5 (height 5 mm, thickness 2)
(Μm, 20 mm in length) are fixed on the electron source 1 at equal intervals in parallel with the Y-direction wiring 13. Then, 5mm of electron source 1
The face plate 3 is disposed above via the support frame 4,
The joint between the rear plate 2, the face plate 3, the support frame 4, and the spacer 5 is fixed.

The fluorescent film 7, which is an image forming member,
The shape shown in FIG. 11 was adopted, and stripe-shaped black conductive material 7b positioned between stripe-shaped phosphors 7a extending in the Y-direction and phosphors 7a was used. First, a black conductive material 7b is formed, and each color phosphor 7a is
Is applied to form the fluorescent film 7. As the material for the black stripe, a material mainly containing graphite, which is generally used, was used. A slurry method was used to apply the phosphor 7a to the glass substrate 6.

The junction between the electron source 1 and the rear plate 2, the junction between the rear plate 2 and the support frame 4, and the junction between the face plate 3 and the support frame 4 are made of frit glass (not shown).
Is applied, and baked at 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. in the air for 10 minutes or more to seal.

The spacer 5 is formed by mixing a conductive material such as metal on the Y-directional wiring 13 (line width 300 μm) on the electron source 1 side and on the black conductive material 7b (line width 300 μm) on the face plate 3 side. Conductive frit glass (not shown)
And baked for 10 minutes or more at 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. in the air to seal and electrically connect.

The spacer 5 is formed by sputtering iridium having a thickness of 1.2 nm as an island-shaped metal film 5b on an insulative base material 5a made of cleaned soda lime glass. At this time, the surface resistance of the island-shaped metal film 5b is about 1
0 ⁹ [Ω / □].

In the image forming apparatus configured as described above, each of the electron-emitting devices 15 has an external terminal Dox1 to Dox1 to
Electrons are emitted by applying scanning signals and modulation signals from signal means (not shown) through Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, respectively.
A high voltage is applied to accelerate the emitted electron beam, collide electrons with the fluorescent film 7 and excite and emit light from the phosphor to display an image.

The voltage Va applied to the high voltage terminal Hv is 3
kV to 10 kV, voltage Vf applied between device electrodes 16 and 17
Is 14V.

At this time, a two-dimensional array of light-emitting spots including light-emitting spots generated by electrons emitted from the electron-emitting devices 15 located close to the spacers 5 is formed at two-dimensional intervals, and a clear color image with good color reproducibility is obtained. Display was completed. This indicates that even if the spacers 5 were provided, no disturbance of the electric field that would affect the electron trajectory occurred.

Experimental Example 2 Experimental Example 2 differs from Experimental Example 1 of the second embodiment in that Ta was formed to a thickness of 2 nm as the island-shaped metal film 5b of the spacer 5. Note that the Ta island-shaped metal film is formed by a sputtering method using argon plasma. At this time, the surface resistance of the island-shaped metal film 5b made of Ta was about 10 ⁸ [Ω / □].

In the image forming apparatus using the spacer 5, each electron-emitting device 15 has an external terminal Dox 1 to Dox 1.
Electrons are emitted by applying a scanning signal and a modulation signal from signal generation means (not shown) through Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, respectively, and an emitted electron beam is applied to the metal back 8 by applying a high voltage to the metal back 8 through a high voltage terminal Hv. Accelerates and causes electrons to collide with the fluorescent film 7 to excite the phosphor.
An image is displayed by emitting light.

The applied voltage Va to the high voltage terminal Hv is 3
kV to 10 kV, voltage Vf applied between device electrodes 16 and 17
Is 14V.

At this time, it was confirmed from the comparison with the image forming apparatus for the comparative experiment using the spacer 5 without the island-shaped metal film 5b that the antistatic effect was obtained.

Experimental Example 3 Experimental Example 3 differs from Experimental Example 1 in that Mo was formed as the island-shaped metal film 5b of the spacer 5 to a thickness of 1.5 nm. The Mo island-shaped metal film is formed by a sputtering method using argon plasma. At this time, the surface resistance of the island-shaped metal film 5b made of Mo is about 10
⁸ [Ω / □].

The metal back 8 was not provided on the face plate 3, and a transparent electrode made of an ITO film was provided between the glass substrate 6 and the fluorescent film instead.

In the image forming apparatus using the spacer 5, each electron-emitting device 15 has an external terminal Dox 1 to Dox 1 to
Electrons are emitted by applying a scanning signal and a modulation signal from signal generation means (not shown) through Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, respectively, and an emitted electron beam is applied to the metal back 8 by applying a high voltage to the metal back 8 through a high voltage terminal Hv. Accelerates and causes electrons to collide with the fluorescent film 7 to excite the phosphor.
An image is displayed by emitting light. The high-voltage terminal Hv
The applied voltage Va is 1 kV or less, and the applied voltage Vf between the device electrodes 16 and 17 is 14 V.

At this time, a two-dimensional array of light-emitting spots including light-emitting spots from the electron-emitting devices 15 located close to the spacers 5 are formed at two-dimensional intervals, and the color image is sharper and more color-reproducible. Display was completed. This indicates that even when the spacers 5 were provided, the disturbance of the electrolysis that affected the electron trajectory did not occur.

