JP4180189B2 - Plasma display device manufacturing method and rear panel - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a plasma display device having good characteristics, and a panel suitable for the manufacturing method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, plasma display devices that can be configured to be thin and have a large screen have attracted attention. Reference numeral 101 in FIG. 8 denotes an AC type plasma display device, which includes a front panel 120 and a rear panel 130.
[0003]
A plurality of electrodes 121 and 131 are provided on the surfaces of the front panel 120 and the rear panel 130, and the surfaces on which the electrodes 121 and 131 are formed face each other so that the electrodes 121 and 131 are perpendicular to each other. It is assembled.
[0004]
A gas for discharge is sealed between the front panel 120 and the rear panel 130. When an appropriate electrode 121, 131 is selected from the electrodes 121, 131 and a voltage is applied, the voltage is applied between the electrodes 121, 131. Plasma is formed, and the portion on the plasma display device 101 is configured to emit light.
[0005]
The front panel 120 and the rear panel 130 are degassed in a vacuum atmosphere so that no impurity gas remains between the plasma displays 101. When the front panel 120 and the rear panel 130 are assembled, In the state where the front panel 120 is in contact with the sealing material provided on the surface of the rear panel 130, the sealing material is melted and solidified, and the panels are bonded using the sealing material as an adhesive. There is a problem in that the properties of the plasma display 101 are deteriorated when the adhering material is foamed when melted and the released gas is adsorbed on the front panel 120 or the rear panel 130.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described disadvantages of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a plasma display device in which gas released from the sealing material does not remain.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 is a plasma display device manufacturing method in which a sealing material disposed between two panels is melted and solidified, and the two panels are bonded. The sealing material is disposed on at least one of the two panels, and the sealing material is heated and melted in a vacuum atmosphere to be foamed, and then the sealing material is placed in a gas atmosphere. The sealing material is stopped from foaming , cooled in a gas atmosphere, heated again in a gas atmosphere to melt the sealing material without foaming, and the two panels are sealed. and wherein the Rukoto laminated in wood.
[0008]
A second aspect of the present invention is the plasma display device manufacturing method according to the first aspect, wherein the pressure of the gas atmosphere during the cooling is set to 5000 Pa or more.
[0009]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the plasma display device manufacturing method according to the second aspect, the sealing material is solidified in the cooling .
[0010]
A fourth aspect of the present invention is the plasma display device manufacturing method according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the two panels are bonded together in a gas atmosphere.
[0011]
A fifth aspect of the present invention is the plasma display device manufacturing method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, wherein the pressure of the gas atmosphere for performing the bonding is set to 5000 Pa or more.
[0012]
Invention of Claim 6 is a plasma display apparatus manufacturing method of any one of Claim 1 thru | or 5, Comprising: Two or more are provided in the surface of at least 1 panel among the said 2 panels. A protrusion is provided, and the sealing material is arranged between the protrusions.
[0013]
A seventh aspect of the present invention is the plasma display device manufacturing method according to the first aspect, wherein when the sealing material is foamed, the plasma is heated to a temperature higher than the temperature at which the two panels are bonded together. A display device manufacturing method.
[0015]
Generally, the sealing material used for the plasma display device is made of low melting point glass. However, since the sealing material contains a volatile component, the plasma display device is manufactured by assembling two panels. At this time, if the sealing material is heated and dissolved, the sealing material foams, and impurity gas is released.
[0016]
In the present invention, the sealing material is heated in a vacuum atmosphere before assembly, and the sealing material is melted and foamed to remove volatile components from the sealing material.
[0017]
Since the temperature at which the sealing material melts is high and the glass substrate cannot be conveyed at that temperature, it is necessary to cool it once.
[0018]
When the sealing material is cooled in a foamed state, the sealing material is solidified in a state in which foaming irregularities are formed on the surface. If two panels are bonded using such a sealing material, the adhesion is deteriorated.
[0019]
In the present invention, before the sealing material solidifies, an inert gas such as dry nitrogen gas or argon gas is introduced, and the foaming is terminated by placing the sealing material in a gas atmosphere. When cooled, the sealing material can be solidified with no irregularities on the surface.
