A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof, will be readily apparent as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference symbols indicate the same or similar components, wherein:
Referring to
Address electrodes 22 extend in a first direction (y-axis direction in the drawings) on a surface of the front substrate 20 facing the rear substrate 10. The address electrodes 22 are arranged parallel to and spaced apart from each other. A dielectric layer 24 is formed on the front substrate 20 and covers the address electrodes 22. First electrodes (hereinafter referred to as sustain electrodes) 25 and second electrodes (hereinafter referred to as scan electrodes) 26 are formed on the dielectric layer 24 and extend in a second direction that crosses the first direction. The sustain electrodes 25 and the scan electrodes 26 protrude toward the rear substrate 10 in a third direction (z-axis direction in the drawings) that is perpendicular to the first and second direction and away from the front substrate 20. The sustain electrodes 25 and the scan electrodes 26 are formed to face each other with a space therebetween.
According to the present embodiment, each of the sustain electrodes 25 and the scan electrodes 26 respectively includes expanded portions 25a and 26a that correspond to respective discharge spaces 18, 21 and extend in the third direction, and connecting portions 25b and 26b that connect the expanded portions 25a and 26a along the second direction and form stepped portions therefrom.
A first dielectric layer 27 and a second dielectric layer 28′ are formed to cover the sustain electrodes 25 and the scan electrodes 26. A protective layer 29, for example a MgO layer, is formed on the outer surfaces of the first dielectric layer 27 and the second dielectric layer 28′. The first dielectric layer 27 includes first dielectric members 27a and second dielectric members 27b. The first dielectric members 27a extend along a first direction, and the second dielectric members 27b extend along a second direction that crosses the first dielectric members 27a. The second dielectric layer 28′ includes third dielectric members 28 that are formed along the second direction on the second dielectric members 27b. A plurality of first discharge spaces 21 are defined by the first, second, and third dielectric members 27a, 27b, and 28.
Barrier ribs 16 partitioning a plurality of second discharge spaces 18 are formed on the surface of the rear substrate 10 that faces the front substrate 20. The barrier ribs 16 include first barrier rib members 16a and second barrier rib members 16b. The first barrier rib members 16a correspond to the first dielectric members 27a and extend along the first direction. The second barrier rib members 16b correspond to the second dielectric members 27b and are formed to intersect the first barrier rib members 16a. The second discharge spaces 18 are defined by the first and second barrier rib members 16a and 16b.
It is to be understood that the structure of the barrier ribs 16 are not limited to the above-described structure. A stripe-type barrier rib structure including barrier rib members parallel only to the first direction can be applied to the present invention, and also belongs to the scope of the present invention. In addition, according to the present embodiment, the barrier ribs 16 are formed on the rear substrate 10. However, the barrier ribs 16 can be formed by etching the rear substrate 10 and still be within the scope of the present invention.
According to the present embodiment, the first discharge spaces 21 are defined on the front substrate 20 by the first, second, and third dielectric members 27a, 27b, and 28, and the second discharge spaces 18 are defined on the rear substrate 10 by the first and second barrier rib members 16a and 16b. Each of the first discharge spaces 21 and the second discharge spaces 18 are formed in shapes corresponding to each other, thus substantially forming a discharge cell 17.
Phosphor layers 19 are formed within the discharge cells 17. More particularly, the phosphor layers 19 are formed in the second discharge spaces 18 that are formed on the rear substrate 10. As stated above, the address electrodes 22 are formed on the front substrate 20 and the phosphor layers 19 are formed on the rear substrate 10, thus there is an advantage that a discharge firing voltage is evenly produced in each discharge cell 17 during address discharge.
In other words, the phosphor layers have been located between the address electrodes and the scan electrodes to enable address discharge in a three-electrode surface discharge PDP, and there has been a drawback of uneven discharge firing voltage due to different permittivities between red, green, and blue phosphor layers in such PDPs. According to the present embodiment, however, the address electrodes 22 and the scan electrodes 26 that enable address discharge are arranged on the front substrate 20 and the phosphor layers 19 are formed on the rear substrate 10, thus the above problem is solved.
Since the address discharge occurs between the address electrodes 22 on the front substrate 20 and the scan electrodes 26 near the front substrate 20, electrical charges do not accumulate on the phosphor layer 19 on the rear substrate 10 during address discharge. Therefore, a durability loss of phosphor by ion sputtering of the accumulated charges on the phosphor layer 19 can be prevented.
