JPH08160883A - Electron beam generator, image display device, and driving method for those devices - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Correction) [Purpose] To correct variations in electron-emitting devices and changes over time. [Structure] Before starting the use of the device, first, a predetermined pattern is generated from a test pattern generator 13 and a device current corresponding thereto is stored in a memory 11. Further, a correction value is set so as to eliminate variations in the emission current and stored in the memory 8. After that, the signal from the external signal source is corrected by the calculator 7, and the multi-electron beam source is driven by the correction signal. In order to correct the aging of the device, a test pattern is generated, and the device current at that time is measured by the circuit 3 and compared with the value stored in the memory 11. If there is a significant difference, it is considered that there is a change over time, and the correction value stored in the memory 8 is updated. In this way, it is possible to easily correct the variation of the elements and also the change with time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron beam generator having an electron-emitting device, an image display device using the electron beam generator, and a driving method for these devices.

[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 element, for example, a field emission type element (hereinafter referred to as FE type), a metal / insulating layer / metal type emission element (hereinafter referred to as MIM type), a surface conduction type emission element, etc. are known. .

As an example of the FE type, for example, WP Dyke
& W.W.Dolan, “Field emission”, Advance in Electron P
hysics, 8,89 (1956) or CASpindt, “Physical
properties of thin-film field emissioncathodes wit
h molybdenium cones ", J.Appl.Phys., 47, 52488 (1976) are known.

Further, as an example of the MIM type, for example, C.I.
A.Mead, “Operation tunnel-emission Devices, J.Appl.
Phys., 32,646 (1961) and the like are known.

The surface conduction electron-emitting device is, for example, MIElinson, Radio Eng. Electron Phys., 10, 1290.
(1965) and other examples described later are known.

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. The surface conduction electron-emitting device includes Sn by Erlinson et al.
In addition to the one using O2 thin film, the one using Au thin film [G.Di
ttmer: "Thin Solid Films", 9,317 (1972)], In2O3
/ ThinO2 thin film [M.Hartwell and CGFonsta
d: “IEEE Trans.ED Conf.”, 519 (1975)], and carbon thin film [Hiraki Araki et al .: Vacuum, Vol. 26, No. 1,
22 (1983)] and the like are reported.

As a typical example of the device configuration of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, FIG. 23 shows a plan view of the device by M. Hartwell et al. In the figure, 3001 is a substrate, and 3004 is a conductive thin film made of metal oxide formed by sputtering. The conductive thin film 3004 is formed in an H-shaped plane shape as illustrated. The conductive thin film 3
The electron emission portion 3005 is formed by performing an energization process called energization forming described below on 004. The interval L in the figure is 0.5 to 1 [mm], and W is 0.1 [m].
m]. For convenience of illustration, the electron emitting portion 3005 is shown as a rectangular shape in the center of the conductive thin film 3004, but this is a schematic one, and the actual position and shape of the electron emitting portion are faithfully represented. Not necessarily.

In the above-mentioned surface conduction electron-emitting device 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 electron emission. Was common. That is, the energization forming is
A constant DC voltage or a DC voltage which is boosted at a very slow rate of, for example, about 1 V / min is applied to both ends of the conductive thin film 3004 to energize the conductive thin film 3.
That is, 004 is locally destroyed, deformed, or altered to form an electron emitting portion 3005 having a high electrical resistance. A crack occurs in a part of the conductive thin film 3004 which is locally destroyed, deformed or altered. When an appropriate voltage is applied to the conductive thin film 3004 after the energization forming, electrons are emitted near the crack.

The above-mentioned surface conduction electron-emitting device 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. Therefore, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-31332 by the applicant of the present application, 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.

In particular, as an application to an image display device, for example, as disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,066,883 by the applicant of the present application and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-257551, a display conduction type emission element and light emission by electron beam irradiation are performed. An image display device using a combination of the above-mentioned phosphors has been studied. An image display device using a combination of a surface conduction electron-emitting device and a phosphor is expected to have better characteristics than other conventional image display devices. For example, it can be said that it is superior in that it does not require a backlight because it is a self-luminous type and that it has a wide viewing angle, even compared with liquid crystal display devices that have become popular in recent years.

The inventors have tried surface-conduction type emission devices having various materials, manufacturing methods and structures, including those described in the above-mentioned conventional example. Furthermore, research has been conducted on a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged, and an image display device to which the multi-electron beam source is applied.

The inventors have tried a multi-electron beam source by the electrical wiring method shown in FIG. 22, for example. That is, it is a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged two-dimensionally and these devices are arranged in a matrix as shown in the drawing.

In the figure, 4001 schematically shows a surface conduction electron-emitting device, 4002 is a row direction wiring, and 4003 is a column direction wiring. The row wiring 4002 and the column wiring 4003 actually have a finite electric resistance, but they are shown as wiring resistances 4004 and 4005 in the drawing. The wiring method as described above is called simple matrix wiring.

Although a 6 × 6 matrix is shown for convenience of illustration, the scale 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. This is to arrange and wire the elements sufficient for displaying.

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 V is applied to the row wiring 4002 of the selected row.
s is applied, and at the same time, the non-selection voltage Vns is applied to the row-direction wiring 4002 of the non-selected row. In synchronization with this, a drive voltage V for outputting an electron beam to the column wiring 4003
e is applied. According to this method, if the voltage drop due to the wiring resistors 4004 and 4005 is neglected, the voltage of Ve-Vs is applied to the surface conduction type emission device of the selected row, and the surface conduction type emission device of the non-selected row is also applied. Ve-Vn
The voltage of s is applied. If Ve, Vs, and Vns are set to appropriate voltages, an electron beam of a desired intensity should be output only from the surface conduction electron-emitting device of the selected row, and different driving voltage is applied to each of the column-direction wirings. When Ve is applied, an electron beam of different intensity should be output from each of the elements in 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, an electron source for an image display device can be used. Can be suitably used as.

[0018]

However, in order to use the multi-electron beam source in which the surface conduction electron-emitting device is wired in the image display device, the following problems actually occur.

For example, when applied to a television or a computer terminal, the image display device has
Characteristics such as high definition, large screen, large number of pixels, and long life are desired. To achieve this, the multi-electron beam source must be constructed with a very large simple matrix with hundreds to thousands of rows and columns, and each surface-conduction emission type It is desired that the electron emission characteristics of the device be uniform and that the uniformity be maintained for a long period of time.

However, in the large-scale multi-electron beam source as described above, there is a problem that the electron emission characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices vary in manufacturing.

Due to manufacturing variations, for example, in some cases, an error occurs in size, shape, material composition, etc. in the film forming process and the patterning process for forming the electrodes and conductive films of the surface conduction electron-emitting devices. If it happened.

When a multi-electron beam source with simple matrix wiring is used for a long period of time, the electron emission characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device change, but the degree of change is different for each surface conduction electron-emitting device. There was a problem.
When applied to an image display device, since each surface conduction electron-emitting device is driven according to the image to be displayed, the total driving time differs for each pixel. Therefore, it is considered that the degree of change over time varies depending on each surface conduction electron-emitting device.

As described above, if the characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device vary due to manufacturing or non-uniform changes over time, the intensity of electron beams emitted from the multi-electron beam source also varies, resulting in a displayed image. Brightness unevenness and color balance disorder occur, and the quality of the displayed image is degraded.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and corrects the variations in the output of the multi-electron beam source caused by variations in manufacturing characteristics and non-uniform changes over time, and displays images. The purpose is to prevent the deterioration of quality.

[0025]

[Means for Solving the Problems] and

According to the basic idea of the present invention, the initial variation of the characteristics of each surface conduction electron-emitting device is measured and stored in advance, and the driving condition for each surface conduction electron-emitting device is determined based on the stored contents. Is corrected. Further, the characteristic peculiar to the surface conduction electron-emitting device is utilized to detect the change with time of each device and correct the correction amount of the driving condition of each device according to the change with time. The characteristic peculiar to the surface conduction element referred to here is that there is a strong correlation between the current flowing through the element (hereinafter referred to as the element current) and the electron beam intensity output from the element. A change in characteristics over time means that it can be detected by measuring a change in device current over time.

According to a first aspect of the invention, in an electron beam source provided with a surface conduction electron-emitting device formed on a substrate, a measuring means for measuring a device current flowing through the surface conduction electron emitting device and the measuring means are used. A device current storing means for storing data, a comparing means for comparing the latest data measured by the measuring means with the data stored in the device current storing means, and applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device. In the electron beam generator, there is provided a correction value storage means for storing a correction value for correcting the drive signal to be driven, and a correction means for correcting the correction value stored in the correction value storage means. is there.

