Study of the MgO surface at the initial stage of aging in ac-PDP: Morphological evolution and the resulting discharge characteristics

The evolution of the MgO surface in a plasma display panel (PDP) at the initial stage of panel aging has been investigated. The experimental result shows a strong dependence of the surface modification on the waveform of the sustain voltage pulse in the aging process. The MgO surface was examined with a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after panel aging for 20 hours. The modified surface area in a cell became broader and more uniform as the rising time of the aging pulse increased, which resulted in a bigger operating voltage margin and an improved panel life. Our results also imply that the optimum aging condition should vary as the dimension of the discharge cell changes.