JPH09199006A - Electron source, manufacturing method thereof, energization activation device thereof, and image forming apparatus using the electron source - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: A reactive current flowing through a non-selected element is reduced when the surface conduction electron-emitting device of a multi electron source is energized and activated. A control unit 104 includes a line selection unit 102,
After selecting all the elements of the substrate 101 by the pixel selection unit 106 and applying a high resistance pulse, the line selection unit 102 sequentially selects a line in the row direction, and the line is selected to have −Vf /
A pulse potential of Vf / 2 is applied from the pixel selection unit 106 to the potential of 2. At this time, the current detection unit 107 measures the value of the current flowing in this wiring, and when the current reaches a predetermined value, it is considered that the energization activation of the element is completed.
When the time (Thr) in which the high resistance state of the element is held by the above-described high resistance pulse is elapsed, the high resistance pulse is applied again to set the element in the high resistance state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron source, a method of manufacturing the same, and an image forming apparatus which is an application thereof. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electron source having a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices, a method of manufacturing the same, and energization activation thereof. The present invention relates to an apparatus and an image forming apparatus using the electron source.

[0002]

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

As an example of the FE type, for example, WP
Dyke & WW Dolan, “Field emission”, Advance in
Electron Physics, 8, 89 (1956) or CA Spi
ndt, “Physical properties of thin-film field emis
sion cathodes with molybdenium cones ”, J. Appl. P
hys., 47, 5248 (1976) are known.

[0004] Examples of the MIM type include, for example, C.I.
A. Mead, “Operation of tunnel-emission Devices,
J. Appl. Phys., 32,646 (1961) and the like are known.

As the surface conduction electron-emitting device, for example, MI Elinson, Radio E-ng. Electron Phys., 10,
1290, (1965) and other examples described below.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon in which electron emission occurs in a small-area thin film formed on a substrate by passing a current in parallel with the film surface. As the surface conduction electron-emitting device, the above-mentioned Elison (Elison
nSon) and others using SnO2 thin films, as well as Au thin films [G. Dittmer: "Thin Solid Films", 9,3
17 (1972)] and In2O3 / SnO2 thin films [M.
Hartwell and CGFonstad: ”IEEE Trans. ED Con
f. ", 519 (1975)] and those using carbon thin films [Hisashi Araki et al .: Vacuum, Vol. 26, No. 1, 22 (1983)]
Etc. have been reported.

As a typical example of the device configuration of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, FIG. 25 shows a plan view of the device by M. Hartwell et al.

In the figure, reference numeral 3001 denotes a substrate, and 300
Reference numeral 4 is a conductive thin film made of a metal oxide formed by sputtering. The conductive thin film 3004 is formed in an H-shaped planar shape as shown. This conductive thin film 3004
The electron emission portion 3005 is formed by performing an energization process called energization forming described later. The interval L in the figure is 0.5 to 1 [mm], and the width W is 0.1 [m.
m] is set. In addition, for convenience of illustration, the electron emitting portion 3005 is shown in a rectangular shape at the center of the conductive thin film 3004, but this is a schematic one, and the position and shape of the actual electron emitting portion are faithfully represented. Not necessarily.

In the surface conduction electron-emitting device described above including the device by M. Hartwell et al., The electron-emitting portion 3005 is formed by subjecting the conductive thin film 3004 to an energization process called energization forming before the electron emission. It was common to do. That is, the energization forming means that a constant DC voltage is applied to both ends of the conductive thin film 3004,
Alternatively, for example, by applying a direct current voltage that is boosted at a very slow rate of about 1 V / min to conduct electricity, the conductive thin film 3004 is locally destroyed, deformed, or deteriorated, and electrons in an electrically high resistance state are applied. That is, the emission portion 3005 is formed. Note that a crack is generated in a part of the conductive thin film 3004 that is locally broken, deformed, or altered. When an appropriate voltage is applied to the conductive thin film 3004 after the energization forming, electron emission is performed in the vicinity of the crack.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device described above has an advantage that a large number of devices can be formed over a large area because it has a simple structure and is easy to manufacture among cold cathode devices.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-157, a method for arranging and driving a large number of elements has been studied.

Regarding the application of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, for example, an image forming apparatus such as an image display apparatus and an image recording apparatus, a charged beam source, and the like have been studied.

Particularly as an application to an image display device, as disclosed in, for example, USP 5,066,883 by the applicant of the present application, JP-A-2-257551 and JP-A-4-28137, a surface conduction type An image display device using a combination of an electron-emitting device and a phosphor that emits light when irradiated with an electron beam has been studied. An image display device using such a combination of a surface conduction electron-emitting device and a phosphor is expected to have better characteristics than other conventional image display devices. For example, compared to a liquid crystal display device that has become widespread in recent years, it can be said that it is excellent in that it is a self-luminous type and does not require a backlight and has a wide viewing angle.

The inventors of the present application have tried cold cathode devices of various materials, manufacturing methods, and structures, including those described in the above-mentioned prior art. Furthermore, research has been conducted on a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of cold cathode elements are arranged, and an image display device to which the multi-electron beam source is applied.

The inventors of the present application have tried a multi-electron beam source by an electrical wiring method shown in FIG. 26, for example.
That is, it is a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of cold cathode elements are two-dimensionally arranged and these elements are arranged in a matrix as shown in the drawing.

In the figure, reference numeral 4001 schematically shows a cold cathode element, 4002 a row direction wiring, and 4003 a column direction wiring. Row direction wiring 4002 and column direction wiring 4
003 actually has a finite electrical resistance, but is shown as wiring resistances 4004 and 4005 in the figure. The above-described wiring method is called simple matrix wiring. Note that, for convenience of illustration, the matrix is shown as a 6 × 6 matrix, but the size of the matrix is not limited to this. For example, in the case of a multi-electron beam source for an image display device, a desired image is displayed. Only enough elements are arranged and wired.

In the multi-electron beam source in which the surface conduction electron-emitting devices are wired in a simple matrix, appropriate electric signals are applied to the row wiring 4002 and the column wiring 4003 in order to output a desired electron beam. For example, in order to drive the surface conduction electron-emitting device of any one row in the matrix, the selection voltage Vs is applied to the row-direction wiring 4002 of the selected row, and at the same time, the row-direction wiring 4 of the non-selected row.
A non-selection voltage Vns is applied to 002. In synchronization with this, a drive voltage Ve for outputting an electron beam is applied to the column-direction wiring 4003. According to this method, the wiring resistance 40
Neglecting the voltage drop due to 04 and 4005, a voltage of (Ve-Vs) is applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the selected row, and (Ve-Vs) is applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the non-selected row. A voltage of −Vns) is applied. Here, if the voltage values of these Ve, Vs, and Vns are set to voltages of appropriate magnitude, an electron beam with a desired intensity should be output only from the surface conduction electron-emitting devices in the selected row. By applying different drive voltage Ve to each of the column-direction wirings 4003, the electron beams of different intensities should be output from the elements of the selected row. Further, since the response speed of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is high, if the length of time for applying the drive voltage Ve is changed, the length of time for outputting the electron beam should be changed.

Therefore, the multi-electron beam source in which the surface conduction electron-emitting devices are wired in a simple matrix has various applications. For example, if an electric signal according to image information is appropriately applied, it can be used for an image display device. It can be suitably used as an electron source.

On the other hand, the inventors of the present invention have earnestly studied to improve the characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and as a result, have found that conducting activation treatment is effective in the manufacturing process.

As described above, when forming the electron emitting portion of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, an electric current is applied to the conductive thin film to locally break, deform or alter the thin film to form a crack. Processing (energization forming processing) is performed. Thereafter, by further performing the activation process, it is possible to greatly improve the electron emission characteristics.

That is, the energization activation process is a process of energizing the electron-emitting portion formed by the energization forming process under appropriate conditions to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity thereof. For example, by applying a voltage pulse periodically in a vacuum atmosphere in which an organic substance having an appropriate partial pressure is present and the total pressure is 10 −4 to 10 −5 [torr], the electron emission portion is activated. Nearly any one of single crystal graphite, polycrystal graphite, and amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof is deposited to a thickness of 500 Å or less. However, it is needless to say that this condition is just an example and should be appropriately changed depending on the material and shape of the surface conduction electron-emitting device.

By carrying out such a treatment, it is possible to increase the emission current at the same applied voltage typically 100 times or more as compared with immediately after the energization forming. After the activation is completed, it is desirable to reduce the partial pressure of the organic substance in the vacuum atmosphere.