A second aspect of the invention is the electron beam generator of the first aspect of the invention, wherein the measuring means measures the device current by applying a voltage smaller than the electron emission threshold voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device. It is an electron beam generator characterized by the above.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electron beam generator of the first aspect, the surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a matrix by row-direction wirings and column-direction wirings, and a drive signal applied to the surface conduction-type emission devices. Is a scanning signal applied from the row direction wiring and a modulation signal applied from the column direction wiring, of which the modulation signal is corrected by the correction value stored by the correction value storage means. This is an electron beam generator.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in an image display device comprising a surface conduction electron-emitting device formed on a substrate and a phosphor which emits visible light when irradiated with an electron beam, the device current flowing through the surface conduction electron-emitting device is measured. Measuring means, element current storage means for storing the data measured by the measuring means, and for comparing the latest data measured by the measuring means with the data stored in the element current storage means. Comparing means, correction value storage means for storing a correction value for correcting the drive signal applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and correction means for correcting the correction value stored in the correction value storage means. An image display device comprising:

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image display device according to the fourth aspect, the measuring means is a means for measuring a device current by applying a voltage smaller than an electron emission threshold voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device. Is an image display device.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the image display device according to the fourth aspect, the surface conduction electron-emitting device is a scanning signal applied from the row-direction wiring and the column-direction wiring and a modulation signal applied from the column-direction wiring. The image display device is characterized in that the modulated signal is corrected by the correction value stored in the correction value storage means.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a surface conduction electron-emitting device formed on a substrate, a phosphor which emits visible light upon irradiation with an electron beam, and a measuring means for measuring a device current flowing through the surface conduction electron-emitting device, A device current storing means for storing the data measured by the measuring means, a comparing means for comparing the latest data measured by the measuring means with the data stored in the device current storing means, and a surface A method of driving an image display device, comprising: a correction value storage unit for storing a correction value for correcting a drive signal applied to the conduction type emission device; and a correction unit for correcting the correction value stored in the correction value storage unit. A step of pre-storing a measured value of an initial device current measured value after forming the surface conduction type emission device in the device current storage means, and each surface conduction type emission device in the correction value storage means. Step of storing a correction value determined based on the initial element current measurement value of the child as an initial value, a step of measuring the element current after displaying an image for an arbitrary time with the element current measuring means, and an arbitrary time A step of comparing the latest data measured by the element current measuring means after driving with the data previously stored in the element current storage means by the comparing means, and a correction value when the comparison result exceeds a predetermined range. A step of correcting the correction value stored in the storage means by the correction means.

An eighth aspect of the invention is a surface conduction electron-emitting device formed on a substrate, a phosphor which emits visible light upon irradiation with an electron beam, and a measuring means for measuring a device current flowing through the surface conduction electron-emitting device. A device current storing means for storing the data measured by the measuring means, a comparing means for comparing the latest data measured by the measuring means with the data stored in the device current storing means, and a surface Driving method in an image display device provided with a correction value storage means for storing a correction value for correcting a drive signal applied to the conduction type emission element, and a correction means for correcting the correction value stored in the correction value storage means. A step of pre-storing an initial device current measurement value after forming the surface conduction type emission device in the device current storage means, and each surface conduction type emission device in the correction value storage means. Initial electron beam child (emission current)
A step of storing a correction value determined based on the measured value as an initial value, a step of measuring the device current after displaying an image for an arbitrary time by the device current measuring means, and a device current measurement after driving for an arbitrary time. The latest data measured by the means and the data previously stored in the device current storage means are compared by the comparison means, and stored in the correction value storage means when the comparison result exceeds a predetermined range. And a step of correcting the correction value by the correction means.

A ninth aspect of the present invention is a surface conduction electron-emitting device formed on a substrate, a phosphor which emits visible light upon irradiation with an electron beam, and a measuring means for measuring a device current flowing through the surface conduction electron-emitting device. Element current storage means for storing the data measured by the measuring means, comparison means for comparing the latest data measured by the measuring means and the data stored in the element current storage means, Driving in an image display device provided with a correction value storage means for storing a correction value for correcting a drive signal applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and a correction means for correcting the correction value stored in the correction value storage means. A method of pre-storing an initial device current measurement value after forming the surface conduction type emission device in the device current storage means, and each surface conduction type discharge device in the correction value storage means. A step of storing a correction value determined based on the emission luminance measurement value when the phosphor is irradiated with an electron beam from the element as an initial value, and the element current after displaying an image for an arbitrary time by the element current measuring means. A step of measuring, and a step of comparing the data when measured by the device current measuring means after driving for any time and the data previously stored in the device current storage means with the comparing means,
And a step of correcting the correction value stored in the correction value storage means by the correction means when the comparison result exceeds a predetermined range.

[0035]

The preferred embodiments of the electron beam generator, the image display device and the driving method according to the present invention will be described below. For the sake of convenience, the structure, manufacturing method and characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the structure and manufacturing method of the display panel of the image display device will be described in detail after the description of Examples 1 and 2.

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of the electron beam generator according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram showing the configuration of an electron beam generator, in which 1 is a multi-electron beam source,
2 is a scanning signal generator, 3 is a device current measuring circuit, 4 is a timing control circuit, 5 is a modulation signal generator, and 6 is a serial /
A parallel converter, 7 is a computing unit, 8 is a memory that stores a correction value, 9 is a memory control CPU, 10 is a comparator, 11 is a memory that stores an initial value of a device current, 12 is a switching circuit, and 13 is a test. The pattern generator 14 is an operation mode control CPU.

The multi-electron beam source 1 is formed by forming a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices on a substrate and wiring each device in a matrix by row-direction wiring and column-direction wiring. The structure will be specifically described later with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20.

Scan signal generator 2 and modulation signal generator 5
Is a circuit for driving the multi-electron beam source 1, the output of the scanning signal generator 2 is applied to the row wiring of the multi-electron beam source 1, and the output of the modulation signal generator 5 is Applied to the column direction wiring. The scanning signal generator 2 is a circuit for sequentially selecting a row to be driven among a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices formed in a matrix. The modulation signal generator 2 is a circuit for modulating the electron beam emitted from each surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the modulation method is, for example, a pulse width modulation method or a voltage amplitude modulation method.

The element current measuring circuit 3 is a current (element current) flowing through each surface conduction electron-emitting device of the multi-electron beam source 1.
Is a circuit for measuring.

The timing control circuit 4 is a circuit for generating a timing control signal for matching the operation timing of each part.

The serial / parallel converter 6 is a circuit for converting the corrected drive data, which is input in series, in parallel for each row.

The calculator 7 is a calculator for correcting drive data input from the outside based on the correction value stored in the memory 8.

The memory 8 is a memory that stores the correction value of the driving condition for each element determined according to the variation in the characteristics of each surface conduction electron-emitting device of the multi-electron beam source 1. The memory 11 is a memory that stores a device current (initial value) in the initial stage after manufacturing each surface conduction electron-emitting device of the multi-electron beam source 1.

The memory control CPU 9 is a CPU for controlling the writing and reading of the correction value to and from the memory 8 and the writing and reading of the element current (initial value) to the memory 11.

The comparator 10 is a circuit for comparing the latest element current value measured by the element current measuring circuit 3 with the element current value (initial value) stored in the memory 11.

The test pattern generator 13 is a signal generator that generates an inspection drive signal for inspecting the characteristics of each surface conduction electron-emitting device of the multi-electron beam source 1.

The switching circuit 12 is a circuit for selecting either a drive signal provided from an external signal source or an inspection drive signal generated by the test pattern generator 13.

The operation mode control CPU 14 is a CPU for controlling the operation mode of the apparatus, and specifically, an appropriate operation mode is selected from the three types of initial characteristic inspection mode, normal drive mode and aging inspection mode. Select and operate the device.

Next, the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The operation of the apparatus has three types of operation modes, that is, an initial characteristic inspection mode, a normal drive mode, and a temporal change inspection mode, which will be described sequentially. <Initial characteristic inspection mode> In the initial characteristic inspection mode, the initial characteristic after manufacturing of each surface conduction electron-emitting device of the multi-electron beam source is inspected and stored, and the drive correction value according to the characteristic variation of each device is also stored. This is an operation mode for determining and storing. Specifically, the device current (initial value) of each surface conduction electron-emitting device is measured by the device current measuring circuit 3 and stored in the memory 11, and the drive correction value for each device is determined based on the measurement result. It is stored in the memory 8.

The operation procedure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

(S21): First, the switching circuit 1
The second internal switch is connected to the test pattern generator 13 side. At this stage, the operation mode control CPU
The control signal Se1 is output from 14 to the switching circuit 12, and this is performed.

(S22): Next, the test pattern generator 13 generates a drive signal for inspection. This stage is
Specifically, the operation mode control CPU 14 outputs a control signal Test to the test pattern generator 13 to start the operation.

(S23): Next, the device current is measured and stored in the memory 11. At this stage, the operation mode control CPU 14 outputs to the memory control CPU 9 an instruction Mc to write to the memory 11.
Then, the memory 1 is controlled under the control of the memory control CPU 9.
Writing to 1 is performed.

More specifically, at this stage, the timing control circuit 4 generates various timing control signals based on the synchronization signal output from the test pattern generator 13 to generate the S / P converter 6 and the modulation signal. The operation timings of the device 5, the scanning signal generator 2, and the memory control CPU 9 are adjusted. Further, the inspection drive data output from the test pattern generator 13 is input to the arithmetic unit 7, but at this stage, since the correction value has not been set in the memory 8,
The drive data is directly input to the S / P converter 6. S
A modulation signal is output from the modulation signal generator 5 based on the inspection drive data converted in parallel by the / P converter 6, and at the same time, the device current measuring circuit 3 measures the device current flowing in each surface conduction electron-emitting device. It The measurement result is stored in the memory 11 as a device current (initial value).

(S24): Next, the memory control CPU 9
Reads the element current (initial value) from the memory 11 and calculates the correction value of the driving condition based on this. This stage is
Operation mode control CPU 14 to memory control CPU 9
The command Mc to calculate the correction value of the driving condition is output to the control unit.

There are various calculation methods for calculating the correction value of the driving condition, but, for example, dividing the predetermined design value by the measurement value read from the memory 11 is a preferable method. That is, for example, the design value of the device current is 3.
The measured value of the surface conduction electron-emitting device which is 3 [mA] is 3.0.
If it is [mA], the calculated correction value is 1.1.
Becomes

(S25): Next, the correction value of the driving condition calculated in (S24) is stored in the memory 8. At this stage, the operation mode control CPU 14 sets the memory control CP
The command Mc for storing the correction value in the memory 8 is output to U9 and is executed.