Experimental Example 4 Experimental Example 4 differs from Experimental Example 1 in that Ag was formed to a thickness of 1 nm as the island-shaped metal film 5b of the spacer 5.
The Ag-like metal film is formed by using an electron beam evaporation method. At this time, the island-shaped metal film 5 made of Ag
The surface resistance of b was about 10 ⁷ [Ω / □].

The metal plate 8 was not provided on the face plate 3, but a transparent electrode made of an ITO film was provided between the glass substrate 6 and the fluorescent film instead. Further, a phosphor for a low-speed electron beam was used as the phosphor 7a.

In the image forming apparatus using the spacer 5, each electron-emitting device 15 has an external terminal Dox 1 -Dox 1.
Electrons are emitted by applying a scanning signal and a modulation signal from signal generation means (not shown) through Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, respectively, and an electron beam is emitted by applying a high voltage to the metal back 8 through a high voltage terminal Hv. To cause electrons to collide with the fluorescent film 7 to excite the phosphor.
An image is displayed by emitting light.

The applied voltage Va to the high voltage terminal Hv is 1
Around 00V, the applied voltage Vf between the device electrodes 16 and 17 is 1
4V.

At this time, a two-dimensional array of light-emitting spots including light-emitting spots generated by electrons emitted from the electron-emitting devices 15 located close to the spacers 5 is formed at two-dimensional intervals, and a clear color image with good color reproducibility is obtained. Display was completed. This indicates that even if the spacers 5 were provided, no disturbance of the electric field that would affect the electron trajectory occurred.

<Effects of the First and Second Embodiments> The image forming apparatuses of the first and second embodiments and the experimental examples described above have the following effects. First, since the charge to be prevented is generated on the surface of the spacer 5, it is sufficient for the spacer 5 to have an antistatic function only on its surface. Therefore, in this embodiment, the insulating base material 5a is used as a member forming the spacer 5, and the island-shaped metal film 5b of the insulating base material 5a is formed. This allows
The spacer 5 having a resistance value sufficient to neutralize the charge on the surface of the spacer 5 and having a leakage current amount that does not drastically increase the power consumption of the entire device could be realized.
In other words, the thin cathode can be formed without deteriorating the low heat generation which is a feature of the cold cathode such as the surface conduction type electron-emitting device 15.
A large area image forming apparatus was obtained. : Next, as the shape of the spacer 5, a flat plate having a uniform cross-sectional shape with respect to the normal direction of the electron source 1 and the face plate 3 is employed, so that the electric field is disturbed by the spacer 5 itself. There is no. Therefore, the spacer 5
Since the spacer 5 and the electron-emitting device 15 can be arranged close to each other as long as they do not block the electron trajectory from the electron-emitting device 15, the electron-emitting devices 15 can be densely arranged in the Y direction orthogonal to the spacer 5. . In addition, since the leak current does not flow through the insulating base material 5a occupying most of the cross section, the spacer 5 is not connected to the electron source 1 or the face plate 3.
It was possible to suppress the leakage current to a small value without devising such as making the junction sharp. : The fluorescent film 7 has the shape shown in FIG. 11 and is a stripe-shaped phosphor 7a extending in the Y direction.
And the stripe-shaped black conductive material 7b located between the phosphors 7a of each color is used. Therefore, even if the electron-emitting devices 15 are arranged at a term density in the Y direction, the brightness of the display image is not impaired. : Each spacer 5 is electrically connected to one X-direction wiring 12 on the electron source 1 side, and unnecessary electrical coupling between the wirings on the electron source 1 can be avoided. . The surface conductive type electron emission proposed by the applicant of the present invention is achieved by providing the desired effect by providing the desired island-shaped metal film 5b and by providing the spacer 5 which does not require a complicated additional structure for preventing charging. By applying the present invention to an image forming apparatus using the simple matrix type electron source 1 using the element 15, a thin and large-area image forming apparatus capable of forming high-quality images with a simple apparatus configuration can be provided.

<Third Embodiment> The difference between the third embodiment described below and the first embodiment is that a columnar spacer is used.

FIG. 23 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view (a part of a section taken along line EE ′) of a main part of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

In FIGS. 23 and 24, the electron source 1 in which a plurality of electron-emitting devices 15 are arranged in a matrix is fixed to the rear plate 2. A face plate 3 as an image forming member having a fluorescent film 7 and a metal back 8 as an accelerating electrode formed on the inner surface of a glass substrate 6 is opposed to the electron source 1 via a support frame 4 made of an insulating material. A high voltage is applied between the electron source 1 and the metal back 8 by a power supply (not shown). The rear plate 2, the support frame 4 and the face plate 3 are sealed with each other with frit glass or the like, and the rear plate 2, the support frame 4 and the face plate 3 constitute an envelope 10.

As the anti-atmospheric pressure structure, the envelope 10
Is provided with a columnar spacer 5. The spacers 5 are made of a member in which a semiconductive thin film 5b is formed on the surface of the insulating base material 5a. The spacers 5 are arranged in a necessary number and at a necessary interval to achieve the above-mentioned object. The inner surface of the envelope 10 and the surface of the electron source 1 are sealed with frit glass or the like. The island-shaped metal film 5b is electrically connected to the inner surface of the face plate 3 and the surface of the electron source 1 (X-direction wiring 12).