Therefore, when manufacturing a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of the above-mentioned surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a simple matrix, it is desirable to carry out energization activation processing on each device.

[0023]

The electron emission characteristic of the surface conduction electron-emitting device has been stabilized by adding such an energization activation treatment step. When applied to a conduction type emission device, the following problems occurred.

For example, when these surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a simple matrix of m rows and n columns, 1
Lines up to the mth row are energized and activated at regular intervals. FIG. 27 shows an equivalent circuit diagram when activating the elements arranged in the simple matrix. FIG. 27 shows a state in which a voltage waveform for activation is applied to the elements on the second line.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing the waveform of the voltage signal in this activation processing, in which the voltage waveform of the voltage Vf having the pulse width T1 and the period T2 is applied. The activation time of each line is determined by being obtained from the activation characteristics of each element as shown in FIG. 28. Actually, the progress speed of activation in each element and the element current finally reached (If) and emission current (Ie) are different. This is explained in FIG. 29.

As shown in FIG. 29, when the time for ending the energization activation is uniformly determined, the element current If at the end of activation becomes different in each of the elements a, b, and c. In response to this, the emission current Ie with respect to a predetermined device voltage also differs for each device. The same phenomenon occurs when the activation is performed on a line-by-line basis, and there arises a problem that the electron emission characteristics of the finally obtained multi-surface conduction electron-emitting devices are scattered.

In other words, ideally, the surface conduction electron-emitting device which has achieved the target device current If by monitoring the device current of each device at the time of energization activation and grasping the progress of the activation, It is necessary to complete the activation and make the electron emission characteristics of each surface conduction electron-emitting device uniform after the activation. However, conventionally, it has been difficult to activate only an arbitrary element under a vacuum (called an activation atmosphere) in which an organic substance to be activated is present.

The reason for this will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 30 shows only the elements in the first and second columns of the second row in the element configuration of the simple matrix wiring of m rows × n columns (this element is F (2,1), F (2,1) And) are activated. As shown in the figure, a pulse voltage with a peak value of −Vf / 2 is applied to the second row wiring in the row direction, and
A voltage pulse having a peak value of + Vf / 2 is applied to the wiring in the column (where the voltage value Vf is the voltage value Vf shown in FIG. 31).
Equal to). All the other wirings are 0V, that is, grounded. As a result, the activation voltage Vf is applied between the electrodes of the elements F (2,1) and F (2,2), but the other element (F (F ( 2,3), F (2,4),
... F (2, n)) and the elements (F in the first and second columns of other rows)
(1,1), F (3,1) ... F (m, 1), F (1,2), F (3,2), ... F
For (n, 1)), a voltage of Vf / 2 called a half-select voltage is applied.

Here, a typical IV characteristic of the device in this activation atmosphere, that is, the voltage V applied to the device.
The relationship between f and the current If will be described.

A typical IV characteristic of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, that is, the relationship between the current (If) flowing through the device and the voltage (Vf) applied to the device will be described with reference to FIG.

In this surface conduction electron-emitting device, the current (If) flowing through the device is not always required with respect to the voltage (Vf) applied to the device under an atmosphere in which an organic substance having an appropriate partial pressure exists. It is not uniquely determined. The characteristics are roughly classified into two types. Among them, in the first type, the current (If) flowing in the element is temporarily increased as the applied voltage (Vf) is increased from 0 [V]. Increase, but then
The current starts to decrease, and thereafter shows a constant or slightly increasing tendency. On the other hand, in the second type, the current (If) flowing in the element always shows an increasing tendency as the applied voltage (Vf) is increased from 0 [V].

For convenience of explanation, the first mold is referred to as a static characteristic, and the second mold is referred to as a dynamic characteristic. In FIG. 6, the broken line is about 1.
The static characteristics obtained at a voltage sweep speed of V / min or less are shown. That is, in the area of Vf = 0 to V1 (area A),
The device current (If) flowing through the device monotonically increases as the device voltage (Vf) increases, and becomes maximum at V1. In addition, the element voltage Vf =
In the region of V1 to V2 (region B), the current (I
f) decreases as the element voltage (Vf) increases, that is,
Voltage controlled negative resistance characteristics (hereinafter, VCNR [voltage con
trolled negative resistance] characteristic). Further, in the region (region C) where the element voltage Vf = V2 to Vd, the current (If) flowing through the element hardly changes with the increase of the voltage (Vf). V1 is the element voltage value when the element current If has a maximum value, and V2 is the Vf axis intercept of the maximum tangent line of the tangent lines of the decrease curve of the element current If. On the other hand, the emission current (Ie) from the device increases with Ve as the electron emission threshold value as the voltage (Vf) increases.

The solid line 700 in the figure shows the dynamic characteristics obtained at a voltage sweep speed of about 10 V / sec or more.
That is, when the maximum element voltage is swept by Vd (see the If (Vd) curve), the current (If) flowing from the vicinity of the element voltage Ve to the element
Gradually increases, and an element current value that substantially matches the element current If showing static characteristics at the element voltage Vd is obtained. A solid line 701 shows the case of sweeping with the maximum voltage V2 (see the If (V2) curve), and the element current I in the regions A and B is shown.
f gradually increases, and at the device voltage V2, the static characteristics If
A device current If that substantially matches the value of is obtained. Also, if the maximum voltage is swept with the maximum voltage in the above area A,
The characteristics are almost the same as the If curve of the static characteristics shown by the dotted line. Of course, the static characteristics and the dynamic characteristics related to the IV characteristics are changed by changing the material forming the element, the element form, etc., but in general, the surface conduction electron-emitting element having good electron emission characteristics is It can be said that it has characteristics.

That is, when the simple matrix drive as described above is performed to activate the individual elements, there are elements to which the half-select voltage is applied in addition to the selected desired elements. As a result, the element in the half-selected state is shown in FIG.
As is clear from the above, a large amount of reactive current will flow. Such a reactive current not only requires the activation device to be large-sized, but also causes heat generation of the display panel and accelerates deterioration of the element. Further, depending on the material of the substrate, thermal stress may cause destruction.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and provides a method of manufacturing an electron source and a current activation apparatus for the same, which can reduce a reactive current flowing in a non-selected element at the time of current activation. The purpose is to do.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electron source having uniform electron emission characteristics by activating only selected elements, a method of manufacturing the same, a current activation device, and an image forming apparatus using the electron source. To provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electron source capable of suppressing a reactive current flowing in a non-selected element to suppress the power supply capacity of a current activation device, a method of manufacturing the same, a current activation device and the electron source. An object is to provide an image forming apparatus using a source.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an electron source in which the surface conduction electron-emitting device is prevented from deteriorating, a method of manufacturing the same, a current activation device, and an image forming apparatus using the electron source. .

[0039]

In order to achieve the above object, the method of manufacturing an electron source of the present invention comprises the following steps. That is, it is a method of manufacturing an electron source in which a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on a substrate, and a plurality of electrodes on the substrate and a conductive film connected to each of the plurality of electrodes. A step of forming a plurality of row-direction wirings and column-direction wirings in which the plurality of electrodes are connected in a matrix, a forming step of energizing each of the conductive films to form an electron-emitting portion, and a forming step An activation step of energizing and activating the formed electron emission portion, wherein the activation step applies a pulse of a predetermined voltage to increase the resistance of the electron emission portion, and then the row-direction wiring And, a predetermined voltage is applied to the column-direction wiring, and among the electron emitting portions, the electron emitting portion in which a predetermined current has flowed is set as the activated electron emitting portion.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the energization activation device of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a device for energizing and energizing an electron source in which a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on a substrate, and at least one of a plurality of row-direction wirings or column-direction wirings of the substrate is selected. First voltage applying means for applying a first voltage, and column-direction wiring or row-direction wiring facing the row-direction wiring or column-direction wiring to which the voltage is applied by the voltage applying means. A second voltage applying means for applying a voltage of 2; an applying means for applying a predetermined voltage pulse to all surface conduction electron-emitting devices on the substrate at predetermined time intervals; and the first and second voltage applying means. Detecting means for detecting a current value flowing in each of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices when the voltage is applied by the means, and the first and second voltage applying means based on the current value detected by the detecting means. Control means for controlling

[0041]

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

<First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an energization activation device for a surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present embodiment.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a multi-surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate which is connected for activation by energization (a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on the substrate 101 in this embodiment). It is assumed that the forming process has already been completed), is connected to a vacuum exhaust device (not shown), and is evacuated to about 10 −4 to −5 [torr]. ing. Reference numeral 102 denotes an activation line selection unit that selects a row-direction wiring according to an instruction from the control unit 104 and applies a voltage from a power supply 103 to the selected row-direction wiring.
The power source 103 generates a voltage applied to the row wiring of the electron source. Reference numeral 107 denotes a current detection unit that detects a current flowing in the column direction wiring of the electron source. A pixel selection unit 106 selects the column-direction wiring of the electron source to be activated. The control unit 104 takes in the current value detected by the current detection unit 107 and outputs the voltage value for energization activation as the power supply 103, 1.
No. 04 is set, and the line selection unit 102 and the pixel selection unit 106 are controlled to control the selection of the wiring in the row direction and the column direction. Dx1 to Dxn are electron source substrates 101
Row direction wiring terminals of the electron source substrate 10 are shown as Dy1 to Dyn.
1 shows the column direction wiring terminal. The timer 104a of the control unit 104 is for counting a high resistance holding time Thr described later.

