JPH0766238B2 - Display panel manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a display panel, and more particularly to a method for manufacturing a display panel having a structure in which a pair of insulating substrates are arranged facing each other and a space is secured between the insulating substrates.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a display panel of this type, for example, a gas discharge display panel, the periphery of both substrates is secured while securing a discharge space at a constant interval between a front substrate and a rear substrate made of an insulating material. Generally, the structure is hermetically sealed and the discharge space is filled with a discharge gas.

By the way, in the display panel having the above structure, it is necessary to keep the intervals of the discharge spaces uniform in order to stabilize the discharge characteristics on the entire display surface. Further, in the AC-type gas discharge display panel, in order to prevent the inner surface of the substrate from being hit by the discharge charge and mechanically resonating due to the discharge charge and generating unpleasant noise, It is necessary to suppress the vibration of the back substrate.

In order to satisfy the above requirements, the actual fairness 3-
The technique described in Japanese Patent No. 1881 has been proposed. this is,
As shown in FIG. 3, a front substrate c on which an electrode a and a dielectric layer b covering the electrode a are formed on one surface, and a back surface on which an electrode d and a dielectric layer e covering the electrode d are also formed on one surface. The gas discharge space h is formed by arranging the front substrate C and the rear substrate f so as to face each other at a predetermined interval and hermetically sealing the peripheral portions of the front substrate C and the rear substrate f with a sealing material g made of low melting point glass. In the gas discharge display panel i described above, a plurality of spacers j for defining the intervals of the gas discharge spaces h are scattered in a non-display area in the gas discharge spaces h in a non-adhered state, and the same non-display is performed. A plurality of supporting materials k made of the same material as the sealing material g for fixing the both substrates c and f to the area are scattered, and the peripheral portions of the substrates c and f are sealed by the sealing material g. At the same time, the two substrates c, Non-display region is also configured to be bonded and fixed. In the figure, 1 indicates a mask layer for partitioning the display area.

[0005]

Certainly, according to the above-mentioned conventional example, the supporting material k made of the same low melting point glass as the sealing material g is used.
As a result, the two substrates c and f are bonded and fixed even in the non-display area other than the peripheral portion, so that resonance at the time of gas discharge can be prevented. In addition, when the support material k is fused and the support material k is melted and deformed, the spacer j is kept in its original shape and the interval between the gas discharge spaces h is defined to be constant. It can be kept uniform over the entire surface.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, two different members (supporting material k and spacer j) are separately provided in order to prevent the resonance of both substrates c and f and make the intervals of the discharge space h uniform. In addition to complicating the manufacturing process, it is necessary to install a considerable number of support materials k and spacers j in order to achieve the desired effect, which is inefficient. Met.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional example, and the purpose thereof is to eliminate the need to provide the two members of the support material k and the spacer j at separate locations as described above. In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a display panel that can maintain a constant space between substrates and can suppress resonance of the substrates.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a method of manufacturing a display panel according to the present invention comprises a first insulating substrate and an second insulating substrate each having an electrode formed on one surface thereof. Manufacture of a display panel in which a space is formed between both substrates by arranging them so that the electrode formation surfaces face each other at intervals and sealing the edges of the electrode formation surfaces of both substrates with a sealing material. In the method, crystallized glass is applied onto the electrode formation surface of the first insulating substrate, and the crystallized glass is heated at its crystallization temperature and then cooled, so that spacers having a substantially semicircular cross section are scattered. Of the spacer and a support member composed of the same crystallized glass as the spacer is disposed on the tip of the spacer or on the electrode forming surface of the second insulating substrate. The above support material, and the support material The support material is melted and softened by heating at the crystallization temperature of the crystallized glass constituting the support material in a state of being in contact with the electrode formation surface of the second insulating substrate, and then cooled. The spacer is fixed to the electrode forming surface of the second insulating substrate through the supporting material.

[0009]

As described above, the support material is melted and softened through the heat treatment and then cooled, whereby the support material is fixed to the tip portion of the spacer and the electrode formation surface of the second insulating substrate. Solidify with. As a result, the electrode forming surface of the first insulating substrate and the electrode forming surface of the second insulating substrate are coupled to each other through the spacer and the support material, and it is possible to suppress resonance between them.