Referring to
In this case, the transparent electrodes 22b can be made of indium tin oxide (ITO) to ensure adequate aperture ratio for the front substrate 20. Although the transparent electrodes are in the shape of a rectangle in the present embodiment, transparent electrodes of other shapes can instead be used. For example, transparent electrodes in a triangular shape gradually decreasing in size along a direction from the scan electrodes 26 toward the sustain electrodes 25 can be applied to the present embodiment and belong to the scope of the present invention. The bus electrodes 22a can be made of a metal so as to ensure high conductivity by compensating for high electrical resistance of the transparent electrodes. According to the present embodiment, the bus electrodes 22a are located on the boundaries of the discharge cells 17 adjacent to each other along the second direction (x-axis direction in the drawings). Thus, the present embodiment has the advantage that the aperture ratio for the front substrate 20 does not decrease, even though the bus electrodes 22a are made of an opaque metal.
The sustain electrodes 25 and the scan electrodes 26 are formed along a direction intersecting the address electrodes 22. In the present embodiment, the sustain electrodes 25 and the scan electrodes 26 are located on the boundaries of discharge cells 17 adjacent to each other along the first direction (y-axis direction in the drawings), and are arranged alternately along the first direction. The scan electrodes 26 enable address discharge by interacting with the address electrodes 22 during an address period. The discharge cells 17 to be turned on are selected by the address discharge. The sustain electrodes 25 enable sustain discharge by interacting mainly with the scan electrodes 26. Images are displayed through the front substrate 20 by the sustain discharge. However, the role of each electrode varies with the kind of voltage supplied to the electrode and is not limited to the above.
In the present embodiment, transparent electrodes 22b of the address electrodes 22 are formed closer to the scan electrodes 26 than the sustain electrodes 25. That is, when a distance between the transparent electrodes 22b and the scan electrodes 26 is assumed to be L1 and a distance between the transparent electrodes 22b and the sustain electrodes 25 is assumed to be L2, L1 is smaller than L2. Due to the above-describe structure, a discharge between the scan electrodes and the transparent electrodes 22b can easily occur during address discharge that selects discharge cells 17 to be turned on.
The sustain electrodes 25 and the scan electrodes 26 also are formed of metal. In other words, in the present embodiment, the sustain electrodes 25 and the scan electrodes 26 are located on the boundaries of discharge cells adjacent to each other along the first direction (y-axis direction in the drawings), so that the aperture ratio does not decrease even if the electrodes are made of metal.
Referring to
Referring to
That is, the expanded portions 26a of the scan electrodes 26 extend along the second direction, and the connecting portions 26b of the scan electrodes 26 are located on the boundaries of discharge cells 17 adjacent to each other along the second direction and are formed along the bottom surfaces of the first dielectric members 27a. As stated above, since the connecting portions 26b are formed along the bottom surface of the first dielectric members 27a on the boundaries of discharge cells 17 adjacent to each other along the second direction, stepped portions are formed between the expanded portions 26a and the connecting portions 26b. That is, the connecting portions 26b are arranged further from the front substrate 20 in the third (z) direction than the expanded portions 26a.
Therefore, the first apertures 40 that communicate with each other along the first direction are formed between connecting portions 26b adjacent to each other along the second direction. A width of the first apertures 40 is substantially equal to a width of the discharge cells 17 measured along the second direction. Due to the first apertures 40, the exhaust efficiency and the quality of display of the PDP can be improved.
A partial area of the scan electrodes 26 that face the sustain electrodes 25 on the boundaries of discharge cells 17 adjacent to each other along the second direction is smaller than a partial area of the scan electrodes 26 that face the sustain electrodes 25 across the discharge cells 17. That is, a length (L3) of the connecting portions 26b measured along the second direction is smaller than a length (L4) of the expanded portions 26a measured along the second direction, and a length (L5) of the connecting portions 26b measured along the third direction is smaller than a length (L6) of the expanded portions 26a measured along the third direction.