The initial characteristic inspection mode is executed by the operation procedure described above. <Normal Drive Mode> Next, the normal drive mode will be described. In this mode, the multi-electron beam source 1 is driven based on drive data supplied from an external signal source to output an electron beam. The operation procedure will be described below.

First, in this mode, the internal switch of the switching circuit 12 is connected to the external signal source. Generally, the drive data and the sync signal are supplied separately from the external signal line in advance, but if these are decoded composite signals, they should be separated in advance by a decoder (not shown). Good.

The timing control circuit 4 generates various timing control signals based on the synchronization signal supplied from the external signal source, and the S / P converter 6, the modulation signal generator 5, the main scanning signal generator 2, The operation timing of the memory control CPU 9 is adjusted. Specifically, the S / P converter 6 is controlled by a clock signal Tsft for converting drive data of one line into parallel, and the modulation signal generator 5 is controlled by controlling a modulation signal generation timing. Signal Tmod
A control signal Tscan for performing line-sequential scanning is output to the operation signal generator 2, and a control signal Tmry for adjusting the timing of reading the correction value from the memory 8 is output to the memory control CPU 9. To do.

On the other hand, the drive data supplied from the external signal source is input to the arithmetic unit 7, and the arithmetic unit 7 corrects this using the correction value read from the memory 8. At this time, due to the action of the memory control CPU 9, the correction values for the surface conduction electron-emitting devices at the positions corresponding to the drive data are sequentially read. There may be various calculation methods as the correction method, but for example, multiplying the drive data by the correction value is a suitable method. The corrected drive data is input to the S / P converter 6. Based on the drive data converted in parallel by the S / P converter 6, the modulation signal generator 5 simultaneously outputs a modulation signal for one line. In synchronization with this, the main scanning signal for selecting the line to be driven is output from the scanning signal generator 2.

Through this series of operations, an electron beam is output from the multi-electron beam source 1 according to the drive data. At that time, since the drive signal applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device is corrected in advance based on the difference in the characteristics of each device, the electron beam can be output faithfully to the drive data supplied from the external signal source. Is.

The normal drive mode is executed by the procedure described above. In this mode, it is not necessary to operate the memory 11, the comparator 10, and the test pattern generator 13. <Aged Change Inspection Mode> Next, the aged change inspection mode will be described. This mode is for inspecting the change over time of the electron emission characteristic of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and for correcting the correction value of the driving condition stored in the memory 8 based on the result of inspection. Specifically, by comparing the latest result measured by the device current measuring circuit 3 with the device current (initial value) stored in the memory 11, it is possible to determine whether or not a change over time has occurred for each pixel. It is something to inspect.

The operation procedure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

(S31): First, the switching circuit 1
The second internal switch is connected to the test pattern generator 13 side. At this stage, the operation mode control CPU
The control signal Sel is output from 14 to the switching circuit 12, and this is performed.

(S32): Next, the test pattern generator 13 generates a drive signal for inspection. This stage is
Specifically, the operation mode control CPU 14 outputs a control signal Test to the test pattern generator 13 to start the operation.

(S33): Next, the measured value and the initial value are compared.

First, the device current is measured by the device current measuring circuit 3 and output to the comparator 10. More specifically, at this stage, the timing control circuit 4 generates various timing control signals based on the synchronization signal output from the test pattern generator 13, and the S / P converter 6, the modulation signal generator 5, The operation timings of the scanning signal generator 2 and the memory control CPU 9 are adjusted. Further, the drive data for inspection output from the test pattern generator 13 is input to the arithmetic unit 7, but at this stage, the memory control CPU 9 controls so that the correction value is not output from the memory 8. Is directly input to the S / P converter 6. A modulation signal is output from the modulation signal generator 5 based on the drive data for inspection converted into parallel by the S / P converter 6, and at the same time, the element current flowing in each surface conduction electron-emitting device is output by the device current measuring circuit 3. To be measured.

At the same time, the device current (initial value) is read from the memory 11 and output to the comparator 10. At this stage, the operation mode control CPU 14 outputs to the memory control CPU 9 an instruction Mc to read from the memory 11. And the memory control CP
Reading from the memory 11 is performed under the control of U9.

Then, as a result of comparing the measured value with the initial value by the comparator 10, when it is determined that the change over time does not occur, the change over time inspection mode ends. On the other hand, when it is determined that the change over time has occurred, the step (S3
Proceed to 4). There can be various methods to determine whether or not a change over time has occurred.For example, if the difference between the measured value and the initial value exceeds a certain range, it is determined that there is a change over time, or the measured value and the initial value. When the ratio of is out of a certain range, a method in which there is a change with time is suitable. In this embodiment,
Using the former method, the difference between the measured value and the initial value is 0.1 [m
When it exceeded A], it was determined that there was a change with time.

(S34): The CPU 9 for memory control calculates the correction value of the driving condition after the change with time for the surface conduction electron-emitting device which is judged to have changed with time.
There may be various calculation methods for calculating the correction value of the driving condition, but for example, it is a preferable method to divide a predetermined design value by the measured value after the change over time. That is, for example, when the measured value after aging of the surface conduction electron-emitting device whose design value of the device current is 3.3 [mA] is 2.7 [mA], the calculated correction value is about It becomes 1.2.

(S35): Next, the correction value of the driving condition is corrected with respect to the element which has changed over time. That is,
The contents of the memory 8 are rewritten to the correction value of the drive condition after the occurrence of the change over time calculated in (S34).

The secular change inspection mode is executed in the procedure described above.

The contents of the three types of operation modes of the electron beam generator of FIG. 1 have been described, but the timing of executing these operation modes will be described.

First, when the electron beam generator is manufactured,
First, the initial characteristic inspection mode is executed. After that, the operation mode control CPU 14 is operated in the normal drive mode.
According to the instruction, the time-dependent change inspection mode is executed at appropriate intervals. As one of the desirable modes of executing the time-dependent change inspection mode, there is a method of integrating the operation time in the normal drive mode and executing the time-dependent change inspection mode every predetermined time (for example, 100 hours). In some cases, a method that is always executed when the power of the electron beam generator is turned on or off is possible.

The electron beam generator which is the embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

Desirable inspection voltages for measuring the device current in the initial characteristic inspection mode and the aging inspection mode will be described later when the characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device are described.

Further, in the above embodiment, the memory 11
Used read-only after executing the initial characteristic inspection mode and writing the initial value of the element current, but in some cases, the latest element current measurement value may be newly written after executing the aging inspection mode. . In this case, it is possible to inspect whether a new temporal change has occurred between the time when the temporal change inspection mode was last executed and the time when the temporal change inspection mode is executed this time. In short, according to the basic idea of the present invention, it is only necessary to detect the change in the electron emission characteristic by detecting the change in the device current of the surface conduction electron-emitting device and appropriately correct the driving condition.

(Embodiment 2) An embodiment of the image display device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 4 is a circuit block diagram showing the structure of the image display device. In the figure, 41 is a display panel, 42 is a scanning signal generator, 43 is an element current measuring circuit, 44 is a timing control circuit, and 45 is a circuit. Modulation signal generator, 46 serial / parallel converter, 47 arithmetic unit, 48 memory for storing correction values, 49 CPU for memory control, 50 comparator, 5
Reference numeral 1 is a memory that stores the initial value of the device current, 52 is a switching circuit, 53 is a test pattern generator, 54 is an operation mode control CPU, 55 is a decoder, and 56 is a voltage source.

The display panel 41 has a multi-electron beam source in which a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices are formed on a substrate, and each device is wired in a matrix by row-direction wirings and column-direction wirings. And a phosphor that emits light. Its structure will be described later in FIG.
It will be specifically described with reference to.

The scanning signal generator 42 and the modulation signal generator 45 are circuits for driving the multi-electron beam source incorporated in the display panel 41, and the output of the scanning signal generator 42 is the row-direction wiring of the multi-electron beam source. And the output of the modulation signal generator 45 is applied to the column direction wiring of the multi-electron beam source. The scanning signal generator 42 is a circuit for sequentially selecting a row to be driven among a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices formed in a matrix. The modulation signal generator 42 is a circuit for modulating the electron beam emitted from each surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the pulse width modulation method or the voltage amplitude modulation method is used as the modulation method.

The element current measuring circuit 43 is a current (element current) flowing through each surface conduction type emission element of the multi-electron beam source.
Is a circuit for measuring.

The timing control circuit 44 is a circuit for generating a timing control signal for matching the operation timing of each part.

The serial / parallel converter 46 is a circuit for converting image data (corrected) input serially into parallel for each row.

The calculator 47 is a calculator for correcting the image data input from the outside based on the correction value stored in the memory 48.

The memory 48 is a memory that stores the correction value of the driving condition for each element determined according to the variation in the characteristics of each surface conduction electron-emitting device of the multi-electron beam source incorporated in the display panel 41.

The memory 51 is a memory that stores the initial device current (initial value) of each surface conduction electron-emitting device of the multi-electron beam source built into the display panel 41.

The memory control CPU 9 uses the memory 48
A CPU for controlling writing and reading of a correction value to and from the memory 51 and controlling writing and reading of a device current (initial value) to the memory 51.

The comparator 50 is a circuit for comparing the latest element current measured by the element current measuring circuit 43 with the element current (initial value) stored in the memory 51.

