Effect of Outgassing Characteristics of Magnesium Oxide Films grown by Metallo-Organic Decomposition-MOD

抄録

The duration of gas evacuation before the introduction of discharge gases into the panel is one of the major problems in the production of plasma display panels (PDPs). In this study, the outgassing characteristics during the panel evacuation stage were investigated by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). The origin of the impurity gases was studied by measuring the outgassed species from each layer comprising a PDP. The dominant species observed during the evacuation of the panel were H₂O and CO₂, with water vapor being the most abundant species. When the outgassing characteristics of the panel were compared with those characteristics of the MgO layer of the panel, the material responsible for producing a greater amount of water vapor turned out to be the MgO layer. We prepared epitaxially grown MgO films on Si substrates by metallo-organic decomposition (MOD). The outgassing experiments on single panels also showed that the long outgassing time of a PDP is mostly due to the MgO layer. Therefore, to reduce the gas evacuation time, a controlled atmosphere appears to be required during the deposition of these materials and the storage of the resulting panels. The MgO layer was investigated by mapping the difference in the surface potential between MgO layers with and without H₂O by KPFM.