Influence of Penning effects on high-pressure discharge in the plasma display panel

The influence of the Penning effects on the high-pressure discharge in a neon–xenon mixed gas was investigated in connection with applications to the plasma display panel. A theoretical model of the breakdown voltage in a mixed gas is developed, based on the Townsend criteria. The breakdown temperature Tb and voltage Vb are obtained in terms of the gas mixture ratio. As an example, electrical breakdown properties in neon gas mixed with xenon are investigated. It is shown that the electron breakdown temperature Tb decreases monotonically as the xenon mole fraction χ increases. The Penning effects modify the electron temperature significantly, particularly in the range of a small mole fraction. A preliminary experiment using the plasma display panel is carried out to verify some of the theoretical models. The Paschen curves of the breakdown voltage are experimentally obtained in terms of the pressure parameter (pd) and the xenon mole fraction. It is shown that the breakdown voltage is reduced significantly at the xenon mole fraction of χ=0.015, which agrees remarkably well with experimental data.