Xe-excitation efficiency and plasma saturation in plasma display microdischarges

Plasma display panel (PDP) efficiency data are correlated with panel emission measurements. A large visible/infrared (vis/IR) ratio of the phosphor emission in the visible to the Xe emission in the infrared indicates a high Xe-excitation efficiency. Monitoring the changes in the vis/IR ratio allows a decomposition of the discharge efficiency into Xe-excitation efficiency and electron heating efficiency contributions. For several different PDP efficiency dependencies on sustain voltage and frequency, consistent trends in Xe-excitation efficiency and electron heating efficiency are found. In addition, in order to follow the discharge development, the time dependence and the spatial distribution of the Xe emission are monitored. The combined results show that plasma saturation is significant to low Xe-content panels in default operation conditions and that plasma saturation decreases with the high voltage high frequency operation of high Xe-content panels. These driving conditions, which are especially suited for high Xe-content panels, govern a fast and spatially distributed discharge development with a lower effective electron temperature, increased Xe-excitation efficiency, and decreased plasma saturation