Fundamental properties of inert gas mixtures for plasma display panels

A fundamental kinetic model is used to compare the luminous efficiency of different compositions of Ne-Xe, He-Xe, and Ne-Xe-Ar mixtures in plasma display panels. A self-sustaining condition is used to estimate the breakdown electric field E _k, accounting also for Penning ionization. The excitation frequency of Xe states that emit UV photons is calculated for applied electric field values ranging from 0.2E _k to 5E _k. Light generation efficiency, defined as the ratio of the energy spent in excitation of UV emitting states of Xe per unit volume and per unit time versus dissipated electrical power, is an increasing function of the Xe concentration N _Xe in both the Ne-Xe and He-Xe cases, although He-Xe mixtures were found to be somewhat less efficient. The fractional increase in efficiency is very small for N _Xe > 0.1 N. The addition of small amounts of Ar in Ne-Xe mixtures leads to insignificant changes in efficiency or breakdown voltage level. Results of a one-dimensional (1-D) self-consistent simulation of an ac plasma display cell are consistent with the conclusions derived based on the homogeneous unbounded kinetic analysis.