Phosphors for cathode-ray

Industrial silver-activated zinc sulfide phosphors use the intense blue emission exclusively. The ZnS Ag phosphor for cathode ray tubes is obtained by firing zinc sulfide and silver nitrate at ca. 1000 °C in the presence of sodium chloride (coactivator Cl-) [5.318]. The afterglow can be further reduced by addition of 10-3-10-4% of nickel ions. 

ZnO Zn is a typical example of a self-activated phosphor. In the case of zinc oxide, it is an excess of zinc which enables the phosphor to luminesce. The production is carried out by thermal oxidation of crystallized zinc sulfide in air at ca. 400 °C. The green luminescence, with a broad maximum at 505 nm, has a very short decay time of 10-6 s. As a phosphor for cathode-ray tubes, ZnO.Zn is classified in the TEPAC list as P 24 and in the WTDS system as GE. 

The Worldwide Phosphor Type Designation System (WTDS) the optical data of the specifies phosphors for cathode-ray tubes [5.429]. It replaces several phosphor designation systems (e.g., TEPAC, Pro Electron) previously in use in various countries. The phosphors are characterized by two capital letters, the first giving the position of the emission color in the Kelly Charts of Color Designation ... 

The majority of phosphors for cathode-ray tubes are coated with an oxide, silicate, or phosphate before use to improve their processing properties and stability to bum-in. Pigmenting of Y202S Eu3+ with finely divided Fe203 and of ZnS Ag+ with ultramarine or cobalt aluminate is also known. The pigment, which has the same body-color as the emission color of the phosphor, absorbs incident ambient light, effecting an increase in contrast [5.430]. 

Phosphors for cathode-ray tubes, television screens, monitor screens, radar screens, and oscilloscopes are tested under electron excitation. Electron energy and density should be similar to the conditions of the tube in which the screen will be used. The phosphors are sedimented or brushed onto light-permeable screens and coated with an evaporated aluminum coating to dissipate charge. The luminescence brightness and color of the emitted light are measured with optical instruments such as photomultipliers or spectrophotometers. 

Cobalt is used as a blue phosphor in cathode ray tubes for television, in the coloration of polymers and leather goods, and as a pigment for oil and watercolor paints. Organic cobalt compounds that are used as colorants usually contain the azo (51) or formazon (52) chromophores. 

Decay. The decay time requirements must be adhered to very precisely for cathode-ray tube phosphors. The measuring devices consist of fast excitation sources (flash lamps, lasers), photomultipliers with very low time constants, and an oscilloscope [5.440]. 

The phosphor Tb +iInBOs has been promoted as a green phosphor in cathode-ray tubes and as a possible scintillator. It exhibits a quantum efficiency under cathode-ray excitation of 8%, and it is stable to intense electron beams. The emission lifetime of 7.5 ms, however, is likely to be too long for some applications. 

It should be noted that all of the above phosphors were described in a companion book, "The Chemistry of Artificial Lighting Devices- Lamps, Phosphors and Cathode-Ray Tubes", published by Elsevier in 1993 (ISBN 0-444-81709-3). In this volume, the exact methods for manufacture of these phosphors were presented along with the exact formulas and materials required to do so. 

An example of the former class is ZnS, the host lattice for cathode-ray phosphors. This compound is a semiconductor. Optical absorption occurs for energies laiger than Eg, the width of the forbidden gap. This absorption cremes an electron in the conduction band and a hole in the valence band. Since the lop of the valence band consists of levels with predominant sulfur character and the bottom of the conduction band of levels with a considerable amount of zinc character, the optical transition is of the charge transfer type. Its position can be shifted by replacing Zn and/or S in ZnS by other elements (see Table 2..3). 

T. Ha.se, T. Kano, E. Nakazawa and H. Yamamoto, Phosphor Materials for Cathode-Ray Tubes, in Adv. Electr. Electron Physics (Ed. P.W. Hawkes) 79 (1990) 271. The latter two texts describe the theory and application of cathodc-ray luminescence. 

