Contents I. Introduction
Flat panel displays (FPDs), such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic LEDs (OLEDs) displays, and plasma display panels (PDPs), can replace a conventional cathode ray tube (CRT) because there has been a continuous increase in the demand for a large size, high resolution, and high information capacity with the digital broadcasting and the infrastructure of digital networks represented by the Internet. Among the FPDs, PDP has become a promising high-definition display technology for the digital broadcasting due to the wider view angle, larger screen, higher brightness, higher contrast, and thinness. Because of the relative merits, the PDP is expected to widen its share in the digital display market. However, high cost and high power loss of the PDP have been obstacles to attract consumers. Thus, low cost and high efficiency become the main requirements in a high-resolution and large-sized PDP with the limited space and weight [1]. Fig. 1 shows the structure of the commercialized surface-discharge-type PDP cell. The Y electrode and the X electrode are in the front glass plate. A dielectric layer covers these electrodes. A protective layer (MgO) is deposited on the dielectric surface to protect the dielectric from sputtering and provide large secondary electron emission under ion impact. The address electrode, which is orthogonal to the Y and X electrodes, is in the rear glass plate. Three color phosphors of red, green, and blue are deposited above the address electrodes. The barrier ribs between the data electrodes play a role to separate each discharging cell. The space between the two opposing substrates is filled typically with a gas mixture of Ne and Xe, and the pressure of the gas is approximately 400–500 torr.
Simplified structure of PDP with three electrodes.
