JP2002352732A - Plasma display panel and manufacturing method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plasma display panel enabling improvement of discharge generation response, when a drive voltage is applied, proper image displaying and long product life. SOLUTION: The plasma display panel comprises the first substrate where a plurality of electrode pairs, consisting of the first electrode and the second electrode respectively are disposed in parallel in stripe formation and are covered with a dielectric layer further, and the second substrate where the third electrodes are disposed in stripe formation, where both the substrates are facing each other via partitioning ribs. The dielectric layer is covered with XA, where X is at least one chosen from Al, B or Ga and A is at least one chosen from O, N, Ar, H, He, Ne, Kr or Xe, and the XA consists of at least two elements. Thereby, a protective layer is formed on a surface layer of the dielectric layer, in order to obtain high electron emitting ability of the protective layer, sputtering proof of the protection layer and little influence due to impurity gases on the protective layer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plasma display panel used for a display device or the like, and more particularly to a panel structure for improving discharge characteristics such as discharge voltage and address response.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional plasma display panels are:
The configuration shown in FIG. 1 is generally used.

[0003] This plasma display panel comprises a front panel PA1 and a rear panel PA2. The front panel PA1 has a scanning electrode 12a on a front glass substrate 11,
The storage electrodes 12b are alternately formed in a stripe shape, and are further formed by being covered with a dielectric glass layer 13 and a protective layer.

[0004] The back panel PA2 comprises a back glass substrate 16
An address electrode 17 is formed in a stripe pattern thereon, an electrode protection layer 18 is formed so as to cover the address electrode 17, and a partition wall 19 is formed in a stripe pattern on the electrode protection layer 18 so as to sandwich the address electrode 17. Phosphor layer 2 between partition walls 19
0 is formed. The front panel PA1 and the rear panel PA2 are bonded together, and a discharge space is formed by filling a discharge gas into a space 30 partitioned by the partition wall 19. The phosphor layers are usually arranged in order of three color phosphor layers of red, green and blue for color display.

[0005] In the discharge space 30, for example, a discharge gas obtained by mixing neon and xenon is usually 0.67.
It is sealed at a pressure of about × 10 ⁵ Pa.

Next, a driving method of the plasma display panel will be described.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a driving circuit of the plasma display panel.

The driving circuit includes an address electrode driving section 22
0, the scan electrode driver 230, and the sustain electrode driver 240
It is composed of

An address electrode driver 220 is connected to the address electrodes 17 of the plasma display panel, a scan electrode driver 230 is connected to the scan electrodes 12a, and a sustain electrode driver 240 is connected to the sustain electrodes 12b.

Generally, in an AC type plasma display panel, an image of one frame is divided into a plurality of subfields (S.
F.) is used to express gradation. In this method, 1S. Is applied to control the discharge of gas in the cell. F. Is further divided into four periods. The four periods will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows a driving waveform during 1 SF.

In FIG. 3, a setup period 250 is shown.
In this case, wall charges are uniformly accumulated in all cells in the PDP in order to easily generate a discharge. In the address period 260, write discharge of the cell to be lit is performed. In the sustain period 270, the cells written in the address period 260 are turned on and the lighting is maintained. Erase period 280
Then, the lighting of the cell is stopped by erasing the wall charges.

In the setup period 250, the scanning electrodes 12
A voltage higher than that of the address electrode 17 and the sustain electrode 12b is applied to a, and the gas in the cell is discharged. The charges generated thereby are accumulated on the cell wall so as to cancel the potential difference between the address electrode 17, the scan electrode 12a and the sustain electrode 12b. Therefore, the negative charge is formed as a wall charge on the surface of the protective film near the scan electrode 12a. Positive charges are accumulated as wall charges on the phosphor layer surface near the address electrodes and on the protective film surface near the sustain electrodes. The wall charges generate a predetermined value of wall potential between the scan electrode and the address electrode and between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode.

