A plasma display panel (PDP) is basically an assembly of a top and a bottom glass plates. The simplicity of the structure makes a large area, thin, and lightweighted display possible. The display is rugged to withstand high levels of shock and vibration. Phosphor is used for visible emission with highly saturated colors. Fabrication processes unique to plasma display panels are barrier rib fabrications and phosphor coatings, to which various methods have been proposed. Unlike the semiconductor‐like plant of TFT‐LCDs, plasma displays can be manufactured in a less clean and a less precision environment. This reduces the manufacturing cost.
Basic principles of ignition and steady‐state glow discharges in the plasma displays are identical to gas discharge devices, such as fluorescent lamps, but with a difference of a high speed control of millions of tiny discharge cells. The driving of PDPs also requires high voltages, to which various cares have to be taken. The large area plasma displays are suited for expressing high quality images of digital high definition TVs. Picture quality of the PDPs is excellent, especially for fast‐moving images and 3D displays. One of the important issues of the panel characteristics is to improve the luminous efficacy in order to reduce the power consumption.