Reliability of AC thick-film electroluminescent lamps

The reliability of AC thick-film EL devices has been studied. The AC thick - film EL devices were fabricated by Novatech Inc. using the industrial print screen technology. The analysis of reasons for failure has been proposed. The dependence of EL lamp parameters on physical properties of the device EL layers was found. Our analysis of the breakdown spot showed that improvement of reliability can be reached using the additional dielectric layer between the phosphor layer and transparent electrode, high concentration of phosphor powder 70 % and binder 30 %, balanced resistance between the electric circuit and EL lamp. The thickness of the phosphor layer was equal to H = (1 + root 3/2)D (hexagonal packing), where D is the mean diameter of phosphor particles. The reliability dependence of EL lamp on a water adsorption property of packaging material was revealed.