A picture-display panel using a constricted-glow discharge

This paper describes the theory of operatien and the performance of a new dc-operated plasma display device using a constricted-glow discharge. The device consists of a transparent anode and a cathode for the gas discharge and a thin glass plate etched with a rectangular array of electroded holes, which is placed between the electrodes. A constricted-glow discharge occurs through only one hole at a time and causes brighter light emission than the usual glow discharge. The bright spot of the constricted glow can be transferred along the lines of holes by applying a scanning pulse voltage sequentially to each of the electrodes on the holes. By operation in the one element-at-a-time scanning mode and modulating the magnitude of the discharge current, alphanumeric characters and TV pictures with gray scale can be displayed on the device. Present experimental display panels have 48 × 65 picture elements, and display pictures have an average luminance as high as 60 fL and a contrast ratio of about 20:1.