The effects of oxygen and hydrogen on the surface morphology of MgO films, deposited by ion-plating, which is the protective layer of plasma display panels (PDP), were investigated. The surface morphology and crystalline planes were influenced not by the amount of oxygen but by the amount of hydrogen; the shapes and sizes of grains were changed from small triangles (50 nm), to large triangles (100-200 nm), to lozenge-shapes (100 nm), and then to very small (under 20 nm) round shapes with increasing amounts of hydrogen. The preferred orientations of the MgO films were (111) and (222) without hydrogen. However, (111) and (222) peaks decreased, and (200) planes appeared, with larger amounts of hydrogen. The crystallinity of the MgO film was hardly detected in the case when excess hydrogen (over 90 sccm) was introduced.

Keywords: MgO, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Surface morphology, PDP.