Fabrication of barrier ribs with high aspect ratio for a plasma display panel by x-ray lithography

Abstract

X-ray lithography was employed to fabricate barrier ribs with a high aspect ratio for plasma display panels (PDP). An x-ray mask and an x-ray sensitive paste were designed to fabricate ultra-slim barrier ribs with a top width of less than 20 mu m. Process parameters of the x-ray lithography such as x-ray dose and x-ray power modulation were investigated to check their effects on the morphology of the barrier ribs. Due to the high penetration power of x-rays, x-ray lithographic methods were found to be useful to obtain precise barrier rib patterns with high aspect ratios and low width ratios compared to those fabricated by the UV photolithography. When using x-ray lithography it was also noted that the top width of the barrier ribs did not change appreciably, although the gap between the x-ray mask and the tacky dried paste was about 1 mm. Under optimized conditions, barrier ribs with an aspect ratio of 9.7 and a width ratio of 2.1 before sintering could be fabricated by x-ray lithography.