What is the make up of a plasma screen?

Both Plasma screen and the conventional CRT-type display use phosphors to produce the display. The screen of these display systems is made up of tiny spots known as pixels which have a phosphor coat on their back.

Plasma screens can be compared to a fluorescent lamp

A Plasma screen can also be compared with a fluorescent lamp although on a superficial level. Not only do Plasma screens use the luminous properties of phosphors, they also use inert gases like argon, neon, xenon which in a plasma state, produce invisible, ultra-violet photons. In a fluorescent bulb, these release photons strike the phosphorous coating of the inner wall of the bulb resulting in a radiant glow, which fills our rooms.

However, a Plasma screen, which works on the same principle, has countless tiny fluorescent lamps, which are called pixels. Each Pixel has three tiny sub-pixels coated with red phosphor, green phosphor and blue phosphor. The pixels or cells are filled with rare gases like neon and xenon and the entire network of pixels is placed between two sheets of glass.

Two sets of electrodes address electrodes and display electrodes form two separate grids, one along the rear glass plate and another along the front glass plate. Once electric current is passed between the electrodes, it stimulates the noble gases to release the electrons producing ions and free flowing electrons in the mixture. These charged particles rush towards electrically opposite charged electrodes, collide with each other and discharge invisible, ultra violet photons. These photons react with the coloured phosphors (RGB) in the sub-pixels and give visible light.

The overall shade of the pixel depends on the intensity of each sub-pixel which is proportionate with the level of electricity passing through it. To show a range of colours, these three basic colours, RGB, are blended in different combinations by varying the intensity of each colour. Plasma display panels have a special feature, PCM (pulse code modulation) which modulates the electric pulse at a rapid rate and enable the production of more than 17 million colours.

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