Next, the operation of the line selection unit 102 will be described with reference to FIG.

The line selection unit 102 is mainly composed of switches such as relays and analog switches, and m × n surface-conduction type emission elements are wired in a matrix on the surface-conduction type emission element substrate 101. When SWx1 ~ S
Like Wxm, m switches are arranged in parallel, and the output of each switch is connected to each of the row-direction wiring terminals Dx1 to Dxm of the electron source substrate. Further, switching of these switches is controlled by the control unit 104, and operates so that the voltage waveform from the power source 103 is applied to the line to be energized and activated. In FIG. 2A, the first line (Sx
The line 1) is selected and the voltage is applied only to the row-direction wiring terminal Dx1, and the other lines are connected to the ground.

FIG. 2B is a circuit diagram showing the configuration of the pixel selection unit 106.

This pixel selection unit 106 is also the line selection unit 10.
It is composed of relays, analog switches, etc. as in 2.
N switches are arranged in parallel, and the output of the pixel selection unit 106 is connected to the column direction wiring terminals Dy1 to Dyn of the electron source substrate 101 through the current detection unit 107.
In FIG. 2B, the wiring in the second column (Sy2) is selected, and the other wiring in the column direction is connected to the ground.

FIG. 3 shows the current detector 107 of this embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of FIG.

The voltage signal output from the pixel selection unit 106 is input to the current detection unit 107 through the wirings Sy1 to Syn. The current detection unit 107 has detection resistors Rs1 to Rsn provided corresponding to each column direction wiring, and a voltmeter for measuring the voltage generated at both ends of these resistors. In the example shown in FIG. 2, only one element arranged in the first row and the second column is selected, and the other lines are grounded, so that no current flows through the elements connected thereto. In this case, a voltage is generated only across both ends of the resistor Rs2 in the second column, and if the voltage value is V2, then the current flowing in the column-directional wiring in the second column is I1 = V2 / Rs2 Becomes The resistance values of these resistors Rs1 to Rsn are set to sufficiently low values so that the voltage drop when the device current If flows does not affect the voltage applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate. The output value of each voltmeter is A / D
It is converted into a digital value by a converter and the like
Is output to

Next, a procedure for activating the multi-electron source substrate 101 using the apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

First of all, the control unit 104 includes the substrate 101.
In order to activate the surface conduction electron-emitting devices in the first row, a signal is output to the line selection unit 102 to select the wiring in the first row. As a result, the line selection unit 102 is displayed in FIG.
As shown in (a), by turning on only the switch SWx1, the voltage pulse signal output from the power supply 103 is output to the wiring Sx1, and the substrate 10 is supplied via the electron source terminal Dx1.
The voltage is applied to the element in the first row of 1. The voltage waveform at this time is shown in FIG.

Here, in the present embodiment, the time T1 during which the voltage in the column direction is output is 1 millisecond, and its period T2.
Is set to 10 milliseconds. Also, the voltage Vf in FIG.
Is equal to the element voltage Vf shown in FIG.

At the same time, the control unit 104 controls the pixel selection unit 1
A signal is sent to 06 so as to select all pixels (all elements on one line), whereby the switch SW of the pixel selection unit 106 is selected.
All of y1 to SWyn are turned on, and the voltage waveform (FIG. 4A) output from the power supply 105 passes through the connection wirings Sy1 to Syn and the electron source terminals Dy1 to Dyn, and is directed in all the column directions of the electron source substrate 101. Applied to the wiring.

The drive voltage waveform in the row direction generated by the power supply 105 at this time is shown in FIG. Time T1, T at this time
2 and Vf are the same as those in FIG. 4A described above, and the pulse timings are aligned. That is, the power source 105 is the power source 103
The inverted waveform of is output. The power source 103 (negative potential −Vf / 2) and the output of the power source 105 (positive potential Vf / 2)
As a result, a pulse of the activation voltage Vf is applied to the elements on the first row of the electron source substrate 101, and activation of the elements on the first row is started. However, if the voltage is continuously applied as it is, the half-select voltage Vf / 2 is continuously applied to all the elements in the second and subsequent rows, but in this case, the resistance is lowered due to the VCNR characteristics of the above-mentioned elements, which is ineffective. An electric current will flow.

A method for preventing the resistance of the multi-electron source from being lowered, which the inventors of the present application have found, will be described with reference to FIG.

When a voltage pulse having a voltage drop rate (pulse falling) of 10 V / sec or more is applied to the surface-conduction type electron-emitting device having a low resistance, I as shown in regions A and B of FIG.
A transition is made to a high resistance state different from the -V static characteristic. Here, the high resistance state means a state in which the element follows the IV characteristic along the dynamic characteristic for a finite time.

For example, for the surface conduction electron-emitting device having the IV characteristic of FIG. 6, the peak value Vd and the voltage drop rate 10V.
Immediately after the application of the voltage pulse of not less than / sec, the measurement result of the IV characteristic of the device is the current value If (Vd) in FIG.
Indicates a high resistance state. Further, after a short period of time has passed after the transition to the high resistance state, the emission current Is can be obtained by applying the voltage Vd to the element. Moreover, as is clear from the characteristics shown by the solid line If (Vd) 700, even if a voltage less than or equal to the voltage Ve is applied to this element, it is compared with the static characteristics shown by the dotted line in FIG. The flowing current If is greatly reduced. The high resistance state of such an element is maintained for a finite time after the voltage pulse is applied (this time is Thr), but thereafter, the IV static characteristic shown in FIG. 6 is restored. Incidentally, this time Thr is specifically several seconds to several minutes, and this time varies depending on the material of the element and the manufacturing process.

Therefore, when it is necessary to maintain such a high resistance state for a desired period, the above voltage pulse is repeatedly applied while the high resistance state is maintained, whereby the high resistance state is maintained. The holding time can be extended for a desired period.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the above I
In the surface-conduction type electron-emitting device substrate 101 having −V static characteristics, by applying a voltage pulse (hereinafter, a high resistance pulse) having the above-mentioned voltage drop rate of 10 V / sec or more in advance, the IV static characteristics of the device can be improved. Change to a different state. In other words, by changing the element to the high resistance state,
It is possible to reduce the reactive current flowing in the above-mentioned half-selected element, and to significantly reduce the power consumption of the device at the time of activation. The upper limit of the voltage drop rate of such a high resistance pulse is practically 10 10 [V / sec].

Due to the characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device described above, the resistance of the half-selected device is prevented from being lowered by applying the high resistance pulse to the entire electron source substrate 101 at every holding time Thr, and thus the electron source substrate is prevented. It is possible to activate the device by energization without deteriorating or destroying 101.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the waveform of the high resistance pulse in this embodiment.

This high resistance pulse is output from the power source 103 with a negative polarity, and at this time, the line selection unit 102 is controlled to select all the lines. At this time, all the switches of the pixel selection unit 106 are turned off,
Its output is grounded.

In this way, the surface conduction electron-emitting devices in the first line are activated while the resistance of the half-selected devices is increased, but the device current If of each device in the first line is It is monitored by 107 at a constant sampling period. At this time, since the elements other than the selected element are in the high resistance state, the current flowing into the electron source substrate 101 through the connection terminals Dy1 to Dyn is nothing but the individual element current on the first line.

An equivalent circuit at this time is shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 shows how the individual element current at this time increases with the progress of activation.
In FIG. 8, element currents Ifi, Ifj, Ifk flowing through the i-th, j-th, and k-th elements Fi, Fj, Fk in the column direction in the equivalent circuit shown in FIG. 7 are extracted. As shown in FIG. 8, each device current increases as the activation time becomes longer. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, when the device current Ifi reaches a predetermined target value Ift, the control unit 104 outputs a signal to the pixel selection unit 106 to turn off the switch SWyi. As a result, the column direction wiring terminal Dyi is grounded.

