KR100871752B1 - Address electrode of plasma display panel and method for forming the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an address electrode of a plasma display panel and a method of forming the same.

The present invention provides a plasma display panel including a pair of auxiliary electrodes 12a 'which are provided on the back substrate 10 side to face discharge of the specific sustain electrode 22 on the front substrate 20 side and face each other. The sharp electrode portion 12a-1 'is formed so as to protrude in a direction opposite to each other from an edge portion of the upper end side of each of the auxiliary electrodes 12a' at each cell space position and has a sharp vertex portion at the distal end portion. It is characterized by including.

Therefore, it is possible to form a high-density electric field through a low starting voltage, thereby improving luminous efficiency and brightness and reducing power consumption, thereby achieving a significant performance improvement, and also minimizing the influence of the sheath plasma. Since the gap between the two auxiliary electrodes can be sufficiently narrowed, there is an effect that can be very advantageous in miniaturization.

PDP, Plasma, Display, Panel, Address, Electrode, Sharp, Dry Etch

Description

Address electrode of plasma display panel and method of forming the same {ADDRESS ELECTRODE OF PLASMA DISPLAY PANEL AND METHOD FOR FORMING THE SAME}

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional AC surface discharge type PDP,

2 is a schematic perspective view showing an address electrode of a conventional AC surface discharge type PDP;

3 is a schematic perspective view showing an address electrode of an AC surface discharge type PDP according to the present invention;

4 is a plan view of a unit address electrode of an AC surface discharge type PDP according to the present invention;

5 is a cross-sectional view of an address electrode of an AC surface discharge type PDP according to the present invention;

6 is a cross-sectional view sequentially illustrating a method of forming an address electrode of an AC surface discharge type PDP according to the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: rear substrate 11: rear glass substrate

12, 12 ': address electrode 12a, 12a': auxiliary electrode

12a-1 ': Sharp part 12a-b': Soft metal layer

12a-t ': hard metal layer 13: second dielectric layer

14 bulkhead 15 phosphor layer

20: front substrate 21: front glass substrate

22: sustain electrode 22a: transparent electrode

22b: bus electrode 23: first dielectric layer

24: protective layer 30: discharge gas

40: photosensitive film pattern 40a: opening

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an address electrode of a plasma display panel and a method of forming the same, and more particularly, to form a sharp portion facing each other on auxiliary electrodes on both sides of the address electrode. The present invention relates to an address electrode of a plasma display panel and a method of forming the same, which allow a high density electric field to be formed even at a relatively low applied voltage, thereby improving luminous efficiency and luminance and lowering power consumption.

In general, a plasma display panel (PDP), which is one of flat display devices, uses a gas discharge phenomenon. When a voltage is applied to an electrode, it is discharged from a gas between the electrodes. This occurs, and the phosphor is excited by the radiation of ultraviolet rays accompanying the gas discharge process, and the image is displayed by the visible light generated at this time.

These PDPs are classified into AC type and AC type according to the type of the driving voltage. Recently, AC type PDP has the advantages of low voltage driving and long life.

In addition, PDPs are classified into an opposite discharge type and a surface discharge type according to the arrangement of the electrodes. In the case of the opposite discharge type, a high voltage is required for discharge. This is mainstream.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional AC surface discharge type PDP.

The AC surface discharge type PDP is formed by bonding the front substrate 20 provided with the sustaining electrode 22 and the back substrate 10 provided with the address electrode 12 to face each other. A discharge gas 30 such as argon (Ar), neon (Ne), or xenon (Xe) is sealed in the discharge space between the substrates 10 and 20.

Here, the front substrate 20 side has a sustain electrode 22 formed of a pair of a transparent electrode 22a and a bus electrode 22b on the inner surface of the front glass substrate 21. Two discharge spaces are formed, and the first dielectric layer 23 is entirely coated to cover the sustain electrodes 22, and a protective layer 24 is formed on the lower portion thereof.

