KR100404851B1 - Plasma Display Panel and Mehtod thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plasma display panel and a method of driving the same, which minimize damage caused by ions and accurately perform a write operation.

A plasma display panel of the present invention includes a data electrode, a scan electrode and a sustain electrode arranged to be orthogonal to the data electrode, the electrode having different electrode widths in a region where the data electrode crosses the scan electrode. A protruding portion formed to be wider than an electrode width in an area, generating write discharge together with the scan electrode, synchronizing with a sustain pulse supplied to the scan electrode during a sustain discharge between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode; It is characterized by supplying a defense pulse of the same polarity having a shorter pulse width.

By such a configuration, by placing a wide data electrode on the scan electrode to be selectively written while reducing the width of the data electrode, damage caused by ions can be minimized and the writing operation can be accurately performed.

Description

Plasma display panel and driving method thereof {Plasma Display Panel and Mehtod about}

The present invention relates to a plasma display panel, and more particularly, to a plasma display panel and a driving method thereof to minimize damage caused by ions.

In general, a plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as "PDP") is a light emitting display device that displays an image by using a gas discharge phenomenon inside a cell. This PDP does not need to form an active element for each cell like a liquid crystal display (LCD). For this reason, the PDP has a simple manufacturing process, which is advantageous for large size.

This PDP has a plurality of discharge cells arranged in a matrix form. The discharge cells are provided at respective intersections of the sustain electrode lines for sustaining the discharge and the address electrode lines for selecting the cell to be discharged.

PDPs are roughly classified into DC-type and AC-type panels according to whether a dielectric layer for accumulating wall charges exists in the discharge cell.

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional three-electrode alternating current surface discharge PDP, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the PDP shown in FIG.

1 and 2, a discharge cell of a PDP is formed on a pair of sustain electrodes formed on an upper substrate 10, that is, a scan electrode 13 and a sustain electrode 15, and a lower substrate 24. The data electrode 26 is provided. The scan electrode 13 includes a transparent electrode 12 for transmitting visible light and a bus electrode 16 for compensating for resistance of the transparent electrode 12. The sustain electrode 15 formed in parallel with the scan electrode 13 also includes a transparent electrode 14 and a bus electrode 18. The upper dielectric layer 20 and the passivation layer 22 are stacked on the upper substrate 10 having the scan electrode 13 and the sustain electrode 15 side by side. Wall charges generated during plasma discharge are accumulated in the upper dielectric layer 20. The passivation layer 22 prevents damage to the upper dielectric layer 20 due to sputtering generated during plasma discharge and increases emission efficiency of secondary electrons. As the protective film 20, magnesium oxide (MgO) is usually used. The data electrode 26 is formed on the lower substrate 24 in a direction crossing the scan electrode 13 and the sustain electrode 15. A lower dielectric layer 28 for wall charge accumulation is formed on the lower substrate 24 on which the data electrode 26 is formed. The partition wall 30 is formed on the lower dielectric layer 28, and the phosphor 32 is coated on the surfaces of the lower dielectric layer 28 and the partition wall 30. The partition wall 24 is formed in parallel with the data electrode 20 to prevent ultraviolet rays and visible light generated by the discharge from leaking to the adjacent discharge cells. The phosphor 32 is excited by ultraviolet rays generated during plasma discharge to generate visible light of any one of red, green, and blue. Inert gas for gas discharge is injected into the discharge space provided by the upper substrate 10, the lower substrate 24, and the partition wall 30.

The discharge cell of this structure is selected by the counter discharge between the data electrode 26 and the scan electrode 13, and then sustains the discharge by the surface discharge between the sustain electrode pairs 13 and 15. In such a discharge cell, the fluorescent material 32 emits light by ultraviolet rays generated during the sustain discharge, so that visible light is emitted to the outside of the cell. As a result, the discharge cells adjust the period during which the discharge is maintained to implement gray scale, and the PDP in which the discharge cells are arranged in a matrix form displays an image.

