JP2001351534A - Plasma display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plasma display panel capable of obtaining very high luminescent brightness even with high resolution. SOLUTION: This plasma display panel has an insulating front substrate and an insulating back substrate faced through a gap, plural display cells are arranged in a matrix shape between the front substrate and the back substrate, and plural data electrodes extending in the row direction are formed in every plural display cells arranged in the row direction. On the facing surfaces of the front substrate and the back substrate, a scanning electrode 2a and a maintaining electrode 2b are commonly and individually installed for every pair of display cells adjacent in the column direction, and alternately arranged in the column direction. A scanning bus electrode 3a and a maintaining bus electrode 3b are extended in the column direction between columns of the scanning electrode 2a and the maintaining electrode 2, and connected to the scanning electrode 2a and the maintaining electrode 2b respectively, and a surface discharge gap is formed between the scanning electrode 2a and the maintaining electrode 2b in every display cell.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an AC (alternating current) surface discharge type plasma display panel, and more particularly to a plasma display panel with improved light emission luminance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional three-electrode type color PDP, and FIG. 8 is a front view thereof. As shown in FIG. 7, the PDP includes front and rear substrates 101 and 10 of insulating substrates made of glass disposed on the front and rear surfaces, respectively.
6 are opposed to each other.

On a front substrate 101, a transparent electrode IT
Scan electrode 102a made of O or Nesa film and sustain electrode 10
2b are formed. Further, a scan bus electrode 103a and a sustain bus electrode 103b made of metal electrodes are formed on the scan electrode 102a and the sustain electrode 102b, respectively, in order to reduce the resistance of these electrodes. As the bus electrode 103, a Cr / Cu / Cr laminated thin film electrode or an Ag thick film electrode is usually used. Further, these scanning electrodes 102a, sustaining electrodes 102b, and bus electrodes 3 are covered with a dielectric layer 104. Dielectric layer 10
For No. 4, lead glass having a low melting point is usually used. Further, an MgO film (not shown) is formed on the dielectric layer 104 by vacuum evaporation to have a thickness of about 0.5 to 1 μm for the purpose of preventing damage caused by ions and electrons generated by the discharge and lowering the discharge voltage. It is formed with a film thickness of.

On the other hand, on the rear substrate 106, Ag is applied in a direction orthogonal to the scan electrodes 102a and the sustain electrodes 102b.
A data electrode 107 having a large thickness is formed.
Subsequently, a glass paste formed by mixing a white oxide (alumina or titanium oxide or the like) powder with a low melting point lead glass powder or the like is printed and baked, whereby the white dielectric layer 108 is formed.
Are formed. This white dielectric layer 108 has the effect of reflecting visible light emitted from the phosphor and guiding it toward the front side, thereby increasing the efficiency of visible light emission. Further, the white dielectric layer 10
On 8, a phosphor layer 109 is formed by applying three kinds of phosphors for converting ultraviolet light from gas discharge into visible light of three colors of red, green and blue by a thick film printing technique.

The front substrate 101 and the rear substrate 106 are formed with barrier ribs (not shown) made of a lattice-like insulator, and are opposed to each other with a gap of 100 to 200 μm via these barrier ribs. Is configured. Note that the partition walls may be formed in a stripe shape. The inside of the discharge cell is filled with a discharge gas composed of helium, neon, xenon, and a mixed gas thereof. Also,
The partition is formed by a thick-film technique using a mixture of alumina, magnesium oxide or titanium oxide and lead glass.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, in a conventional PDP, a grid-like partition 10 formed on a front substrate is formed.
5, a rectangular display cell is formed, and a discharge electrode including a scan electrode 102a and a scan bus electrode 130a and a sustain electrode 102b and a sustain bus electrode 103b is formed in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the display cell. . As a result, a surface discharge gap 111 having a longitudinal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the display cell is formed.

FIG. 9 is a plan view schematically showing the arrangement of scan electrodes and sustain electrodes of a conventional PDP (conventional example 1).
As shown in FIG. 9, m scanning electrodes S1 to Sm and sustaining electrodes C1 to Cm are alternately parallel to each other in a direction orthogonal to n data electrodes D1 to Dn formed in parallel with each other. Are located. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another electrode structure of a conventional PDP (conventional example 2). Conventional example 1 shown in FIG.
In order to make the electrode arrangement of scan electrodes-sustain electrodes-scan electrodes-sustain electrodes more precise, as shown in FIG. 10, an electrode arrangement of scan electrodes-sustain electrodes-sustain electrodes-scan electrodes is used. Attempts have been made to share a sustain electrode between vertically adjacent display cells.

Hereinafter, a driving method of the conventional plasma display panel thus configured will be described. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a gray scale display of the plasma display panel, and FIG. 12 is a timing chart showing a driving waveform of the plasma display panel.

