A gas discharge display for compact desk-top word processors

A flat dc-cyclic, gas discharge panel is described that employs a simple three-layer structure with a priming and a display anode in each cell. The priming anodes act in conjunction with phased cathodes to cause sequential breakdown of cells within a group of cell columns and the short-duration, low-current (and, therefore, low-brightness) discharges so formed serve to prime and select which cells will produce longer, high-current (and, therefore, high-brightness) discharges to the display anodes. The design is not limited to the 80-character/line display reported here; it can be extended to longer displays without the duty cycle or brightness being affected.