Plasma addressed liquid crystal display device operable under optimum

Abstract

A plasma addressed liquid display device includes a liquid crystal chamber having row-shaped signal electrodes, and a plasma chamber having column-shaped discharge channels and overlapped on the liquid crystal chamber. A scanning circuit sequentially applies a selective pulse to a cathode within a pair of plasma electrodes so as to excite gas atoms filled into the discharge channels from the ground state to the metastable state, so that the line sequential scanning operation is carried out. A drive circuit sequentially applies a data pulse to each of the signal electrodes in synchronism with this line sequential scanning operation, so that a desirable image display is performed. The operations of the scanning circuit and the drive circuit are so controlled as to satisfy a predetermined time sequential relationship t.sub.1 <t.sub.2 <t.sub.3. It should be noted that t.sub.1 indicates a time instant when the release of the applied selective pulse is complete, t.sub.2 denotes a time instant when the recovery of the gas atoms to the ground state is complete, and t.sub.3 shows a time instant when the release of the applied data pulse is complete. By satisfying this time sequential relationship, no unnecessary DC bias voltage is applied to the liquid crystal chamber, and it is possible to prevent a display image from being burned.