The gray scale display is realized by controlling the number of discharges (luminance) during the sustain period as shown in FIG. One field (F) for displaying one screen is repeated about 50 to 70 times per second. According to this repetition,
The image of each field is laminated by the afterimage of the human eye, and a natural image without flicker can be obtained. This one-field period is divided into a plurality of subfields (SF), the number of sustain pulses (the number of discharges) in the sustain period of each subfield (SF) is changed, and the subfields are combined to realize gradation display. ing. In the 64-gradation display, one field is divided into six subfields (S
F1 to SF6), a preliminary discharge period (preliminary lighting period + preliminary erasing period), a writing period, and a sustaining period are provided at the beginning of each subfield. The number of discharges in this sustain period is about 1 from sub-field SF1 (SF1 is the number of discharges of 32n, where n is a positive integer) to SF6 in order.
/ 2 weighting is performed.

According to this method, when the sub-fields SF1 to SF6 are selected and sustain discharge is performed within one frame, the light emission luminance can be controlled by the number of sustain discharges in the selected sub-field. realizable.

Hereinafter, the discharging operation of the plasma display panel will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, first, a preliminary discharge pulse Pp is applied to scan electrodes S1 to Sm over the entire display screen to provide a preliminary discharge (lighting) period in which surface discharge occurs between sustain electrodes C1 to Cm. As a result, wall charges are generated on the scan electrode 102a and the sustain electrode 102b shown in FIG. Next, erase pulse trains PE1 and PE3 for erasing the wall charges and PE2 are applied to the scan electrodes S, respectively.
A preliminary erasing period to be applied to 1 to Sm and sustain electrodes C1 to Cm is provided. Subsequently, a write pulse Pw is applied so as to sequentially scan all the scan electrodes S1 to Sm on the screen, and in synchronization with this, a data pulse PD in accordance with desired display data is applied.
Is applied to the data electrodes D1 to Dn to provide a writing period in which a discharge is generated between the scanning electrode and the data electrode. Subsequently, the discharge generated during the writing period is applied to the scan electrodes S1 to Sm and the sustain electrodes C1 to Cm by the voltage pulse P.
A sustain period is provided in which sus is applied to maintain and display as surface discharge between both electrodes. Referring to FIG. 7, in the pre-discharge (lighting) period and the pre-erase period, a discharge between the scan electrode 102a and the data electrode 107 generated corresponding to the display data during the writing period following this period is reliably caused. Has a function. For this reason, after a strong surface discharge is caused on the entire screen, a weak surface discharge is caused to erase wall charges on the electrodes forming the display cells and leave space charges composed of charged particles in the display cells. Things. In the writing period, the scanning electrode 102a and the data electrode 1
07, a positive wall charge is formed on the scan electrode 102a, and a negative wall charge is formed on the data electrode 107. When the wall charges are present, the scanning electrode 1 is turned on during the next sustain period.
02a and the pulse Psu applied to the sustain electrode 102b
Since s is superimposed on s, the applied voltage exceeds the surface discharge starting voltage, so that surface discharge can be generated and maintained in the display cell corresponding to the display data.

[0012]

However, in the above-described conventional PDP, when the definition is increased, the discharge electrode is constituted by a combination of a transparent electrode and a bus electrode made of a metal material, so that the electrode area is reduced. There is a problem in that the ratio of the variation in the area of the transparent electrode increases with the alignment accuracy, and the luminance decreases, thereby causing luminance unevenness and reducing the yield.

When the discharge electrode is formed of an opaque metal electrode in order to prevent this, the width of the discharge gap is generally about 100 μm depending on the kind of discharge gas, sealing gas pressure and driving voltage. Therefore, when the display definition is enhanced and color display is performed with square pixels of, for example, 0.6 mm pitch, three pixels (red, blue, and green) constituting each pixel are considered.
Display cell width is 150 μm when the partition wall width is 50 μm.
become. Therefore, when the conventional electrode structure is formed of metal electrodes, 100 μm × 150 μm becomes the opening of the display cell, and the display cell area is 600 × 200 μm. Therefore, the ratio of the opening is 12.5% of the entire display cell. As a result, the light extraction efficiency becomes extremely small.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a plasma display panel capable of obtaining an extremely high luminance even when the definition is increased.

[0015]

According to the present invention, there is provided a plasma display panel comprising: an insulating front substrate and a rear substrate which are opposed to each other with a gap therebetween; and a matrix formed between the front substrate and the rear substrate. , A plurality of data electrodes provided for each of a plurality of display cells arranged in the column direction and extending in the column direction, and a pair of display cells adjacent to each other in the row direction. Scanning electrodes and sustaining electrodes that are individually provided and alternately arranged in the row direction;
A scan bus electrode and a sustain bus electrode extending in the row direction and extending in the column direction and connected to the scan electrode and the sustain electrode, respectively, between rows of the scan electrode and the sustain electrode;
In each display cell, a surface discharge gap is formed between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode.

