EP0620581A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method of manufacturing electron source, electron source manufactured by said method, and image forming apparatus using said electron sources
Assignee: Canon Inc
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Filing: 1994-04-05
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2014-04-05
Abstract
Abstract A method of manufacturing an electron source having a plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices arranged on a substrate in row and column directions includes the forming of electron emission portions of the plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices. The forming is carried out by supplying current through the plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices upon dividing them into a plurality of groups. An image forming apparatus passes a current through a plurality of electron sources, which are formed on a substrate and arrayed in the form of a matrix, in dependence upon an image signal, and an image is formed by a light emission in response to electrons emitted from the plurality of electron sources.
Inventors
- 👤 Hidetoshi C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Suzuki
- 👤 Yoshiyuki C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Osada
- 👤 Ichiro C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Nomura
- 👤 Takeo C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ono
- 👤 Hisaaki C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Kawade
- 👤 Eiji C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Yamaguchi
- 👤 Toshihiko C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Takeda
- 👤 Hiroaki C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Toshima
- 👤 Yasuhiro C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Hamamoto
- 👤 Tatsuya C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Iwasaki
- 👤 Aoji C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Isono
- 👤 Noritake C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Suzuki
- 👤 Yasuyuki C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Todokoro
- 👤 Masahiro C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Okuda
- 👤 Katsuhiko C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Shinjo
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 08:36
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01J; H01J1/00; H01J1/02; H01J1/30; H01J1/316; G; G09; G09G; G09G3/00; G09G3/20; G09G3/22; H01J31/00; H01J31/08; H01J31/10; H01J31/12; H01J31/123; H01J31/125; H01J31/127; H01J9/00; H01J9/02; H01J9/022; H01J9/027; G09G2300/00; G09G2300/08; G09G2300/088; G09G2300/0885; G09G2310/00; G09G2310/06; H01J2201/00; H01J2201/30; H01J2201/316; H01J2201/3165; H01J2201/319; H01J2329/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 41
Claim 1
Independent Claim
54 words
A method of manufacturing an electron source having a plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices arranged on a substrate, wherein a step of forming electron emission portions of said surface-conduction electron-emitting devices has an electric forming step of subjecting said plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices to forming upon dividing them into a plurality of groups.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
94 words
The method according to claim 1, wherein said electron source includes the plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices arranged on the substrate, a plurality of row-direction wires and a plurality of column-direction wires, each of said surface-conduction electron-emitting devices being connected to a row-direction wire and a column-direction wire; said step of forming electron emission portions of said surface-conduction electron-emitting devices has an electricforming step of subjecting a plurality of the surface-conduction electron-emitting devices, which are connected to said row-direction wires or said column-direction wires, to forming upon dividing them into a plurality of groups.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method according to claim 2, wherein said electricforming step is carried out successively with respect to each group in which a plurality of the surface-conduction electron-emitting devices connected to each row-direction wire or each column-direction wire are made one group.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
70 words
The method according to claim 3, wherein said electricforming step has a step of applying a potential V1 to the entire group of wires of one of said row-direction wires and column-direction wires, applying a potential V2, which differs from the potential V1, to some wires of the other group of said row-direction wires and column-direction wires, and applying the potential V1 to the remaining wires in said other group.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method according to claim 3, wherein said electricforming step is carried out by supplying electric power from a power supply portion connected to one end of said row-direction wires or column-direction wires.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method according to claim 3, wherein said electricforming step is carried out by supplying electric power from power supply portions connected to both ends of said row-direction wires or column-direction wires.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method according to claim 3, wherein said electricforming step is carried out upon selecting, from said row-direction wires and said column-direction wires, a wire exhibiting a small variance in electric power applied to each device of a plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices connected to said wires.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
166 words
The method according to claim 7, wherein said electricforming step is carried out upon selecting row-direction wires when (N x ×N x -aN x )×r x ≦ (N y ×N y -aN y )×r y holds and selecting column-direction wires when (N x ×N x -aN x )×r x > (N y ×N y -aN y )×r y holds, where N x represents the number of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices arrayed in the row direction, N y represents the number of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices arrayed in the column direction, r x represents wiring resistance per one device in the row direction and r y represents wiring resistance per one device in the column direction, and further, where a = 8 holds in a case in which the power supply portion is connected to end of said row-direction wires or column-direction wires, and a = 24 holds in a case in which the power supply portions are connected to both ends of said row-direction wires or column-direction wires.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method according to claim 2, wherein said electricforming step is carried out with respect to each divided group in which a plurality of the surface-conduction electron-emitting devices connected to said row-direction wire and said column-direction wires are made one group.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
79 words
The method according to claim 9, wherein said electricforming step has a step of applying a potential V1 to some of the wires of the plurality of row-direction wires, applying a potential V2, which differs from the potential V1, to the remaining wires of said plurality of row-direction wires, applying the potential V1 to some of the wires of the plurality of column-direction wires, and applying the potential V2 to the remaining wires of said plurality of column-direction wires.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method according to claim 9, wherein said electricforming step is carried out by supplying electric power from a power supply portion connected to one end of said row-direction wires or column-direction wires.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method according to claim 9, wherein said electricforming step is carried out by supplying electric power from power supply portions connected to both ends of said row-direction wires or column-direction wires.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of groups are electrically cut off from one another, further comprising a step of electrically short-circuiting each group after the electricforming step is carried out with respect to each group.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
61 words