Experimental Example 1 In Experimental Example 1 of the third embodiment, first, the unformed electron source 1 is fixed to the rear plate 2. Next, the island-shaped metal film 5b made of Cr is formed into a columnar spacer 5 having the island-shaped metal film 5b formed on the surface of the insulating base material 5a made of soda-lime glass in the envelope 10. Height 5mm, radius 1
00 μm) on the electron source 1 at regular intervals. Thereafter, the face plate 3 is placed 5 mm above the electron source 1 via the support frame 4, and the joint between the rear plate 2, the face plate 3, the support frame 4 and the spacer 5 is fixed.

Incidentally, Cr is formed to a thickness of 0.8 nm as the island-shaped metal film 5b of the spacer 5. Note that the Cr island-like metal film is formed by using a resistance heating evaporation method. At this time, C
The surface resistance of the island-shaped metal film 5b composed of r is about 1
0 ⁹ [Ω / □].

The junction between the electron source 1 and the rear plate 2, the junction between the rear plate 2 and the support frame 4, and the junction between the face plate 3 and the support frame 4 are made of frit glass (not shown).
Is applied, and baked at 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. in the air for 10 minutes or more to seal.

The spacer 5 is a conductive material obtained by mixing a conductive material such as metal on the X-directional wiring 12 (line width 300 μm) on the electron source 1 side and the black conductive material 7b (line width 300 μm) on the face plate 3 side. By arranging through a frit glass (not shown) and baking in air at 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more, sealing and electrical connection were performed. The spacer 5 has a thickness of 1000 as a semiconductive thin film 5b on an insulating base material 5a made of cleaned soda lime glass.
Angstrom tin oxide is deposited in an argon / oxygen atmosphere by ion plating using an electron beam method. At this time, the surface resistance of the island-shaped metal film 5b was about 10 ⁹ [Ω / □].

In the image forming apparatus configured as described above, each of the electron-emitting devices 15 has an external terminal Dox1 to Dox1 to
Electrons are emitted by applying scanning signals and modulation signals from signal means (not shown) through Doxm and Doy1 to Doyn, respectively.
A high voltage is applied to accelerate the emitted electron beam, collide electrons with the fluorescent film 7 and excite and emit light from the phosphor to display an image.

The voltage Va applied to the high voltage terminal Hv is 3
kV to 10 kV, applied voltage V between device electrodes 16 and 17
f is 14V.

First, since the charge to be prevented is generated on the surface of the spacer 5, it is sufficient for the spacer 5 to have an antistatic function only on its surface. Therefore, in the third embodiment, the insulating base material 5a is used as the member forming the spacer 5, and the island-shaped metal film 5b of the insulating base material 5a is formed. As a result, the spacer 5 having a resistance value sufficient to neutralize the charge on the surface of the spacer 5 and having a leak current amount that does not significantly increase the power consumption of the entire device can be realized. That is, a thin and large-area image forming apparatus was obtained without impairing the low heat generation characteristic of the cold cathode such as the surface conduction type electron-emitting device 15.

Next, as the shape of the spacer 5, the electron source 1
In addition, since a columnar shape having a uniform cross-sectional shape with respect to the normal direction of the face plate 3 is employed, the electric field is not disturbed by the spacer 5 itself. Therefore, as long as the spacer 5 does not block the electron trajectory from the electron-emitting device 15, the spacer 5 and the electron-emitting device 15 can be arranged close to each other. Could be placed. In addition, since the leak current does not flow through the insulating base material 5a which occupies most of the cross section, there is no need to devise such a technique that the spacer 5 is pointed and joined to the electron source 1 or the face plate 3. It was also possible to reduce the leakage current.

Each of the spacers 5 is 1 at the electron source 1 side.
The wires are electrically connected to the X-direction wires 12 and unnecessary electrical coupling between the wires on the electron source 1 can be avoided.

By providing the desired island-shaped metal film 5b, the above effect can be obtained, and the spacer 5 of the third embodiment which does not require a complicated additional structure for preventing charging is proposed by the present applicant. And large-area image formation capable of forming a high-quality image with a simple device configuration by applying the present invention to an image forming apparatus using the simple matrix type electron source 1 using the surface conduction type electron-emitting device 15 by the method described above. Equipment could be provided.

<Fourth Embodiment> The fourth embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the same spacer 5 as that of the first embodiment is used. The difference is that the frame 4 is placed as close as possible to the electron source 1 and an island-shaped metal film is formed on the inner surface side of the support frame 4.

FIG. 25 is a partially broken perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view (a part of a cross section FF ′) of a main part of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

In FIGS. 25 and 26, an electron source 1 in which a plurality of electron-emitting devices 15 are arranged in a matrix is fixed to a rear plate 2. In the electron source 1, a face plate 3 as an image forming member having a fluorescent film 7 and a metal back 8 as an accelerating electrode formed on an inner surface of a glass substrate 6 is disposed opposite to each other via a support frame 4. A high voltage is applied between the electron source 1 and the metal back 8 by a power supply (not shown). The rear plate 2, the support frame 4 and the face plate 3 are sealed with frit glass or the like, and the rear plate 2, the support frame 4 and the face plate 3 are sealed.
The envelope 10 is configured by the above. Further, a thin plate-shaped spacer 5 is provided inside the envelope 10 as an atmospheric pressure resistant structure.