The test pattern generator 53 is a signal generator for generating an inspection drive signal for inspecting the characteristics of each surface conduction electron-emitting device of the multi electron beam source incorporated in the display panel 41.

The switching circuit 52 is a circuit for selecting either the drive signal provided from the external signal source or the test drive signal generated by the test pattern generator 53.

The operation mode control CPU 54 is a CPU for controlling the operation mode of the apparatus, and specifically, the initial characteristic inspection mode, the normal drive mode, the secular change inspection mode,
The device is operated by selecting an appropriate operation mode from the three types.

The decoder 55 is a circuit for decoding an image signal supplied from the outside and separating it into a synchronizing signal and image data.

The voltage source 56 is electrically connected to the phosphor incorporated in the display panel 41 via the terminal Hv,
In order for the phosphor to emit light with sufficient brightness, for example, 5 [k
V] DC voltage is output.

Next, the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4 will be described.
The operation of the apparatus has three types of operation modes, that is, an initial characteristic inspection mode, a normal drive mode, and a temporal change inspection mode, which will be described sequentially. <Initial Characteristic Inspection Mode> In the initial characteristic inspection mode, the initial characteristics after manufacturing of each surface conduction electron-emitting device of the multi-electron beam source built in the display panel 41 are inspected and stored, and variations in the characteristics of each element are also stored. Is an operation mode for determining and storing a drive correction value according to the above. In particular,
The device current (initial value) of each surface conduction electron-emitting device is measured by the device current measuring circuit 43 and stored in the memory 51, and the drive correction value for each device is determined based on the measurement result and stored in the memory 8. It is what makes me.

The operation procedure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

(S51): First, the switching circuit 5
The second internal switch is connected to the test pattern generator 53 side. At this stage, the operation mode control CPU
The control signal Se1 is output from 54 to the switching circuit 52.

(S52): Next, the test pattern generator 53 generates a drive signal for inspection. This stage is
Specifically, the control signal Test is output from the operation mode control CPU 54 to the test pattern generator 53, and the test pattern generator 53 is started.

(S53): Next, the device current is measured and stored in the memory 51. At this stage, from the operation mode control CPU 54 to the memory control CPU 49,
An instruction Mc to write to the memory 51 is output. Then, writing to the memory 51 is performed under the control of the memory control CPU 49.

More specifically, at this stage, the timing control circuit 44 generates various timing control signals on the basis of the synchronizing signal output from the test pattern generator 53, and the S / P converter 46 and the modulation signal generation are generated. The operation timings of the device 45, the scanning signal generator 42, and the memory control CPU 49 are adjusted. Further, the inspection drive data output from the test pattern generator 53 is input to the arithmetic unit 47. However, at this stage, since the correction value has not been set in the memory 48, the drive data remains as it is in the S / P converter. 46
Is input to A modulation signal generator 45 based on the inspection drive data converted in parallel by the S / P converter 46.
The modulated signal is output from the
The device current flowing in each surface conduction electron-emitting device is measured by 3. The measurement result is stored in the memory 5 as the element current (initial value).
1 is stored.

(S54): Next, the memory control CPU 4
Reference numeral 9 reads the element current (initial value) from the memory 51 and calculates the correction value of the driving condition based on this. At this stage, the operation mode control CPU 54 sets the memory control CP.
The command Mc for calculating the correction value of the driving condition is output to U49 and the process is performed.

There may be various calculation methods for calculating the correction value of the driving condition, but for example, it is a preferable method to divide the predetermined design value by the measurement value read from the memory 51. That is, for example, the design value of the device current is 3.
The measured value of the surface conduction electron-emitting device which is 3 [mA] is 3.0.
If it is [mA], the calculated correction value is 1.1.
Becomes

(S55): Next, the correction value of the driving condition calculated in (S54) is stored in the memory 48. At this stage, the operation mode control CPU 54 sets the memory control CP.
The command Mc for storing the correction value in the memory 48 is output to the U49, which is performed.

The initial characteristic inspection mode is executed by the operation procedure described above.

In the above example (S54), the correction value of the driving condition for each surface conduction electron-emitting device was calculated based on the measured value of the device current (initial value), but other methods are also possible. is there.

For example, as shown in FIG.
An electron beam measuring device 60 is provided in series with the memory control C
If connected to the PU 49, it is possible to calculate the correction value of the driving condition based on the measured value of the emission current (initial value) of each surface conduction electron-emitting device.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, if a brightness measuring instrument 70 for measuring the brightness of each pixel of the display panel is provided and connected to the memory control CPU 49, the brightness of the phosphor (initial value) It is possible to calculate the correction value of the driving condition based on the measured value of).

The point is that the initial electron emission characteristics of each surface conduction electron-emitting device may be measured directly or indirectly, and the correction value of the driving condition may be calculated based on the measurement result. <Normal Drive Mode> Next, the normal drive mode will be described. This mode is a mode in which the display panel 41 is driven based on an image signal such as a television signal supplied from an external signal source to display an image. The operation procedure will be described below.

First, in this mode, the internal switch of the switching circuit 52 is connected to the decoder 55 side. For example, a composite signal like a TV signal
It is decoded by the decoder 55 and separated into a sync signal and image data.

The timing control circuit 44 includes a decoder 55.
Various timing control signals are generated based on the synchronization signal supplied from the S / P converter 46, the modulation signal generator 45, the main scanning signal generator 42, and the memory control CPU 4
The operation timing of 9 is adjusted. Specifically, the S / P converter 46 is controlled to control the clock signal Tsft for converting the drive data for one line into parallel, and the modulation signal generator 45 is controlled to control the modulation signal generation timing. The signal Tmod, the control signal Tscan for performing the line-sequential scanning for the scanning signal generator 42, and the control signal Tmr for adjusting the timing of reading the correction value from the memory 48 for the memory control CPU 49.
Output y.

On the other hand, the drive data supplied from the decoder 55 is input to the arithmetic unit 47, and the arithmetic unit 47 corrects this using the correction value read from the memory 48. At this time, the correction value for the surface conduction electron-emitting device at the position corresponding to the image data is sequentially read by the action of the memory control CPU 49. There may be various calculation methods as the correction method, but for example, multiplying the drive data by the correction value is a suitable method. The corrected drive data is S
It is input to the / P converter 46. Based on the image data converted in parallel by the S / P converter 46, the modulation signal generator 45 simultaneously outputs a modulation signal for one line. In synchronization with this, the main scanning signal for selecting the line to be driven is output from the scanning signal generator 42.

Through this series of operations, an electron beam is output from the multi-electron beam source built in the display panel 41 according to the image data. At that time, the drive signal applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device is corrected in advance based on the difference in the characteristics of each device, so that the electron beam can be output faithfully to the image data supplied from the external signal source. Is. That is, it is possible to display an image with a luminance that is faithful to the image signal.

The normal drive mode is executed by the procedure described above. In this mode, it is not necessary to operate the memory 51, the comparator 50, and the test pattern generator 53. <Aged Change Inspection Mode> Next, the aged change inspection mode will be described. This mode is for inspecting the change over time in the electron emission characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and for correcting the correction value of the driving condition stored in the memory 48 based on the result of inspection. Specifically, by comparing the latest result measured by the element current measuring circuit 43 with the element current (initial value) stored in the memory 51, it is possible to determine whether or not a change over time has occurred for each pixel. It is something to inspect.

The operation procedure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

(S81): First, the switching circuit 5
The second internal switch is connected to the test pattern generator 53 side. At this stage, the operation mode control CPU
The control signal Sel is output from 54 to the switching circuit 52.

(S82): Next, the test pattern generator 53 generates a drive signal for inspection. This stage is
Specifically, the control signal Test is output from the operation mode control CPU 54 to the test pattern generator 53, and the test pattern generator 53 is started.

(S83): Next, the measured value and the initial value are compared.

First, the device current is measured by the device current measuring circuit 43 and output to the comparator 50. More specifically, at this stage, the timing control circuit 44 generates various timing control signals based on the synchronization signal output from the test pattern generator 53, and the S / P converter 46, the modulation signal generator 45, The operation timings of the scanning signal generator 42 and the memory control CPU 49 are adjusted. Further, the drive data for inspection output from the test pattern generator 53 is input to the calculator 47, but at this stage, the memory control CPU 49 controls so that the correction value is not output from the memory 48. S / as it is
It is input to the P converter 46. A modulation signal is output from the modulation signal generator 45 based on the drive data for inspection converted in parallel by the S / P converter 46, and at the same time, the device current measuring circuit 43 measures the device current flowing in each surface conduction electron-emitting device. To be done.

At the same time, the device current (initial value) is read from the memory 51 and output to the comparator 50. At this stage, the operation mode control CPU 54 outputs a command Mc to the memory control CPU 49 to read from the memory 51. And C for memory control
Reading from the memory 51 is performed under the control of the PU 49.

Then, as a result of comparison between the measured value and the initial value by the comparator 50, when it is determined that the time-dependent change does not occur, the time-dependent change inspection mode ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the change over time has occurred, the process proceeds to (S84). There can be various methods to determine whether or not a change over time has occurred.For example, if the difference between the measured value and the initial value exceeds a certain range, it is determined that there is a change over time, or the measured value and the initial value. When the ratio of is out of a certain range, a method in which there is a change with time is suitable. In the present example, the former method was used, and it was determined that there was a change with time when the difference between the measured value and the initial value exceeded 0.1 [mA].