On the rear substrate 10 side, an address electrode 12 and a second dielectric layer 13 covering the rear surface of the rear glass substrate 11 are formed, and an independent discharge space is formed on the second dielectric layer 13. In addition, barrier ribs 14 are formed to prevent crosstalk between adjacent discharge spaces, and a phosphor layer 15 is formed between the barrier ribs 14. do.

With this configuration, the driving process is largely composed of an address driving process and a sustain driving process. That is, in the initial address driving process, the address electrode 12 corresponding to the specific unit discharge cell selected and one specific sustaining electrode ( Each of the address voltages 22 is applied to each other so that counter discharge occurs between them. At this time, the discharge gas 30 enclosed in the discharge space is ionized to form a plasma state in which quantum ions and electrons coexist.

In the subsequent sustain driving process, a sustain voltage is applied to both sustain electrodes 22 in a corresponding unit discharge cell, so that a counter discharge occurs between them. At this time, particles excited by a collision in a plasma state transition. The emitted ultraviolet rays cause the phosphor to emit light, and thus visible light is generated to display a desired image.

That is, after the initial discharge is initially caused by the counter discharge between the address electrode 12 and the specific sustain electrode 22, the sustain discharge is caused by the counter discharge between the pair of sustain electrodes 22. As shown in FIG.

Furthermore, the above-described address electrode 12 basically has a long stripe shape to be positioned over a plurality of unit discharge cells, and in detail, a pair of auxiliary electrodes 12a formed on both sides thereof to face each other. Will be made.

That is, as shown in Figure 2, one side is provided as a negative electrode auxiliary electrode, the other side is provided as a positive electrode auxiliary electrode, a positive voltage is applied to the positive electrode auxiliary electrode serves as a ground (ground), the negative electrode auxiliary electrode -Voltage is applied.

Therefore, when the voltage difference applied between the two auxiliary electrodes 12a becomes more than one, electrons (e) are emitted from the negative electrode auxiliary electrode to which the voltage is applied to the cell space to form an electric field flowing to the other positive electrode auxiliary electrode. The electric field is opposed to the specific sustain electrode 22 side on the front substrate 20 side at the time of address discharge.

In addition, the auxiliary electrode 12a of the above-described address electrode 12 is made of a metal material having excellent conductivity, and is usually made of Al single material.

However, the following problems arise in the conventional address electrode 12 as described above.

That is, the two auxiliary electrodes 12a constituting the address electrode 12 are simply arranged side by side to face each other, so that the start discharge is not easily generated as the applied voltage is not concentrated and spreads widely. In addition, the electric field formed between them is also widely distributed, so that the density becomes low so that the discharge electrode cannot be easily discharged against the sustain electrode 22 side. Therefore, a high starting voltage must be applied to compensate for this. There was a problem.

In addition, in order to miniaturize, the distance between the two auxiliary electrodes 12a must be narrowed, and when the gap is narrowed to some extent, a sheath plasma is formed between them to hinder the formation of an electric field. As a result, the luminous efficiency and luminance are lowered, which is disadvantageous in miniaturization.

The present invention was devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, and by forming a sharp pointed portion at the upper edge side edges of both auxiliary electrodes so that they are opposed to each other through the sharpened portions, they are easily opposed discharged even at a relatively low applied voltage. It is an object of the present invention to provide an address electrode of a plasma display panel and a method for forming the same, which improve light emission efficiency and luminance, reduce power consumption, and reduce sheath plasma, thereby miniaturizing the electric field.

The above objects and various advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the preferred embodiments of the invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings by those skilled in the art.

The address electrode of the plasma display panel according to the present invention for achieving the above object is provided on the back substrate side to discharge the specific sustain electrode on the front substrate side, and a plasma display panel comprising a pair of auxiliary electrodes opposed to both sides. The address electrode of the first electrode is characterized in that it comprises a sharp portion formed so as to protrude in a direction opposite to each other from the upper edge side edges of the two auxiliary electrodes for each cell space position and has a sharp vertex portion in the front end portion.

