On the factors influencing cathodoluminescent saturation in screen excited by low-energy electrons

The phenomenon of CL saturation is a most important factor which influences the proper choice of phosphors as components of the screen in a display excited by low-energy electrons. This is associated with the fact that attaining a sufficient brightness of such a screen requires higher current densities in comparison with high-voltage excitation. In order to separate the contributions of the named reasons to the total effect, a number of VFDs of a pilot design with various RGB phosphors were studied. The pulse mode with various absolute and relative pulse durations as well as the continuous mode were employed. The influence of each factor on the dependence of luminance and efficiency on current density, and the kinetic characteristics were estimated.