The PDP is usually driven by being divided into a plurality of subfields, and gray scale display is performed by emitting light a number of times proportional to the weight of video data in each subfield period. For example, when an image is displayed in 256 gray scales using 8-bit video data, one frame display period (for example, 1/60 second = about 16.7 msec) in each discharge cell is divided into eight subfields SF1 to SF1. SF8). Each subfield SF1 to SF8 is further divided into a reset period, an address period, and a sustain discharge period, and 1: 2: 4: 8:... The weight is given as a ratio of: 128. Here, the reset period is a period for initializing the discharge cells, the address period is a period for selecting cells by causing selective address discharge to occur according to the logic value of the video data, and the sustain discharge period is a discharge cell selected in the address period. It is a period in which discharge is maintained in the field. The reset period and the address period are equally assigned to each subfield period. In the reset period, a reset pulse is normally supplied to the scan electrode 13 to generate a reset discharge A between the scan electrode 13 and the sustain electrode 15 as shown in FIG. The wall charges formed by the reset discharges are reduced by self-erasing discharges or the like and remain so as not to cause erroneous discharges in the subsequent address period. Following this reset period, in the address period, the scan pulse is supplied to the scan electrode 13 and the data pulse is supplied to the data electrode 26 to generate a selective write discharge B so that data is written. Subsequently, a sustain pulse is alternately supplied to the scan electrode 13 and the sustain electrode 15 in the sustain discharge period so that the discharge is maintained for a predetermined period in the discharge cells in which the selective write discharge has occurred.

The luminance of this PDP is determined by the period in which discharge is maintained. In addition, the luminance of the PDP is proportional to the amount of vacuum ultraviolet rays generated during sustain discharge. During the sustain discharge period, a wide data electrode causes electric field interference between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode to advance the flow of ions toward the phosphor so that the phosphor is sputtered by the ions. As a result, the lifetime of the phosphor is reduced. The width of a typical PDP data electrode is 80 to 100 It should be about m to allow selective write for data writing in sustain discharge period. Therefore, although the width of the data electrode should be reduced to less influence the electric field of the sustain electrode pair, there is a limit in reducing the width of the data electrode because it is difficult to perform selective write discharge for data writing.

A data electrode of a PDP capable of performing an accurate write operation in such a short time and having low power consumption is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-100338. The data electrode of the PDP according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-100338 was formed so that the width of the electrodes formed between the surface discharge gaps was wider than that of the other electrodes. However, the data electrode of the PDP does not solve the problem of reducing the lifetime of the phosphor by causing the field electrode to cause electric field interference between the sustain electrode and the scan electrode during sustain discharge due to the wide width of the electrode corresponding to the sustain electrode.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a plasma display panel and a method of driving the same so as to minimize the damage of the phosphor by ions and to accurately perform the write operation.

1 is a perspective view showing a discharge cell of a conventional three-electrode AC surface discharge plasma display panel.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the plasma display panel shown in FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing an electric field of a conventional plasma display panel.

4 is a cross-sectional view of a plasma display panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the plasma display panel shown in FIG. 4; FIG.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a terminal unit of the data electrode shown in FIG.

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

8 is a cross-sectional view of a plasma display panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a plan view of the plasma display panel shown in FIG. 7;

10 is a driving waveform diagram for driving a plasma display panel according to embodiments of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

10, 40: upper substrate 12: transparent electrode

16, 18, 46, 48: bus electrode 13, 43: scanning electrode

15, 45: sustain electrode 20, 28, 50, 58: dielectric layer

22, 52: protective film 24, 54: lower substrate

26, 56, 60, 70, 75: data electrode 30, 60: partition wall

32, 62 phosphor 57: FPC

59: sealing part

In order to achieve the above object, a plasma display panel of the present invention includes a data electrode, a scan electrode and a sustain electrode arranged to be orthogonal to the data electrode, wherein the data electrode intersects the scan electrode. A protruding portion formed so that the electrode width is wider than the electrode width in another region, the write discharge is generated together with the scan electrode, and the sustain is supplied to the scan electrode during the sustain discharge between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode. It is characterized by supplying a defense pulse of the same polarity which is synchronized with the pulse and has a pulse width shorter than that of the sustain pulse. The driving method of the plasma display panel according to the present invention alternately applies a sustain pulse to the scan electrode and the sustain electrode. And a sustain pulse supplied to the scan electrode to the data electrode, And supplying a defense pulse of the same polarity having a pulse width shorter than that of the sustain pulse to maintain the discharge.

Other objects and features of the present invention in addition to the above object will be apparent from the description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 10.

