New reset waveform for the contrast ratio improvement of AC-PDP

We propose a new reset waveform for the improvement of contrast ratio. A square pulse is applied to the address electrode while the reset pulse ramps and before the discharge between the sustain electrodes occurs. The square pulse induces a discharge between the address electrode and the X electrode, and the induced wall charge between the sustain electrodes is opposite to the applied ramping voltage between the sustain electrodes. Thus, the next discharge between the sustain electrodes becomes weaker. The weaker discharge during the reset period lowers background luminance and improves contrast ratio. The experimental results show that the contrast ratio can be improved by 35~58% using this method compared with the conventional ramp reset method.