Electric lamp and discharge devices – With gas or vapor – Three or more electrode discharge device
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-10
2004-01-06
Sember, Thomas M. (Department: 2875)
Electric lamp and discharge devices
With gas or vapor
Three or more electrode discharge device
C313S470000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06674237
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2001-24376, filed May 4, 2001, in the Korean Industrial Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel (PDP), and more particularly, to a plate for a PDP on which discharging electrodes are formed, a method of fabricating the plate, and a PDP using the plate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plasma displays generate a desired visual image by exciting a predetermined phosphor pattern with ultraviolet (UV) light generated by a plasma discharge occurring between two substrates in which a plasma gas is sealed. Such plasma displays are generally classified into a DC type and an AC type according to the corresponding driving voltage, (i.e., the discharging mechanism). AC type PDPs are further classified into two types: one is a double-substrate, two-electrode type, and the other is a surface discharge type.
For the DC type PDP, the electrodes are exposed to a discharge space and charges directly migrate between opposing electrodes. For the AC type PDP, the electrodes are covered with a dielectric layer. The plasma discharge is caused by the electric field of wall charges instead of by direct charge migration.
As an example, a surface discharging type PDP is shown in FIG.
1
. Referring to
FIG. 1
, the PDP comprises a pair of substrates, a back plate
10
and a front plate
16
. The back plate
10
comprises a series of first electrodes
11
arranged in a predetermined pattern, a dielectric layer
12
covering the first electrodes
11
, and barrier walls
13
formed on the dielectric layer
12
to keep a discharge gap and to prevent electrical and optical crosstalk between cells. A fluorescent layer
19
is formed on at least one side of the discharge gap partitioned by the barrier walls
13
. The front plate
16
comprises transparent second third electrodes
14
and
15
, and bus electrodes
14
a
and
15
a
, which are narrow and arranged on the corresponding transparent second and third electrodes
14
and
15
to reduce line resistance. The front plate
16
further comprises a black matrix
20
formed between each pair of the transparent and third electrodes
14
and
15
to enhance the contrast of the image, a dielectric layer
17
, and a protective layer
18
covering all electrodes
14
,
15
,
14
a
, and
15
a
and the black matrix
20
.
In a conventional PDP such as that disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. hei 8-315735 and shown in
FIG. 2
, surface discharging electrodes
30
a
and
30
b
are arranged on at least one side of a surface discharging electrode region
30
. The surface discharge electrodes
30
a
and
30
b
are partially and linearly divided in the longitudinal direction, and the divided surface discharging electrodes
30
a
and
30
b
are electrically connected by a plurality of electrode portions
31
. The pairs of surface discharge electrodes
30
a
and
30
b
define a corresponding discharge gap
33
therebetween. A black matrix
34
is formed between adjacent pairs of the electrodes
30
a
and
30
b.
Another conventional PDP such as that disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. hei 9-129137 and shown in
FIG. 3
includes a plurality of row electrodes
40
, which extend parallel to each other in the horizontal direction and are arranged with a discharge gap
41
therebetween, and a plurality of column electrodes
42
extending from adjacent row electrodes
40
, with a separation gap therebetween and opposite each other to form a light-emitting pixel region
44
. There is also a light-emitting pixel region
43
with a narrower discharge gap than the light-emitting pixel region
44
. A black matrix
46
is formed between adjacent pairs of the row electrodes
40
.
As described above, in the conventional surface discharge AC type PDP, the electrodes arranged on the front plate
16
include the bus electrodes
14
a
and
15
a
formed of silver (Ag) paste, and transparent second and third electrodes
14
and
15
formed of indium tin oxide (ITO), or has a structure divided in the longitudinal direction using the Ag paste. Also, the black matrixes
20
,
34
, and
46
arranged between each pair of electrodes
14
,
15
,
30
a
,
30
b
and
40
, which are paired to cause a discharge of plasma therebetween, are formed of a mixture of a black pigment and an insulating material.
To manufacture an optimal front plate capable of maximizing the function of a PDP as described above, the electrodes and the black matrix should be formed of appropriate materials (i.e., materials having different physical properties). For this reason, there is a need for separate patterning processes for the electrodes and the black matrix. However, the separate patterning processes complicate the overall manufacturing process.
For example, to manufacture the front plate
16
shown in
FIG. 1
using the process in
FIG. 4
for a front plate
16
that includes the bus electrodes
14
a
and
15
a
and the second and third electrodes
14
and
15
formed as ITO electrodes, a bare front plate is cleaned, and an ITO layer is deposited on the front plate
16
by a sputtering operation
100
. Then, the second and third electrodes
14
and
15
are patterned for discharging as shown in operation
102
. For this patterning process, a positive photoresist is deposited on the ITO layer, and is then exposed and etched using a predetermined mask pattern. After the ITO electrodes
14
and
15
are formed, bus electrodes
14
a
and
15
a
are printed on corresponding ITO electrodes
14
and
15
using the Ag paste, which are then dried and sintered to completely form the bus electrodes
14
a
and
15
a
in operations
104
and
106
. After forming the bus electrodes
14
a
and
15
a
, the black matrix
20
is printed using a mixture of a black pigment and an insulating material in operation
108
.
In the front plate manufacturing method described above, since the electrodes
14
and
15
and black matrix
20
are formed through separate operations
100
-
106
and
108
, the number of working steps increases, which increases the likelihood of failure, thereby lowering productivity. In particular, in the case where the electrodes
14
or
15
of the front plate
16
are exclusively formed of metal, there are problems in that external light is reflected due to low external-light absorbency, and the black matrix
20
cannot be formed as fine patterns.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To solve the above and other problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a plate for a plasma display panel (PDP), where the electrodes and a black matrix have good adhesiveness with respect to a plate member and improved mechanical characteristics due to the absence of internal stress.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a method of fabricating a plate for a PDP in which electrodes and a black matrix can be formed through simple processes so that productivity is improved.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a PDP with enhanced brightness and contrast characteristics by using a plate on which electrodes and a black matrix are formed.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
To achieve the above and other objects, a plate for a plasma display panel (PDP) according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plate member formed of a transparent material, a series of electrodes formed in a predetermined pattern on the plate member, and a dielectric layer formed on the plate member to cover the electrodes, wherein the electrodes are formed of a dielectric first component and a second component of at least one selected from a group consisting of iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), vanadium (V), titanium (Ti), aluminum (Al), silver (Ag), sili
Choi Chaun-gi
Do Young-rag
Lee Joon-bae
Park Chang-won
Dong Dalei
McGuireWoods LLP
Samsung SDI & Co., Ltd.
Sember Thomas M.
LandOfFree
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