Exo-Electron Emission From MgO Nanopowders on MgO Thin Film of Alternating Current Plasma Display Panels—Part I. Mechanism of Exo-Electron Emission

Exo-electron emission from MgO nanopowders sprayed on MgO thin film of alternating current plasma display panels was measured experimentally. Effects of several key parameters including panel temperature on the emission currents were measured and compared with a thermostimulated exo-electron emission model with three energy levels proposed in this paper. The results indicate that the exo-electron emission phenomenon is controlled by a thermal excitation of trapped electrons at shallow levels, ~0.2 ~ 0.3 eV below the conduction band edge. The MgO nanopowders increases the emission current significantly over the MgO thin film, possibly due to a higher concentration of recombination centers at deeper energy levels.