Evaluation of Mechanical Properties for Barrier Rib Using Micro-Tip Indenter

The mechanical properties of barrier ribs in PDP require quantification in order to control the defects and to increase the yield in the process. Several different types of rib materials were tested for hardness (H) and Young's modulus (E) with a microtip indenter (Berkovich type). For the assessment of fracture toughness of the rib, a macro Vikers indenter was used. The materials with 30wt% of filler were fired at between $490^{\circ}C$ and $570^{\circ}C$. As a result, the composite became fully densified at $520^{\circ}C$, which is near the T s (Littleton softening point) of glass frit. As the filler content increased, the fracture toughness also $(K_{IC})$ increased in the range of 0.60 to 2.63 $MPa{\cdot}m^{0.5}$ after sintering at $550^{\circ}C$. The results suggest that the application of a nano-indenter would be useful for testing the mechanical properties of barrier ribs.