MgO erosion in plasma displays measured with microbeam RBS
- Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Photonics Imaging, Northwood, OH (United States)
Spatially resolved Rutherford Backscattering (RBS) measurements have been made on interior thin film surfaces of plasma driven flat panel displays. Panels, provided by Photonics Imaging, were manufactured with films of MgO, typically 1,000nm thick, on interior surfaces adjacent to the discharge working gas. MgO has good secondary electron emission properties and its presence enhances the pixel discharge intensity per volt applied. In these experiments, pixels were operated at excessively high voltages for long periods of time in order to accelerate the pixel aging processes. The nuclear microprobe at Sandia National Labs was then used to measure the erosion of the MgO that had occurred. A He microprobe beam at 2.8 MeV and with an average beam spot diameter of {approximately}8 {micro}m was used to examine the MgO film over areas (250 {micro}m x 250 {micro}m) spanning several pixels. The thickness of MgO at each spot was deduced by measuring the shift in the energies of He ions backscattered from the PbO substrate, upon which the MgO had been deposited, and correlating the observed energy losses with the known stopping power of MgO. This allowed measurement of MgO film thickness to an accuracy of {+-}1.5nm. In previous work, the authors have measured and modeled the discharge current density of ion flux incident upon the pixel interior surface, along with sputtering yields for MgO, to estimate the overall erosion expected, and correlate this to the integrated erosion observed.
- OSTI ID:
- 338498
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-970559--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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