(S84): The memory control CPU 49
With respect to the surface conduction electron-emitting device determined to have changed over time, a correction value of the driving condition after change over time is calculated. There may be various calculation methods for calculating the correction value of the driving condition, but for example, it is a preferable method to divide a predetermined design value by the measured value after the change over time. That is,
For example, the measured value of the surface conduction electron-emitting device whose design value of the device current is 3.3 [mA] after the aging is 2.7 [mA].
If it is, the calculated correction value is about 1.2.

(S85): Next, the correction value of the driving condition is corrected with respect to the element which has changed over time. That is,
The contents of the memory 48 are rewritten to the correction value of the driving condition after the occurrence of the change over time calculated in (S84).

The time-dependent change inspection mode is executed according to the procedure described above.

The contents of the three types of operation modes of the image display device shown in FIG. 4 have been described, but the timing for executing these operation modes will be described.

First, after the image display device is manufactured, the initial characteristic inspection mode is first executed. After that, the operation is performed in the normal drive mode, but the time-dependent change inspection mode is executed at appropriate intervals according to an instruction from the operation mode control CPU 54.
As one of the desirable modes of executing the time-dependent change inspection mode, there is a method of integrating the operation time in the normal drive mode and executing the time-dependent change inspection mode every predetermined time (for example, 100 hours). In some cases, a method that is always executed when the power of the electron beam generator is turned on or off is possible.

The image display device according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

Desirable inspection voltage for measuring the device current in the initial characteristic inspection mode and the aging inspection mode will be described later when the characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device are described.

Further, in the above embodiment, the memory 51
Used read-only after executing the initial characteristic inspection mode and writing the initial value of the element current, but in some cases, the latest element current measurement value may be newly written after executing the aging inspection mode. . In this case, it is possible to inspect whether a new temporal change has occurred between the time when the temporal change inspection mode was last executed and the time when the temporal change inspection mode is executed this time. In short, according to the basic idea of the present invention, it is only necessary to detect the change in the electron emission characteristic by detecting the change in the device current of the surface conduction electron-emitting device and appropriately correct the driving condition. <Manufacturing Method of Multi-Electron Beam Source> Next, the first embodiment described above.
A method of manufacturing the multi-electron beam source used in the electron beam generator of Example 1 and the image display apparatus of Example 2 will be described. The electron beam source used in the image display device of the present invention is not limited to 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 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 and large-screen image display device. Therefore, in the above 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,
First, a basic structure, a manufacturing method, and characteristics of a preferable surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described, and then a structure of a multi-electron beam source in which many devices are wired in a simple matrix will be described.

<Preferable Element Configuration and Manufacturing Method of Surface Conduction Type Emitting Element> Typical configurations 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 Type Emitting Element> First, the element structure and manufacturing method of the plane type surface conduction type emitting element will be described.

FIG. 12 is a plan view (a) and a sectional view (b) for explaining the structure of a flat surface conduction electron-emitting device. In the figure, 1101 is a substrate, 1102 and 1
103 is an element electrode, 1104 is a conductive thin film, 1105 is an electron emission portion formed by an energization forming process, 11
Reference numeral 13 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 an insulating layer made of, for example, SiO 2 is laminated on the above various substrates. Substrate, etc. can be used.

Further, the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 provided on the substrate 1101 so as to face each other in parallel to the substrate surface are made of a conductive material. For example, N
i, Cr, Au, Mo, W, Pt, Ti, Cu, Pd,
Materials may be appropriately selected from metals such as Ag, alloys of these metals, metal oxides such as In2O3-SnO2, and semiconductors such as polysilicon. The electrodes can be easily formed by using a combination of film forming technology such as vacuum deposition and patterning technology such as photolithography and etching, but other methods (for example, printing technology) can be used to form the electrodes. But it doesn't matter.

The shapes of the device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are appropriately designed according to the application purpose of the electron-emitting device.
Generally, the electrode interval L is 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 interval L is several micrometers or more for application to a display device. It is in the range of 10 micrometers. In addition, as for the thickness d of the device electrode, an appropriate numerical value is usually selected from the range of several hundred angstroms micrometers.

A fine particle film is used for the conductive thin film 1104. The fine particle film described here is a film containing a large number of fine particles as constituent elements (including an island-shaped aggregate).
Refers to. A microscopic examination of the particulate film usually reveals that
A structure in which individual fine particles are arranged apart from each other, a structure in which fine particles are adjacent to each other, or a structure in which fine particles overlap each other are observed.

The particle diameter of the fine particles used for the fine particle film is in the range of several angstroms to several thousand angstroms, and the range of 10 angstroms to 200 angstroms is particularly preferable. Further, the film thickness of the fine particle film is appropriately set in consideration of various conditions as described below. That is, the device electrode 11
02 or 1103, conditions necessary for good electrical connection, conditions required for conducting the energization forming described below satisfactorily, conditions necessary for setting the electric resistance of the fine particle film itself to an appropriate value described below. And so on. Specifically, it is set within the range of several angstroms to several thousand angstroms, and among them, the range of 10 angstroms to 500 angstroms is preferable.

Materials that can be used to form the fine particle film include, for example, Pd, Pt, Ru, Ag,
Au, Ti, In, Cu, Cr, Fe, Zn, Sn, T
Metals such as a, W, Pb, PdO, Sn
O2, In2O3, PbO, Sb2O3 and other oxides, HfB2, ZrB2, LaB6, CeB6, YB
4, boride such as GdB4, TiN, Zr
Examples include nitrides such as N and HfN, semiconductors such as Si and Ge, and carbon.
It is appropriately selected from these.

As described above, the conductive thin film 1104 is formed of a fine particle film, and its sheet resistance value is
It was set so as to fall within the range of 10 3 to 10 7 [ohm / □].

The conductive thin film 1104 and the device electrode 11
Since 02 and 1103 are preferably electrically connected well, they have a structure in which some of them overlap each other. In the example of FIG. 12, how they overlap is
The substrate, the device electrode, and the conductive thin film are stacked in this order from the bottom, but 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 emitting portion 1105 is a crack-like portion formed in a part of the conductive thin film 1104, and has an electrically higher resistance than the surrounding conductive thin film. The crack is formed by subjecting the conductive thin film 1104 to an energization forming process. In the crack,
Fine particles having a particle diameter of several angstroms to several hundred angstroms may be arranged. 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 the energization activation process described later after the energization forming process.

The thin film 1113 is made of single crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, or amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and has a film thickness of 500 [angstroms] or less, but 300 [angstroms] or less. More preferable.

Since it is difficult to precisely illustrate the actual position and shape of the thin film 1113, it is schematically shown in FIG. Further, in the plan view (a), the thin film 1
A device in which a part of 113 is removed is shown.

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

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 type surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. 13 (a) to (d)
[FIG. 12] is a cross-sectional view for explaining a manufacturing process of the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the notation of each member is the same as that in FIG. 12.

1) First, as shown in FIG. 13A, device electrodes 1102 and 1103 are formed on a substrate 1101.

Before forming, the base 1
101 is thoroughly washed with a detergent, pure water, and an organic solvent,
Deposit the material of the device electrode (As a method of depositing,
For example, a vacuum film forming technique such as a vapor deposition method or a sputtering method may be used). Then, the deposited electrode material is patterned by using a photolithography / etching technique, and a pair of device electrodes (1102 and 110) shown in FIG.
Form 3).

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

In forming the film, first, an organic metal solution is applied to the substrate (a), dried, and heated and baked to form a fine particle film, which is then patterned into a predetermined shape by photolithography and etching. . here,
The organometallic solvent is a solution of an organometallic compound whose main element is the material of the fine particles used for the conductive thin film (specifically, Pd is used as the main element in this example.
Although the dipping method was used as the coating method in the examples, other methods such as a spinner method or a spray method may be used).

Further, as a method for forming a conductive thin film formed of a fine particle film, a method other than the method of applying the organometallic solution used in this embodiment, such as a vacuum evaporation method or a sputtering method,
Alternatively, a chemical vapor deposition method or the like may be used.

3) Next, as shown in FIG. 7C, the forming power source 2 and the device electrodes 1102 and 1 are connected to each other.
An appropriate voltage is applied between 103 and an energization forming process is performed to form the electron emitting portion 1105.

The energization forming treatment means that the electroconductive thin film 1104 made of a fine particle film is energized so that a part of the electroconductive thin film 1104 is appropriately destroyed, deformed or altered to change to a structure suitable for electron emission. It is a process that causes it. A portion of the conductive thin film made of the fine particle film, which has been changed to a structure suitable for emitting electrons (that is, the electron emitting portion 110).
In 5), an appropriate crack is formed in the thin film.
Note that the electric resistance measured between the element electrodes 1102 and 1103 after the formation is significantly increased as compared with before the formation of the electron emission portion 1105.

In order to explain the energizing method in more detail, FIG. 14 shows an example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from the forming power supply 1110. When forming a conductive thin film made of a fine particle film, a pulsed voltage is preferable, and in the case of this embodiment, a triangular wave pulse having a pulse width T1 is continuously formed at a pulse interval T2 as shown in FIG. Applied to. At that time, the peak value Vpf of the triangular wave pulse was sequentially increased. Also, monitor pulses Pm for monitoring the formation state of the electron emission portion 1105 are inserted between the triangular wave pulses at appropriate intervals, and the current flowing at that time is measured by the ammeter 11.
It was measured at 11.