As a result, the half-select voltage is applied to the element Fi and the activation does not proceed. In this way, when the device currents Ifj and Ifk also reach the current value Ift one after another, the switches SWyj and SWyk are turned off and the devices Fj and
Activation of Fk is completed. Similarly, when the other elements reach the current value Ift, the corresponding switch of the pixel selection unit 106 is turned off and the activation is completed,
Finally, all the switches of the pixel selection unit 106 are turned off, and the activation of all the surface conduction electron-emitting devices in the first row is completed. Here, it is assumed that the target device current Ift has been previously obtained by an experiment from device variations, the required electron emission amount, and the like.

When the activation of the first line is completed in this way, the control unit 104 sends a signal to the line selection unit 102 to select the second line, and the second line is processed in the same procedure as the first line. Activation is performed while outputting a high resistance pulse to lines other than, and activation processing is performed according to the target value of each device current.

In this procedure, the surface conduction electron-emitting devices of all the lines are sequentially activated, and the activation of the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 is completed.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the processing operation of the control unit 104 of the energization activation device according to this embodiment.

First, in step S1, the line selection unit 102
All the switches SWx1 to SWxm are turned on (connected to the power supply 103 side) to select all the row-direction wirings of the substrate 101. Then, in step S2, the pixel selection unit 106 is instructed to switch all the switches SWy1 to SWy of the pixel selection unit 106.
Turn Wyn off (connect to ground). Then, in step S3, the power supply 103 is instructed to output the high resistance pulse as shown in FIG. As a result, all the elements of the substrate 101 are in a high resistance state. At this time, the time counting by the timer 104a is started. Next, in step S4, the line selection unit 102 selects the first line (row), and in step S5, all the switches of the pixel selection unit 106 are set to the power supply side, and the power supply 103 is set as shown in FIG. 4B, the pulse signal as shown in FIG. 4B is output from the power supply 105 in synchronization therewith (step S6). As a result, the voltage Vf is applied to all the elements on the first row of the substrate 101.
Is applied.

Next, in step S7, the current detector 10
Based on the voltage value detected in 7, the value of the current flowing through each element in that row is obtained. And in that line, the current value is Ift
It is checked whether or not there is any element that has become a pixel (S8).
The switch SWyi of 6 is turned off (connected to the ground side). Then, the process proceeds to step S10, and it is checked whether or not the activation process for all the elements on one line is completed. If it is completed, the process proceeds to step S15. If not completed, the process proceeds to step S11, and the timer 104a is used. It is checked whether or not the time count has reached the above-described predetermined time Thr, and if not, the process returns to step S6, but when the time Thr has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S12, and again the above-mentioned steps S1 to S1.
Similar to S3, all the elements of the substrate 101 are selected and a high resistance pulse is applied.

On the other hand, when the processing for all the elements of one line is completed in step S10, the process proceeds to step S15, and when the processing for all the elements is not completed, the line selection unit 10
In step 2, the next line is selected (S16), the process returns to step S6, and the above-described processing is executed.

As described above, according to the current activation device of the present embodiment, the electron emission characteristics of all the elements are made uniform. As a result, a high-quality image display device with little variation in brightness or density was realized using this electron source substrate. The surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 10 of the present embodiment
1 has been described in the case of taking out one side wiring, but it can be similarly applied to the case of taking out both side wirings, and a high-quality image forming apparatus can be realized even by using such a surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate. .

(Second Embodiment) The second embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail below. The energization activation device according to the second embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, and is the same as the multi-surface conduction type emission element, and therefore the description of the configuration of the entire device is omitted.

The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment described above lies in the voltage waveforms generated by the power supply 103 and the power supply 105 and the procedure for line switching.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, the power source 103,
The activation voltage waveform generated by the power supply 105 will be described. In the present embodiment, the time T during which the voltage is applied
1 was 1 msec and the cycle T2 was 2 msec.

Next, the switching timing in the line selection unit 102 will be described with reference to FIG.

The voltage waveform applied here is a continuous pulse waveform as described above, and this voltage waveform is shown by the power supply waveform at the top of FIG.

When the output of the pulse signal starts, first, the line selector switch SWx1 is turned on, and the power source 103
The output voltage pulse waveform is output to the Dx1 terminal of the multi-surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101. However, the switch SWx1 is turned on for one pulse, and the switch SWx2 is turned on immediately and the switch SWx2 is turned on immediately thereafter. In this way, the switch SWx1 of the line selection unit 102 is synchronized with the pulse output from the power supplies 103 and 105.
.. to SWxm are sequentially switched, Dx1 to Dxm are applied pulse by pulse, and then repeatedly applied in order from the switch SWx1.

In this way, all the elements of the substrate 101 are activated while switching the row-direction wiring so as to scroll sequentially. Note that the high resistance pulse is applied to the entire substrate 101 for each period of the holding time Thr described above, as in the first embodiment. Further, each element current of each scrolled row-direction wiring is measured at a constant sampling cycle, and for a pixel reaching the element current Ift, when the row-direction wiring is selected, a switch (corresponding to the element) is selected. SWyi) is turned off to terminate the activation. The method of measuring the device current is the same as in the first embodiment described above.

In this way, all the device currents have the predetermined value I.
When it reaches ft, the activation of the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 is completed. In the second embodiment, the activation time is shortened to about 1/5 as compared with the first embodiment.

The process of the control unit 104 of the energization activation device according to the second embodiment is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S21, the high resistance pulse is applied to all the elements of the substrate 101 in the same manner as in steps S1 to S3 of FIG. 9 described above. Then, in step S22, the line selection unit 102 causes the substrate 101 to be processed. Select the first line of. Next, in step S23, the power source 103 outputs -V.
A voltage of f / 2 is applied to the wiring in the column direction, and Vf is supplied from the power supply 105.
A voltage of / 2 is applied to the column wiring to apply a pulse for activation. Next, in step S24, it is determined whether or not there is an element whose element current value becomes Ift among the elements in the line to which the voltage is applied.
25, the element number and line number are assigned to the control unit 1.
04 memory.

Next, in step S26, it is checked by referring to the contents of the memory of the control unit 104 described above whether activation of all elements on all lines is completed. If not completed, the process proceeds to step S27. It is checked whether the time Thr, in which the above-mentioned high resistance state is maintained, has elapsed. When the time Thr has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S28, and the substrate 10 is restarted.
A high resistance pulse is applied to all the elements of No. 1. Then, the process proceeds to step S29, the next line is selected and step S23.
Proceed to. Then, in step S23, the activation pulse is applied to all the elements of the line except for the elements which have already been activated with reference to the contents stored in the memory of the control unit 104. Thus, in step S26, when the activation of all the elements of the substrate 101 is completed, this process is completed.

As described above, according to the current activation device of the second embodiment, the electron emission characteristics of all the surface conduction electron-emitting devices on the substrate 101 are made uniform, and the electron source substrate 101 is It was possible to provide a high-quality image display device with little variation in brightness or density by using it. Although the surface-conduction type electron-emitting device substrate 101 of this embodiment has one-sided wiring taken out, it can also be implemented in the case of taking out both-sided wiring. Even if this surface-conduction type electron-emitting device substrate 101 is used, high quality is achieved. Image forming apparatus was realized.

(Structure and Manufacturing Method of Display Panel) Next, the structure and manufacturing method of the display panel of the image display device to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to specific examples.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the display panel 1000 used in this embodiment, in which a part of the display panel 1000 is cut away to show the internal structure.

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

A substrate 1001 is fixed to the rear plate 1005. This substrate corresponds to, for example, the surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 101 of FIG. 1 described above,
N × M surface conduction electron-emitting devices 1002 are formed on this substrate. Both N and M are positive integers of 2 or more and are appropriately set according to the target number of display pixels.
For example, in a display device intended for high-definition television display, it is desirable to set the numbers N = 3000 and M = 1000 or more. In the present embodiment, N
= 3072, M = 1024. These N × M surface conduction electron-emitting devices 1002 are M row-direction wirings 100.
Simple matrix wiring is provided by 3 and N column-direction wirings 1004. The portion constituted by 1001 to 1004 is called a multi-electron beam source. The manufacturing method and structure of this multi-electron beam source will be described in detail later.