[0020]
FIG. 6 is a graph showing the change over time in the amount of released gas when the glass substrate on which the sealing material is arranged is heated to 450 ° C. to foam the sealing material. It can be seen that when about 6000 seconds elapse from the start of heating, the released gas disappears.
[0021]
When the plasma display device is bonded using the previously foamed sealing material as described above, the gas released from the sealing material is reduced even if the sealing material is melted again.
[0022]
The foamed sealing material in FIG. 6 was cooled and then heated again, and the amount of released gas was measured. The result is shown in FIG. It can be seen that the amount of released gas is very small.
[0023]
In this way, when two panels are brought into contact with each other through a sealing material once foamed and heated to bond between the panels, the plasma display is in a state where the amount of gas released from the sealing material is very small. You can assemble the device.
[0024]
The bonding may be performed in a vacuum atmosphere, but if a gas component remains in the sealing material and foams again at the time of bonding, the sealing material once solidified after foaming is sealed in the gas atmosphere. By heating and melting, foaming during bonding can be prevented. Cooling and solidification after bonding can also be performed in a gas atmosphere.
[0025]
By the way, when the sealing material is foamed in advance before bonding, the sealing material is fluidized and spreads. In order to form a space for maintaining plasma, a panel used in a plasma display device is provided with a plurality of ridges in parallel in the light emitting region, the sealing material spreads, and the height is higher than the ridges. If it is too low, the ridges will obstruct the panels from being bonded.
[0026]
In the present invention, a ring-shaped protrusion is further provided at the outer peripheral position of the protrusions arranged in parallel, and a sealing material is disposed between the protrusions. If a large amount of the sealing material is disposed, even if the sealing material is melted, the height thereof is not lower than that of the protrusions, and the panels can be reliably bonded.
[0027]
The ring-shaped protrusion on which the sealing material is disposed can be formed by patterning the sealing material layer and patterning together when forming the protrusion of the light emitting space.
[0028]
When the sealing material is disposed between the protrusions at the outer peripheral position, when foaming, it can be heated to a higher temperature than during bonding. For example, when the heating temperature at the time of bonding is 450 ° C., foaming can be performed at 500 ° C. so that impurity gas is not released at the time of bonding.
[0029]
The vacuum atmosphere for foaming is desirably a pressure of about 10 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa, and the gas atmosphere for cooling the sealing material or at the time of bonding is suitably 5000 Pa or more. In the vacuum apparatus, the upper limit of the pressure is atmospheric pressure, but it may be higher than atmospheric pressure.
[0030]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 indicates an example of a manufacturing apparatus that can be used in the manufacturing method of the present invention. The manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a front panel side manufacturing line 20, a rear panel side manufacturing line 30, an alignment chamber 11, and an assembly line 40.
[0031]
The front panel side production line 20 and the rear panel side production line 30 are connected to the carry-in port of the alignment chamber 11 in the pre-process of the alignment chamber 11 in the manufacturing process. On the other hand, the assembly line 40 is connected to a carry-out port of the alignment chamber 11 in a subsequent process of the alignment chamber 11.
[0032]
The front panel side production line 20 has a carry-in chamber 21 and a film formation chamber 22. The film forming chamber 22 is disposed between the carry-in chamber 21 and the alignment chamber 11.
[0033]
The rear panel side production line 30 includes a carry-in chamber 31 and a degassing chamber 31. The degassing chamber 32 is disposed between the carry-in chamber 31 and the alignment chamber 11.
[0034]
Each chamber of the manufacturing apparatus 1 is configured to be individually evacuated, and each chamber is assumed to be in a vacuum atmosphere in advance.
[0035]
First, a manufacturing process using the front panel side production line 20 will be described. The carry-in chamber 21 is opened to the atmosphere, and a front panel as indicated by reference numeral 130 in FIG. 8 is carried into the carry-in chamber 21.
[0036]
After the inside of the carry-in chamber 21 is evacuated, the inside of the carry-in chamber 21 is connected to the inside of the film forming chamber 22, and the front panel is transferred into the film forming chamber 22.