In the embodiment, for example, in a vacuum atmosphere of about 10 <-5> [torr], the pulse width T1 is set to 1 [millisecond], the pulse interval T2 is set to 10 [millisecond], and the peak value Vpf is set. Was increased by 0.1 [V] for each pulse. The monitor pulse Pm was inserted once every five pulses of the triangular wave were applied. The voltage Vpm of the monitor pulse 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 reaches 1 × 10 6 [ohm], that is, the current measured by the ammeter 1111 when the monitor pulse is applied is 1 × 10 −7 [A]. ] At the stage below, the energization related to the forming process was terminated.

The above method is a preferable method for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of this embodiment. For example, the design of the surface conduction electron-emitting device such as the material and film thickness of the fine particle film or the element electrode spacing L is changed. In this case, it is desirable to appropriately change the energization conditions accordingly.

4) Next, as shown in FIG.
From the activation power source 1112 to the device electrodes 1102 and 1103
Appropriate voltage is applied between the two to perform energization activation treatment,
The electron emission characteristics are improved.

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, Shows schematically a deposit made of carbon or a carbon compound as the member 1113). Note that by performing the energization activation process, the emission current at the same applied voltage can be increased typically 100 times or more as compared to before the energization activation process.

Specifically, 10 to the minus 4th power or 1
By periodically applying a voltage pulse in a vacuum atmosphere within a range of 0 minus 5 [torr], carbon or a carbon compound originating from an organic compound existing in the vacuum atmosphere is deposited. The deposit 1113 is one of single crystal graphite, polycrystalline graphite, amorphous carbon, or a mixture thereof, and has a film thickness of 500.
[Angstrom], and more preferably 300 [Angstrom] or less.

In order to explain the energization method in more detail, FIG. 15A shows an example of an appropriate voltage waveform applied from the activation power supply 1112. In this embodiment, the energization activation process is performed by periodically applying a rectangular wave having a constant voltage. Specifically, the rectangular wave voltage Vac is 14 [V],
The pulse width T3 is 1 [millisecond] and the pulse interval T4 is 10
[Milliseconds]. The above-mentioned energization conditions are preferable conditions for the surface conduction electron-emitting device of this embodiment, and when the design of the surface conduction electron emission device is changed, it is desirable to appropriately change the conditions accordingly.

Reference numeral 1114 shown in FIG. 13 (d) is an anode electrode for capturing the emission current Ie emitted from the surface conduction type emission element, to which a DC high voltage power source 1115 and an ammeter 1116 are connected. Note that when the substrate 1101 is incorporated into a display panel and then activation treatment is performed, the fluorescent surface of the display panel is used as the anode electrode 1114.

While the voltage is being applied from the activation power supply 1112, the emission current Ie is measured by the ammeter 1116 to monitor the progress of the energization activation process, and the operation of the activation power supply 1112 is controlled. An example of the emission current Ie measured by the ammeter 1116 is shown in FIG.
When the pulse voltage is started to be applied from 2, the emission current Ie increases with the passage of time, but eventually becomes saturated and hardly increases. As described above, when the emission current Ie is almost saturated, the voltage application from the activation power supply 1112 is stopped, and the energization activation process is ended.

The above energization conditions are preferable conditions for the surface-conduction type electron-emitting device of this embodiment, and when the design of the surface-conduction type electron-emitting device is changed, the conditions should be changed accordingly. desirable.

As described above, the plane type surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 13E was manufactured.

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

FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the basic structure of the vertical type, in which 1201 is a substrate.
202 and 1203 are element electrodes, 1206 is a step forming member, 1204 is a conductive thin film using a fine particle film, 1205
Is an electron emission portion formed by the energization forming process, 1
213 is a thin film formed by the energization activation process.

The vertical type is different from the above-mentioned flat type in that one of the element electrodes (1202) is provided on the step forming member 1206, and the conductive thin film 1204 is provided on the side surface of the step forming member 1206. The point is that they are covered. Therefore, in the flat type shown in FIG.
Is the step height L of the step forming member 1206 in the vertical type.
is set as s. The substrate 1201 and the device electrode 1
202 and 1203, conductive thin film 1 using fine particle film
For 204, the materials listed in the description of the planar type can be similarly used. For the step forming member 1206, an electrically insulating material such as SiO2 is used.

Next, a method of manufacturing the vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device will be described. 17A to 17F are cross-sectional views for explaining the manufacturing process, and the notation of each member is the same as in FIG.
Same as 6.

1) First, as shown in FIG. 17A, a device electrode 1203 is formed on a substrate 1201.

2) Next, as shown in FIG. 13B, an insulating layer 1206 for forming a step forming member is laminated.
The insulating layer may be formed by laminating, for example, SiO2 by a sputtering method, but other film forming methods such as a vacuum vapor deposition method and a printing method may be used.

3) Next, as shown in FIG. 13C, the device electrode 1202 is formed on the insulating layer.

4) Next, as shown in FIG. 10D, 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 formation, a film forming technique such as a coating method may be used as in the case of the flat type.

6) Next, as in the case of the flat type, an energization forming process is performed to form an electron emitting portion. The same process as the planar energization forming process described with reference to FIG. 13C may be performed.

7) Next, as in the case of the planar type, an energization activation process is performed to deposit carbon or a carbon compound in the vicinity of the electron emitting portion. The same process as the planar energization activation process described with reference to FIG. 13D may be performed.

As described above, the vertical type surface conduction electron-emitting device shown in FIG. 17 (f) was manufactured.

<Characteristics of Surface Conduction Type Emitting Element Used in Example> Next, characteristics of the element used in this example will be described.
This element characteristic is the same in the second and third embodiments.

FIG. 18 shows typical examples of (emission current Ie) vs. (device applied voltage Vf) characteristics and (device current If) vs. (device applied voltage Vf) characteristics of the device used in the example. . Note that the emission current Ie is significantly smaller than the device current If and is difficult to illustrate on the same scale, and 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 element used in the display device has the following three characteristics regarding the emission current Ie.

First, a certain voltage (this is the threshold voltage Vth
The emission current Ie sharply increases when a voltage of the above magnitude is applied to the element, while the emission current Ie is hardly detected at a voltage lower than the threshold voltage Vth.

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.
The size of e can be controlled.

Thirdly, since the response speed of the current Ie emitted from the element is fast with respect to the voltage Vf applied to the element, the charge amount of electrons emitted from the element depends on the length of time for which the voltage Vf is applied. You can control.

Due to the above-mentioned characteristics, the surface conduction electron-emitting device could be preferably used in a display device. For example, in a display device in which a large number of elements are provided corresponding to pixels of a display screen, by utilizing the first characteristic, it is possible to perform display by sequentially scanning the surface of the display. That is,
A threshold voltage Vt is applied to the driven element according to the desired emission brightness.
A voltage of h or more is appropriately applied, and a voltage of less than the threshold voltage Vth is applied to the non-selected element. By sequentially switching the elements to be driven, it is possible to sequentially scan the display screen for display.

Further, since the emission brightness can be controlled by utilizing the second characteristic or the third characteristic, gradation display can be performed.

Next, with reference to FIG. 9, variations in characteristics observed among a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices will be described.

FIG. 9 shows a typical example of variations in characteristics observed among a plurality of surface conduction electron-emitting devices.
It shows the initial variation that has already occurred immediately after manufacturing, or the variation due to the change over time after driving for an arbitrary time.

The graph in the figure shows the (applied voltage Vf-element current Ie) characteristics and the (applied voltage Vf-emission current Ie) characteristics for the three elements A, B and C. As can be seen from this figure, there is a strong correlation between the device current If and the emission current Ie, and in general, a device having a large device current If also has a large emission current Ie. The ratio of the emission current Ie of each element at a voltage V1 that is equal to or higher than the electron emission threshold voltage Vth is IeA:
When IeB: IeC is set, this is approximately equal to the ratio IfA: IfB: IfC of the device current If at that voltage. Further, this ratio is substantially equal to the device current ratio IfA ': IfB': IfC 'below the electron emission threshold voltage Vth.

Such a property may be said to be unique to the surface conduction electron-emitting device, for example, the FE-type device and the MIM.
It is not found in other cold cathode elements such as die elements or hot cathode elements. The present invention positively utilizes such a property found in the surface conduction electron-emitting device. In the electron beam generator of the first embodiment and the image display device of the second embodiment, as described above, the device is used. By measuring the current If, initial variations and changes with time are detected.

As described above, the electron emission threshold voltage Vt
Even when the voltage is smaller than h, it is possible to detect the initial variations in element characteristics and changes with time by measuring the element current. If the element current is measured with such a voltage, it is possible to prevent the generation of unnecessary electron beams in the case of the electron beam generator, and it is possible to prevent unnecessary light emission in the case of the image display device. In addition, the power consumed by the inspection can be small. Therefore, the first embodiment and the second embodiment
In the above, the device current If was measured by applying a voltage Vtest smaller than the electron emission threshold voltage Vth. In addition,
If the measurement voltage Vtest is made too small, the absolute value of the device current If may become small and the measurement accuracy may decrease. Therefore, it is preferable to set Vtest within the range of Vth / 2 <Vtest <Vth.

<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. 19 is a plan view of the multi-electron beam source used in the display panel of FIG. Surface conduction electron-emitting devices similar to those shown in FIG. 12 are arranged on the substrate, and these devices are arranged in the row-direction wiring electrode 100.
3 and the column-direction wiring electrodes 1004 are wired in a simple matrix. An insulating layer (not shown) is formed between the electrodes at the intersections of the row-direction wiring electrodes 1003 and the column-direction wiring electrodes 1004 to maintain electrical insulation.

