A planar single-substrate AC plasma display

A novel method is described for constructing an acsustained gas-discharge display (plasma panel). Electrodes and insulating layers are applied alternatively on a single base substrate to produce a matrix of insulated crossovers. A second clear substrate is used to contain gas on the electrode side of the base substrate where glow discharge occurs. As in conventional two-substrate panels, internal memory is obtained by charge storage on the dielectric. The pulsed write and the sustain mechanisms of single- and twin-substrate display elements are discussed with regard to the effects of cell and field geometries. In the sustain mode, glow-propagation effects are observed, especially in the nonhomogeneous fields of the single-substrate design. Here cathode-type glows which form a narrow band are observed with a high-speed photomultiplier and shown to sweep across the dielectric surfaces. Luminance, intensity distributions, and luminous efficiency data are compared on small 10 × 10-line panels using single-substrate and conventional designs. A three- to four-fold improvement in luminance is achieved with the single-substrate geometry.