MULTICOLOR AC PLASMA FLAT PANEL DISPLAY FOR SPACE STATION APPLICATIONS

MULTICOLOR, DOT MATRIX FLAT PANEL DISPLAYS ARE NOT CURRENTLYAVAILABLE FROM ANY MANUFACTURER - GIVEN FOR TERRESTRIAL USE.PHOTONICS TECHNOLOGY PROPOSES TO DEVELOP SUCH A MULTICOLOR DISPLAY FOR SPACE STATION APPLICATIONS. MONOCHROMATIC AC PLASMA DISPLAYS ARE CURRENTLY BEING SPECIFIED IN HIGH ALTITUDE, MILITARY PROGRAMS. MULTICOLOR AC PLASMA DISPLAYS REPRESENT ONE OF THE LEADING COLOR FLAT PANEL TECHNOLOGIES, AND RESEARCH ON THESE DEVICES HAS MADE TREMENDOUS PROGRESS IN THE PAST TWO YEARS. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE I PROGRAM, IS TO WIDEN THE OPERATING WINDOW VOLTAGE OFTHE PLASMA COLOR DISPLAY TO IMPROVE MEMORY MODE PERFORMANCE AND ENHANCE ELECTRONIC STABILITY. A MINIMUM OF FIFTEEN COLOR PANELS WILL BE FABRICATED WITH FOUR CRITICAL PARAMETERS SYSTEMATICALLY VARIED. THESE PANELS WILL HAVE A THREE COLOR CONFIGURATION - RED, GREEN AND YELLOW, A DIAGONAL OF 9-INCHES, AND A RESOLUTION OF 252 X 508 LINES. THE BEST EFFORT PANEL WITH DRIVE ELECTRONICS AND ALPHANUMERICS/GRAPHICS DEMONSTRATION SOFTWARE WILL BE DELIVERED TO NASA. THE PHASE II PROGRAM WILL YIELD A HIGH ALTITUDE DISPLAY HAVING OPTIMUM: BRIGHTNESS, RESOLUTION, LUMINOUS EFFICACY, PHOSPHOR STABILITY AND DEVICE ELECTRONIC STABILITY, RESULTING IN A MULTICOLOR FLAT PANEL SUITABLE FOR SPACE STATION USE, WITH BROAD COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL ANDMILITARY APPLICATIONS.