A cross section taken along the line AA 'in FIG. 19 is shown in FIG.
Shown in The multi-electron source having such a structure is obtained by previously forming the row-direction wiring electrodes 1003, the column-direction wiring electrodes 1004, the inter-electrode insulating layer (not shown), and the device electrodes of the surface conduction electron-emitting device and the conductive thin film on the substrate. Figure 1 after forming the
As described above, each element is supplied with electric power through the row-direction wiring electrode 1003 and the column-direction wiring electrode 1004 to perform the energization forming process and the energization activation process.

<Structure and Manufacturing Method of Display Panel> Next, the structure and manufacturing method of the display panel 41 used in Example 2 will be described.
A specific example will be described.

FIG. 10 shows the display panel 4 used in the second embodiment.
1 is a perspective view of FIG. 1 in which a part of the panel is cut away to show an internal structure.

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

The rear plate 1005 has a substrate 1001.
Are fixed, but N × M surface conduction electron-emitting devices 1002 are formed on the substrate. 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 to display a high-definition television, N = 3000, M = 100
It is desirable to set a number of 0 or more. In this embodiment, N = 3072 and M = 1024. The N × M surface conduction electron-emitting devices are arranged in a simple matrix by M row-direction wirings 1003 and N column-direction wirings 1004. The portion composed of 1001 to 1004 is called a multi-electron beam source. The manufacturing method and structure of the multi-electron beam source have been described in detail above, and will not be repeated.

In this display panel, the rear plate 1005 of the airtight container is provided on the substrate 1001 of the multi-electron beam source.
The substrate 1 of the multi-electron beam source is configured to be fixed.
When 001 has sufficient strength, the substrate 1 of the multi-electron beam source is used as the rear plate of the airtight container.
001 itself may be used.

A fluorescent film 1008 is formed on the lower surface of the face plate 1007. Since the present embodiment is a color display device, a CR film is provided on the fluorescent film 1008.
Phosphors of three primary colors of red, green and blue used in the field of T are separately coated. The phosphors of each color are shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), the conductors are separately coated in stripes, and black conductors 1010 are provided between the phosphor stripes. 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. This is to prevent the fluorescent film from being charged up by the electron beam. Black conductor 1
Although graphite was used as the main component for 010, other materials may be used as long as they are suitable for the above purpose.

The method of separately coating the phosphors of the three primary colors is not limited to the stripe-shaped arrangement shown in FIG. 11A, and for example, the delta arrangement shown in FIG. Other arrangements may be used.

In the case of producing a monochrome display panel, a monochromatic phosphor material may be used as the phosphor film 1008, and a black conductive material is not necessarily used.

On the surface of the fluorescent film 1008 on the rear plate side, a metal back 1009 known in the field of CRT is used.
Is provided. The purpose of providing the metal back 1009 is
A part of the light emitted from the fluorescent film 1008 is specularly reflected to improve the light utilization rate, and the fluorescent film 100 is prevented from colliding with negative ions.
8 is to be protected, to act as an electrode for applying an electron beam accelerating voltage, and to act 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 on the surface. The metal pack 1009 is not used when a low voltage phosphor material is used for the phosphor film 1008.

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

Dx1 to Dxm, Dy1 to Dyn, and Hv are terminals for electrical connection having an airtight structure provided to electrically connect the display panel and an electric circuit (not shown). Dx1 to Dxm are electrically connected to the row direction wiring 1003 of the multi electron beam source, Dy1 to Dyn are electrically connected to the column direction wiring 1004 of the multi electron beam source, and Hv is electrically connected to the metal back 1009 of the face plate.

To evacuate the inside of the airtight container to a vacuum, after the airtight container is assembled, an exhaust pipe (not shown) and a vacuum pump are connected, and the inside of the airtight container is reduced to 10 −7 [To
Evacuate to a vacuum degree of about [rr]. 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 × 10 minus 7th power [Torr].

The basic configuration and manufacturing method of the display panel 41 of the second embodiment of the present invention has been described above. (Embodiment 3) FIG. 21 shows a multi-function display device configured to display image information provided from various image information sources such as television broadcasting on the image display device of the second embodiment. It is a figure for showing an example.

In the figure, 2100 is the image display device of the second embodiment,
2101 is a display panel drive circuit, 2102 is a display controller, 2103 is a multiplexer, 2104 is a decoder, 2105 is an input / output interface circuit, 2106 is a CPU, 2107 is an image generation circuit, 2108 and 2109 and 2110 are image memory interface circuits. Reference numeral 2111 is an image input interface circuit, 2112 and 2113 are TV signal receiving circuits, and 2114 is an input unit. In addition, this display device,
For example, when a signal such as a television signal including both video information and audio information is received, the audio is naturally reproduced at the same time as the display of the video, but the audio information not directly related to the features of the present invention is used. Descriptions of circuits, speakers, etc. relating to reception, separation, reproduction, processing, storage, etc. are omitted.

The functions of the respective parts will be described below along the flow of image signals.

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 system of the TV signal to be received is not particularly limited, and various systems such as NTSC system, PAL system and SECAM system may be used. Further, a TV signal including a large number of scanning lines (so-called high-definition TV such as MUSE) is a signal suitable for taking advantage of the display panel suitable for a large area and a large number of pixels. Is the source. The TV signal received by the TV signal receiving circuit 2113 is output to the decoder 2104.

The TV signal receiving circuit 2112 is a circuit for receiving a TV image signal transmitted using a wire transmission system such as a coaxial cable or an optical fiber. Similar to the TV signal receiving circuit 2113, the TV signal system shown in the figure is not particularly limited, and the TV signal received by this circuit is also output to the decoder 2104.

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

Further, the image memory interface circuit 2
110 is a video tape recorder (hereinafter abbreviated as VTR)
The circuit for fetching the image signal stored in is output to the decoder 2104.

Further, the image memory interface circuit 2
Reference numeral 109 is a circuit for capturing the image signal stored in the video disc, and the captured image signal is output to the decoder 2104.

Further, the image memory interface circuit 2
Reference numeral 108 denotes a circuit for capturing an image signal from a device that stores still image data, such as a so-called still image disc. The captured still image data is decoded by the decoder 21.
It is output to 04.

Further, the input / output interface circuit 210
Reference numeral 5 is a circuit for connecting the present display device to an external computer, a computer network, or an output device such as a printer. It is of course possible to input / output image data and character / graphic information, and in some cases, input / output control signals and numerical data between the CPU 2106 of the display device and the outside.

Further, the image generation circuit 2107 is provided with image data, character / graphic information, or a CPU, which is externally input via the input / output interface circuit 2105.
2106 is a circuit for generating display image data based on image data and character / graphic information output from the 2106.
Inside this circuit, for example, a rewritable memory for accumulating image data and character / graphic information, a read-only memory in which an image pattern corresponding to a character code is stored, a processor for performing image processing, etc. And the circuits necessary for image generation are incorporated.

The display image data generated by this circuit is output to the decoder 2104, but in some cases, it may be output to an external computer network or printer via the input / output interface circuit 2105. .

Further, 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 the image signals to be displayed on the display panel. At that time, a control signal is generated for the display panel controller 2102 in accordance with the image signal to be displayed, the screen display frequency, the scanning method (for example, interlaced or non-interlaced), the number of scanning lines in one screen, and the like. The operation of the display device is controlled as appropriate.

Image data or character / graphic information is directly output to the image generation circuit 2107, or an external computer or memory is accessed via the input / output interface circuit 2105 to obtain image data or image data. Enter character / graphic information.

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

Alternatively, as described above, it may be connected to an external computer network through 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 the CPU 21
The user inputs a command program or data into 06. For example, various input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a bar code reader, and a voice recognition device can be used.

Also, the decoder 2104 has the above-mentioned 2107.
Is a circuit for inversely converting various image signals input from the to 2113 into three primary color signals, or a luminance signal and an I signal and a Q signal. Note that it is desirable that the decoder 2104 includes an image memory therein, as indicated by a dotted line in the figure. This is for handling television signals that require an image memory for reverse conversion, such as the MUSE system. In addition, the provision of the image memory makes it easy to display a still image. Alternatively, there is an advantage that image processing and editing such as image thinning, interpolation, enlargement, reduction, and composition can be easily performed in cooperation with the image generation circuit 2107 and the CPU 2106.

Further, the multiplexer 2103 has the C
The display image is appropriately selected based on the control signal input from the PU 2106. That is, the multiplexer 2103 selects a desired image signal from the inversely converted image signals input from the decoder 2104 and outputs it to the drive circuit 2101. In that case, by switching and selecting image signals 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 television. .

Further, the display panel controller 2
Reference numeral 102 is a circuit for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 2101 based on a control signal input from the CPU 2106.

First, regarding the basic operation of the display panel, for example, a signal for controlling the operation sequence of a power source (not shown) for driving the display panel is output to the drive circuit 2101.

Further, regarding the driving method of the display panel, for example, a signal for controlling the screen display frequency and the scanning method (for example, interlace or non-interlace) is output to the drive circuit 2101.

In some cases, a control signal relating to image quality adjustment such as brightness, contrast, color tone and sharpness of a display image may be output to the drive circuit 2101.

The drive circuit 2101 is a circuit for generating a drive signal to be applied to the display panel 2100, and the image signal input from the multiplexer 2103 and the display panel controller 21.
It operates on the basis of a control signal inputted from 02.

The functions of the respective parts have been described above. However, with the configuration illustrated in FIG. 21, it is possible to display image information input from various image information sources on the display panel 2100 in the multi-function display device. is there.