Further, since the spacer is made of crystallized glass having such a characteristic that once the spacer is heated and crystallized, it is not melted and softened even if it is reheated at the same temperature. Since the original shape can be maintained, the interval of the space formed between the first insulating substrate and the second insulating substrate is maintained at a predetermined value.

Further, since the supporting material is composed of the same crystallized glass as the spacer, the affinity with the boundary surface of the mutual members is high, and the shape of the spacer is substantially semicircular in cross section. The joint area becomes larger, and the support material and the spacer are firmly fixed.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of an AC type gas discharge display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing method.

The gas discharge display panel 50 has a front substrate 4 and a rear substrate 6. The front substrate 4 is provided with a transparent electrode 12 made of tin oxide or the like on one surface 10 of a translucent insulating substrate 8 made of glass or the like, and the surface of the transparent electrode 12 is made of transparent glass such as lead oxide glass. It is formed by covering with a first dielectric layer 14 made of an optical dielectric material. The back substrate 6 has an electrode 20 made of a conductor such as silver palladium on one surface 18 of an insulating substrate 16 such as glass or ceramic, and the surface of the electrode 20 is made of lead oxide glass or the like. And is covered with a second dielectric layer 22. Although not shown, a protective film made of a sputter-resistant substance such as magnesium oxide is formed on the surface 15 of the first dielectric layer 14 and the surface 23 of the second dielectric layer 22. . Although not shown in the drawing, a display is provided at an appropriate position between the translucent insulating substrate 8 and the first dielectric layer 14 and between the insulating substrate 16 and the second dielectric layer 22. A mask layer for partitioning the region is formed. The mask layer is composed of a light-shielding member such as black glass.

The front substrate 4 and the rear substrate 6 having the above structure
Means that the first dielectric layer 14 and the second dielectric layer 2 are spaced at a predetermined interval, for example, 100 μm to 200 μm.
2 are arranged so as to face each other. A sealing spacer 52 made of crystallized glass and having a substantially semicircular cross section is formed on the peripheral edge 24 of the electrode forming surface of the front substrate 4, and a tip portion 54 of the sealing spacer 52 is formed. The rear substrate 6 is brought into contact with the peripheral edge 26 of the electrode formation surface,
By filling the periphery of 4 with the sealing material 56, the peripheral edge 24 of the electrode forming surface of the front substrate 4 and the peripheral edge 26 of the electrode forming surface of the rear substrate 6 are hermetically sealed. Further, a space 58 having a space h2 corresponding to the size of the sealing spacer 52 is formed between the front substrate 4 and the rear substrate 6. In addition,
The dimension of the sealing spacer 52 is the same as the space portion 58.
It is desirable to set the interval h2 of 100 μm to 200 μm. The space 58 is filled with a discharge gas such as neon after performing a vacuum process.

In the space 58 formed between the front substrate 4 and the rear substrate 6, a plurality of spacers 60 made of the same crystallized glass as the sealing spacer 52 are interposed. . These spacers 60 are provided on the electrode forming surface 42 of the front substrate 4 so as to project at locations corresponding to the non-display area of the gas discharge display panel 50, and the tips 62 thereof are located on the electrode forming surface 35 of the rear substrate 6. It is in contact with a portion corresponding to the non-display area of the display panel 50 above. A support material 64 is filled around the tip portion 62, and as a result, the spacer 60 is fixed on the electrode forming surface 35 of the rear substrate 6. These spacers 60
Like the above-mentioned sealing spacer 52, has a substantially semicircular cross section, and has the same dimensions as the above-mentioned sealing spacer 52. However, while the sealing spacer 52 is formed along the electrode formation surface peripheral edge 24 of the front substrate 4 so as to surround the space 58, the spacer 60 is formed.
Are different in that they are scatteredly arranged in the non-display area in the space 58. Since the spacers 60 are arranged in a scattered manner in this manner, the spacers 60 allow the spaces 58 to be formed.
The flow of the discharge gas inside is not hindered.