In the address period 260, when the cell is turned on, a voltage lower than that of the address electrode 17 and the sustain electrode 12b is applied to the scan electrode 12a, that is, the voltage between the scan electrode and the address electrode is in the same direction as the wall potential. And a voltage is applied between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode in the same direction as the wall potential to generate a write discharge. As a result, negative charges are accumulated on the phosphor layer surface and the protective layer surface, and positive charges are accumulated as wall charges on the protective layer surface near the scanning side electrode. As a result, a predetermined value of the wall potential is generated between the sustain electrode and the scan electrode.

In the sustain period 270, the scan electrode 12a
, A sustain discharge is generated by applying a voltage higher than that of the sustain electrode 12b, that is, by applying a voltage between the sustain electrode and the scan electrode in the same direction as the wall potential.
Thereby, cell lighting can be started. Then, by applying a pulse so that the polarity is alternately switched between the sustain electrode and the scan electrode, the pulse can be emitted intermittently.

In the erase period 280, an incomplete discharge is generated by applying a narrow erase pulse to the sustain electrode 12b, and the wall charges disappear, so that the erase operation is performed.

[0016]

By the way, as described above, conventionally, the dielectric protection layer 14 of the plasma display panel has a function of protecting the original dielectric and also has the above-mentioned AC type plasma display. In a panel, it is a part directly exposed to the discharge space, and the function as an actual electrode also becomes important. At present, magnesium oxide (MgO) is used for the dielectric protection layer.
This is a requirement for the dielectric protection layer described above,
This is because it was considered that two points, (1) sputter resistance and (2) electron emission characteristics, were better than other materials.

On the other hand, this MgO also has a characteristic that it has a very strong hygroscopic property. Therefore, the how storage conditions after MgO film formation, a large amount of H ₂ O to MgO surface, a gas such as CO ₂ is that become adsorbed. These gases are not completely removed from the MgO surface and the inside of the discharge space in the evacuation process after the formation of the panel, and remain in the discharge space as impurity gas. This is considered to be due to the adsorption state of the gas to MgO, the conductance in a narrow space by the bonded panel, and the like.

However, the presence of the impurity gas in these panels greatly affects the discharge state. For example, H ₂ O
In the case of these, they react with MgO and change to Mg (OH) ₂ , and in the case of CO ₂ , they change to MgCO ₃ on the surface, so that the electron emission ability as a protective film is reduced, and discharge occurs. The starting voltage will increase significantly.

Further, when these impurity gases are released into the discharge gas by the sputter action at the time of lighting, the deterioration of the phosphor is promoted, and the life of the product is shortened. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a dielectric protection layer which has sputtering resistance and electron emission characteristics equal to or higher than that of MgO and is hardly affected by impurity gas. The object of the present invention is to provide a plasma display panel having the same and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0021]

In view of the above, P
As characteristics required for the DP protective film, in addition to the conditions described above, (3) a condition that the amount of adsorbed gas is small is required.

The inventors have made various studies and found that a film having a basic composition of aluminum nitride (AlN) as the dielectric protective layer is very effective.
AlN has a smaller electron affinity, band gap, and the like than MgO, and has extremely excellent electron emission ability.

Further, AlN has almost no hygroscopicity and is superior in spatter resistance to MgO.

Further, it has been found that the electron emission characteristics and the sputter resistance are further improved by mixing a certain amount of elements other than Al and N into AlN.

From the above viewpoints, the inventors have arrived at the present invention.

That is, in the present invention, a plurality of electrode pairs of the first electrode and the second electrode arranged in a stripe shape are arranged in parallel,
Further, a first substrate in which the plurality of electrode pairs are covered with a dielectric layer, and a second substrate in which third electrodes are arranged in a stripe shape.
Wherein the substrate is disposed so as to be opposed to the substrate with a partition wall interposed therebetween, wherein the dielectric layer is XA (X is at least one selected from Al, B and Ga, and A is O, N, F, Cl, Ar, H, He, N
e, Kr, and Xe), and said XA comprises at least two elements.