In this embodiment, the rear plate 1005 of the airtight container is attached to the substrate 10 of the multi-electron beam source.
01 is fixed, but when the substrate 1001 of the multi-electron beam source has sufficient strength,
The substrate 1001 itself of the multi-electron beam source may be used as the rear plate of the airtight container.

A fluorescent film 1008 is formed on the lower surface of the face plate 1007. Since the present embodiment is a color display device, the phosphor film 1008 is coated with phosphors of three primary colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B), which are used in the field of CRT. There is. The phosphors of the respective colors are applied in stripes, for example, as shown in FIG. 13A, and black conductors 1010 are provided between the stripes of the phosphors. The purpose of providing the black conductor 1010 is to prevent the display color from deviating even if the irradiation position of the electron beam is slightly deviated, and to prevent the reflection of external light to prevent the deterioration of the display contrast. For,
This is to prevent the fluorescent film from being charged up by the electron beam. Although graphite was used as a main component for the black conductor 1010, other materials may be used as long as they are suitable for the above purpose.

Further, the method of separately applying the phosphors of the three primary colors is shown in FIG.
The arrangement is not limited to the stripe-shaped arrangement shown in FIG. 3 (A), but may be a delta arrangement as shown in FIG. 13 (B) or other arrangements. When a monochrome display panel is created, a monochromatic phosphor material may be used for the phosphor film 1008, and a black conductive material may not be necessarily used.

On the rear plate side surface of the fluorescent film 1008, a metal back 1009 known in the field of CRT is used.
Is provided. The purpose of providing the metal back 1009 is
In order to improve the light utilization efficiency by specularly reflecting a part of the light emitted by the fluorescent film 1008, and from the collision of negative ions, the fluorescent film 10
This is for protecting 08, for acting as an electrode for applying an electron beam accelerating voltage, and for acting as a conductive path for excited electrons in the fluorescent film 1008. The metal back 1009 was formed by forming a fluorescent film 1008 on the face plate substrate 1007, smoothing the surface of the fluorescent film, and vacuum-depositing Al thereon. The metal back 1009 is not used when a low voltage fluorescent material is used for the fluorescent film 1008.

Although not used in this embodiment,
For the purpose of applying acceleration voltage and improving the conductivity of the fluorescent film,
A transparent electrode made of, for example, ITO may be provided between the face plate substrate 1007 and the fluorescent film 1008.

Further, the terminals Dx1 to Dxm in the row direction and the terminals Dy1 to Dyn and Hv in the column direction are the display panel 10 concerned.
00 and an electric circuit (not shown) are electrically connected terminals provided with an airtight structure. Dx1 to Dxm are row-direction wiring 1003 of the multi-electron beam source and Dy1 to Dyn.
Is the column direction wiring 1004 of the multi-electron beam source and the terminal H
v is electrically connected to the metal back 1009 of the face plate.

To evacuate the inside of this airtight container to a vacuum, after assembling the airtight container, an exhaust pipe (not shown) and a vacuum pump are connected, and the inside of the airtight container is reduced to the power of 10 minus 7 [torr]. Evacuate to a degree of vacuum. Then, the exhaust pipe is sealed, but in order to maintain the degree of vacuum in the airtight container, a getter film (not shown) is formed at a predetermined position in the airtight container immediately before or after the sealing. The getter film is, for example, a film formed by heating a getter material containing Ba as a main component with a heater or high-frequency heating and vapor-depositing the film. The degree of vacuum is maintained at 1 × 10 minus 7 [torr].

As described above, the display panel 1000 according to the present embodiment.
I explained the basic composition and manufacturing method.

Next, the display panel 1000 of this embodiment.
A method for manufacturing the multi-electron beam source used in the above will be described.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an outline of a manufacturing process of the multi electron source of the display panel of the present embodiment.

First, in step S100, an electrode and a conductive thin film are formed on a substrate as described later, and then step S10.
At 1, a voltage is applied between the electrodes to form an electron-emitting portion. Then, in step S102, the electron emission portion is activated by energizing. This activation processing is based on the above-described embodiment. The basic multi-electron source is now manufactured.

The multi-electron beam source used in the image display device of this embodiment is not limited in the material, shape or manufacturing method of the surface conduction electron-emitting device as long as it is an electron source in which surface conduction electron-emitting devices are wired in a simple matrix. . However, the inventors of the present application have found that among the surface conduction electron-emitting devices, those in which the electron-emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film have excellent electron-emitting characteristics and can be easily manufactured. Therefore, it can be said that it is most suitable for use in a multi-electron beam source of a high-luminance, large-screen image display device. Therefore, in the display panel 1000 of the above-described embodiment, the surface conduction electron-emitting device in which the electron emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of the fine particle film is used. Therefore, the basic configuration, manufacturing method and characteristics of a suitable surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described first, and then the structure of a multi-electron beam source in which many devices are arranged in a simple matrix will be described.

(Preferable Element Structure and Manufacturing Method of Surface Conduction Type Emitting Element) Typical structures of the surface conduction type emitting element in which the electron emitting portion or its peripheral portion is formed of a fine particle film include a planar type and a vertical type. There are different types.

(Plane type surface conduction electron-emitting device) First,
The element structure and manufacturing method of the flat surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described.

FIG. 15 is a plan view (a) and a sectional view (b) for explaining the structure of the flat surface conduction electron-emitting device.

In the figure, 1101 is a substrate, 1102 and 110.
Reference numeral 3 denotes an element electrode; 1104, a conductive thin film; 1105, an electron-emitting portion formed by an energization forming process;
Is a thin film formed by energization activation treatment.

As the substrate 1101, for example, various glass substrates such as quartz glass and soda lime glass, various ceramics substrates such as alumina, or the above-mentioned various substrates, an insulating layer made of, for example, SiO 2 is provided. A laminated substrate or the like can be used. Also, substrate 1
The element electrodes 1102 and 1103 provided on the substrate 101 in parallel with the substrate surface are formed of a conductive material. For example, Ni, Cr, Au, Mo, W,
Metals including Pt, Ti, Cu, Pd, Ag, etc.,
Alternatively, an appropriate material may be selected from alloys of these metals, metal oxides such as In2O3-SnO2, semiconductors such as polysilicon, and the like. The electrodes 1102 and 1103 can be easily formed by using a combination of a film forming technique such as vacuum evaporation and a patterning technique such as photolithography and etching. However, other methods (eg, printing technique) are used. It can be formed even if it is formed.

The shapes of the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are appropriately designed according to the application purpose of this electron-emitting device.
Generally, the electrode spacing L is designed by selecting an appropriate value from the range of several hundred angstroms to several hundreds of micrometers, but it is preferable that the electrode spacing L is more than several micrometers for application to a display device. It is in the range of 10 micrometers. As for the thickness d of the device electrode, an appropriate numerical value is usually selected from a range of several hundred angstroms to several micrometers.

A fine particle film is used for the conductive thin film 1104. The fine particle film described here refers to a film including a large number of fine particles as constituent elements (including an island-shaped aggregate). When the fine particle film is examined microscopically, usually, a structure in which the individual fine particles are spaced apart from each other, a structure in which the fine particles are adjacent to each other, or a structure in which the fine particles overlap each other is observed. The particle size of the fine particles used in the fine particle film is in the range of several Angstroms to several thousand Angstroms, but is preferably in the range of 10 Angstroms to 200 Angstroms. Further, the thickness of the fine particle film is appropriately set in consideration of various conditions described below. That is,
Conditions necessary for good electrical connection with the device electrode 1102 or 1103, conditions necessary for good energization forming described later, and necessary for setting the electrical resistance of the fine particle film itself to an appropriate value described later. Conditions. Specifically, it is set within the range of several Angstroms to several thousand Angstroms.
It is between 0 Angstroms and 500 Angstroms.

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

As described above, the conductive thin film 1104 is formed of a fine particle film, and its sheet resistance value is
It was set to be included in the range of 10 3 to 10 7 [Ohm / sq].

The conductive thin film 1104 and the device electrode 11
Since it is desirable that the wires 02 and 1103 be electrically connected well, they have a structure in which a part of each overlaps with the other. In the example of FIG. 15, the overlapping manner is
Although the substrate, the device electrode, and the conductive thin film are stacked in this order from the bottom, in some cases, the substrate, the conductive thin film, and the device electrode may be stacked in this order from the bottom.

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

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

The thin film 1113 is made of any one of single crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite and amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and the film thickness is 500 [angstrom] or less, but 300 [angstrom] or less. Is more preferable.

Since it is difficult to accurately illustrate the actual position and shape of the thin film 1113, it is schematically shown in FIG. Also, in the plan view (a), the thin film 11
13 shows a device in which a part of the device 13 is removed.

