Characterization of phosphor materials for use in plasma display panel by time-resolved vacuum-ultraviolet laser spectrometry

Phosphor materials that were manufactured for use in a plasma display panel (PDP) were investigated by employing a newly designed time-resolved vacuum -ultraviolet (VUV) spectrometer, which consists of a pulsed VUV laser and a fast photodetector. The VUV spectrometer was used to collect quantum effic iency data as well as the rise and decay times for the PDP phosphor lumines cence. Both the rise and decay times increased with decreasing excitation w avelength in the VUV region. This result can be explained by a change in th e mechanisms of photoexcitation and luminescence, that is, from charge-tran sfer excitation to host-lattice excitation below 200 mn. The present instru ment was also used for an evaluation of the phosphor materials (Bal(1-x)MgA l(10)O(17):Eu-x(2+)) by changing the Eu2+ concentration. The obtained data suggest that the impurities and defects are located inside the host crystal . Thus, the VUV spectrometer constructed in this study has considerable pot ential for use in investigating the nature of PDP phosphor materials.