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US 6,664,729 B2Granted
Differential pressure process for fabricating a flat-panel display face plate with integral spacer support structures and a face plate produced by such process
AssigneeMicron Technology, Inc.
InventorJason B. Elledge
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A process for fabricating a face plate for a flat panel display such as a field emission cathode type display is disclosed, the face plate having integral spacer support structures. Also disclosed is a product made by the aforesaid process.
Claims21
A flat-panel evacuated display having a face plate assembly which includes a substrate having an array of spacer support structures formed by a method comprising:
- providing a laminar template having a pair of major planar faces and an array of mold holes perpendicular to the major planar faces, each mold hole corresponding to a desired location of a spacer support structure;
- providing a manifold block having at least one generally planar surface and an array of mating ports on the at least one generally planar surface, each such port mating with an adjacent major planar face of said laminar template and aligning with at least one mold hole of the array in said laminar template;
- forming a temporary structure by sandwiching and sealing said laminar template between said substrate and the at least one generally planar surface of said manifold block;
- heating said substrate to a state of plasticity for at least one pressure condition;
- creating a pressure differential between an ambient atmosphere surrounding the temporary structure and pressure within the mold holes, the pressure within the mold holes being less than that of the ambient atmosphere, the pressure differential causing each of the mold holes to fill with material from the substrate;
- and
- removing the face plate assembly from the laminar template.
4 more elements
A flat-panel display having a face plate assembly having a face plate having edges in a manufacturing method comprising:
- a laminar template having a pair of major planar faces and an array of mold holes perpendicular to the major planar faces, each mold hole corresponding to a desired location of a spacer support structure;
- a manifold block having at least one generally planar surface and an array of mating ports on the at least one generally planar surface, each such port mating with an adjacent major planar face of said laminar template and aligning with at least one mold hole in the laminar template;
- a structure for sealing and sandwiching said laminar template between said face plate and the at least one generally planar surface of said manifold block for heating said face plate to a state of plasticity during at least one pressure condition and for creating a pressure differential between an ambient atmosphere surrounding the structure and pressure within the mold holes, the pressure within the mold holes being less than that of the ambient atmosphere, the pressure differential causing each of the mold holes to fill with material from the face plate;
- and
- spacer support structures protruding from the face plate formed from material continuously drawn from the face plate into the mold holes of the laminar template.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.