Abstract: A PALC panel is operated by driving a channel electrode to a positive voltage relative to the data drive electrode to initiate an AC discharge in the channel and thereafter maintaining a sufficient voltage between the channel electrodes to sustain a DC discharge in the channel.

Abstract: An array of parallel spaced fiber segments is attached to the flat upper surface of a transparent plate. The transparent plate and the fiber segments preferably are made of glass, with the fiber segments bonded to the transparent plate with fused glass frit or by sintering under pressure. The plate and attached fiber segments suitably are embodied in the channel substrate for a plasma-addressed display device, such as a PALC panel.

Abstract: A PALC panel which includes a layer of insulating material over the plasma electrodes and in which the cover sheet is spaced from the layer of insulating material at a distance of less than about 50 &mgr;m.

Abstract: A PALC panel is operated by increasing the voltage between the channel electrodes to a firing voltage to create a plasma in the channel, reducing the voltage between the channel electrodes to a sustaining voltage to sustain the plasma for an interval during which a selected drive voltage is applied to the data drive electrode to establish an electric field in the layer of electro-optic material, and reducing the voltage between the channel electrodes to a bias voltage, which is insufficient to sustain the plasma but provides an electric field having a component parallel to the cover sheet in the layer of electro-optic material.

Abstract: A flat panel liquid crystal display (10) has an addressing structure (12) that uses an ionizable gaseous medium captured within channels (2) in a first electrode structure (42). An electro-optical material (44) structure positioned between the first electrode structure and a second electrode structure (40) has thickness that is determined by spacers (104, 110, and 126) that are formed on second electrode structure at points directly opposite support structures (66) between the channels. Such spacers provide support for the second electrode structure and do not intrude into the active area (70) of the display. The spacers are preferably formed of a polyimide resin layer using a photoetch process. Particulate spacers (110) can also be entrained in a black surround material (110) before it is applied to achieve spacers confined to inactive regions. Alternately, spacers (126) can be formed of the black surround material using a two-step photoetching process.

Abstract: A PALC panel has narrow cathodes.

Abstract: The cover sheet of a PALC display panel is spaced from the ribs of the channel member.

Abstract: A channel member for a PALC panel includes a transparent plate having a planar surface and first and second electrodes on the planar surface of the transparent plate. The first electrode has a width in the range 35-90 .mu.m and a height in the range 0.5-30 .mu.m and the second electrode has a width in the range 30-70 .mu.m and a height in the range 0.5-30 .mu.m. A rib is attached to the first electrode and has a width in the range 15-40 .mu.m, a height in the range 80-200 .mu.m and a ratio of height to width of at least about 5:1.

Abstract: A channel structure for a PALC display panel comprises a channel member defining at least one channel, a cathode having an upper surface exposed in the channel, and an anode having an upper surface exposed in the channel. The upper surface of the anode is of substantially uniform composition and has a conductivity perpendicular to its upper surface of at least about 10.sup.-4 ohm.sup.-1 cm.sup.-1.

Abstract: A plasma addressed liquid crystal display panel includes a channel substrate, a cover sheet sealed to the channel substrate and extending over the channels in the channel substrate, helium in the sealed volume defined by the channel substrate and the cover sheet at a partial pressure within the range from about 50 mB to about 350 mB, and a body of a storage material that reversibly absorbs and releases hydrogen, the hydrogen being present at a partial pressure in the sealed volume within the range from about 0.02 mB to about 36 mB.

Abstract: An anode in a channel of a PALC display panel is composed of an electrically conductive core and a protective coating made of a material that is electrically conductive and is non-reactive with hydrogen.

Abstract: A PALC panel is filled with LC material by creating a partial vacuum in the LC space and a peripheral receiving space inward of an attachment bead which secures the lower substrate assembly to the upper substrate assembly and introducing sufficient LC material into the receiving space to fill the LC space. The receiving space is then sealed. The volume of the receiving space is substantially greater than the volume of the LC space.

Abstract: A channel subassembly for a PALC display panel comprises a channel member having spaced, substantially parallel, linear channels in its upper surface and a cover sheet (6) attached to the channel member. Islands of transparent conductive material are disposed in a row on a surface of the cover sheet over each channel. The islands in each row are spaced apart along the channel over which they are disposed and are bounded in directions perpendicular to the length of the channel such that they do not extend laterally substantially beyond the channel.

Abstract: A channel member for a PALC panel is fabricated from a substrate of hard transparent material by forming a layer of conductive material over an upper surface of the substrate, forming a layer of insulating material over the layer of conductive material, removing the layer of insulating material in accordance with a predetermined spatial pattern so as to expose predetermined portions of the layer of conductive material, and removing exposed portions of the layer of conductive material by erosion until parts of the upper surface of the substrate are exposed.

Abstract: An anode in a channel of a PALC display panel has an upper surface of a material that is electrically conductive and is non-oxidizing.

Abstract: A channel member for a PALC panel has a channel in its surface and a wire in the channel as an electrode of the PALC panel.

Abstract: A plasma addressed liquid crystal display system (10) includes improved electrode structures (90, 100, 130) that are nonuniform parallel to their surfaces and may also be nonuniform perpendicular to their major surfaces. The nonuniformities include surface nonuniformities (92, 94), bulk nonuniformities (108, 110, 112, 112), and geometric nonuniformities (132, 134). Electrodes having such nonuniformities provide localized sites of preferential and nonpreferential surface and bulk properties of the electrodes, which, in turn, provide improved and locally tailored plasma discharge characteristics. PALC displays having the nonuniform electrodes have improved quality because of reduced firing voltages in one plasma channel region compared to another, reduced sputtering damage, reduced total current between electrodes, decreased discharge initiation time, and decreased ionized gas decay time.

Abstract: A display device for displaying an image represented by an incoming raster scan video signal comprises a PALC display panel having a rectangular array of addressable panel elements. A frame buffer stores a frame of video and a comparator compares the incoming video signal with the frame stored in the frame buffer on a line-by-line basis. In the event that a line of the incoming video signal is different from the corresponding line of the stored frame, the line of the incoming video signal is supplied to the display panel and is used to update the corresponding line of the frame buffer. Otherwise, the line of the incoming video signal is not supplied to the display panel.

Abstract: This invention is a resistive layer (112, 122) for electrodes (30, 62) comprising at least one partially conductive compound and describes processes for coating the electrodes by way of cataphoretic deposition and/or screen printing of particles of at least one partially conductive compound. A second class of particles, known as a "frit," is also deposited or screen printed. In the subsequent one hour firing, these particles melt and thereby bond the partially conductive compound particles to the electrodes. This invention is also plasma addressing structures (110, 120) in which particles of at least one partially conductive compound are deposited on the electrodes of the display by cataphoretic deposition and/or screen printing. The resulting electrode structures limit and uniformly distribute discharge currents (102) in the operation of ionizable gaseous medium (90) devices, such as plasma addressed liquid crystal displays.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a channel structure for a PALC display panel comprises providing a channel member having channels formed in its upper surface and two electrodes in each channel, masking one electrode in each channel while leaving the other electrode unmasked, depositing material on the unmasked electrode in each channel, and removing the mask from masked electrode in each channel.