Life Prediction for Vacuum Fluorescent Display Based on Curve Fitting of Brightness Decay

In order to estimate the life-time of vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) in a short time, a constant stress accelerated life test was performed by increasing its cathode temperature. The fitting of the brightness decay curve for VFD was achieved by applying the Weibull function to describe the brightness decay and the Least Square Method (LSM) to estimate the distribution parameters. Furthermore, the brightness decay formula in the normal stress, which was employed to design the initial brightness for the VFD according to life-time requirements of the users, was determined by the acceleration parameter. The numerical results show that the predicted life-time has a high accuracy, and that the brightness decay formula can provide some significant guideline to manufacturers and technicians for life-time estimation and initial brightness design.