In the present invention, the surface discharge gap formed in each display cell is provided commonly and individually for a pair of display cells adjacent in the row direction, and the scanning electrodes and the sustain electrodes are alternately arranged in the row direction. Therefore, the width (distance in the row direction) of the gap between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode in the display cell on the upper substrate is defined as the discharge gap, and the distance in the column direction is equal to the length of the display cell in the column direction. Therefore, the area where the light emission luminance is high can be made wider than that in the conventional configuration in which the distance in the column direction becomes the discharge gap, and the light emission rate becomes extremely high.

A scan bus electrode connected to the scan electrode of one row and a sustain bus electrode connected to the sustain electrode of the other row may be arranged between each row of the scan electrodes and the sustain electrodes. .

Further, between each row of the scan electrode and the sustain electrode, two scan bus electrodes connected to the scan electrode of one row and the scan electrode of the other row, and the sustain electrode of one row and the other One sustain bus electrode commonly connected to the sustain electrodes of the row may be alternately arranged.

Further, between each row of the scan electrodes and the sustain electrodes, two sustain bus electrodes connected to the sustain electrodes of one row and the sustain electrodes of the other row; One scan bus electrode commonly connected to the scan electrodes in a row may be alternately arranged.

Further, the scan electrode and the sustain electrode may be formed in a rectangular shape so as to extend over adjacent display cells.

Further, the scanning electrode and the sustaining electrode may include:
The display device may include a first unit disposed on each of the adjacent display cells, and a second unit connecting the first unit to the scan bus electrode or the sustain bus electrode.

The display device may further include a plurality of mutually parallel first partition walls formed on a surface of the rear substrate facing the front substrate and extending between columns of the display cells in a column direction.

The display device may further include a grid-like first partition wall formed on a surface of the rear substrate facing the front substrate and surrounding a periphery of the display cell.

Furthermore, the scanning electrode and the sustaining electrode may be a transparent electrode, an opaque metal electrode, or a combination of a transparent electrode and an opaque metal electrode.

In addition, the semiconductor device may further include a second partition formed on the surface of the front substrate facing the rear substrate and covering the scan bus electrode or the sustain bus electrode.

Further, the second partition may be formed in a lattice shape surrounding the periphery of the display cell.

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A surface discharge type PDP according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIGS. 1 to 3 are views showing a structure of a surface discharge type PDP according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 1 does not show a rear substrate 6, a dielectric layer 4, a data electrode 7, a white dielectric layer 8, a partition 9, and a phosphor layer 10, which will be described later. As shown in FIG. 1, on the surface facing the rear substrate of the front substrate 1, partition walls (S
M) 5 are formed, and a plurality of rectangular display cells (discharge cells) having a structure surrounded by the partition (SM) 5 are arranged in a matrix. On the partition walls 5 formed between a pair of display cells adjacent to each other in the row direction (hereinafter, also referred to as horizontal direction), a pair of horizontally adjacent pairs of display cells are provided for each display cell. Scan electrodes 2a and sustain electrodes 2b are formed alternately in a row direction (hereinafter, also referred to as a horizontal direction) commonly and individually for the display cells. These scanning electrode 2a and sustaining electrode 2b are made of, for example, tin oxide (SnO ₂ ) or indium oxide (IT).
O) and the like. The scan electrodes 2a and the sustain electrodes 2b are alternately arranged in the row direction. In the present embodiment, the scan electrodes 2a and the sustain electrodes 2b are alternately arranged in the column direction.
a or only the sustain electrode 2b may be arranged. Each of the scan electrode 2a and the sustain electrode 2b has a rectangular shape and is formed over a pair of display cells adjacent in the horizontal direction. Each scan cell is provided by the scan electrode 2a and the sustain electrode 2b. A surface discharge gap 11 is formed between electrode 2a and sustain electrode 2b. Further, a pair of scanning bus electrodes 3a extending in the horizontal direction and made of a metal material is provided at a central position of each partition wall 5 provided between display cells adjacent to each other in the vertical direction.
And sustain bus electrode 3b are formed with a gap therebetween,
Each extends in the vertical direction and is connected to a scanning electrode 2a and a sustain electrode 2b, respectively. The pair of sustain bus electrodes 3b and scan bus electrodes 3a are formed in parallel with each other, and are vertically opposite to each other in order to connect to the sustain electrodes 2b in one row and the scan electrodes 2a in the other row, respectively. Is extended. The sustain bus electrode 3b and the scanning bus electrode 3a are respectively drawn out of the display area of the PDP and are connected to an external drive circuit (not shown). Furthermore, these scanning electrodes 2
a, the sustain electrode 2b, and the partition wall 4 covering the scan bus electrode 3a and the sustain bus electrode 3b are covered with a transparent dielectric layer 4 as shown in FIGS. (Not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, on the rear substrate 6, a plurality of data cells 7 each made of a metal material and extending in the vertical direction are arranged in a vertical direction. It is provided in. Then, the rear substrate 6 and the data electrodes 7 are covered with a white dielectric layer 8, and further on the white dielectric layer 8, the partition walls 5 surrounding the rectangular display cells of the upper substrate 1 are formed. Partition walls 9 made of an insulator are formed in a lattice at opposing positions. The phosphor layer 1 is provided inside the display cell defined by the partition 9.
0 is formed. Front substrate 1 thus configured
And the rear substrate 2 are arranged to face each other, and the periphery thereof is sealed with low-melting glass. After the inside of the display cell is evacuated, an inert gas which generates vacuum ultraviolet rays or ultraviolet rays by discharge is enclosed.

