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

PDP use the mixture of inert gases to generate a discharge inside display pixels. Inside of PDP, there exist highly reactive conditions in the gap between two glass panels. MgO layer and phosphor have been investigated as a function of discharge and thermal process. Impurities such as CO, $CO_2$, OH and $H_2O$ 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). Carbon containing species such as C, CO and $CO_2$ were drastically increased on the surfaces during discharge and thermal treatment. Carbon impurities on the MgO and phosphor are the dominant factor for their instability.