On the use of phosphors excited by low-energy electrons in a gas-discharge flat-panel display

A gas-discharge flat-panel display device has been constructed in which the light output is white and the color is independent of intensity. The device is based on the Burroughs Self-Scan
^®
structure. A white output was obtained by combining the orange glow of a gas mixture which is predominantly neon with the green emission of a ZnO:Zn phosphor (P15) deposited on transparent conducting anodes and excited by incident low-energy electrons. A peak spot intensity of 3000 fL in the white was achieved at a display-cell current density of 0.33 Aċcm
^-2
and 180 V across the display cell. In a control region where no phosphor was deposited and the output was orange, the peak spot brightness was 7500 fL. Experiments on single-cell devices using helium, neon, argon, and xenon are described which demonstrate that the phosphor is indeed excited by low-energy electrons rather than by UV radiation from the gas discharge. The latter method had been used exclusively to date to obtain colors other than orange in gas-discharge flat-panel displays.