In addition, the address electrode forming method of the plasma display panel of the present invention for achieving the above object, the step of forming by depositing a soft metal layer on the back glass substrate, and the step of forming a hard metal layer on the soft metal layer; And forming a photoresist pattern having an opening on the hard metal layer through a photolithography process, and removing the soft metal layer and the hard metal layer of a portion exposed through the opening of the photoresist pattern to have sharp parts on both sides. And performing dry etching to form an electrode, and removing the photoresist pattern.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Prior to the description, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as in the related art, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the AC surface discharge type PDP, in the initial address driving process, a counter discharge occurs between the address electrode 12 'on the rear substrate 10 side and the specific sustain electrode 22 on the front substrate 20 side, and subsequently In the sustain driving process, counter discharge occurs between the sustain electrodes 22 on both sides of the front substrate 20.

In addition, the above-described address electrode 12 'basically has a long stripe shape so as to be located over a plurality of unit discharge cells, and in detail, a pair of auxiliary electrodes 12a' formed on both sides thereof to face each other. Will be done.

That is, one side is provided as a negative electrode auxiliary electrode and the other side is provided as a positive electrode auxiliary electrode, the positive voltage is applied to the anode auxiliary electrode serves as a ground (ground), the negative voltage is applied to the negative electrode auxiliary electrode. .

Therefore, when the voltage difference applied between the two auxiliary electrodes 12a 'becomes more than one, electrons e are emitted from the negative electrode auxiliary electrode to which the voltage is applied to the cell space, thereby forming an electric field flowing to the other positive electrode auxiliary electrode. This electric field causes a discharge to face the one sustain electrode 22 side on the front substrate 20 side at the time of address discharge.

In addition, the auxiliary electrode 12a 'of the address electrode 12' described above is made of a metal material having excellent conductivity.

3 is a schematic perspective view showing an address electrode according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the unit address electrode, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view thereof.

According to the present invention, a sharp portion 12a-1 'having a sharp vertex portion is formed at the distal end portion while protruding in the direction opposite to each other at the upper edge side edge portions of both auxiliary electrodes 12a', that is, a pair of sharp portions 12a-1 'are formed for each unit discharge cell, and thus, the sharp portions 12a-1' are repeated along the longitudinal direction on both side auxiliary electrodes 12a '.

As shown in the plan view of FIG. 4, the sharp portion 12a-1 ′ gradually protrudes from both sides to protrude the most at the center of the unit discharge cell, thereby forming a pointed vertex portion, and also through the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5. As shown, it is formed so as to protrude most from the upper side while gradually protruding from the lower side.

That is, the sharp portion 12a-1 'has a three-dimensional pointed shape.

Therefore, with the above configuration, when the voltage is applied to both auxiliary electrodes 12a 'during its operation, the corresponding applied voltages are concentrated so as to be concentrated at the sharp parts 12a-1' and are discharged relatively, thereby being applied relatively low. The discharge can be started very easily even at a voltage, which can greatly reduce power consumption.

In addition, since the electric field formed by the opposite discharge is also concentrated and formed at a high density, a large discharge occurs also with the specific sustaining electrode 22 on the front substrate 20 side. By means of which the luminous efficiency and the luminance are improved.

In the related art, when the spacing between the auxiliary electrodes on both sides becomes too narrow, a large amount of sheath plasma is formed between them which are simply face-to-face and also in the form of planes, which hinders the formation of the electric field. Although there is a problem to disadvantage, according to the present invention, since the sheath plasma is formed very small in the form of dots between the auxiliary electrodes 12a 'on both sides, it is possible to narrow the interval between them sufficiently, so that the miniaturization is very advantageous. Efficiency and brightness can also be greatly improved.

Furthermore, in the present invention, since the voltage applied through the sharp pointed portion 12a-1 'is concentrated and the electric field formed is also concentrated, the sharpened portion 12a- of the corresponding auxiliary electrode 12a' is concentrated by the concentrated voltage and the electric field. 1 ') can be easily damaged, so that the soft metal layer 12a-b' is made of a soft material such as Al, and is not formed using only Al, which is a somewhat soft material as in the prior art. ), And the upper side where the sharp portion 12a-1 'is formed is a hard metal layer 12a-t' made of harder materials W, Ti, Pt, Au, etc., so as to have a double structure. To form.