That is, various image signals such as television broadcast are inversely converted by the decoder 2104, appropriately selected by the multiplexer 2103, and input to the drive circuit 2101. On the other hand, the display controller 2102 generates a control signal for controlling the operation of the drive circuit 2101 according to the image signal to be displayed. The drive circuit 2101 applies a drive signal to the display panel 2100 based on the image signal and the control signal.

Thus, the display panel 2100
The image is displayed at. These series of operations are C
It is totally controlled by the PU 2106.

In the multi-function display device, the image memory built in the decoder 2104, the image generation circuit 2107, and the CPU 2106 are involved, so that only one selected from a plurality of image information is displayed. Instead, for image information to be displayed, for example, image processing such as enlargement, reduction, rotation, movement, edge enhancement, thinning, interpolation, color conversion, and aspect ratio conversion of images, combination, deletion, connection, It is also possible to perform image editing such as replacement and fitting. Although not particularly mentioned in the description of this embodiment, a dedicated circuit for processing and editing audio information may be provided as in the case of the above-mentioned image processing and image editing.

Therefore, the multi-function display device is a display device for television broadcasting, a terminal device for a video conference, an image editing device for handling still images and moving images, a computer terminal device, an office terminal device such as a word processor. It is possible to combine the functions of a game console, etc., with a very wide range of applications for industrial or consumer use.

It is needless to say that FIG. 21 shows only an example of the structure of the multi-function display device and is not limited to this. For example, of the components shown in FIG. 21, circuits relating to functions that are unnecessary for the purpose of use may be omitted. On the contrary, the constituent elements may be added depending on the purpose of use. For example, when the display device is applied as a video telephone, it is preferable to add a television camera, a voice microphone, an illuminator, a transmission / reception circuit including a modem, and the like to the components.

In this multifunctional display device, in particular, the display panel using the surface conduction electron-emitting device as the electron beam source can be easily thinned, so that the depth of the entire display device can be reduced. In addition, the display panel using surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices as the electron beam source can easily enlarge the screen, has high brightness, and has excellent viewing angle characteristics. It is possible to display with good performance.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or 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 achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0242]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the electron beam generator and the image display device provided with a large number of surface conduction electron-emitting devices, the electrons of each surface conduction electron-emitting device at an early stage after manufacturing. It is possible to correct variations in emission characteristics.

Further, according to the present invention, as a result of paying attention to the characteristic peculiar to the surface conduction type emission device, that is, the strong correlation between the device current and the emission current, each surface conduction type emission device has an extremely simple circuit configuration. It has become possible to detect the change with time. That is, in the present invention, since the device current of each surface conduction electron-emitting device is measured, the emission current does not require an ammeter or a brightness meter that withstands a high voltage, unlike the case where the brightness of the display screen is measured. Therefore, the change in the characteristics of each element can be easily detected.

According to the present invention, when a change with time is detected, the correction value of the driving condition is corrected, so that it becomes possible to output an appropriate electron beam from any surface conduction electron-emitting device for a long period of time. . As a result, the performance of the electron beam generator and the image display device can be stabilized for a long period of time.

[0245]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of an electron beam generator according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of an initial characteristic inspection mode according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure in a change-in-time inspection mode according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a circuit block diagram of an image display device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of an initial characteristic inspection mode of the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a circuit block diagram when a correction value (initial value) of a driving condition is determined by measuring an emission current.

FIG. 7 is a circuit block diagram in the case of determining a correction value (initial value) of a driving condition by measuring light emission luminance.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of a change-over-time inspection mode according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing variations in characteristics of surface conduction electron-emitting devices.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the image display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention with a part of the display panel cut away.

FIG. 11 is a plan view illustrating a phosphor array on a face plate of a display panel.

FIG. 12 is a plan view (a) and a sectional view (b) of a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device used in an example.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of a planar surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 14 is an applied voltage waveform during energization forming processing.

FIG. 15 is a waveform (a) of applied voltage during energization activation processing,
This is a change (b) in the emission current Ie.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device used in Examples.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of a vertical surface conduction electron-emitting device.

FIG. 18 is a graph showing typical characteristics of the surface conduction electron-emitting device used in the examples.

FIG. 19 is a plan view of the substrate of the multi-electron beam source used in the examples.

FIG. 20 is a partial cross-sectional view of the substrate of the multi-electron beam source used in the examples.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of a multi-function image display device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a wiring direction of an electron-emitting device that the inventors have tried.

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

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An electron beam generator comprising a surface conduction electron-emitting device formed on a substrate, a measuring unit for measuring a device current flowing through the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and data stored by the measuring unit. Element current storage means for performing, a comparison means for comparing the latest data measured by the measurement means with the data stored in the element current storage means, and a drive signal applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device. An electron beam generator, comprising: a correction value storage unit that stores a correction value for correcting the correction value; and a correction unit that corrects the correction value stored in the correction value storage unit. 2. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the measuring means is means for measuring a device current by applying a voltage smaller than an electron emission threshold voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device. apparatus. 3. The surface conduction electron-emitting device is matrix-wired by row-direction wiring and column-direction wiring, and a drive signal applied to the surface-conduction-type emission device is a scanning signal and a column applied from the row-direction wiring. 2. The electron beam generator according to claim 1, wherein the electron beam generator is a modulation signal applied from a directional wiring, and the modulation signal is corrected by the correction value stored in the correction value storage means. 4. An image display device comprising a surface conduction electron-emitting device formed on a substrate and a phosphor which emits visible light when irradiated with an electron beam, and a measuring means for measuring a device current flowing through the surface conduction electron-emitting device. An element current storage means for storing the data measured by the measurement means, and a comparison means for comparing the latest data measured by the measurement means with the data stored in the element current storage means. A correction value storage unit for storing a correction value for correcting the drive signal applied to the surface conduction electron-emitting device; and a correction unit for correcting the correction value stored in the correction value storage unit. An image display device characterized by. 5. The image display device according to claim 4, wherein the measuring means is means for measuring a device current by applying a voltage smaller than an electron emission threshold voltage of the surface conduction electron-emitting device. 6. The surface conduction electron-emitting device is matrix-wired by row-direction wirings and column-direction wirings, and a drive signal applied to the surface-conduction type emission devices is a scanning signal applied from the row-direction wirings and a column direction. The image display device according to claim 4, wherein the image signal is a modulation signal applied from a wiring, and the modulation signal is corrected by the correction value stored in the correction value storage means. 7. A surface conduction electron-emitting device formed on a substrate, a phosphor which emits visible light upon irradiation of an electron beam, a measuring means for measuring a device current flowing through the surface conduction electron emitting device, and the measuring means. Device current storage means for storing the measured data, comparison means for comparing the latest data measured by the measuring means with the data stored in the device current storage means, and surface conduction emission A method of driving an image display device, comprising: a correction value storage unit that stores a correction value for correcting a drive signal applied to an element; and a correction unit that corrects the correction value stored in the correction value storage unit. A step of pre-storing an initial device current measurement value after formation of a surface conduction type emission device in the device current storage means, and an initial device of each surface conduction type emission device in the correction value storage means. Of the correction value determined based on the flow measurement value as an initial value, a step of measuring the element current after displaying an image for an arbitrary time by the element current measuring means, and an element current after driving for an arbitrary time. A step of comparing the latest data measured by the measuring means with the data stored in advance in the element current storing means by the comparing means; And a step of correcting the correction value by the correction means. 8. A surface conduction electron-emitting device formed on a substrate, a phosphor that emits visible light upon irradiation with an electron beam, a measuring unit that measures a device current flowing through the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the measuring unit. Device current storage means for storing the measured data, comparison means for comparing the latest data measured by the measuring means with the data stored in the device current storage means, and surface conduction emission A driving method in an image display device, comprising: a correction value storage means for storing a correction value for correcting a drive signal applied to an element; and a correction means for correcting the correction value stored in the correction value storage means. A step of pre-storing an initial device current measurement value after forming the surface conduction electron-emitting device in the device current storage means, and an initial value of each surface conduction electron-emitting device in the correction value storage means. A step of storing a correction value determined based on the emission current measurement value as an initial value, a step of measuring the element current by the element current measuring means after displaying an image for an arbitrary time, and an element after driving for an arbitrary time A step of comparing the latest data measured by the current measuring means with the data previously stored in the element current storing means by the comparing means, and storing in the correction value storing means when the comparison result exceeds a predetermined range. And a step of correcting the corrected value by the correction means. 9. A surface conduction electron-emitting device formed on a substrate, a phosphor which emits visible light upon irradiation with an electron beam, a measuring means for measuring a flow element current flowing through the surface conduction electron-emitting device, and the measuring means. Device current storage means for storing the measured data, comparison means for comparing the latest data measured by the measuring means with the data stored in the device current storage means, and surface conduction emission A driving method in an image display device, comprising: a correction value storage means for storing a correction value for correcting a drive signal applied to an element; and a correction means for correcting the correction value stored in the correction value storage means. A step of pre-storing an initial device current measurement value after forming the surface conduction electron-emitting device in the device current storage means, and a step of storing fluorescence from each surface conduction electron-emitting device in the correction value storage means. A step of storing a correction value determined on the basis of the emission luminance measurement value when the electron beam is radiated as an initial value, and a step of measuring the element current after displaying an image for an arbitrary time by the element current measuring means; A step of comparing the latest data measured by the element current measuring means after driving for an arbitrary time with data stored in advance in the element current storage means by the comparison means, and a comparison result by the comparison step is a predetermined value. And a step of correcting the correction value stored in the correction value storage means by the correction means when the range is exceeded, the driving method of the image display device.