The spacers 5 are made of a member in which an island-shaped metal film 5b is formed on the surface of the insulating base material 5a. The spacers 5 are provided in a necessary number and at a necessary interval to achieve the above object.
It is arranged parallel to the X direction, and is sealed to the inner surface of the envelope 10 and the surface of the electron source 1 with frit glass or the like. The island-shaped metal film 5b is formed on the inner surface of the face plate 3 and the electron source 1
(X direction wiring 13).

The support frame 4 is made of a member having an island-shaped metal film 4b formed on the inner surface side of the insulating base material 4a.
And the surface of the electron source 1 are sealed with frit glass or the like. The island-shaped metal film 4b is electrically connected to the inner surface of the rear plate 2 and the inner surface of the face plate 3.

Experimental Example 1 In Experimental Example 1 of the fourth embodiment, first, the unformed electron source 1 is fixed to the rear plate 2. Next, the island-shaped metal film 5b made of Pt was formed on four surfaces of the surface of the insulating base material 5a made of soda lime glass which were exposed to the inside of the envelope 10. Columnar spacer 5
(Height 5mm, plate pressure 20μm, length 20mm)
It is fixed on the upper side in parallel with the X-direction wiring 12 at equal intervals. Thereafter, the face plate 3 is placed 5 mm above the electron source 1 via the support frame 4, and the joint between the rear plate 2, the face plate 3, the support frame 4 and the spacer 5 is fixed. The support frame 4 is arranged as close as possible to the electron emission portion 15 of the electron source 1 and the fluorescent film 7 of the face plate 3 as long as the electron trajectory emitted from the electron source 1 is not blocked.

The junction between the electron source 1 and the rear plate 2 is coated with frit glass (not shown) and is heated to 400 ° C.
Seal by baking at 500 ° C. for 10 minutes or more.

The spacer 5 is formed by mixing a conductive material such as a metal on the X-directional wiring 12 (line width 300 μm) on the electron source 1 side and the black conductive material 7b (line width 300 μm) on the face plate 3 side. Conductive frit glass (not shown)
And baked for 10 minutes or more at 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. in the air to seal and electrically connect.

The joint between the rear plate 2 and the support frame 4 and the joint between the face plate 3 and the support frame 4 are also:
It is arranged via a conductive frit glass (not shown) in which a conductive material such as metal is mixed, and is placed at 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. in the air.
By baking for 0 minutes or more, sealing and electrical connection were also performed. The island-shaped metal film 4b is electrically connected to a ground potential electrode (not shown) on the rear plate 2 side, and is electrically connected to the high voltage terminal Hv on the face plate 3 side.

[0211] The spacer 5 is formed as an island-shaped metal film 5b of Ti to a thickness of 1.5 nm on an insulated base material 5a made of cleaned soda lime glass. The island-shaped metal film of Ti is formed by using a resistance heating evaporation method. The surface resistance of the island-shaped metal film 5b made of Au is
It was about 10 ¹⁰ [Ω / □].

Similarly to the spacer 5, the support frame 4 is formed by forming Ti to a thickness of 1.5 nm on the inner surface of the insulated base material 4a made of cleaned soda lime glass.

The fluorescent film 7, which is an image forming member,
As shown in FIG. 11, each color phosphor 7a adopts a stripe shape extending in the Y direction. As the black conductive material 7b, not only between the color phosphors 7a but also between the pixels in the Y direction are separated and the spacer 5 is provided. The shape to which the part for performing was added was used.
First, the black conductive material 7b is formed, and the phosphors 7a of the respective colors are applied to the gaps between the black conductive materials 7b. As the material for the black stripe, a material mainly containing graphite, which is generally used, was used. The phosphor 7a was applied to the glass substrate 6 by a thriller method.

The metal back 8 provided on the inner surface side of the fluorescent film 7 is subjected to a smoothing process (usually called filming) of the inner surface of the fluorescent film 7 after the formation of the fluorescent film 7, Is produced by vacuum evaporation. The face plate 3 may be provided with a transparent electrode on the outer surface side of the fluorescent film 7 in order to further increase the conductivity of the fluorescent film 7, but in this embodiment, sufficient conductivity can be obtained only by the metal back. Omitted.

When the above-mentioned sealing is performed, since the phosphors of each color must correspond to the electron-emitting devices, the rear plate 2, the face plate 3 and the spacer 5 are sufficiently aligned.

The atmosphere in the envelope 10 completed as described above is exhausted by a vacuum pump through an exhaust pipe (not shown), and after reaching a sufficient degree of vacuum, the outer terminals Dox1 to Dox1
A voltage is applied between the device electrodes 16 and 17 of the electron-emitting device 15 through oxm and Doy1 to Doyn, and the electron-emitting portion forming thin film 18 is energized (formed) to form the electron-emitting portion 23. The forming process was performed by applying a voltage having a waveform shown in FIG.

Next, at a degree of vacuum of about 10 ⁻⁶ Torr, the exhaust pipe (not shown) is welded by heating with a gas burner to form an envelope 1.
0 was sealed.

Finally, gettering was performed to maintain the degree of vacuum after sealing.