4 is a cross-sectional view of the PDP according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of the PDP shown in FIG. 4.

The discharge cells of the three-electrode AC surface discharge PDP shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 include a pair of sustain electrodes formed on the upper substrate 40, that is, the scan electrode 43 and the sustain electrode 45, and the lower substrate 54. And a data electrode 56 formed thereon. The scan electrode 43 is composed of a transparent electrode (not shown) for transmitting visible light and a bus electrode 46 for compensating for resistance of the transparent electrode. The sustain electrode 45 formed in parallel with the scan electrode 43 also includes the transparent electrode 44 and the bus electrode 48. The upper dielectric layer 50 and the passivation layer 52 are stacked on the upper substrate 40 having the scan electrode 43 and the sustain electrode 45 side by side. Wall charges generated during plasma discharge are accumulated in the upper dielectric layer 50. The passivation layer 52 prevents damage to the upper dielectric layer 50 due to sputtering generated during plasma discharge and increases emission efficiency of secondary electrons. As the protective film 52, magnesium oxide (MgO) is usually used. The data electrode 56 is formed on the lower substrate 54 in a direction crossing the scan electrode 43 and the sustain electrode 45.

The data electrode 56 has a width of 40 By forming it narrower than m, the electric field interference by the data electrode 56 during the sustain discharge is minimized. The portion 56A of the overlapping portion of the scan electrode 43 of the data electrode 56 having the narrower electrode width increases the width of the electrode and concentrates an electric field only in the region overlapping the scan electrode 43, thereby preventing mis-discharge. This will reduce the number of times it will write the correct selection. The narrow data electrode 56 is likely to be shorted at a portion of the terminal portion connected to the FPC 57. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the width of the data electrode 56 is made equal to the width of the conventional data electrode 56 before the sealing portion 59 approaches the sealing portion 59 to pass through the sealing portion. As a result, the terminal portion of the data electrode 56 in contact with the FPC has the same structure as the conventional structure.

The lower dielectric layer 58 for wall charge accumulation is formed on the lower substrate 54 on which the data electrode 56 is formed. The partition wall 60 is formed on the lower dielectric layer 58, and the phosphor 62 is coated on the surfaces of the lower dielectric layer 58 and the partition wall 60. The partition wall 60 is formed in parallel with the data electrode 56 to prevent ultraviolet rays and visible light generated by the discharge from leaking to the adjacent discharge cells. The phosphor 62 is excited by ultraviolet rays generated during plasma discharge to generate visible light of any one of red, green, and blue. Inert gas for gas discharge is injected into the discharge space provided by the upper substrate 40, the lower substrate 54, and the partition wall 60.

The discharge cell of this structure is selected by the counter discharge between the data electrode 56 and the scan electrode 43 and then sustains the discharge by the surface discharge between the sustain electrode pairs 43 and 45. In such a discharge cell, the fluorescent material 62 emits light by ultraviolet rays generated during sustain discharge, so that visible light is emitted to the outside of the cell. As a result, the discharge cells adjust the period during which the discharge is maintained to implement gray scale, and the PDP in which the discharge cells are arranged in a matrix form displays an image.

7 is a plan view of a PDP according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The discharge cells of the PDP shown in FIG. 7 are the same as the discharge cells of the first embodiment as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and the structure of the data electrodes is different.

The data electrode 70 has a width of 40 By forming it narrower than m, the electric field interference by the data electrode 70 during the sustain discharge is minimized. In the first embodiment, the portion of the data electrode 70 that overlaps the scan electrode is widened, whereas the data electrode 70 of the second embodiment has the entire region 70A that overlaps the scan electrode 43. By widening the width of the electrode in the overlapping of the width of the scanning electrode 43 all the concentration of the electric field by reducing the mis-discharge and the correct writing to write.

8 is a cross-sectional view of a PDP according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a plan view of the PDP shown in FIG. 8.

The discharge cells of the PDP shown in Figs. 8 and 9 are the same as the discharge cells of the first embodiment as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, and the structure of the data electrodes is different.

The data electrode 75 has a width of 50 By forming it narrowly below m, field interference by the data electrode during the sustain discharge is minimized. The narrow data electrode 75 is made wider in the portion 75A overlapping the scan electrode 43. The data electrode 75 is formed near the partition wall 60. By forming the data electrode closer to the partition wall 60 in which the phosphor 62 is formed thicker, correct selection writing is performed while reducing mis-discharge.