[0037]
A vapor deposition material made of MgO is disposed in the film formation chamber 22, oxygen gas is introduced into the film formation chamber 22, the vapor deposition material is irradiated with an electron beam, MgO vapor is emitted, and the front panel is exposed. A protective film made of MgO is grown on the surface of the transparent dielectric layer.
[0038]
After the protective film having a predetermined thickness is formed, the front panel is transferred from the film formation chamber 22 into the alignment chamber 11. Reference numeral 6 in FIG. 1 indicates a front panel carried into the alignment chamber 11.
[0039]
In parallel with the manufacture of the front panel 6 as described above, in the rear panel side production line 30, the rear panel indicated by reference numeral 7 in FIG. 2 (e) is carried into the degassing chamber 32 and degassing processing is performed. Yes.
[0040]
The rear panel 7 has ribs formed on the surface in advance of the manufacturing apparatus 1 by processes such as those shown in FIGS.
[0041]
The rib forming process will be described. Referring to FIGS. 2A to 2E, reference numeral 51 in FIG. 2A denotes a glass substrate, and a large number of data electrodes 52 are parallel to each other on the surface. Has been placed. A plurality of data electrodes 52 are arranged in parallel, and a dielectric film 53 is formed on the surfaces of the glass substrate 51 and the data electrodes 52.
[0042]
Next, a thin film of the rib material 54 is formed on the dielectric film 53 (FIG. 5B), a resist film patterned on the surface by photolithography is formed, and ribs are formed from the window opening portion of the photoresist film by sandblasting or the like. When the material 54 is partially removed, ribs 55 are erected on the dielectric film 53 (FIG. 3C).
[0043]
The rib 55 includes two planar ring-shaped peripheral ring portion ridges 55 ₁ and 55 ₂ and a large number of linear light emitting portion ridges 55 ₃ .
[0044]
Each light emitting portion protrusion 55 ₃ is disposed at an intermediate position of the data electrode 52, and thus each light emitting portion protrusion 55 ₃ is parallel to each other. On the other hand, the two peripheral ring portion protrusions 55 ₁ and 55 ₂ are arranged at the end positions on the surface of the glass substrate 51 as shown in FIG. The two peripheral ring portion projecting 55 _1, 55 ₂ are arranged concentrically, the inner ₂ to the peripheral ring portion projecting 55, is adapted to surround the light emitting portion projection 55 _3.
[0045]
After formation of such a rib 55, the phosphor layer 56 is formed between the light emitting portion ridges 55 ₃ (Fig. (D)), then the sealing material 58 between the peripheral ring portion projecting 55 _1, 55 ₂ When poured, a rear panel 7 is obtained ((e) in the figure).
[0046]
When such a rear panel 7 is carried into the degassing chamber 32 through the carrying-in chamber 31, heated in a vacuum atmosphere of 10 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa, and heated to a temperature of 400 ° C. to 500 ° C., glass The gas component adsorbed on the surface of the substrate 51 is released, the sealing material 58 is foamed, and the gas component mixed in the sealing material 58 is released (degassing process). These released gases are evacuated from the degas chamber 32.
[0047]
After performing the degassing treatment for 30 minutes, dry nitrogen is introduced into the degassing chamber 32 in a state where the sealing material 58 is melted, and the atmospheric pressure in the degassing chamber 32 is set to about 5000 Pa to atmospheric pressure. .
[0048]
Even if the temperature of the sealing material 58 is foamed in a vacuum atmosphere, if the pressure around the sealing material 58 is increased by introducing gas, the sealing material 58 does not foam. Therefore, the foaming of the sealing material 58 is completed by the introduction of the gas.
[0049]
In that state, the sealing material 58 is melted. However, when the rear panel 7 is cooled in a gas atmosphere (dry nitrogen atmosphere), the sealing material 58 is cooled without foaming, and the surface is uneven. Solidify in a smooth state.
[0050]
In order to shorten the heating time in the sealing process described later, it is desirable to keep the rear panel 7 at a high temperature. However, the heat resistance temperature of the transfer robot and the apparatus used in the process after the degassing process is 200 ° C. Therefore, the rear panel 7 is actually cooled below that temperature.