Next, a description will be given of the luminance distribution of the display cells of the three-electrode type surface discharge color plasma display panel configured as described above. FIG. 4 is a graph showing a luminance distribution in a display cell. FIG. 4 shows a case where a discharge gap 31 is formed between a scan electrode 22a having an electrode width of 25 and a sustain electrode 22b in a display cell. When the scanning electrode 22a and the sustaining electrode 22b are transparent, as shown by a solid line 23 in FIG.
The luminance increases from the end of 2a to the discharge gap 31,
The brightness decreases from the center of the discharge gap 31 to the end of the sustain electrode 22b. That is, the luminance has a peak value at the center position of the discharge gap 31. When the scan electrode 22a and the sustain electrode 22b are formed of opaque metal electrodes, the brightness on the electrodes is lower than that of the transparent electrode as shown by the broken line 24 in FIG. At the center position, a peak value is shown, and this peak value shows the same brightness as that of the transparent electrode. As described above, regardless of whether the scanning electrode and the sustaining electrode are transparent or opaque, the center position of the surface discharge gap 31 has the highest luminance. Brightness.

Next, a method of manufacturing a PDP according to this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the scan electrodes 2a and the sustain electrodes 2b on the front substrate 1 are formed of a transparent electrode material such as tin oxide (SnO ₂ ) or indium oxide (ITO). The transparent electrode may have a relatively high resistance because only a discharge current for one display cell flows, and several to several tens of K
And a visible light transmittance of about 90%.
Next, the scanning bus electrode 3a and the sustaining bus electrode 3b are patterned by using a silver paste or the like by a printing technique or a photolithographic technique, and then formed by baking. It is also possible to use a multi-layer thin film of chromium / copper / chromium or an aluminum thin film as a material, form a film having a thickness of about 1 μm, similarly pattern and sinter. The scanning bus electrode 3a and the sustain bus electrode 3b are
It is formed at the same position as the position where the partition (SM) 5 surrounding the periphery of the display cell is formed.

The partition (SM) 5 is provided with a sustain bus electrode 3a and a scanning bus electrode 3 for the purpose of improving display contrast.
b, at a position facing the partition wall 9 on the rear substrate 6, the main component of which is a low-melting glass containing a black pigment.
It is formed with a thickness of about 10 μm. In this embodiment, since the shape of the partition (SM) 5 is a lattice as shown in FIG. 1, the contrast is improved although the luminance is reduced. The partition (SM) 5 may be formed in a stripe shape in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction.

Next, the above-described scanning electrode 2a and sustain electrode 2
b, the scanning bus electrode 3a, the sustain bus electrode 3b, and the partition wall 5 are covered with the transparent dielectric layer 4. The dielectric layer 4 can be formed with a thickness of, for example, 20 to 40 μm by printing and baking a paste mainly composed of low-melting glass. The transparent dielectric layer 4 is sufficiently reflowed at a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point of the low-melting glass to form a dense layer without bubbles, thereby preventing dielectric breakdown at the time of discharge. Further, a protective film of, for example, magnesium oxide (MgO) is formed thereon by vapor deposition to a thickness of 0.5 to 1 μm.
To a film thickness of Note that the protective film can be formed by, for example, a printing method or a spray method. Since MgO used as a protective film in this embodiment is a discharge resistant material and a material having a high secondary electron emission coefficient, it is possible to stabilize and lower the discharge voltage.

On the rear substrate 7, a data electrode 7 made of a metal electrode is patterned by a printing technique or a photolithographic technique and then sintered. Next, a white dielectric layer 8 is formed by printing and firing a thick film paste in which a low-melting glass and a white pigment are mixed. As the white pigment of the white dielectric 8, titanium oxide or aluminum oxide powder is usually used. This white dielectric layer 8 is
Since the visible light from the light source is reflected to the front side, the visible light generated by the phosphor layer 10 can be used efficiently. Thereafter, the partition wall 9 is made of a material containing low melting point glass as a main component and containing aluminum oxide or magnesium oxide or the like by a thick film printing or an additive thick film technique to a thickness of 80 to 150 μm.
It is formed with a film thickness of. The partition walls 9 have an effect of preventing erroneous discharge and optical crosstalk between adjacent discharge cells (display pixels). In this embodiment, the partition walls 9 are formed in a lattice shape so as to surround the display cells so as to separate the display cells. Usually, a white partition 9 is used in order to efficiently use visible light from a phosphor described later. When it is desired to particularly improve the contrast, the black partition wall 9 may be used by adding a black pigment although the luminance is reduced.

