Ac-driven gas discharge display device having plural thin discharge tubes, plural pairs of display electrodes transverse to the thin display tubes and plural signal electrodes transverse to the display electrodes with light-blocking, electrically conductive films between respective pairs of display electrodes

Abstract

In an AC-driven gas discharge display device and especially a plasma tube array type, a return path is provided for alternate discharge current flowing between X and Y driver circuits. The AC-driven gas discharge display device comprises a front-side, transparent substrate and a rear-side substrate sandwiching therebetween a plurality of thin discharge tubes arranged side by side; a plurality of pairs of display electrodes on an inner surface of the front-side substrate; and a plurality of address electrodes, in a direction transverse to the plurality of display electrodes, the rear-side substrate on an inner surface. Striped light-blocking, electrically conductive films are disposed on an outer surface of the front-side substrate at locations between respective ones of the pairs of display electrodes and coupled at their opposite ends to respective points of a common reference potential in the X- and Y-electrode driver circuits, respectively, to provide a return path for alternate discharge current.