Further, XA is represented by the following formula:
XaNbTc (where X is at least one selected from Al, B and Ga, and T is O, Ar, H, He, Ne, K
at least one selected from r and Xe), and a +
b + c = 1, 0.01 ≦ b ≦ 0.5, 0.001 ≦ c ≦
It is desirable to have a range of 0.6.

Further, as an invention for obtaining the same effect, a plurality of pairs of first and second electrodes arranged in stripes are arranged in parallel, and the plurality of pairs of electrodes are formed of a dielectric layer. A plasma display panel comprising: a first substrate covered with a first substrate; and a second substrate on which third electrodes are arranged in a stripe shape, and the second substrate is arranged to face each other with partition walls interposed therebetween. The dielectric layer is made of XMA (X is Al, B, Ga
At least one member selected from the group consisting of IIa to VIII, I
b, at least one member selected from IIb, A is O, N,
At least one selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Ar, H, He, Ne, Kr, and Xe), and the XMA comprises at least three elements.

Here, it is desirable that the element M contained in the XMA is not more than 1000 ppm.

The electron affinity of the XA or XMA is preferably 3 eV or less, and the thickness of the XA or XMA is preferably 0.05 to 1000 nm.

The XA or XMA has a columnar structure, and the diameter of the columnar structure is 0.01 to 3.0.
μm, and the columnar structure makes the inclination to the substrate surface α
Then, it is desirable that the range of 30 <α <90 is satisfied.

Preferably, the crystal orientation plane of the XA or XMA is any one of the (100) plane, the (110) plane, and the (111) plane.

As a method for producing XA and XMA having the above-mentioned characteristics, it is preferable that the element A is produced as a gas during sputtering by producing it by sputtering.

As a result, as compared with the conventional MgO, a very good film can be obtained as the dielectric protective layer in terms of electron emission characteristics, sputter resistance, and reduction in the amount of impurity gas adsorbed.

[0035]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An AC type plasma display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a conventional AC surface discharge type plasma display panel 1 (hereinafter, simply referred to as PDP 1).

As described above, the PDP 1 applies a pulse-like voltage to each electrode to cause a discharge to occur in the discharge space 30.
The PDP is an AC surface discharge type PDP that allows visible light of each color generated on the rear panel PA2 side by discharge to pass through the main surface of the front panel PA1.

The front panel PA1 is provided on a front glass substrate 11 in which a plurality of scanning electrodes 12a and sustaining electrodes 12b are arranged in stripes (one pair is shown in the figure for convenience) so as to cover the front surface 11a. A dielectric glass layer 13 is formed, and a protective layer 14 is further formed so as to cover the dielectric glass layer 13.

The rear panel PA2 protects the address electrodes 17 on the rear glass substrate 16 arranged in a stripe shape so that the address electrodes 17 are orthogonal to the scanning electrodes 12a and the sustain electrodes 12b so as to cover the address electrodes 17. In addition, an electrode protection layer 18 is formed to serve to reflect visible light to the front panel side. The electrode protection layer 18 extends on the electrode protection layer 18 in the same direction as the address electrodes 17 and partitions the address electrodes 17 therebetween. 19, and a phosphor layer 20 is provided between the partition walls 19.

The driving of the PDP having the above-described structure is performed using the driving circuit shown in FIG. 2 based on the driving waveform shown in FIG. The address electrodes 17 are connected to the address electrode driving section 220, the scanning electrodes 12 a are connected to the scanning electrode driving section 230, and the sustain electrodes 12 b are connected to the sustain electrode driving section 240. In the present invention, the composition of the protective layer 14 is different.

Hereinafter, each embodiment will be described in detail.

In the following embodiments, the discharge starting voltage and the discharge responsiveness were used for the evaluation of the protective layer of each composition. The discharge start voltage indicates a voltage value required for in-plane discharge between the scan electrode 12a and the sustain electrode 12b of the PDP 1, and the discharge responsiveness indicates a black flickering when the PDP 1 is turned on (the cell to be discharged is in a non-light state). (The degree of the number of cells with respect to the entire display area) was evaluated in five levels by visual evaluation. This five-point rating is 1, 2,
3, 5 and 5, where level 5 is the best and level 1 has the strongest degree of black flicker.