At this time, W, Ti, Pt, Au, etc., which can be used as the hard metal layer 12a-t ', are hard materials, so that even if a strong voltage or an electric field is applied, the damage can be suppressed as much as possible, and electron generation efficiency is also good. It can be called a material.

In addition, hereinafter, a method of forming the both side auxiliary electrodes 12a 'having the sharp parts 12a-1' will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

First, a soft metal layer 12a-b 'is formed by depositing a predetermined thickness on the back glass substrate 11 with Al or the like, and on the soft metal layer 12a-b', W, Ti, Pt, The hard metal layer 12a-t 'made of Au or the like is deposited by a predetermined thickness.

Thereafter, a photo-resist pattern 40 having an appropriate opening 40a is formed on the hard metal layer 12a-t 'through photolithography, and of course, the photolithography process Includes a series of processes of photoresist coating, exposure, and development.

At this time, the width of the opening 40a on the photoresist pattern 40 corresponds to the interval between the sharp parts 12a-1 'on the desired auxiliary electrodes 12a', and the photoresist pattern 40 is illustrated in FIG. It is formed to have a horizontal shape corresponding to the horizontal shape of the auxiliary electrode 12a 'of the fourth.

Next, by performing dry etching using the photoresist pattern 40 formed on the uppermost side as a mask, the hard metal layer 12a-t 'exposed through the opening 40a on the photoresist pattern 40 and The soft metal layer 12a-b 'is sequentially removed. The dry etching used at this time is anisotropic, so that the upper portion of the hard metal layer 12a-t' is most protruded. It is possible to form.

Subsequently, when the photosensitive film pattern 40 used by an ashing process or the like is removed, the address electrode 12 'having the auxiliary electrodes 12a' on both sides can be obtained.

In the foregoing description, it should be understood that those skilled in the art can make modifications and changes to the present invention without changing the gist of the present invention as merely illustrative of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to form a high-density electric field through a low starting voltage, thereby improving luminous efficiency and brightness and reducing power consumption, thereby achieving a significant performance improvement. In addition, the gap between the auxiliary electrodes can be sufficiently narrowed to minimize the size.

Claims (6)

The address electrode of the plasma display panel is provided on the back substrate 10 side to face the discharge of the specific sustain electrode 22 on the front substrate 20 side and comprises a pair of auxiliary electrodes 12a 'opposed to each other. And a sharp portion 12a-1 'which is formed to protrude in a direction opposite to each other from a corner of the upper end side of each of the auxiliary electrodes 12a' at each cell space position and has a sharp vertex portion at the distal end portion. An address electrode of a plasma display panel. The method of claim 1, The sharpened portion 12a-1 ′ is sharply formed three-dimensionally from the lower side to the upper side of the address electrode of the plasma display panel. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The auxiliary electrode 12a ', Soft metal layer (12a-b ') made of Al formed on the lower side, It is formed to be stacked on the soft metal layer (12a-b ') having the sharp portion (12a-1') and selected from among W, Ti, Pt, Au that is relatively hard to the soft metal layer (12a-b ') An address electrode of a plasma display panel comprising a hard metal layer (12a-t ') made of any one metal material. delete delete Depositing and forming a soft metal layer 12a-b 'made of Al on the rear glass substrate 11; The hard metal layer 12a-t 'formed of any one of metal materials selected from among W, Ti, Pt, and Au, which is relatively hard to the soft metal layer 12a-b' on the soft metal layer 12a-b '. Forming by depositing, Forming a photoresist pattern 40 having an opening 40a through the photolithography process on the hard metal layer 12a-t '; The soft metal layers 12a-b ′ and the hard metal layers 12a-t ′ of portions exposed through the openings 40a of the photoresist pattern 40 are removed to have sharp portions 12a-1 ′ on both sides thereof. Performing dry etching to form an auxiliary electrode 12a 'having a; And removing the photoresist pattern (40).

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