In the image forming apparatus completed as described above, each of the electron-emitting devices 15 has external terminals Dox1 to Dox1 to
A scanning signal and a modulation signal are applied from signal means (not shown) through oxm and Doy1 to Doyn to emit electrons, and a high voltage is applied to the metal back 8 through a high voltage terminal Hv to accelerate the emitted electron beam. Then, an image is displayed by causing electrons to collide with the fluorescent film 7 to excite and emit light from the fluorescent material.

The voltage Va applied to the high voltage terminal Hv is 3
kV to 10 kV, voltage Vf applied between device electrodes 16 and 17
Is 14V.

At this time, a two-dimensional array of light-emitting spots including light-emitting spots generated by electrons emitted from the electron-emitting devices 15 located near the spacer 5 and the support frame 4 is formed at two-dimensional intervals, and the color reproducibility is clear. Good color image display. This indicates that even when the spacer 5 is provided and the support frame 4 is arranged close to the electron source 1, no electric field disturbance affecting the electron trajectory occurs.

The image forming apparatuses of the fourth embodiment and the experimental example described above have the following effects in addition to the effects shown in the first embodiment. First, since the charge to be prevented is generated on the surface of the support frame 4 disposed close to the electron source 1, it is sufficient for the support frame 4 to have an antistatic function only on its surface. Therefore, the insulating base material 4a is used as a member forming the support frame 4, and the island-shaped metal film 4b is formed on the surface of the insulating base material 4a. Thus, the supporting frame 4 has a sufficient resistance value to neutralize the charge on the surface of the spacer 4 and has a leakage current amount that does not significantly increase the power consumption of the entire device.
Was realized. That is, a thin and large-area image forming apparatus was obtained without impairing the low heat generation characteristic of the cold cathode such as the surface conduction type electron-emitting device 15. : Further, by using the above-described support frame 4, the portion outside the image display area can be reduced, so that the entire apparatus can be reduced in size.

<Fifth Embodiment> FIG. 27 shows an image display constructed so that image information provided from various image information sources such as a television broadcast can be displayed on the image forming apparatus of the present invention. It is a figure for showing an example of an apparatus.
When the present display device receives a signal containing both video information and audio information, such as a television signal, it naturally reproduces the audio simultaneously with the display of the video. Descriptions of circuits, speakers, and the like relating to reception, separation, reproduction, processing, storage, and the like of audio information that are not directly related to the above are omitted.

Hereinafter, each part will be described along the flow of the image signal.

First, the TV signal receiving circuit 513 is a circuit for receiving a TV image signal transmitted using an n-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 such as the MUSE system) composed of a larger number of scanning lines is used for a display panel 500 using the image forming apparatus of the present invention, which is suitable for a large area and a large pixel.
It is a suitable signal source for taking advantage of the above. The TV signal received by the TV signal receiving circuit 513 is output to the decoder 504.

The image TV signal receiving circuit 512 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 513, the T
The method of the V signal is not particularly limited, and the TV signal received by the present circuit is also output to the decoder 504.

The image input interface circuit 511 comprises:
For example, a circuit for taking in an image signal supplied from an image input device such as a TV camera or an image reading scanner, and the taken-in image signal is output to the decoder 504.

Image memory interface circuit 510
Is a circuit for capturing an image signal stored in a video tape recorder (hereinafter abbreviated as VTR). The captured image signal is output to a decoder 504.

Image memory interface circuit 509
Is a circuit for taking in an image signal stored in the video disk.
4 is output.

Image memory interface circuit 508
Is a circuit for taking in an image signal from a device storing still image data, such as a so-called still image disk, and the taken still image data is output to the decoder 504.

The input / output interface circuit 505 is 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 and character / graphic information, control signals and numerical data can be input and output between the CPU 506 of the display device and the outside in some cases.

The image generation circuit 507 is used to display image data and character / graphic information input from the outside via the input / output interface circuit 505, or image data to be displayed based on image data or character / graphic information output from the CPU 506. Is a circuit for generating. The circuit includes, for example, a rewritable memory for storing image data and character / graphic information, a read-only memory storing an image pattern corresponding to a character code, and a processor for performing image processing. And circuits necessary for generating an image. Image generation circuit 507
Is generated by the decoder 504.
However, in some cases, it is also possible to output to an external computer network or printer via the input / output interface circuit 505.

The CPU 506 mainly performs operations related to operation control of the display device and generation, selection, and editing of a display image. For example, a control signal is output to the multiplexer 503, and an image signal to be displayed on the display panel is appropriately selected or combined. In this case, the display panel controller 50 is controlled according to the image signal to be displayed.
A control signal is generated for the display device 2 to appropriately control the operation of the display device such as a frequency for displaying an image, a scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced), and the number of scanning lines on one screen. Further, image data and character / graphic information are directly output to the image generation circuit 507, or an external computer or memory is accessed via the input / output interface circuit 505 to input image data or character / graphic information. .

Note that the CPU 506 may, of course, be involved in work for other purposes. For example, like a personal computer or word processor,
It may be directly related to the function of generating and processing information. Alternatively, it may be connected to an external computer network via the input / output interface circuit 505 as described above, and work such as numerical calculation may be performed in cooperation with an external device.

The input unit 514 is used by a user to input commands, programs, data, and the like to the CPU 506. 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. Equipment can be used.

