Sputtering yields of magnesium hydroxide [Mg(OH)2] by noble-gas ion bombardment

Magnesium oxide (MgO) is widely used for barrier coating of plasma display panel (PDP) cells and its resistance against ion sputtering is a critical issue for the prolongation of lifetime of PDPs. The top surface of an MgO barrier coat may be hydrated to form a thin layer of magnesium hydroxide [Mg(OH)2] due to moisture inadvertently contained in the gas of the PDP cell. In this study, sputtering yields of Mg(OH)2 by low-energy noble-gas ion bombardment have been evaluated experimentally with the use of a mass-selected ion beam system and compared with those of MgO. It has been found that the etched depths of Mg(OH)2 and MgO are nearly equal when they are subject to the same noble-gas ion bombardment conditions.