Abstract
The present study concerns with the secondary electron emission coefficient, γ, of the cathode materials used in the newly developed flat electron emission lamp (FEEL) devices, which essentially integrates the concept of using cathode for fluorescent lamp and anode for cathode ray tube (CRT) to obtain uniform planar lighting. Three different cathode materials, namely fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), aluminum oxide coated FTO (Al2O3/FTO) and magnesium oxide coated FTO (MgO/FTO) were prepared to investigate how the variations of γ and working gases influence the performance of FEEL devices, especially in lowering the breakdown voltage and pressure of the working gases. The results indicate that the MgO/FTO bilayer cathode exhibited a relatively larger effective secondary electron emission coefficient, resulting in significant reduction of breakdown voltage to about 3kV and allowing the device to be operated at the lower pressure to generate the higher lighting efficiency.
Highlights
Owing to the increasing concerns of environmental sustainability globally, obtaining the mercuryfree lighting has been one of the hotly pursued issues worldwide
The results indicate that the MgO/fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) bilayer cathode exhibited a relatively larger effective secondary electron emission coefficient, resulting in significant reduction of breakdown voltage to about 3kV and allowing the device to be operated at the lower pressure to generate the higher lighting efficiency
Unlike the traditional field emission configuration frequently used in display technologies,[2,3,4,5] flat electron emission lamp (FEEL) devices utilize the gas glow discharge to generate secondary electrons and can overcome the drawbacks of point-like radiations resulting from field emission schemes for a much more uniform planar lighting.[6,7]
Summary
Previous studies had indicated that using MgO as the cathode of ac PDPs gave rise to advantages of low firing temperature and good durability,[13,14] and could serve as a stable protective layer overlying on the glass dielectric electrode.[15,16] On the other hand, due to its high hardness, high abrasive resistance, good thermal and chemical stability, and high optical transparency Al2O3 has become a choice of packaging material for electronics and optics industry.[17,18] It is a potential cathode material for the present FEEL devices. The effects on breakdown voltage and associated gas discharge characteristics will be addressed
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