A gas discharge display panel 50 according to this embodiment.
Since a plurality of spacers 60 having a constant size are interposed in the non-display area in the space 58 as described above, the space h2 between the spaces 58 is uniform over the entire surface of the gas discharge display panel 50. Become. Further, since the tip portion 62 of the spacer 60 is fixed to the electrode forming surface 35 of the rear substrate 6 by the supporting material 64, it is possible to prevent the front substrate 4 and the rear substrate 6 from resonating even during discharge.

Next, a method of manufacturing the gas discharge display panel 50 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, a transparent electrode 12 is provided on one surface 10 of the translucent insulating substrate 8 in a shape corresponding to a display pattern, and the surface of the transparent electrode 12 is covered with a first dielectric layer 14 to form the front substrate. 4 is formed. Then, the crystallized glass as the material of the sealing spacer 52 is applied to the peripheral edge 24 of the electrode forming surface of the front substrate 4 by thick film printing, and the crystallized glass as the material of the spacer 60 is applied by thick film printing. Apply. This sealing spacer 52
The crystallized glass used as the material for the spacers 60 is a paste made by adding a binder to low-melting-point glass powder, and once heated and crystallized, it melts and softens even if it is reheated at the same temperature. It has the property not to.

As described above, the electrode forming surface 42 of the front substrate 4 is formed.
After applying the crystallized glass to be the material of the sealing spacer 52 and the spacer 60 to the side, by heating to the crystallization temperature of the crystallized glass constituting these to melt and soften, and then cooling and curing, Sealing spacer 5
2 and the spacer 60 are sintered and formed. The sealing spacer 52 and the spacer 60 can be formed to have a substantially semicircular cross section by appropriately selecting the material of the crystallized glass and the heating conditions that compose them.

In parallel with the above, an electrode 20 made of a conductor is provided on one surface 18 of the insulating substrate 16, and the electrode 20 is formed.
Is coated with the second dielectric layer 22 to form the back substrate 6. Then, the paste-like sealing material 56 is applied to the peripheral edge 26 of the electrode formation surface of the rear substrate 6 by thick film printing, and the electrode formation surface 35 of the rear substrate 6 is formed.
Similarly, a paste-like support material 64 is applied by thick film printing to a portion corresponding to the non-display area. The sealing material 56 and the support material 64 are made of the same crystallized glass as the sealing spacer 52 and the spacer 60.

The front substrate 4 and the rear substrate 6 obtained as described above are attached to the tip portion 54 of the sealing spacer 52.
Comes into contact with the sealing material 56 and the spacer 6
The tip portion 62 of 0 is positioned so as to contact the support material 64, and heat treatment is performed for a predetermined time at the same temperature as the crystallization temperature of the crystallized glass forming the sealing material 56 and the support material 64. This heat treatment is performed at 450 ° C. for about 1 hour, for example.

Through this heat treatment, the sealing material 56 is melted and softened, and enters into the gap between the tip portion 54 of the sealing spacer 52 and the peripheral edge 26 of the electrode forming surface of the rear substrate 6 by a capillary phenomenon. Similarly, the support material 64 is also melted and softened, and enters the gap between the tip portion 62 of the spacer 60 and the electrode forming surface 35 of the rear substrate 6. By natural cooling or forced cooling in such a state, the sealing material 56 is solidified in such a manner as to seal the tip portion 54 of the sealing spacer 52 and the electrode forming surface peripheral edge 26 of the back substrate 6, and at the same time, the supporting material. 64 is the tip 62 of the second spacer 60 and the rear substrate 6
And is solidified so as to be fixed to the electrode forming surface 35. In addition, since the sealing spacer 52 and the spacer 60 are formed by sintering the crystallized glass in advance as described above, they do not melt and soften even if the above heat treatment is performed.

As described above, in this embodiment, the spacers 60 are scatteredly formed in the non-display area in the space 58.
The front end portion 62 of the back substrate 6 is fixed to the electrode forming surface 35 of the back substrate 6 by the support member 64, so that the front substrate 4 and the back substrate 6 are bonded together, and as a result, both substrates 4, 6 can be prevented from resonating.

