Monte Carlo simulations of noble gas ion beam sputtering yield of MgO, CaO, SrO, and BaO with various thin coatings in AC‐PDP cells

MgO is one of the popular materials to be used as protection of the phosphor layer from plasma damage and reduction of the discharge voltages in the alternating current–type plasma display panel (AC‐PDP) cells. However, one limitation on the AC‐PDP lifetime is plasma erosion of MgO barrier coating. In order to maintain or extend the lifetime of the AC‐PDP, we have applied potential materials such as alumina (α‐Al2O3), titanium dioxide (TiO2), and aluminum titanate (Al2TiO5) as a thin coating on the alkaline earth metal oxides. This review focuses on the effect of α‐Al2O3, TiO2, and Al2TiO5 on sputtering yields of MgO, CaO, SrO, and BaO bombarded by Ne+ and Xe+ ions in the energy range 100 to 300 eV. The SRIM‐2013 simulations have been compared with the available experimental data to test the validity of the model potential and to extract the surface binding energies. These energies are employed to obtain more realistic sputtering yields of MgO, CaO, SrO, and BaO coated with three different ceramic coatings. Our results have shown that the coated surfaces exhibit better erosion resistance than the uncoated surfaces. It is found that the Al2TiO5 coating provided superior protection against physical sputtering of the substrate; it will demonstrate better performance in comparison with α‐Al2O3 or TiO2 coating.