(Embodiment 1) In the embodiment described below, the protective layer is made of XA (X is at least one selected from Al, B and Ga, A is O, N, F, Cl, Ar, H, H
e, Ne, Kr, and Xe) and XA is composed of at least two elements. Table 1 shows protective layer materials within the scope of the embodiment of the present invention. The discharge starting voltage and discharge response are also shown.

[0044]

[Table 1]

According to Table 1, the conventional protective layer composition Mg
It can be seen that, compared to O, in the protective layer made of the material within the range of the embodiment of the present invention, the discharge starting voltage is reduced by 7 to 20 V. On the other hand, it can be seen that the discharge responsiveness is also better than the conventional MgO protective layer. Further, it can be seen that the discharge starting voltage is further reduced by the entry of elements other than Al and N than in the case of AlN alone.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned sample was prepared by a sputtering method using an Al target. However, the present invention is not limited to this method. The same effect can be obtained by an electron beam evaporation method using an evaporation source.

(Embodiment 2) In the embodiment shown below, the protective layer XA is made of a composition formula XaNbTc (here, X
Is represented by at least one selected from Al, B and Ga, and T is represented by at least one selected from O, Ar, H, He, Ne, Kr and Xe), and a + b + c = 1 and 0.01 ≦
This is the case where b ≦ 0.5 and 0.001 ≦ c ≦ 0.6. Table 2 shows protective layer materials within the scope of the embodiment of the present invention. The discharge starting voltage and discharge response are also shown.

[0048]

[Table 2]

According to Table 2, as in Embodiment 1, the discharge starting voltage of the protective layer made of the material in the range of the embodiment of the present invention is 9 to 20 V more than that of the conventional protective layer composition of MgO.
It turns out that it falls. On the other hand, the discharge responsiveness is also better than the conventional MgO protective layer.

Here, it should be further noted that it is considered that the discharge starting voltage tends to decrease as the c value corresponding to the composition ratio of T in the above composition formula increases.

However, when 0.06 <c <1, which is outside the range of this embodiment, the discharge starting voltage tends to increase.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned sample was prepared by a sputtering method using an Al target. However, the present invention is not limited to this method. The same effect can be obtained by an electron beam evaporation method using an evaporation source.

(Embodiment 3) In the following embodiment, a protective layer XMA (X is at least one selected from Al, B and Ga, and M is selected from IIa to VIII, Ib and IIb) At least one, A is O, N, F, Cl, Ar, H,
At least one selected from He, Ne, Kr, and Xe)
In this case, the XMA is composed of at least three kinds of elements.

According to Table 3, as in the first embodiment, it is found that the discharge starting voltage is lower by 9 to 27 V in the protective layer made of the material of the embodiment of the present invention than in the conventional protective layer composition of MgO. . On the other hand, the discharge responsiveness is also better than the conventional MgO protective layer. Further, it can be seen that the addition of an element corresponding to M in the composition formula to AlN further lowers the discharge starting voltage by 12 to 18 V.

[0055]

[Table 3]

The addition amount of the element M is 1000 ppm.
It must be: It was found that when the addition amount was more than this, the discharge starting voltage tended to increase, and the transmittance of the protective layer was greatly reduced, affecting image display.

(Function and Effect) As described above, by using a material containing AlN as a main component in the protective layer 14, the discharge starting voltage can be reduced and the discharge responsiveness can be improved. This is considered to be due to the fact that AlN has a smaller electron affinity, band gap, and the like than MgO, and has extremely excellent electron emission ability. Further, by mixing a certain amount of elements other than Al and N into this AlN, the electron emission characteristics can be further improved.

From such a viewpoint, it is important to define the magnitude of the electron affinity of these protective layers. Specifically, it is more preferable that the value be 3 eV or less from the measured value of the film made of the above-described material.