10 is a view illustrating a PDP driving method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention and is a driving waveform diagram supplied for an arbitrary subfield period.

During the reset period RPD, the reset pulse RPy is supplied to the scan electrode 43. The reset pulse RPy causes reset discharge in all of the discharge cells, and wall charges such that self-discharge discharge does not cause erroneous discharge remain. In detail, the reset pulse RPy supplied to the scan electrode 44 is supplied in the form of a ramp wave having a rising period and a falling period. In the rising period, the reset pulse RPy generates a reset discharge which does not have a large emission level, and wall charges are formed in the dielectric layer 50 around the sustain electrode 45 and the scan electrode 43. Subsequently, in the falling period of the reset pulse RPy, a positive voltage (Vs) is applied to the sustain electrode 45 so that the polarities of the sustain electrode 45 and the scan electrode 43 are reversed, thereby causing wall charges to be reversed. It is partially reduced and left to remain.

In the address period APD, the negative scanning pulse SP is supplied to the scanning electrode 43 in the line order, and the positive data pulse DP is supplied to the data electrode 56. Allow selective write discharge to occur. Sufficient wall charges are formed in the discharge cells in which such selective write discharge has occurred, and are maintained for a period during which other discharge cells are addressed.

In the sustain period SPD, the trigger pulse TPy is supplied to the scan electrode 43. The trigger pulse TPy causes the sustain discharge between the sustain electrode 45 and the scan electrode 43 of the discharge cells with sufficient wall charges to be initiated. Subsequently, sustain pulses SUSPz and SUSPy having a pulse width smaller than the trigger pulse TPy are alternately supplied to the sustain electrode 45 and the scan electrode 43 to maintain the sustain discharge. The data electrode 56 is synchronized with the scan electrode 43 and supplies a defence pulse, which is a positive pulse equal to the pulse of the scan electrode 43, to the data electrode. That is, a narrow positive pulse is supplied to the data electrode in synchronization with the front part of the pulse supplied to the scan electrode in which the discharge is large. Accordingly, by supplying a defense pulse having the same polarity as that of the scan electrode 43 to the data electrode, ion damage to the data electrode generated during sustain discharge can be minimized.

In the erase period EPD subsequent to the sustain period SPD, the erase pulse EP is supplied to the sustain electrode 45 to stop the discharge. The erasing pulse EP has a ramp wave shape in which the light emission size is small during the erasing discharge, and has a short pulse width for erasing the discharge. The charged particles are erased by the short erase discharge by the erase pulse EP to stop the discharge.

As described above, the plasma display panel and the driving method thereof according to the present invention minimize the damage caused by ions by placing a wide data electrode on the scan electrode to be selectively written while reducing the width of the data electrode in the discharge space. It is possible to perform the write operation correctly. Therefore, the plasma display panel according to the present invention is expected to have a long life, and because the surface area of the data electrode is reduced in the discharge space, the electric field interference caused by the data electrode is weakened, thereby improving efficiency.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification but should be defined by the claims.

Claims (5)

A plasma display panel comprising a data electrode, a scan electrode and a sustain electrode arranged to be orthogonal to the data electrode, wherein the data electrode comprises: A protrusion formed to have an electrode width wider than an electrode width in another region in an area crossing the scan electrode, A write discharge is generated together with the scan electrode, and a deflection pulse having the same polarity as the sustain pulse supplied to the scan electrode and having a pulse width shorter than that of the sustain pulse when sustain discharge between the scan electrode and the sustain electrode is supplied. Plasma display panel, characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The protrusion of the data electrode is formed in a portion or the whole overlapping with the scan electrode. The method of claim 1, And a data lead portion having an electrode width wider than that of the data electrode to connect the data electrode with a printed circuit film. The method of claim 1, And the data electrode is formed near the partition wall. In a sustain discharge driving method of a plasma display panel including a scan electrode, a sustain electrode and a data electrode, The sustain pulse is alternately applied to the scan electrode and the sustain electrode, and the discharge is maintained by supplying a deflection pulse having the same polarity as the sustain pulse supplied to the scan electrode and having a pulse width shorter than that of the sustain pulse. And driving the plasma display panel.