The basic structure of a preferable element has been described above, but the following elements were used in the embodiments.

That is, soda lime glass was used for the substrate 1101, and Ni thin films were used for the device electrodes 1102 and 1103. The thickness d of the device electrode was 1000 [angstrom], and the electrode interval L was 2 [micrometer].

Pd or P as the main material of the fine particle film
The thickness of the fine particle film was about 100 [angstrom] and the width W was 100 [micrometer] using dO.

Next, a method of manufacturing a suitable flat surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. (A) of FIG.
15D is a cross-sectional view for explaining the manufacturing process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the notation of each member is the same as FIG. 15.

(1) First, as shown in FIG.
Element electrodes 1102 and 1103 are formed over a substrate 1101. In forming the element electrodes 1102 and 1103, the substrate 1101 is sufficiently washed in advance with a detergent, pure water, and an organic solvent, and then a material for the element electrodes is deposited. As a method of depositing this material, for example, a vacuum film forming technique such as a vapor deposition method or a sputtering method may be used. Thereafter, the deposited electrode material is patterned by using a photolithography / etching technique to form a pair of device electrodes (1102 and 1103) shown in FIG.

(2) Next, a conductive thin film 1104 is formed as shown in FIG.

In forming this conductive thin film,
First, an organic metal solution is applied to the substrate (a), dried, heated and baked to form a fine particle film, and then patterned into a predetermined shape by photolithography and etching. Here, the organometallic solution is a solution of an organometallic compound whose main element is a material of fine particles used for the conductive thin film. Specifically, in the present embodiment, Pd is used as a main element. Further, although the dipping method is used as the coating method in the embodiment, other methods such as a spinner method and a spray method may be used.

As a method of forming a conductive thin film formed of a fine particle film, other than the method of applying the organic metal solution used in this embodiment, for example, a vacuum vapor deposition method, a sputtering method, or a chemical vapor phase method. A deposition method may be used in some cases.

(3) Next, as shown in FIG. 10C, the forming power source 1110 to the device electrodes 1102 and 11
An appropriate voltage is applied during the period 03, and the energization forming process is performed to form the electron-emitting portion 1105 (corresponding to the energization forming process of FIG. 14). The energization forming process is a process of energizing the conductive thin film 1104 made of a fine particle film to appropriately break, deform, or alter a part of the conductive thin film 1104 to change the structure to a structure suitable for electron emission. That is. Appropriate cracks are formed in the thin film in the portion of the conductive thin film made of the fine particle film that has changed to a structure suitable for electron emission (that is, the electron emitting portion 1105). Note that, after the formation of the electron emission portion 1105, the device electrode 1102 is formed after the formation.
And the electrical resistance measured between 1103 increases significantly.

In order to explain in more detail the energizing method at the time of forming, FIG.
An example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from FIG.

When forming a conductive thin film made of a fine particle film, a pulsed voltage is preferable, and in the case of the present embodiment, a triangular wave pulse having a pulse width T1 is pulsed as shown in FIG. The voltage was continuously applied at the interval T2. At that time, the peak value Vpf of the triangular wave pulse was sequentially increased. Further, monitor pulses Pm for monitoring the formation state of the electron emitting portion 1105 were inserted between the triangular wave pulses at appropriate intervals, and the current flowing at that time was measured by the ammeter 1111.

In the present embodiment, for example, in a vacuum atmosphere of about 10 −5 [torr], for example, the pulse width T1 is 1 [millisecond] and the pulse interval T2 is 10.
[Millisecond], and the peak value Vpf is 0.1 for each pulse.
The voltage was increased by [V]. Then, each time five triangular waves were applied, the monitor pulse Pm was inserted at a rate of once.
Here, the monitor pulse voltage Vpm was set to 0.1 [V] so as not to adversely affect the forming process. Then, when the electric resistance between the element electrodes 1102 and 1103 becomes 1 × 10 6 [ohm], that is, the current measured by the ammeter 1111 when the monitor pulse is applied is 1 × 10 −7 [ohm]. A] When the following conditions were reached, the energization related to the forming process was terminated.

The above method is a preferable method for the surface conduction electron-emitting device according to the present embodiment. For example, the material and film thickness of the fine particle film or the device electrode interval L such as the surface conduction electron emission device is used. When the design is changed, it is desirable to appropriately change the energization conditions accordingly.

(4) Next, as shown in FIG.
The device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are supplied from the activation power source 1112.
During the energization activation process, apply an appropriate voltage during
The electron emission characteristics are improved (Step S102 in FIG. 14)
Equivalent to processing). The energization activation process is a process of energizing the electron-emitting portion 1105 formed by the energization forming process under appropriate conditions to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity thereof. (In the figure, a deposit made of carbon or a carbon compound is
It is shown schematically as 113. In addition, by performing the energization activation process, the emission current at the same applied voltage can be typically increased by 100 times or more as compared to before the activation process.

Specifically, 10 to the power of minus 2 to 10
By applying a voltage pulse periodically in a vacuum atmosphere within the range of minus the fifth power [torr], carbon or a carbon compound originating from an organic compound existing in the vacuum atmosphere is deposited. The deposit 1113 is any of single crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, and amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and has a thickness of 500 Å or less, and more preferably 300 Å or less.

In order to explain the energization method in the energization activation in more detail, FIG. 18 shows an activation power supply 1112.
An example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from the following is shown. In the present embodiment, the energization activation process is performed by applying a rectangular wave of a constant voltage periodically. Specifically, the method described in the first and second embodiments is used. I was there.

As described above, the plane type surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 16 (e) was manufactured.

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

FIG. 19 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the basic structure of the vertical type.

In the figure, 1201 is a substrate, 1202 and 1203 are element electrodes, 1206 is a step forming member, and 120
Reference numeral 4 denotes a conductive thin film using a fine particle film, 1205 denotes an electron-emitting portion formed by an energization forming process, and 1213 denotes a thin film formed by an energization activation process.

This vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device is different from the above-mentioned plane type electron-emitting device in that one of the device electrodes (1202) is provided on the step forming member 1206. The conductive thin film 1204 covers the side surface of the step forming member 1206. Therefore, FIG.
In the vertical type, the element electrode interval L in the planar element of No. 5 is set as the step height Ls of the step forming member 1206. The substrate 1201, the device electrodes 1202 and 1
As for 203 and the conductive thin film 1204 using the fine particle film, the materials listed in the description of the flat type can be used in the same manner. An electrically insulating material such as SiO2 is used for the step forming member 1206.

Next, a method of manufacturing a vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. 20A to 20F are cross-sectional views for explaining the manufacturing process, and the notation of each member is the same as that in FIG.

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

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

(3) Next, as shown in FIG. 10C, the device electrode 1202 is formed on the insulating layer.

(4) Next, as shown in FIG. 9D, a part of the insulating layer is removed by using, for example, an etching method to expose the device electrode 1203.

(5) Next, as shown in FIG. 7E, a conductive thin film 1204 using a fine particle film is formed. For the formation, as in the case of the planar type, a film forming technique such as a coating method may be used.

(6) Next, as in the case of the flat type,
The energization forming process is performed to form the electron-emitting portion (the same process as the planar energization forming process described with reference to FIG. 16C may be performed).

(7) Next, as in the case of the flat type,
The energization activation process is performed to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity of the electron emission portion (the same process as the planar energization activation process described with reference to FIG. 16D may be performed).

As described above, the vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 20 (f) was manufactured.

(Characteristics of Surface Conduction Electron-Emitting Element Used in Display Device) The element structure and manufacturing method of the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the plane type and the vertical type have been described above. The characteristics of the existing device will be described.

FIG. 21 shows typical examples of (emission current Ie) vs. (device applied voltage Vf) characteristics and (device current If) vs. (device applied voltage Vf) characteristics of a device used in a display device. . Note that the emission current Ie is significantly smaller than the device current If, and it is difficult to show them on the same scale. In addition, these characteristics are changed by changing design parameters such as the size and shape of the device. Therefore, the two graphs are shown in arbitrary units.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device used in this display device has the following three characteristics regarding the emission current Ie.

First, when a voltage larger than a certain voltage (which is referred to as a threshold voltage Vth) is applied to the element, the emission current Ie rapidly increases. On the other hand, when the voltage is less than the threshold voltage Vth, the emission current Ie increases. Ie is hardly detected. That is, it is a non-linear element having a clear threshold voltage Vth with respect to the emission current Ie.