Further, since the spacer 60 is preliminarily sintered and formed of crystallized glass, it does not melt even when the support material 64 made of the same crystallized glass is heat-treated to be melted and softened. Size and shape) can be maintained.
As a result, the space h2 of the space 58 can be kept constant.

Furthermore, the spacer 60 and the sealing spacer 52 can be simultaneously sintered and formed, and the sealing material 56 is formed.
Sealing of the front substrate 4 and the rear substrate 6 by means of the
Since the spacer 60 and the back substrate 6 can be fixed to each other at the same time by 4, the manufacturing process can be greatly simplified.

In this embodiment, the sealing spacer 5 is used.
Since the shape of No. 2 is configured to have a substantially semicircular cross section, the joint area with the sealing material 56 is increased, and accordingly, it is possible to firmly seal. Similarly, since the spacer 60 is also configured to have a substantially semicircular cross-section, the joint area between the tip portion 62 and the second support member 64 is increased, and it is possible to firmly fix the spacer portion accordingly. Becomes

Further, since the support member 64 is made of the same crystallized glass as the spacer 60, the affinity at the boundary surface between the members is increased, and there is an advantage that both members are more firmly fixed.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the AC type gas discharge display panel has been described as an example, but the present invention is a pair of insulating substrates such as a DC type gas discharge display panel and a liquid crystal panel, which are opposed to each other at a predetermined interval. The present invention can be widely applied to a display panel having a configuration in which the peripheral edge of the substrate is hermetically sealed, and in that case, effects such as uniform spacing between the substrates and improvement of the strength of the display panel can be obtained.

[0028]

According to the method of manufacturing a display panel of the present invention, the electrode forming surface of the first insulating substrate and the electrode forming surface of the second insulating substrate are bonded to each other through the spacer and the supporting material. Therefore, resonance of both substrates can be suppressed.
Further, since the mechanical strength of the display panel is also improved, it can contribute to making the display panel larger and thinner.

Further, although the support material is deformed by the heat treatment, the spacer can maintain its original shape without being deformed, so that the space between the first insulating substrate and the second insulating substrate is spaced from each other. It can be fixed.

In order to achieve the above effect, as in the conventional case,
Since it is not necessary to disperse two different members in different places, the manufacturing process can be simplified, and the above effect can be efficiently realized even if the number of spacers installed is relatively small. .

Further, since the supporting material is made of the same crystallized glass as the spacer, the affinity with the boundary surface between the members is high, and the shape of the spacer is substantially semicircular in cross section. The joint area becomes larger, and the support material and the spacer are firmly fixed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a display panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the manufacturing method of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Front Substrate 6 Rear Substrate 8 Translucent Insulating Substrate 12 Transparent Electrode 14 First Dielectric Layer 16 Insulating Substrate 20 Electrode 22 Second Dielectric Layer 24 Edge of Electrode Forming Surface of Front Substrate 26 Edge of Electrode Forming Surface of Back Substrate 42 Front Electrode Forming Surface of Substrate 50 AC Gas Discharge Display Panel 56 Sealing Material 58 Space 60 Spacer 62 Top of Spacer 64 Supporting Material

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first insulating substrate and a second insulating substrate, each having an electrode formed on one surface thereof, are arranged such that the electrode forming surfaces face each other at a predetermined interval, and the electrode forming surface peripheral edges of both substrates are provided. In a method for manufacturing a display panel in which a space is formed between both substrates by hermetically sealing the above with a sealing material, crystallized glass is applied onto the electrode formation surface of the first insulating substrate.
The crystallized glass is heated at the crystallization temperature and then cooled.
By disposing it, the spacers with a semi-circular cross section are scattered.
To form, also the tip or the second insulating substrate of the electrode forming surface on the spacer, the same as the spacer
A supporting member made of crystallized glass is disposed, the tip of the spacer and the supporting member, and the supporting member and the second member
In the state of contacting with the electrode forming surface of the insulating substrate , the heating is performed at the crystallization temperature of the crystallized glass that constitutes the above support material .
A method of manufacturing a display panel, comprising: melting and softening the support material by means of the method described above and then cooling, and thereby fixing the spacer to the electrode formation surface of the second insulating substrate through the support material.