It is desirable that the film structure of these protective layers has a thickness of 0.05 to 1000 nm. The reason is that, for example, when the thickness is smaller than 0.05 nm, the protective layer film is scraped by the discharge effect to shorten the life as a product. Because they are connected.

Further, the shape of the film structure of these protective layers is preferably a columnar structure. This is the discharge space 30
It can be considered that the surface area from which electrons are emitted toward is increased, and as a result, trigger electrons for address discharge and sustain discharge are easily emitted. The shape of the columnar structure has a diameter of 0.01 to 30 μm.
It is desirable that 0 <α <90. This structure is shown in FIG. Although the cause of this phenomenon has not yet been clearly elucidated, the protective layer film having a shape in this range exhibited better electron emission characteristics.

The films of these protective layers are (100) plane,
The film oriented to either the (110) plane or the (111) plane showed good discharge responsiveness. Also here, the cause of the phenomenon has not been clarified yet.

As described above in connection with the embodiment of the present invention, the protective layer film can be formed by an Al target, a sputtering method using an evaporation source, an electron beam evaporation method, or the like. Alternatively, the same effect can be obtained by using target evaporation sources made with the respective composition ratios.

When the protective layer film is made of XA or XMA, it is preferable that the element A is supplied as a gas during sputtering. As a result, an attendant effect of improving the forming speed during mass production of the product can be obtained.

(Method of Manufacturing PDP) Next, a method of manufacturing PDP will be described.

(Assembly of PDP) (Preparation of Front Panel PA1) First, the front glass substrate 11
The scan electrodes 12a and the sustain electrodes 12b are formed so as to be alternately arranged thereon.

The scanning electrode 12a and the sustaining electrode 12b are metal electrodes, and are formed by depositing platinum by electron beam evaporation and then patterning by lift-off. Note that each scanning electrode 12a and sustain electrode 12b may be formed by a pair of a transparent electrode such as ITO and a metal electrode.

Next, the scanning electrode 12a and the sustain electrode 1
The dielectric glass layer is formed by printing and baking by a known printing method such as a screen printing method so as to cover 2b.

Next, on the surface of the dielectric glass layer 13, an MgO film (here, before the needle-like crystal part 14 b is formed)
To form Specifically, it is formed by depositing an MgO thin film on the surface of the dielectric glass layer 13 by an electron beam evaporation method.

(Preparation of Back Panel PA2) Back Panel P
In A2, an address electrode 17 is formed on a rear glass substrate 16, and the address electrode 17 is covered with an electrode protection layer 18. A partition 19 is formed on the surface of the electrode protection layer 18.
It is produced by forming

The address electrode 17 is provided on the back glass substrate 16.
The upper electrode is manufactured by the same method as that of the scanning electrode 12a and the sustain electrode 12b.

The electrode protection layer 18 is formed by printing on the address electrode 17 by using a printing method such as a screen printing method and then firing the same. The composition contains titanium oxide (T
It is a thin film containing iO ₂ ) particles.

The partition wall 19 is formed by applying a partition wall forming material by a method such as a screen printing method, a lift-off method, or a sand blast method, baking the applied material, and then processing the top of the partition wall. .

The phosphor layer 20 is formed by a method such as a screen printing method and a nozzle spraying method.

(Panel bonding) Next, the front panel P
A1 and rear panel PA2 are positioned such that scanning electrodes 12a and sustain electrodes 12b and address electrodes 17 are orthogonal to each other, and both panels are attached to each other. Thereafter, a discharge gas (for example, He-X) is introduced into a discharge space 30 partitioned by the partition wall 19.
e-type, Ne-Xe-type inert gas) is sealed at a predetermined pressure.

[0075]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of pairs of first and second electrodes arranged in stripes are arranged in parallel, and the plurality of pairs of electrodes are formed of a dielectric material. A plasma display panel in which a first substrate covered with a layer and a second substrate on which third electrodes are arranged in stripes are arranged to face each other with a partition wall interposed therebetween. The dielectric layer is XA (X is at least one selected from Al, B, and Ga; A is O, N, Ar, H, He,
And at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ne, Kr, and Xe), and the XA comprises at least two elements.