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

Third, since the response speed of the current Ie emitted from the device is fast with respect to the voltage Vf applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device, the current Ie is emitted from the device depending on the length of time for applying the voltage Vf. The amount of charge of electrons can be controlled.

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

Further, by utilizing the second characteristic or the third characteristic, the emission brightness can be controlled, so that it is possible to perform the gradation display.

(Structure of multi-electron beam source in which a large number of elements are wired in a simple matrix) Next, the structure of a multi-electron beam source in which the above surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged on a substrate and wired in a simple matrix will be described.

FIG. 22 is a plan view of the multi-electron beam source used for the display panel 1000 shown in FIG. Here, the surface conduction electron-emitting devices similar to those shown in FIG. 15 are arranged on the substrate 1001, and these devices are arranged in the row direction wiring electrodes 1003 and the column direction wiring electrodes 1.
004, the wires are arranged in a simple matrix.
An insulating layer (not shown) is formed between the row-directional wiring electrodes 1003 and the column-directional wiring electrodes 1004 where they intersect, so that electrical insulation is maintained.

FIG. 23 is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG.
Shown in

The multi-electron source having such a structure has a row-direction wiring electrode 1003 and a column-direction wiring electrode 1 previously formed on the substrate.
004, an interelectrode insulating layer (not shown) and the device electrodes of the surface conduction electron-emitting device and the conductive thin film are formed, and then power is supplied to each device through the row-direction wiring electrode 1003 and the column-direction wiring electrode 1004. As described above, it was manufactured by performing the energization forming process and the energization activation process.

FIG. 24 shows image information provided by various image information sources such as television broadcasting on a display panel using the surface conduction electron-emitting device of this embodiment as an electron beam source. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the multifunctional display apparatus comprised so that it could be performed.

In the figure, 1 is a display (display) panel of the present embodiment, 2101 is a drive circuit for the display panel 1, 2102 is a display controller, 2103.
Is a multiplexer, 2104 is a decoder, 2105 is an input / output interface circuit, 2106 is a CPU, 210
7 is an image generation circuit, 2108, 2109 and 21.
10 is an image memory interface circuit, 2111 is an image input interface circuit, 2112 and 2113.
Is a TV signal receiving circuit, and 2114 is an input unit. Note that the display device of the present embodiment, when receiving a signal including both video information and audio information, such as a television signal, naturally reproduces audio simultaneously with the display of video. Descriptions of circuits, speakers, and the like related to reception, separation, reproduction, processing, storage, and the like of audio information that is not directly related to the characteristics of the display panel of this embodiment are omitted. Hereinafter, the function of each unit will be described along the flow of the image signal.

First, the TV signal receiving circuit 2113 is a circuit for receiving a TV image signal transmitted using a 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) including a larger number of scanning lines than these is suitable for taking advantage of the display panel suitable for a large area and a large number of pixels. It is a signal source. T received by the TV signal receiving circuit 2113
The V signal is output to the decoder 2104. The TV signal receiving circuit 2112 is a circuit for receiving a TV image signal transmitted using a wired transmission system such as a coaxial cable or an optical fiber. TV signal receiving circuit 2
As in the case of 113, the format of the received TV signal is not particularly limited, and the TV signal received by the present circuit is also output to the decoder 2104.

Image input interface circuit 2111
Is a circuit for capturing an image signal supplied from an image input device such as a TV camera or an image reading scanner, and the captured image signal is output to the decoder 2104. The image memory interface circuit 2110 is
A circuit for capturing an image signal stored in a video tape recorder (hereinafter abbreviated as VTR), and the captured image signal is output to the decoder 2104. The image memory interface circuit 2109 is a circuit for capturing the image signal stored in the video disc, and the captured image signal is output to the decoder 2104. The image memory interface circuit 2108 is a circuit for capturing an image signal from a device that stores still image data, such as a so-called still image disc, and the captured still image data is output to the decoder 2104. The input / output interface circuit 2105 is a circuit for connecting the display device to an external computer, a computer network, or an output device such as a printer. In addition to inputting and outputting image data, character data, and graphic information, control signals and numerical data can be input and output between the CPU 2106 included in the display device and the outside in some cases. .

Further, the image generation circuit 2107 is provided with image data, character / graphic information, or the CPU 21 which is externally input via the input / output interface circuit 2105.
This is a circuit for generating display image data based on the image data and character / graphic information output from the controller 06. 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 other circuits necessary for generating an image. The display image data generated by this circuit is the decoder 210.
However, in some cases, it is possible to input / output to / from an external computer network or printer via the input / output interface circuit 2105.

The CPU 2106 mainly performs operations related to operation control of the display device and generation, selection and editing of a display image. For example, a control signal is output to the multiplexer 2103 to appropriately select or combine image signals to be displayed on the display panel. In this case, a control signal is generated for the display panel controller 2102 in accordance with an image signal to be displayed, and a screen display frequency, a scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced), the number of scanning lines on one screen, and the like are set. The operation of the display device is appropriately controlled. Then, the image data or character / graphic information is directly output to the image generation circuit 2107, or an external computer or memory is accessed through the input / output interface circuit 2105 to access the image data, character / graphic information, or the like.
Enter graphic information. The CPU 2106 may, of course, be involved in work for other purposes.
For example, it may be directly related to a function of generating and processing information, such as a personal computer or a word processor. Alternatively, as described above, the computer may be connected to an external computer network via the input / output interface circuit 2105, and work such as numerical calculation may be performed in cooperation with an external device.

The input unit 2114 is used by the user to input commands, programs, data, etc. to the CPU 2106. For example, a keyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a bar code reader, a voice recognition device, and other various inputs can be input. It is possible to use equipment. Also,
The decoder 2104 is a circuit for inversely converting various image signals input from the above 2107 to 2113 into three primary color signals, or luminance signals and I signals and Q signals. It is to be noted that the decoder 2104 desirably includes an image memory therein, as indicated by a dotted line in FIG. This is to handle a television signal that requires an image memory for reverse conversion, such as the MUSE method. Further, the provision of the image memory facilitates the display of a still image, or enables image processing and editing including image thinning, interpolation, enlargement, reduction, and synthesis in cooperation with the image generation circuit 2107 and the CPU 2106. This is because there is an advantage that it can be easily performed.

The multiplexer 2103 has a CPU 210.
The display image is appropriately selected on the basis of the control signal input from S6. That is, the multiplexer 2103 selects a desired image signal from the inversely converted image signals input from the decoder 2104 and outputs the selected image signal to the drive circuit 2101. In that case, by switching and selecting an image signal within one screen display time, it is possible to divide one screen into a plurality of areas and display different images depending on the areas, as in a so-called multi-screen TV. . The display panel controller 2102 is a circuit for controlling the operation of the driving circuit 2101 based on a control signal input from the CPU 2106.

First, as a device related to the basic operation of the display panel, for example, a signal for controlling the operation sequence of a display panel drive power source (not shown) is output to the drive circuit 2101. In addition, a signal for controlling, for example, a screen display frequency and a scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced), which is related to the display panel driving method, is output to the driving circuit 2101. In some cases, a control signal related to adjustment of image quality such as luminance, contrast, color tone, and sharpness of a display image may be output to the drive circuit 2101. The drive circuit 2101 is a circuit for generating a drive signal to be applied to the display panel 2100, and includes an image signal input from the multiplexer 2103 and the display panel controller 2100.
The operation is based on a control signal input from 102.

The functions of the respective parts have been described above. With the configuration illustrated in FIG. 24, in the display device of the present embodiment, image information input from various image information sources is displayed on the display panel 2100. Is possible. That is, various image signals such as television broadcasts are inversely converted by the decoder 2104, and then appropriately selected by the multiplexer 2103, and the driving circuit 2101
Is input to On the other hand, the display controller 210
2 generates a control signal for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 2101 according to the image signal to be displayed. Drive circuit 21
01 applies a drive signal to the display panel 2100 based on the image signal and the control signal. This allows
An image is displayed on the display panel 2100. These series of operations are totally controlled by the CPU 2106.

Further, in the display device of the present embodiment, the image memory built in the decoder 2104, the image generation circuit 2107 and the CPU 2106 are involved, so that one selected from a plurality of image information is simply displayed. In addition to performing image processing such as enlargement, reduction, rotation, movement, edge enhancement, thinning, interpolation, color conversion, and aspect ratio conversion of images, combining, erasing, It is also possible to perform image editing such as connection, replacement, and fitting. Although not particularly described in the description of the present embodiment, a dedicated circuit for processing and editing audio information may be provided as in the above-described image processing and image editing.