The method according to claim 13, wherein a wire to which a plurality of the surface-conduction electron-emitting devices are connected is electrically cut at predetermined intervals, further comprising a step of electrically short-circuiting each group after the electricforming step is carried out with respect to each group of the plurality of groups into which said surface-conduction electron-emitting devices have been divided.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method according to claim 13, wherein said short-circuiting method is a wire-bonding step using a low-resistance metal material.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method according to claim 13, wherein said short-circuiting method is a step of electrically short-circuiting each group by heating and melting a metal exhibiting a low melting point.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of groups are connected via high-impedance portions, further comprising a step of electrically short-circuiting each group after the electricforming step is carried out with respect to each group.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
61 words
The method according to claim 17, wherein wires having a plurality of the surface-conduction electron-emitting devices connected thereto are connected at desired intervals via high-impedance portions, further comprising a step of electrically short-circuiting each group after the electricforming step is carried out with respect to each group of the plurality of groups into which said surface-conduction electron-emitting devices have been divided.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method according to claim 17, wherein said short-circuiting method is a wire-bonding step using a low-resistance metal material.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method according to claim 17, wherein said short-circuiting method is a step of electrically short-circuiting each group by heating and melting a metal exhibiting a low melting point.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method according to claim 17, wherein said high-impedance portions comprise a metal exhibiting a high resistivity.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method according to claim 17, wherein each of said high-impedance portions is a thin film of a nickel-chrome alloy.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method according to claim 17, wherein each of said high-impedance portions has a width less than the circumference of the connection.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method according to claim 17, wherein each of said high-impedance portions has a thickness less than the circumference of the connection.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
54 words
A method of manufacturing an electron source having a plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices arranged on a substrate and connected by wiring, wherein a step of forming electron emission portions of said surface-conduction electron-emitting devices has an electricforming step carried out by supplying electric power from electrical connecting means arranged to contact said wiring:
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method according to claim 25, wherein said electrical connecting means is arranged to contact said wiring at a plurality of locations thereof.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method according to claim 25, wherein said electrical connecting means has a plurality of contact terminals arranged to contact said wiring at a plurality of locations thereof.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method according to claim 25, wherein said electrical connecting means has a contact surface capable of contacting said wiring over the surface thereof.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method according to claim 25, wherein said electrical connecting means comprises a member exhibiting a resistance lower than that of said wiring.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method according to claim 25, further having a step of controlling temperature of said electrical connecting means.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method according to claim 25, wherein a surface portion of said wiring which said electrical connecting means is arranged to contact is covered with a metal exhibiting a low resistance.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method according to claim 25, wherein said wiring is lower-layer wiring covered by an insulating member, said insulating layer being formed to have a contact hole through which said electrical connecting means is capable of contacting said lower-layer wiring.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method according to claim 25, wherein said electricforming step is carried out by supplying electric power from a power supply portion connected to one end of said wiring in addition to supplying electric power from the electrical connecting means arranged to contact said wiring.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method according to claim 25, wherein said electricforming step is carried out by supplying electric power from power supply portions connected to both ends of said wiring in addition to supplying electric power from the electrical connecting means arranged to contact said wiring.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
83 words
A method of manufacturing an electron source having a plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices arranged on a substrate and connected by wiring, wherein a step of forming electron emission portions of said surface-conduction electron-emitting devices has an electricforming step carried out by supplying electric power to each of said devices through said wiring, said electricforming step having a step of performing control in such a manner that applied power or applied voltage to each of said devices is rendered constant for all devices.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method according to claim 35, wherein said step of controlling the applied power or applied voltage is carried out prior to forming of each of said devices.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
60 words
The method according to claim 35, wherein said step of controlling the applied power or applied voltage has a step of sensing a position of an device that has been subjected to forming among a plurality of devices connected to said wiring, and controlling, in dependence upon said position, the applied power or applied voltage required for forming other devices.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
79 words
The method according to claim 35, wherein said electricforming step is carried out by supplying electric power from a power supply portion connected to one end of said wiring and has a step of controlling applied voltage in such a manner that voltage applied to said power supply portion is enlarged from devices situated at both ends of said wiring to devices situated at the middle of said wiring from among said plurality of devices connected to said wiring.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
78 words
The method according to claim 35, wherein said electricforming step is carried out by supplying electric power from power supply portions connected to two ends of said wiring and has a step of controlling applied voltage in such a manner that voltage applied to said power supply portions is enlarged from devices situated at one end and at the middle of said wiring toward devices situated in the vicinity of one-quarter of a line inward from both ends.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
30 words
An electron source having a plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices arranged on a substrate, said electron source being manufactured by a method of manufacture according to claims 1 - 35.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
56 words
An image forming apparatus having an electron source, which has a plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices arranged on a substrate, and an image forming member for forming an image by irradiation with electron beams from said electron source, said electron source being manufactured by a method of manufacture according to any of claims 1 - 35.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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