Eu2+-activated barium magnesium aluminate phosphor for plasma displays – Phase relation and mechanism of thermal degradation

BaMgAl10O17 : Eu2+ (BAM), an important blue phosphor of plasma display panel (PDP), has suffered from thermal degradation. Here, we describe the mechanism of thermal degradation of BAM–Ba–hexaaluminate (0.82BaO·6Al2O3) in relation to the phase relation. It was found that the thermal degradation of BAM is mainly caused by oxygen ion going in and out to mirror plane in BAM crystal, and there exists an equilibrium quantity of oxygen ions substituting Ba site. On the basis of these findings, we also proposed a novel method to prepare a heat-resistant phosphor.