The decoder 504 includes the image generation circuits 507-507.
This is a circuit for inversely converting various image signals input from the TV signal receiving circuit 513 into three primary color signals or a luminance signal and an I signal and a Q signal. It is preferable that the decoder 504 includes an internal image memory as shown 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 display of a still image, or facilitates image processing and editing including image thinning, interpolation, enlargement, reduction, and synthesis in cooperation with the image generation circuit 507 and the CPU 506. This is because the advantage of being able to do so is born.

The multiplexer 503 selects a display image appropriately based on a control signal input from the CPU 506. That is, the multiplexer 503 selects a desired image signal from the inversely converted image signals input from the decoder 504 and outputs the selected image signal to the drive circuit 501. In that case, by switching and selecting an image signal within one screen display time, it is also 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. .

Display panel controller 502
Is a circuit for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 501 based on a control signal input from the CPU 506. As a signal related to the basic operation of the display panel 500, for example, a signal for controlling an operation sequence of a driving power supply (not shown) of the display panel 500 is output to the driving circuit 501. Display panel 500
For example, a signal for controlling a screen display frequency and a scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced) is output to the drive circuit 501 as related to the driving method. In some cases, a control signal relating to image quality adjustment such as brightness, contrast, color tone, and sharpness of a display image may be output to the drive circuit 501.

The driving circuit 501 is provided for the display panel 5
A circuit for generating a drive signal to be applied to 00,
It operates based on an image signal input from the multiplexer 503 and a control signal input from the display panel controller 502.

The function of each section has been described above. With the configuration illustrated in FIG. 27, in this display device, image information input from various image information sources is displayed on the display panel 5.
00 can be displayed. That is, various image signals including television broadcasting are transmitted to the decoder 50.
After the inverse conversion in step 4, the signal is appropriately selected in the multiplexer 503 and input to the drive circuit 501. On the other hand, the display controller 502 generates a control signal for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 501 according to an image signal to be displayed. The drive circuit 501 applies a drive signal to the display panel 500 based on the image signal and the control signal. Thus, the display panel 500
Displays an image. A series of these operations is C
It is totally controlled by the PU 506.

In the present display device, the decoder 5
In addition to displaying the image information selected from a plurality of pieces of image information, the image information to be displayed can be enlarged or reduced by, for example, enlarging or reducing the image information by incorporating the image memory incorporated in the image information 04, the image generation circuit 507, and the CPU 506. , Rotation, movement, edge emphasis, thinning, interpolation, color conversion, image aspect ratio conversion, etc., synthesis, deletion, connection,
It is also possible to perform image editing such as exchanging and fitting. Although not particularly described in the description of the present embodiment, a dedicated circuit for performing processing and editing of audio information at the same time as the image processing and image editing may be provided.

Therefore, the present display device is a television broadcast display device, a video conference terminal device, an image editing device that handles still and moving images, a computer terminal device, an office terminal device such as a word processor, a game device, and the like. It can be equipped with the functions of a single machine, etc., and has a very wide application range for industrial or consumer use.

FIG. 27 shows only an example of the configuration of a display device using the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.
It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this. For example, among the components in FIG. 27, 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 this display device is applied as a video phone, a TV camera, a voice microphone, a lighting device,
It is preferable to add a transmission / reception circuit including a modem to the components.

In the display device according to the fifth embodiment, the depth of the display device can be reduced due to the effect that the thickness of the image forming apparatus according to the above-described embodiment can be easily reduced. In addition, since the screen can be easily enlarged, the brightness is high, and the viewing angle characteristics are excellent, the present display device can display an image full of a sense of reality and full of power with good visibility.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention can be variously modified as follows without departing from the gist thereof.

The present invention can be applied to any of the cold cathode type electron emitting devices other than the surface conduction type electron emitting device. As a specific example, there is a field emission type electron-emitting device in which a pair of opposing electrodes are formed along a substrate surface forming an electron source as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-27447 by the present applicant.

The present invention is also applicable to an image forming apparatus using an electron source other than the simple matrix type. For example, in a case where the above-described branch member is used in an image forming apparatus that selects a surface conduction electron-emitting device using a control electrode as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-257551 by the present applicant. It is.

According to the concept of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to an image forming display suitable for display, but may be used as an alternative light source such as a light emitting diode of an optical printer including a photosensitive drum and a light emitting diode. Alternatively, the above-described image forming apparatus can be used. In this case, by appropriately selecting the above-mentioned m row-directional wirings and n column-directional wirings, the present invention can be applied not only to a linear light emitting source but also to a two-dimensional light emitting source.

Further, according to the concept of the present invention, the present invention can be applied to a case where a member to be irradiated with electrons emitted from an electron source is a member other than an image forming member, such as an electron microscope. . Therefore, the present invention can be embodied as an electron beam generator that does not specify a member to be irradiated.

According to the concept of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to an image forming apparatus suitable for display, but may be used as an alternative light source such as a light emitting diode of an optical printer including a photosensitive drum and a light emitting diode. Alternatively, the above-described image forming apparatus can be used. In this case, by appropriately selecting the above-mentioned m row-directional wirings and n column-directional wirings, the present invention can be applied not only to a linear light emitting source but also to a two-dimensional light emitting source.

According to the concept of the present invention, the present invention can be applied to a case where a member to be irradiated with electrons emitted from an electron source is a member other than an image forming member, such as an electron microscope. . Therefore, the present invention can also be embodied as an electron beam generator that does not specify a member to be irradiated.