As stated above, as the area of the scan electrodes 26 on the boundaries of adjacent discharge cells 17 is reduced, power consumption can be reduced and efficiency of luminescence can be improved. In other words, a part of scan electrodes 26 that substantially affects gas discharge is in the inner part of the discharge cells 17, and a part of scan electrodes 26 that is located on the boundaries of discharge cells 17 hardly affects the gas discharge. That is, the part of scan electrodes 26 that is formed on the boundaries of discharge cells 17 functions just as a connecting wire and hardly affects the discharge. Therefore, according to the present invention, although part of the connecting portions 26b that is formed on the boundaries of discharge cells adjacent to each other along the second direction has a reduced area, there is no effect on the gas discharge.
Capacitance C has characteristics that it is proportional to an area of an electrode and inversely proportional to a distance between electrodes. Therefore, the capacitance C of the scan electrodes 26 that include the connecting portions 26b according to the present embodiment decreases dramatically as the area of parts of the scan electrodes that are on the boundaries of adjacent discharge cells 17 is drastically reduced. In addition, as capacitance decreases, recharge current is reduced, thus power consumption is reduced and efficiency of luminescence is improved.
Referring to
The expanded portions 25a of the sustain electrodes 25 and the expanded portions 26a of the scan electrodes 26 are covered by the first, second, and third dielectric members 27a, 27b, and 28. The first, second, and third dielectric members 27a, 27b, and 28 can be made of the same material, thus protecting each electrode against collision with electrical charges generated during a gas discharge. Wall charges can accumulate on the dielectric layer 24 and the second dielectric members 27b, thus lowering the discharge firing voltage during a sustain discharge between the sustain electrodes 25 and the scan electrodes 26.
The protective layer 29 can be formed on the surfaces of the dielectric layer 24 and the second dielectric members 27b. It is preferred that the protective layer 29 is formed on the surface of the dielectric layer 24 that is exposed to gas discharge. An example of the protective layer 29 can be a MgO protective layer 29. The MgO protective layer 29 protects dielectric layers against collision with ions that are dissociated during the gas discharge. The MgO protective layer 29 can improve the efficiency of discharge due to a high secondary electron emission factor when colliding with the ions.
Referring to
Referring to
As stated above, since the second apertures 42 communicate with discharge cells 17 adjacent to each other along the second direction, the exhaust efficiency and the quality of display of the PDP can be improved. In the present embodiment, apertures are formed in a radial pattern around discharge cells 17, thus the exhaust efficiency is drastically improved (refer to
The following is a detailed description of a manufacturing method of the above-described PDP with regard to
In a manufacturing method of a PDP according to the present invention, after the address electrodes 22 and the dielectric layer 24 are formed on the front substrate 20, a dielectric paste 27′ is formed on the front substrate 20 (refer to
Afterwards, the dielectric paste 27′ is dried and fired to form a first dielectric layer 27, and then the first dielectric layer 27 is etched to form the grooves 50 for discharge spaces and the grooves 60 for electrodes. That is, by etching the first dielectric layer 27 with a method such as sand blasting or etching, first dielectric members 27a and second dielectric members 27b that define the grooves 50 for discharge spaces and the grooves 60 for electrodes are formed. For the sake of understanding, only the first dielectric members 27a′ defining the grooves 60 for electrodes are shown in
In the present embodiment, when the first dielectric members 27a and the second dielectric members 27b are formed, the extent of etching of the first dielectric layer 27 is controlled so that the first dielectric members 27a and the second dielectric members 27b have different heights. In other words, referring to
The grooves 50 for discharge spaces and the grooves 60 for electrodes can be formed individually or simultaneously. When the first dielectric layer 27 is etched, the grooves 50 for discharge spaces and the grooves 60 for electrodes can be etched at a time with a method such as sand blasting or etching, thus there is an advantage of a simpler process of manufacturing.
Referring to
Afterwards, electrode paste is continuously distributed along the second direction (x-axis direction in the drawings), and is dried and fired to form the sustain electrodes 25 or the scan electrodes 26. That is, when electrode paste is distributed, it is continuously distributed along the second direction. Therefore, stepped portions can be formed between an electrode paste that is filled into the grooves 60 for electrodes and an electrode paste that passes the first dielectric members 27a′.
As shown in
Afterwards, the third dielectric members 28 are formed to cover the sustain electrodes 25 as illustrated in
Although certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, but can be modified in various forms without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the detailed description, the accompanying drawings, the appended claims, and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2006-0060673 | Jun 2006 | KR | national |