Low energy ion induced secondary electron emission coefficient of magnesium oxide films

Magnesium oxide (MgO) film is widely employed as a protective layer for plasma display panels (PDPs). The aim of this paper was to investigate the relationship between secondary electron emission coefficient (gamma) of the MgO, films and conditions of ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD). Elemental ratio, density, crystal orientation and surface nano-morphology of the films were also analyzed. The authors developed a low energy ion beam source and applied it to measurement of the gamma. The experimental results suggest that the gamma decreased drastically as the ion beam energy increased more than or equal to 1000 eV. This is attributed to (200)-oriented film with low gamma that was grown preferentially as the beam energy increased. On the other hand, dense and smooth films with high sputtering resistance could be obtained by IBAD. This leads to the long lifetime of the PDPs. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.