Thus, in the surface layer of the dielectric layer,
It is possible to obtain a protective layer having high electron emission capability, excellent sputter resistance, and little influence of impurity gas. As a result, it is possible to improve the response of the occurrence of the discharge to the application of the voltage, display a good image, and prolong the product life.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view showing a conventional plasma display panel.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a connection state between the plasma display panel and the driving circuit which is common to the related art and the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a time chart showing a driving waveform of a plasma display panel common to the conventional and the present invention.

4A is a vertical cross-sectional view including the line AA ′ in FIG. 1. FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of a protective layer portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

PA1 Front panel PA2 Back panel 1 AC surface discharge type plasma display panel (PD
P) 11 Front glass substrate 11a Surface 12a Scan electrode 12b Sustain electrode 12c Discharge gap 13 Dielectric glass layer 14 Protective layer 16 Back glass substrate 17 Address electrode 18 Electrode protective layer 19 Partition wall 20 Phosphor layer 30 Discharge space 220 Address electrode drive unit 230 scan electrode driver 240 sustain electrode driver

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yu Uenoyama 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masahiro 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 1006, Kadoma, Kamon, Fumonma-shi Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. F-term (reference)

Claims (13)

[Claims] A first electrode in which a plurality of pairs of first and second electrodes arranged in a stripe are arranged in parallel, and the plurality of pairs of electrodes are covered with a dielectric layer. A plasma display panel in which a substrate and a second substrate on which third electrodes are arranged in a stripe shape are arranged to face each other with a partition wall therebetween, wherein the dielectric layer is XA (X
Is at least one selected from Al, B and Ga, and A is O, N, F, Cl, Ar, H, He, Ne, Kr, Xe
A plasma display panel, wherein the XA is made of at least two elements. 2. The XA is represented by a composition formula XaNbTc, wherein X is at least one selected from Al, B and Ga, and T is O, Ar, H, He, Ne, Kr, Xe 2. The plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein a + b + c = 1 0.01 ≦ b ≦ 0.5 0.001 ≦ c ≦ 0.6. 3. A first electrode comprising a plurality of electrode pairs of a first electrode and a second electrode arranged in a stripe shape, and a plurality of the electrode pairs covered with a dielectric layer. A plasma display panel in which a substrate and a second substrate on which third electrodes are arranged in a stripe shape are arranged to face each other with a partition wall therebetween, wherein the dielectric layer is formed of XMA.
(X is at least one selected from Al, B and Ga, M
Is at least one selected from IIa to VIII, Ib and IIb
Species, A is O, N, F, Cl, Ar, H, He, Ne, K
a plasma display panel, wherein the XMA is made of at least three elements. 4. An element M contained in the XMA is 100
The plasma display panel according to claim 3, wherein the content is 0 ppm or less. 5. The plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the XA or the XMA has an electron affinity of 3 eV or less. 6. The film thickness of said XA or said XMA is 0.
0.5 to 1000 nm or less
The plasma display panel according to any one of the above. 7. The plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the XA or the XMA has a columnar structure. 8. The plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the diameter of the columnar structure of the XA or the XMA is 0.01 to 3.0 μm. 9. The plasma display panel according to claim 1, wherein the inclination of the columnar structure of the XA or XMA with respect to the substrate surface is α <30 <90. 10. The crystallographic plane of the XA or the XMA is a (100) plane.
The plasma display panel according to any one of the above. 11. The XA or XMA crystal orientation plane is a (110) plane.
The plasma display panel according to any one of the above. 12. The XA or XMA crystal orientation plane is a (111) plane.
The plasma display panel according to any one of the above. 13. XA produced by a sputtering method.
Alternatively, in the method for producing XMA, the element A is supplied as a gas during sputtering.
3. The plasma display panel according to any one of 2. and a method for manufacturing the same.