A phosphor corresponding to red, green, and blue emission colors is applied to a portion to be a display cell surrounded by the partition walls 9 to form a phosphor layer 10. Each phosphor layer 10 is also formed on the side surface of the partition 9 to obtain high luminance. Phosphor 1
Screen printing can usually be used to form 0s.

Thereafter, the front substrate 1 and the rear substrate 7 are opposed to each other via the partition (SM) 5 and the partition 9 and
A discharge space (discharge cell) of about 0 μm is formed. The periphery of the front substrate 1 and the rear substrate 7 is hermetically sealed with a sealing material (not shown) made of low-melting glass, and after vacuum suction,
For example, a mixed gas such as He, Ne, and Xe is filled at about 0, 5 to 0, and about 7 atm. The sealing material is formed on one or both of the front substrate 1 and the rear substrate 7 using screen printing or a dispenser.

Next, the operation of the PDP according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, P pixels forming n display cells in the horizontal direction and m display cells in the vertical direction are used.
DP, that is, n data electrodes 7 (D1 to Dn), each m
Sustain bus electrodes (C1 to Cm) and scan bus electrodes (S
1 to Sm) will be described. Further, in this embodiment, after the display data is line-sequentially scanned and written over the entire screen, the sub-fields are scanned in a scanning-maintenance-separated drive sequence in which the data written on the entire screen is maintained and displayed. Make up.
As shown in FIG. 11, the gradation display is realized by controlling the number of discharges (light emission luminance) in the sustain period. One field (F) for displaying one screen is 50 to 7 per second.
Repeat about 0 times. According to this repetition, the image of each field is laminated by the afterimage of the human eye, and a natural image without flicker can be obtained. This one-field period is divided into a plurality of subfields (SF), the number of sustain pulses (the number of discharges) in the sustain period of each subfield (SF) is changed, and the subfields are combined to realize gradation display. ing. In the 64-gradation display, one field is divided into six subfields (SF1 to S
F6), each subfield has a preliminary discharge period (preliminary lighting period + preliminary erase period), a write period,
A maintenance period is provided. The number of discharges in the sustain period is weighted in such a manner that the number of discharges is reduced by approximately 1/2 from the first subfield SF1 (SF1 is the number of discharges of 32n, where n is a positive integer) to SF6 in order.

According to this method, when the sub-fields SF1 to SF6 are selected and sustain discharge is performed in one frame, the light emission luminance can be controlled by the number of sustain discharges in the selected sub-field. realizable.

FIG. 12 shows drive voltage pulse trains S1 and Sm applied to one scan electrode 2a of the surface discharge electrode via the scan bus electrode 3a and drive voltage pulse trains D1 and Dn applied to the data electrode 7. S1 and Sm are drive voltage pulse trains applied to the first and m-th scan bus electrodes 103a, respectively, and D1 and Dn are drive pulse trains applied to the first and n-th data electrodes 7, respectively. C is a drive voltage pulse train applied to the sustain bus electrode 3b.
b is commonly applied to all.

The pre-discharge period is P1 of S1 and Sm._P, P_E1
And P_E3And P of C_E2It is composed of P_PIs a full discharge
This is a preliminary lighting pulse for discharging the cell. P_PFollowed by P
_E1, P _E2, And P_E3Is the scanning electrode 2 generated in the preliminary lighting.
a, recombination of wall charges on sustain electrode 2b and data electrode 7
And so on. Following
In the included period, P1_wIs applied. This
In synchronization with this, D1 to Dn correspond to the presence or absence of display data
If there is display data, P_DIs applied. P_w
P synchronized with_DIs applied, the scanning electrode 2a and the data electrode
A write discharge occurs between the scan electrode 2a and the scan electrode 2a.
And the data electrode 7 accumulates negative wall charges.
In the next maintenance period, the display data
Therefore, the written accumulated wall charge is equal to the sustain pulse P_SUS, P
_SUSIs superimposed on In advance, the superposition of the wall charges
If the voltage is set to an appropriate value at which discharge occurs, the wall charge
The generation of sustain discharge can be controlled according to
A display pattern can be obtained.

