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 (Vf and Vs) and the microstructure of the Mg2−2xZrxO2 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.