Discharge characteristics of MgO and MgO-ZrO2 protective films prepared by electron beam evaporation

In order to improve both the operating voltage and the memory coefficient (MC) of a protective layer for AC plasma display panels, controlled amount of ZrO2 was added to the pure MgO. The effects of the ZrO2 addition on both the electrical properties (V-f and V-s) and the microstructure of the Mg2-2NZrxO2 films deposited by e-beam evaporation were investigated. As the [ZrO2/(MgO + ZrO2)] ratio of the protective materials increased, the oxygen content in films increased and the relative ratio of (200)/(111) also increased with overall peak shifting to lower angular diffraction positions. The firing voltage of the MgO-ZrO2 protective films, when the [ZrO2/(MgO + ZrO2)] ratio was 0.1, was 5% lower than that of the conventional MgO protective films with higher MC. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.