According to the present embodiment, since the surface discharge gap is formed between the scanning electrode 2a and the sustain electrode 2b which are alternately formed in the horizontal direction, the distance in the vertical direction of the discharge gap 11 is smaller than the conventional discharge gap. Although the gap is used, in the present invention, the length can be increased as long as the distance in the longitudinal direction of the display cell. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, a region where the light emission luminance of the display cell is high has a discharge gap formed between the sustain electrode and the scan electrode facing each other in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the rectangular display cell. Surface discharge type color P
Compared with DP, it can be widely used. Therefore, in the present invention, the luminous efficiency of the surface discharge gap formed in the display cell can be increased. In addition, when the surface discharge electrode is formed of an opaque metal electrode, the area ratio of the discharge electrode in the display cell is smaller than that of the conventional method, so that the light emission extraction efficiency can be further increased, and the discharge efficiency can be further increased. Can also increase the luminous efficiency. For example, 0.6
When considering color display with square pixels of mm pitch,
Assuming that the partition width is 50 μm and the discharge gap is 100 μm, as described above, if the electrode structure shown in the conventional example is formed of metal electrodes, the discharge gap in the vertical direction is 100 μm. In the horizontal direction, since one pixel has three display cells (red, blue, and green) and the partition walls are 50 μm, the display cell width is 600 / 3-50 = 150 μm. Therefore, 100 (μm) × 150 (μm) is the opening of the display cell, and the display cell area is 600 × 200 μm.
On the other hand, the ratio of the opening of the display cell was only 12.5% of the entire display cell, and the light extraction efficiency was low. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the discharge gap is 100 μm in the horizontal direction, so that the vertical direction of the display cell can be 550 μm because all openings except the partition walls of 50 μm can be formed. Accordingly, the aperture of the display cell is 550 (μm) × 100 (μm), so that light can be extracted from an area three times or more that of the conventional configuration.

Further, since the partition (SM) 5 of the front substrate 1 and the partition 9 of the rear substrate 6 are both formed so as to surround each display cell in a grid pattern, the post-discharge and the discharge between the display cell and the display pixel can be performed. Optical crosstalk can be prevented.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a top view showing a PDP according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment shown in FIG.
The same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the scanning electrodes 2a and the sustaining electrodes 2b in the first embodiment are formed in an island pattern, and the scanning bus electrodes 3a and the sustaining bus electrodes 3b are connected at two places. As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of rectangular display cells are formed in a matrix, and a partition (SM) 5 is formed around each display cell. Then, the storage electrodes (first portions) 32 are respectively formed on the adjacent display cells with the partition wall 5 formed between a pair of display cells adjacent in the horizontal direction interposed therebetween.
A sustain bus electrode b is formed with a gap from the partition wall 5 and extends horizontally between display cells adjacent to each other in the vertical direction (between rows) and extends in the vertical direction as in the first embodiment. 33b and a connection part (second part) 34b. Similarly, the scan electrodes 32a provided adjacent to the sustain electrodes 32b in the horizontal direction are respectively provided on the display cells adjacent to each other with the partition wall 5 interposed between a pair of display cells adjacent in the horizontal direction. Part 1) 32a is formed with a gap from the partition wall 5, and the sustain bus electrode 33 is formed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.
The scanning bus electrode 33a, which is formed in a pair in the horizontal direction and extends in the vertical direction, is connected to the scanning bus electrode 33a by a connection portion (second portion) 34a. These scanning electrodes 32a and sustaining electrodes 32b are, for example, 20
It is formed at a position separated by about μm. In this embodiment, two connection portions 34a and 34b are provided for each display cell. Further, the scanning bus electrodes 33a and the sustain bus electrodes 33b alternately provided on the partition walls 5 for separating each pair of display cells adjacent in the horizontal direction are opposite to each other in the same manner as in the first embodiment. It extends vertically. A pair of sustain bus electrodes 33b and scan bus electrodes 33a extending in the horizontal direction are formed in parallel on the partition walls 5 separating display cells formed adjacently in the vertical direction with a gap therebetween, and each of the PDPs is formed of a PDP. It is pulled out of the display area and connected to an external drive circuit.