CRT, the abbreviation for cathode-ray tube, was once a familiar acronym. Before liquid crystal display (LCD) was available, the CRT was the heart of computer monitors and TV sets. The first cathode-ray tube was made by Michael Faraday (1791-1867) about 150 years ago. When he passed electricity through glass tubes from which most of the air had been evacuated, Faraday discovered cathode rays, a type of radiation emitted by the negative terminal or cathode. The radiation crossed the evacuated tube to the positive terminal or anode. Later scientists found that cathode rays travel in straight lines and have properties that are independent of the cathode material (that is, whether it is iron, platinum, and so on). The construction of a CRT is shown in Figure 2-6. The cathode rays produced in the CRT are invisible, and they can be detected only by the light emitted by materials that they strike. These materials, called phosphors, are painted on the end of the CRT so that the path of the cathode rays can be revealed. Fluorescence is the term used to describe the emission of light by a phosphor when it is struck by... 

Uses. The main appHcation for strontium is in the form of strontium compounds. The carbonate, used in cathode ray tubes (CRTs) for color televisions and color computer monitors, is used both in the manufacturing of the glass envelope of the CRT and in the phosphors which give the color. 

Phosphors are inorganic materials which convert incident radiant energy to visible light within a device. The device chosen can be a cathode-ray tube, i.e.- a television tube, or a fluorescent lamp. A phosphor consists of a matrix modified by an additive chosen so that it becomes optically active within the matrix, or compound. This is an example of a substitutional impurity in a lattice wherein the additive, usualty Ccdled an "activator", introduces a lattice defect that is optically active. However, the added impurity still follows all of the rules found for defects in a lattice, as shown by the following example. 

It is worth summarizing at this point the different excitation methods used for phosphors that will be referred to throughout this chapter. There are three types photoluminescence (PL) which is based on initial excitation by absorption of light, cathodoluminescence (CL) which is based on bombardment with a beam of electrons, as in a cathode ray tube (CRT) and electroluminescence (EL) which is based on application of an electric field (either a.c. or d.c.) across the phosphor. 

In the previous chapter we have introduced the physical basis of the interpretation of optical spectra of centers in crystals. The main effect of these centers is to introduce new energy levels within the energy gap of the crystal, so that the transitions among these levels produce new optical bands that are not present in the perfect crystal. Due to these absorption and emission bands, centers in crystals are relevant for a variety of applications, such as solid state lasers, amplifiers and phosphors for fluorescent lighting and cathode ray tubes. In this chapter, we will describe the main characteristics of the relevant centers for these applications. 

Mn + ions (3d electronic configuration) are shown to produce a broad luminescence in more than 500 inorganic compounds, covering a wavelength range from about 490 nm to about 750 nm. Although this ion is not of relevance for laser applications, it is widely used in the phosphor screens of cathode ray tubes and in fluorescent lamps. 

There are not many uses for dysprosium. Scientists continue to experiment with it as a possible alloy metal (it has a high melting point) to be mixed with steel to make control rods that absorb neutrons in nuclear reactors. There are only a few commercial uses for dysprosium, such as a laser material and as a fluorescence activator for the phosphors used to produce the colors in the older TV and computer cathode ray tubes (CRTs). When combined with steel or nickel as an alloy, it makes strong magnets. 

Hematite is used to coat the red emiting phosphor, Y2O2EU, which is used in cathode ray tubes (Franz et al., 1993 Merckhi and Feldmann, 2000). Hematite is also used in sensors for the detection of hydrocarbon gases and carbon monoxide. The sensitivity of the sensor can be improved by sintering the oxide with 0.09 mol ° mol Al at 850 °C (Han et al., 2001 and references therein). 

Phosphors are also widely used in many other cathode ray tubes, for example, in... 

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