Note that the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0253]

As described above, in the electron beam generator and image forming apparatus of the present invention, a conductive thin film is formed on the surface of an insulating intermediate member disposed between an electron source and an electrode. By passing a weak current, charging of the intermediate member can be prevented. As a result, the trajectory of the electron beam emitted from the electron source becomes as expected. In particular, when this electron source is used for image formation, a position shift between a position where electrons collide with the image forming surface and an image forming surface which should originally emit light is prevented from occurring, and luminance loss can be prevented and a clear image can be obtained. It has become possible to provide an electron beam generator and an image forming apparatus capable of displaying images.

Further, according to the support spacer of the present invention, the charged particles trapped can be emitted, so that the trajectory of the generated electron beam is not bent.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conventional surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the first embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a portion A near a spacer of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment;
It is a sectional view taken on line -A '.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a main part of an electron source of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line BB ′ of the electron source shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram sequentially illustrating a manufacturing process of the electron source of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of an example of a mask used when forming a thin film for forming an electron-emitting portion.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a voltage waveform used for forming processing.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an apparatus for measuring and evaluating an electron-emitting device according to an example.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining basic characteristics of the electron-emitting device of the example.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a fluorescent film.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a fluorescent film.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a drive circuit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a partial circuit diagram of an electron source of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of an original image for describing a driving method of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a partial circuit diagram of an electron source to which a driving voltage of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment is applied.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining trajectories of electrons and scattered particles in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment, and is a diagram in which an electron emission portion near a spacer is viewed from a Y direction.

FIG. 18 is a view for explaining trajectories of electrons and scattered particles in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and is a view in which an electron emission portion near a spacer is viewed from an X direction.

FIG. 19 is a partially broken perspective view of a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC ′ of the vicinity of a spacer of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a plan view of a main part of an electron source of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a sectional view taken along line DD ′ of the electron source according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a partially broken perspective view of a third embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line EE ′ near a spacer of the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a sectional view taken along line FF ′ of the vicinity of a spacer and a support frame of the image forming apparatus of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a circuit diagram of a fifth embodiment in which the image forming apparatus of the present invention is applied to an image display.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electron source 2 Rear plate 3 Face plate 4 Support frame 5 Spacer 5a Insulating base material 5b Island-shaped metal film 6 Glass substrate 7 Fluorescent film 8 Metal back 10 Enclosure 11 Insulating substrate 12 X direction wiring 13 Y direction wiring 14 Interlayer insulating layer 15 Electron emission element 18 Thin film for electron emission formation (thin film including electron emission part) 20 Mask 20a Opening 21 Cr film 23 Electron emission part 30, 32 Ammeter 31, 33 Power supply 34 Anode electrode 1701 Display panel 1702 Scan circuit 1703 Control circuit 1704 Shift register 1705 Line memory 1706 Synchronization signal separation circuit 1707 Modulation signal generator 500 Display panel 501 Drive circuit 502 Display panel controller 503 Multiplexer 504 Decoder 505 Input / output interface circuit 06 CPU 507 Image generation circuit 508, 509, 510 Image memory interface circuit 511 Image input interface circuit 512, 513 TV signal reception circuit 514 Input section 3001 Insulating substrate 3002 Electron emission section forming thin film 3003 Electron emission section 3004 Electron emission section Including thin film

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] March 8, 2002 (2002.3.8)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0127

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

When the electrons emitted from the electron source 1 reach the inner surface of the face plate 3, a light emission phenomenon of the fluorescent film 7 occurs. However, among the emitted electrons, other than reaching the inner surface of the face plate 3, they may collide with electrons on the fluorescent film 7 or, with a low probability, collide with electrons on residual gas in vacuum. is there. These collision phenomena, scattering particles with a certain probability (ion secondary electrons, etc. neutral particles) occurs, these scattering particles, for example, the envelope 10 in a trajectory as indicated by 26t in Fig. 18 It is thought to fly.

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0207

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Experimental Example 1 In Experimental Example 1 of the fourth embodiment, first, the unformed electron source 1 is fixed to the rear plate 2. Next , a cylindrical spacer in which the island- shaped metal film 5b is formed on four surfaces of the insulating base material 5a made of soda lime glass and exposed to the surface in the envelope 10 is formed. 5 (height 5 mm, plate pressure 20 μm, length 20 mm) are fixed on the electron source 1 at equal intervals in parallel with the X-direction wiring 12. Then, 5mm of electron source 1
The face plate 3 is disposed above via the support frame 4,
The joint between the rear plate 2, the face plate 3, the support frame 4, and the spacer 5 is fixed. The support frame 4 includes the electron source 1
As long as the electron trajectories emitted from the electron source 1 are not blocked, they are arranged as close as possible to the electron emission portion 15 of the electron source 1 and the fluorescent film 7 of the face plate 3.

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0211

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0211] The spacer 5 is formed as an island-shaped metal film 5b of Ti to a thickness of 1.5 nm on an insulated base material 5a made of cleaned soda lime glass. The island-shaped metal film of Ti is formed by using a resistance heating evaporation method. The door-out
The surface resistance of the island-shaped metal film 5b made of Ti is:
It was about 10 ¹⁰ [Ω / □].

