Abstract— High‐efficiency plasma‐display‐panel micro‐discharge characteristics will be discussed. An increase in the discharge efficiency for a higher‐Xe‐content gas mixture is well known. In this article, the interdependency of the capacitive design, the sustain voltage, and the Xe content will be discussed. A high panel efficacy was obtained, especially for the design and driving conditions that govern the development of a fast discharge. A fast discharge was observed for a higher discharge field at sustain voltages higher than 200 V. A +C‐buffer design, where the extra capacitance acts as a local on the panel power source that lowers the voltage decrease inherent to the discharge of the discharge capacitance upon firing, and efficient priming of the discharge at higher sustain frequency, also stimulates a fast‐discharge development. Apparently, a “high‐efficiency fast‐discharge mode” exists. It is proposed that in this mode the cathode sheath is not, or incompletely, formed during the increase in the discharge current, and the electric field in the discharge cell is dominated not by the space charges but by the externally applied voltage. The effective discharge field is lowered, resulting in a lower effective electron temperature and more efficient Xe excitation. Also, under a fast discharge build‐up condition, the electron‐heating efficiency increases, due to a decrease in the ion heating losses in the cathode sheath. In a 4‐in. color plasma‐display test panel, operating in a high‐efficiency discharge mode and containing a 50%Xe in Ne gas mixture, a panel efficacy of 5 lm/W concurrent with a luminance of 5000 cd/m2 was realized. This result was obtained at a sustain voltage of 260 V. These data compare favorably with alternative high‐efficacy panel design approaches.