[0051]
In the degassing chamber 32, a plurality of rear panels 7 are simultaneously degassed, and one sheet of the rear panel 7 that has been cooled is transferred into the alignment chamber 11.
[0052]
As shown in FIG. 4, the alignment chamber 11 has a vacuum chamber 61, and a mounting table 62 for a front panel is provided on the bottom wall of the vacuum chamber 61. A shaft 65 is provided on the bottom surface of the mounting table 62, and a lower end portion thereof is led out of the vacuum chamber 61 through a bellows 66 and connected to a motor 67.
[0053]
A rear panel holding table 63 is disposed on the ceiling side of the vacuum chamber 61, and a substrate holding mechanism 64 is provided on the holding table 63.
[0054]
The front panel 6 carried into the alignment chamber 11 is placed on the mounting table 62 with the MgO protective film facing upward, and the rear panel 7 has a surface on which the sealing material 58 is formed by the substrate holding mechanism 64 downward. To the holding table 63.
[0055]
In this state, the front panel 6 and the rear panel 7 are parallel to each other, the motor 66 is operated, the shaft 65 is moved, the front panel 6 and the rear panel 7 are aligned, and they are temporarily fastened with clips or the like.
[0056]
The assembly line 40 behind the alignment chamber 11 is provided with an aging chamber 41, an inspection chamber 42, a sealing chamber 43, and a carry-out chamber 44 in that order. The temporarily fixed front panel 6 and rear panel 66 are conveyed to the aging chamber 41.
[0057]
The aging chamber 41 is provided with a discharge electrode (not shown). After introducing an inert gas while evacuating and applying a voltage to the front panel 6 and the rear panel 7 carried in, aging discharge is performed. It is transferred into the examination room 42.
[0058]
An example of the examination room 42 is shown in FIG. The inspection chamber 42 includes a vacuum chamber 91, power supplies 93, 94a, 94b, and inspection electrodes 95, 96a, 96b. One end of each of the inspection electrodes 95, 96 a, and 96 b is disposed in the vacuum chamber 91, and the other end is led out of the vacuum chamber 91 in an airtight manner.
[0059]
The power supplies 93, 94a, 94b are arranged outside the vacuum chamber 91, and the portions of the test electrodes 95, 96a, 96b led out of the vacuum chamber 91 are connected to the power sources 93, 94a, 94b, respectively. .
[0060]
Electrodes are exposed on the surfaces of the front panel 6 and the rear panel 7, and after carrying into the inspection chamber 42, the tip portions of the inspection electrodes 95, 96a, and 96b are brought into contact with the exposed electrodes. Let
[0061]
Then, an inert gas such as argon gas or neon / xenon gas is introduced into the vacuum chamber 91 to a predetermined pressure, the power supplies 93, 94a, 94b are activated, and a voltage is applied to the front panel 6 and the rear panel 7. A plasma is formed between them.
[0062]
When the front panel 6 and the rear panel 7 are non-defective products, light emission without defects can be obtained.
If it is a non-defective product, it is conveyed into the sealing chamber 43 and a sealing process described later is performed. If it is defective, it is taken out into the atmosphere without being processed in the sealing chamber 43, and discarded except for those that can be regenerated and usable panels.
[0063]
After the good front panel 6 and the rear panel 7 are carried into the sealing chamber 43, dry nitrogen gas is introduced into the sealing chamber 43, and the internal atmosphere is increased to about 5000 Pa to atmospheric pressure.
[0064]
The front panel 6 and the rear panel 7 are heated to about 450 ° C. in a gas atmosphere. Since the sealing material 58 has already been degassed in a vacuum atmosphere in the degassing chamber 32 at a temperature equal to or higher than the temperature (450 ° C.), the sealing material 58 dissolves without foaming.
[0065]
At the time of temporary fixing, the front panel 6 and the rear panel 7 are in contact with each other via a sealing material 58, and when the sealing material 58 is melted, the front panel 6 and the rear panel 7 are mutually connected by the sealing material 58. Close contact.