In the second embodiment constructed as described above, as in the first embodiment, the entire longitudinal direction of the display cell can be used as the opening of the display cell, and the scanning adjacent to the horizontal direction can be performed. Since the surface discharge gap 11 is formed by the electrode 32a and the sustain electrode 32b, a region having a high light emission luminance can be widened as a display cell. , About three times or more light emission can be obtained. Further, in this embodiment, the scanning electrode 32a and the sustain electrode 32b are provided for each display cell.
Are formed at positions separated from the partition walls 5 by a gap.
Since the electrodes are connected to the scanning bus electrode 33a and the sustaining bus electrode 33b by 4a and 34b, respectively, high brightness can be obtained even if a surface discharge electrode is formed only by an opaque metal electrode without using a transparent electrode. This makes it possible to realize a high-definition PDP without requiring a step of forming a transparent electrode. Furthermore, the connection parts 34a and 34
and the scanning electrode 32 serving as a discharge part from the partition wall (SM) 5.
a and the sustain electrode 32b are separated by about 20 μm,
It is possible to prevent a decrease in efficiency of discharge light emission due to recombination of discharge particles at the partition (SM) 5 and the like. In addition, since the connection portion is provided at a plurality of locations, the bias of the discharge current is prevented,
This can prevent unevenness in light emission luminance. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a problem of uneven brightness that occurs when a transparent electrode is used for a high-definition PDP, thereby reducing costs.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a top view showing a PDP according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the same components as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the first and second embodiments, a pair of scan bus electrodes and sustain bus electrodes are formed between each row of scan electrodes and sustain electrodes. That is, the bus electrodes are alternately arranged in the vertical direction in the order of the scan bus electrode-sustain bus electrode-scan bus electrode-sustain bus electrode. On the other hand, the third
In the embodiment, the bus electrodes are arranged in the order of scan bus electrode-sustain bus electrode-sustain bus electrode-scan bus, and the sustain bus electrode is shared between two vertically adjacent display cells. As shown in FIG. 6, a partition wall (SM) is provided on the front substrate.
5, a plurality of rectangular display cells (discharge cells) having a structure surrounded by the periphery are formed in a matrix, and on each partition wall 5 between display cells adjacent in the row direction (horizontal direction),
A rectangular transparent scan electrode 42a and a sustain electrode 42b are formed alternately so as to straddle a pair of display cells in common and individually for a pair of display cells. The scan electrodes 42a and the sustain electrodes 42b are formed alternately in the horizontal direction, but in the present embodiment, they are arranged so that only the scan electrodes 42a or the sustain electrodes 42b are provided in the vertical direction. The scanning electrode 42a and the sustain electrode 4
2b, the surface discharge gap 11 is formed in the display cell with the scanning electrode 42a and the sustain electrode 42b facing each other in the vertical direction, which is the longitudinal direction of the display cell. Further, between each row of the scanning electrode 42a and the sustaining electrode 42b, a scanning bus electrode 43a made of two metallic materials connected to the scanning electrode 42a of one row and the scanning electrode 42a of the other row, respectively.
And a sustain bus electrode 43b made of a single metal material and commonly connected to the sustain electrodes 42b in one row and the sustain electrodes 42b in the other row are alternately formed. Scan bus electrode 43a and sustain bus electrode 43b extend in mutually opposite directions in the vertical direction and are adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction.
It is connected to a scanning bus electrode 43a and a sustain bus electrode 43b, respectively, formed over one display cell.
Further, the sustain bus electrode 43b and the scanning bus electrode 43a are
Each is drawn out of the display area of the PDP and connected to an external drive circuit (not shown). As described above, in the first and second embodiments, the pair of scan bus electrodes and the sustain bus electrodes are formed on the horizontal partition wall 5, but in the present embodiment, two pairs of scan bus electrodes and sustain bus electrodes are formed. The scanning electrode 42a or one sustain electrode 42b is formed. That is, as the configuration of the scanning bus electrode-scanning bus electrode-sustain bus electrode-sustain bus electrode, only one adjacent sustain bus electrode 42b is shared.

As in the first and second embodiments, in this embodiment, the scanning electrodes and the sustain electrodes in the vertical direction may be formed alternately.

Hereinafter, the effect of the present embodiment in which the sustain bus electrodes of two vertically adjacent display cells are shared will be described in detail.

As described above, in order to increase the definition of the PDP having the structure of the conventional example 1 having the electrode arrangement shown in FIG. 9, in the conventional example 2 shown in FIG. 10, the electrodes of the scan electrode-sustain electrode-sustain electrode-scan electrode are used. When the sustain electrodes are shared between display cells vertically adjacent to each other in the arrangement, in the electrode configuration of the second conventional example, the scan electrodes in one row and the scan electrodes in the other row adjacent to each other in the vertical direction are adjacent to each other. Will be. Thereby, in the vertical direction, the display cells having the arrangement of the scan electrodes and the sustain electrodes and the display cells having the arrangement of the sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes are alternately arranged,
There are two types of arrangement of the discharge electrodes in the display cell. For example, when the discharge electrode of one display cell becomes a sustain electrode-scan electrode, the discharge electrode of the other display cell is arranged in a row of scan electrode-sustain electrode, whereby a write discharge occurs in one display cell. When this occurs, since the scanning electrodes are also adjacent to the other display cell adjacent in the vertical direction, the influence of this writing discharge is transmitted to the scanning electrodes in the other row, and the writing discharge in one display cell causes Due to the generated charged particles, writing discharge easily occurs in the other display cell. That is, the driving voltage of the other display cell decreases. As described above, the write voltage of one display cell is lower than the write voltage of the other display cell. Therefore, in the configuration of the conventional example 2, the sustain electrodes of the vertical display cells are shared for high definition. Therefore, when the electrode arrangement of the scan electrode-sustain electrode-sustain electrode-scan electrode is performed, there is a problem that an operation margin is reduced.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the discharge gap 11 is constituted by the scan electrode 42a and the sustain electrode 42b which are horizontally adjacent to each display cell. Therefore, the scanning electrodes 42 in the vertical direction, which is the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the display cell,
The discharge gap 11 is formed by opposing the side of “a” and the side of the sustain electrode 42b. Compared with the conventional configuration, in the display cell adjacent in the vertical direction, the scanning electrode 42a adjacent in the vertical direction is opposed. The distance to the surface discharge gap 11
Is shortened only at the portion where is formed. Therefore, Conventional Example 2
The drive voltage difference between the vertically adjacent display cells, which was generated when the electrode arrangement of scan electrode-sustain electrode-sustain electrode-scan electrode is adopted in the electrode structure of the above, is eliminated, and the drive margin is widened. It is possible to improve the life characteristics and increase the size. Further, since one sustain electrode 42b is shared by the vertically adjacent display cells and one is used, high definition can be achieved. Further, similarly to the first embodiment,
Since the partition walls 9 are formed in a lattice shape and crosstalk between display cells is also prevented, a high-definition and large-sized PDP can be provided.