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hideaki Mitsutake 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in Canon Inc. (reference) 5C031 DD17 5C032 AA01 CC10 5C036 EE08 EE09 EF01 EF06 EF09 EG02 EG12 EH06 EH08 EH21

Claims (27)

[Claims] An electron source having a plurality of cold-cathode-type electron-emitting devices; an electrode disposed opposite to the electron source and acting on electrons emitted from the electron source; and an electrode between the electron source and the electrode. An electron beam generating device having an insulating intermediate member disposed on the surface thereof, wherein the intermediate member has an island-shaped metal film on a surface thereof, and the island-shaped metal film is provided with respect to the electron source and / or the electrode. An electron beam generator characterized by being electrically connected. 2. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein said island-shaped metal film has a surface resistance of 10 5 to 10 12 [Ω / □]. . 3. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate member has an upright surface between the electron source and the electrode. 4. The electron beam generator according to claim 3, wherein said intermediate member is in the form of a flat plate or a column. 5. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the electrode applies an accelerating voltage to the electrode. 6. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the electron-emitting device provided in the electron source straddles between a pair of opposing element electrodes and the element electrodes. An electron-emitting device comprising: a surface conduction electron-emitting device comprising a thin film including an electron-emitting portion. 7. The electron beam generator according to claim 6, wherein said electron source has a plurality of row-direction wirings and a plurality of column-direction wirings arranged via an insulating layer. An electron beam generator, wherein the plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on an insulating substrate by connecting a direction wiring and the pair of device electrodes of each of the electron-emitting devices. 8. The electron beam generator according to claim 5, wherein the electron source includes a plurality of row-directional wirings, and the pair of element electrodes of each of the electron-emitting devices is connected to the plurality of row-directional wirings. An electron beam generator, wherein the plurality of electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on an insulating substrate by being connected to a pair of row-direction wirings. 9. The electron beam generator according to claim 7, wherein the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the row-directional wiring or the column-directional wiring. Line generator. 10. The electron beam generator according to claim 7, wherein the intermediate member is provided on the row-direction wiring or the column-direction wiring. Electron beam generator. 11. The method according to claim 7, wherein
3. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate member has a flat plate shape arranged parallel or orthogonal to the row wiring or the column wiring. 12. The electron beam generator of the electron beam generator according to claim 11, wherein the pair of element electrodes of each of the electron-emitting devices are arranged to face each other in a direction parallel to the intermediate member. Electron beam generator. 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein:
3. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate members are arranged at intervals. 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein
3. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate member is an atmospheric pressure resistant member. 15. The method according to claim 1, wherein:
3. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate member is a support frame of an envelope for maintaining a vacuum atmosphere or a support member installed in the envelope. 16. An electron source having a plurality of cold-cathode-type electron-emitting devices, an electrode disposed opposite to the electron source and acting on electrons emitted from the electron source, and an external space between the electron source and the electrode. The case member has a conductive thin film on an inner surface thereof, and the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the electron source and / or the electrode. An electron beam generator characterized in that: 17. The electron beam generating apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the conductive thin film has 10 5 to 10 12 [Ω /
□] An electron beam generator characterized by having a surface resistance value of: 18. The electron beam generator according to claim 16, wherein said conductive thin film is formed by applying a metal thin film discretely on the surface of said case member. 19. An electron source having a plurality of cold-cathode-type electron-emitting devices, at least one electrode acting on electrons emitted from the electron source disposed opposite to the electron source,
An image forming member disposed to face the electron source with the electrode interposed therebetween; and an insulating intermediate member disposed between the electron source and the electrode, or between the electrode and the image forming member, or between the electrodes. An image forming apparatus for forming an image by electrons emitted from the electron source, wherein the intermediate member has a conductive thin film on a surface thereof, and the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the outside. Image forming apparatus. 20. The image forming apparatus according to claim 19, wherein:
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the electron source and the electrode. 21. The image forming apparatus according to claim 19, wherein
The image forming apparatus, wherein the conductive thin film is electrically connected to the electrode and the image forming member. 22. The image forming apparatus according to claim 19, wherein
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conductive thin film is electrically connected to each of the pair of electrodes. 23. Any one of claims 1 to 18
An image forming apparatus, comprising: the electron beam generating apparatus according to item 1; and an image forming member disposed to face the electron source with the electrode interposed therebetween. 24. A supporting spacer used in a closed partition wall in which electrons are generated, comprising a main body made of an electrically insulating material, and a conductive thin film extended on a surface of the main body. The thin film is electrically connected to a predetermined conductor provided near the partition at a contact point between the spacer and the partition of the chamber,
The support spacer, wherein the thin film is formed to extend to an end of the spacer. 25. The support spacer according to claim 24,
The conductive thin film is 10 5 to 10 12 [Ω / □].
A support spacer having a surface resistance value of: 26. The support spacer according to claim 24, wherein
The support spacer, wherein the conductive thin film is formed by applying a metal thin film discretely on the surface of the main body. 27. An electron source having a plurality of cold-cathode type electron-emitting devices, an electrode disposed opposite to the electron source and acting on electrons emitted from the electron source, and disposed between the electron source and the electrode. An electron beam generating apparatus comprising: an insulating intermediate member provided with a means for trapping charged particles that are to adhere to the intermediate member.