Gasification from Surface during Discharge and Thermal Process in Plasma Display Panel (PDP)

− Plasma display panel(PDP) uses the mixture of inert gases to generate a discharge inside display pixels. Inside of PDP, there exists highly reactive conditions in the gap between two glass panels. Chemical properties of MgO layer and phosphor have been investigated as a function of discharge and thermal process. Impurities such as CO, CO2, OH and H2O in discharge region may deteriorate the characteristics of PDP operation during life time. Change of impurity generation of various MgO and phosphor surfaces were measured by using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and quadropole mass spectrometer (QMS). Concentrations of carbon containing species such as C, CO and CO2 were drastically increased from surfaces during discharge and thermal treatment. Carbon impurities on the MgO and phosphor are the dominant factor for their instability.