The present invention is, of course, not limited to the above embodiment. For example, between each row of the scan electrode and the sustain electrode, two sustain bus electrodes connected to the sustain electrode of one row and the sustain electrode of the other row, and the scan electrode of one row and the scan of the other row One scanning bus electrode commonly connected to the electrodes may be alternately arranged.

[0053]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
Since a discharge gap is formed by a scan electrode and a sustain electrode which are provided in common and individually and alternately arranged in the row direction for a pair of display cells adjacent in the row direction, an area having the highest luminance is widened. This makes it possible to obtain an extremely high emission luminance. In addition, since the emission luminance is high, the surface discharge electrode formed on the upper substrate can be formed only of an opaque metal electrode, which is suitable for high definition. Further, even when the sustain electrodes are shared between the two display cells and the sustain electrodes are adjacent to each other, the driving margin is not reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a plasma display panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a plasma display panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a plasma display panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing a luminance distribution in a display cell showing the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a conventional three-electrode type color plasma display panel.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a conventional three-electrode type color plasma display panel.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a first electrode arrangement of a conventional three-electrode color plasma display panel.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a second electrode arrangement of a conventional three-electrode color plasma display panel.

FIG. 11 is a combination diagram of subfields showing a driving method of an electrode type color plasma display panel.

FIG. 12 is a driving waveform showing a driving method of a three-electrode type color plasma display panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Front substrate 2a, 22a, 32a, 42a; Scan electrode 2b, 22b, 32b, 42b; Sustain electrode 3a, 23a, 33a, 43a; Scan bus electrode 3b, 23b, 33b, 43b; Sustain bus electrode 4: Dielectric Layer 5; partition (SM) 6; rear substrate 7; data electrode 8; white dielectric layer 9; partition 10; phosphor layer 11; surface discharge gap

Claims (11)

[Claims] An insulating front substrate and a rear substrate which are arranged to face each other with a gap therebetween; a plurality of display cells arranged in a matrix between the front substrate and the rear substrate; And a plurality of data electrodes provided in each of a plurality of display cells arranged in the column direction and extending in the column direction, and are provided in common and individually for a pair of display cells adjacent in the row direction and alternately arranged in the row direction. A scan electrode and a sustain electrode; a scan bus electrode and a sustain bus electrode extending in the row direction between the rows of the scan electrode and the sustain electrode and extending in the column direction and connected to the scan electrode and the sustain electrode, respectively; And a surface discharge gap is formed between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode in each display cell. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the scanning electrodes and the sustaining electrodes is arranged between rows.
The plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein a scan bus electrode connected to a scan electrode in one row and a sustain bus electrode connected to a sustain electrode in the other row are arranged. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: between each row of the scan electrode and the sustain electrode;
Two scan bus electrodes connected to the scan electrodes in one row and the scan electrodes in the other row, and one sustain bus electrode commonly connected to the sustain electrodes in one row and the other row And are alternately arranged.
The plasma display panel according to item 1. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein each row of the scan electrodes and the sustain electrodes is
Two sustain bus electrodes connected to the sustain electrode of one row and the sustain electrode of the other row, and one scan bus electrode commonly connected to the scan electrode of one row and the scan electrode of the other row And are alternately arranged.
The plasma display panel according to item 1. 5. The plasma display according to claim 1, wherein the scan electrode and the sustain electrode have a rectangular shape and are formed to extend over adjacent display cells. panel. 6. The scan electrode and the sustain electrode, a first portion disposed on an adjacent display cell, and a second portion connecting the first portion to the scan bus electrode or the sustain bus electrode.
The plasma display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: 7. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of mutually parallel first partition walls formed on a surface of the rear substrate facing the front substrate and extending in a column direction between the columns of the display cells. 7. The plasma display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 6. 8. A grid-shaped first substrate formed on a surface of the rear substrate facing the front substrate and surrounding a periphery of the display cell.
The plasma display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: 9. The plasma according to claim 1, wherein the scan electrode and the sustain electrode are formed of a transparent electrode, an opaque metal electrode, or a combination of a transparent electrode and an opaque metal electrode. Display panel. 10. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising a second partition formed on a surface of the front substrate facing the rear substrate and covering the scan bus electrode or the sustain bus electrode. Item 6. The plasma display panel according to Item 1. 11. The plasma display panel according to claim 10, wherein the second partition is formed in a lattice shape surrounding the periphery of the display cell.