Therefore, the display device of this embodiment is used for office equipment such as display equipment for television broadcasting, terminal equipment for video conferences, image editing equipment for handling still images and moving images, computer terminal equipment, and word processors. It is possible to combine the functions of a terminal device, a game machine, etc. with one unit, and has a very wide range of applications for industrial or consumer use. Note that FIG. 24 only shows an example of the configuration of a display device using a display panel having a surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron beam source, and the present invention is not limited to this. For example, of the constituent elements in FIG. 24, circuits relating to functions that are unnecessary 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 videophone, it is preferable to add a transmission / reception circuit including a television camera, an audio microphone, an illuminator, and a modem to the components.

In this display device, in particular, since the display panel using the surface conduction electron-emitting device as the electron beam source can be easily thinned, the depth of the entire display device can be reduced. In addition, a display panel using a surface conduction electron-emitting device as an electron beam source can easily have a large screen, has high brightness, and has excellent viewing angle characteristics, so that the display device of this embodiment is realistic and powerful. It is possible to display rich images with good visibility.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices such as a host computer, an interface and a printer, or to an apparatus composed of a single device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is implemented by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus. In this case, the storage medium storing the program according to the present invention constitutes the present invention. Then, by reading the program from the storage medium to the system or device, the system or device operates in a predetermined manner.

In the present embodiment, an example in which a negative potential is applied to the row-direction wiring and a positive potential is applied to the column-direction wiring has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be the reverse. . In addition, in the present embodiment, the activation is sequentially performed for each line, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the activation may be sequentially performed for each column, for example.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the device current of the individual device is adjusted to the prestored target value while applying the high resistance pulse at the constant time interval when the energization is activated. Thus, it is possible to obtain a multi-surface conduction electron-emitting device having uniform characteristics over the entire substrate.

By forming a display panel using a multi-electron source having a plurality of such surface conduction electron-emitting devices, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of forming a high-quality image with high brightness and a small brightness distribution. Can be realized.

[0175]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the reactive current flowing in the non-selected element at the time of energization activation.

According to the present invention, an electron source having uniform electron emission characteristics by activating only selected elements, a method of manufacturing the same, a current activation device, and an image forming apparatus using the electron source are provided. Can be provided.

Further, according to the present invention, there is an effect that the reactive current flowing in the non-selected element can be suppressed and the power supply capacity of the energization activation device can be suppressed small.

Further, according to the present invention, there is an effect that deterioration of the surface conduction electron-emitting device can be prevented.

[0179]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an energization activation device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing configurations of a line selection unit and a pixel selection unit according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a current detection circuit according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a waveform example of an activation pulse signal in the energization activation device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a waveform example of a high resistance pulse signal in the energization activation device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows I- of the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the present embodiment.
It is a figure for demonstrating V characteristic.

FIG. 7 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing activation of one line in the energization activation device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a relationship between a processing time and a change in device current during activation processing.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an activation process performed by a control unit of the energization activation device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing activation processing in the energization activation device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an activation process by a control unit of the energization activation device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view in which a part of the display panel of the image display device according to the embodiment of the present invention is cut away.

FIG. 13 is a plan view exemplifying an array of phosphors on a face plate of the display panel of the present embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a manufacturing process of the multi-electron source according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a plan view (a) and a cross-sectional view (b) of a flat surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the present embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing the manufacturing process of a flat surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of applied voltage waveforms during energization forming processing.

FIG. 18 is an applied voltage waveform (a) at the time of energization activation processing,
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a change (b) of an emission current Ie.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device used in this embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of a vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 21 is a graph showing typical characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device used in this embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a plan view of a substrate of the multi-electron beam source used in this embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a partial cross-sectional view of the substrate of the multi-electron beam source used in this embodiment.

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

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a structure of a conventional surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating matrix wiring of a conventional multi electron source.

FIG. 27 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing a state of activation processing.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing the relationship between the processing time and the device current in the activation processing.

FIG. 29 is a diagram for explaining variations in device current at the end of activation in the activation processing.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating a half-selected state during activation processing.

FIG. 31 is a timing chart showing an example of voltage waveforms used for activation processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 surface conduction electron-emitting device substrate 102 line selection unit 103, 105 power supply 104 control unit 104a timer 106 pixel selection unit 107 current detection unit 1000 display panel 1001 substrate 1002 electron-emitting device 1003 row direction wiring 1004 column direction wiring 1007 face plate 1010 conduction body

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing an electron source in which a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on a substrate, the method comprising: a plurality of electrodes on the substrate; and a plurality of electrodes connected to each of the plurality of electrodes. A step of forming a conductive film, a plurality of row-direction wirings and column-direction wirings in which the plurality of electrodes are connected in a matrix, and a forming step of energizing each of the conductive films to form an electron emission portion, And an activation step of activating by energizing the electron emission portion formed in the forming step, the activation step, after increasing the resistance of the electron emission portion by applying a pulse of a predetermined voltage, A predetermined voltage is applied to the row-direction wirings and the column-direction wirings, and among the electron-emitting portions, an electron-emitting portion in which a predetermined current has flowed is used as an activated electron-emitting portion. Production method. 2. The method of manufacturing an electron source according to claim 1, wherein the activating step includes a step of increasing the resistance by applying a pulse of a predetermined voltage to all the electron emitting portions on the substrate, Selecting one of the plurality of row-direction wirings and applying a first voltage, and applying a second voltage having a polarity opposite to the first voltage to all of the plurality of column-direction wirings A step of detecting a value of a current flowing through the electron-emitting portion when the first and second voltages are applied, and a step of repeatedly applying the first and second voltages until the current value reaches a predetermined value. , And a step of repeatedly performing the resistance increasing step at predetermined time intervals. 3. The method of manufacturing an electron source according to claim 2, wherein the difference between the first voltage and the second voltage is substantially equal to the value of the predetermined voltage applied in the resistance increasing step. 4. The method of manufacturing an electron source according to claim 2, wherein the step of applying the first voltage is performed by sequentially selecting the plurality of row-direction wirings. 5. The method of manufacturing an electron source according to claim 2, wherein, in the activation step, the electron emitting portion whose current value has reached a predetermined value is: After that, at least one of the first voltage and the second voltage is not applied. 6. The method of manufacturing an electron source according to claim 2, wherein the first voltage and the second voltage are applied as pulse signals. 7. The method of manufacturing an electron source according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined time interval is substantially equal to a time during which the high resistance state is maintained. 8. A device for energizing and energizing an electron source, comprising a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices arranged in a matrix on a substrate, wherein at least one of a plurality of row-direction wirings or column-direction wirings of the substrate is provided. A first voltage applying means for selecting one of them to apply a first voltage, and a column direction wiring or a row direction wiring facing the row direction wiring or the column direction wiring to which the voltage is applied by the voltage applying means. Second voltage applying means for applying a second voltage to all, applying means for applying a predetermined voltage pulse at a predetermined time interval to all the surface conduction electron-emitting devices on the substrate, the first and second Detecting means for detecting a current value flowing in each of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices when the voltage is applied by the voltage applying means, and the first and second voltages based on the current values detected by the detecting means. Control means for controlling the applying means , Energization activation apparatus characterized by having a. 9. The energization activation device according to claim 8, wherein the peak value of the predetermined voltage pulse is substantially equal to the difference between the first and second voltage values. 10. The energization activation device according to claim 8, wherein when the first voltage applying unit selects one of the row-direction wirings and applies the first voltage, the second voltage is applied. The applying means applies the second voltage to all of the column-direction wirings. 11. The energization activation device according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined time interval is substantially equal to a time during which the electron emission portion of the surface conduction electron-emitting device maintains a high resistance state. 12. The energization activation device according to claim 8, wherein the first voltage and the second voltage are voltage signals having polarities opposite to each other. 13. The energization activation device according to claim 8, wherein the first and second voltages are applied as pulse signals. 14. An electron source manufactured by the method of manufacturing an electron source according to claim 1. Description: 15. An image forming apparatus using an electron source in which a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix on a substrate, wherein the electron source according to claim 14 and an image signal are input. An input unit; a first voltage applying unit that outputs a display signal to at least one of a column-direction wiring and a row-direction wiring of the electron source based on an image signal input by the input unit; An image forming apparatus comprising: a second pressure applying unit that sequentially applies a predetermined voltage signal to a wiring in a row direction or a column direction facing a wiring to which a voltage is applied by the voltage applying unit.