Plasma Propagation Speed and Electron Temperature in Surface-Discharged Alternating-Current Plasma Display Panels

Abstract

Space and time resolved discharge images from an alternating-current plasma display panel have been observed by a high-speed single-frame camera to investigate the electron temperatures. The plasma propagation speed on the cathode was measured to be 0.9 mm/µs and 1.3 mm/µs, respectively, and that on the anode was measured to be 1.8 mm/µs and 2.7 mm/µs, respectively, at driving frequencies of 50 kHz and 100 kHz. This finding indicates that the electron mobility on the anode is approximately two times the ion mobility on the cathode. Particularly, the electron temperatures in alternating-current plasma display panels (AC-PDP) were found to be 1.2 eV and 2.5 eV at driving frequencies of 50 kHz and 100 kHz, respectively, in this experiment, which are in good agreement with those obtained by a micro-Langmuir probe and the laser Thomson scattering method.