[0066]
When cooled in this state, the front panel 6 and the rear panel 7 are bonded together by the sealing material 58. At this time, since no irregularities are formed on the surface of the sealing material 58, no gap is formed between the front panel 6 and the rear panel 7.
[0067]
At the time of bonding, a through hole that connects the gap between the front panel 6 and the rear panel 7 to the outside is formed in a part of the sealing material 58.
[0068]
After the bonding, the introduction of the nitrogen gas into the sealing chamber 43 is stopped and the sealing chamber 43 is evacuated, so that the nitrogen gas remaining between the front panel 6 and the rear panel 7 is evacuated from the through hole. .
[0069]
After the sealing chamber 43 is evacuated, a discharge gas such as neon / xenon gas is introduced into the sealing chamber 43 to a predetermined pressure, and the space between the front panel 6 and the rear panel 7 is filled with the discharge gas, When the through hole is blocked, a plasma display device is obtained.
[0070]
The plasma display device is transferred to the carry-out chamber 44, cut off from the sealing chamber 43, introduces the atmosphere into the carry-out chamber 44, and takes it out into the atmosphere.
[0071]
As described above, the front panel 6 and the rear panel 7 are processed in a state where they are not exposed to the atmosphere consistently until they are taken into the carry-in chambers 21 and 31 and then taken out from the carry-out chamber 44.
[0072]
In particular, the rear panel 7 is defoamed in a vacuum atmosphere and melted and sealed in a dry gas. Therefore, the sealing material 58 does not foam during the sealing process, and the front panel 6 and the rear panel 7 are sealed by the sealing material 58.
[0073]
In the above embodiment, the sealing material 58 is disposed between the protrusions 55 ₁ and 55 ₂ , but it can also be directly raised on the glass substrate. In that case, foaming is preferably performed at a temperature of about 400 ° C. so that the height of the sealing material is not lowered.
[0074]
The rib 55 is formed by sand blasting, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and various forming methods such as a printing method and an etching method can be used. Further, the process of sealing the discharge gas between the front panel and the rear panel, the inspection method, and the like are not limited to the above embodiments.
[0075]
【The invention's effect】
Since the amount of gas released from the sealing material when bonding the panels is small, a high-quality plasma display device can be obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an example of a vacuum apparatus that can be used in the present invention. FIG. 2A to FIG. 2E are diagrams for explaining an example of a manufacturing process of a rear panel of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an alignment chamber. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an inspection method. FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between heating time, temperature, and released gas amount when a sealing material is foamed. FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the heating time, temperature, and amount of released gas when the foamed sealing material is heated again. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the positional relationship between the front panel and the rear panel of the plasma display device. [Explanation of symbols]
6 …… Panel (front panel)
7. Panel (rear panel)
58 …… Sealing material

Claims (7)

Melting a sealing member disposed between the two panels, and solidified, a plasma display instrumentation 置製 production method of bonding the two panels,
Placing the sealing material on at least one of the two panels;
After the sealing material is heated and melted and foamed in a vacuum atmosphere, the sealing material is placed in a gas atmosphere to stop foaming of the sealing material ,
After cooling in a gas atmosphere, and heated again in a gas atmosphere to melt without foaming the sealing material, a plasma display device fabrication according to claim Rukoto bonding the two panels in the sealing material Method. The method of manufacturing a plasma display device according to claim 1, wherein the pressure of the gas atmosphere at the time of cooling is set to 5000 Pa or more. 3. The method of manufacturing a plasma display device according to claim 2, wherein the sealing material is solidified in the cooling .   4. The method of manufacturing a plasma display device according to claim 1, wherein the two panels are bonded together in a gas atmosphere.   The method of manufacturing a plasma display device according to claim 4, wherein the pressure of the gas atmosphere for performing the bonding is set to 5000 Pa or more.   The two or more ridges are provided on the surface of at least one of the two panels, and the sealing material is disposed between the ridges. 6. The method for manufacturing a plasma display device according to claim 5. The method for manufacturing a plasma display device according to claim 1, wherein when the sealing material is foamed, the sealing material is heated to a temperature higher than a temperature at which the two panels are bonded together.

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