Polish plasma display panels
Polska plazma A little known fact is that in the 80s and early 90s in Poland were carried out work on plasma displays. These works were carried out at the Research and Development Center of Vacuum Electronics (OBREP) in Warsaw. The work was attended, among others: K. Szlenk, E. Obuchowicz, W. Gierałtowski, H. Wronka from the Department of Optoelectronic Instruments. Luck would have it preserved documentation and sample displays hit my hands and maybe someday some of them will show up in the action. Here are a few photographs.

Based on materials from the 80s we can now say with certainty that the researchers OBREP-u to come to meaningful results. The testimony of that is the first picture of manufactured OBREP plasma displays.

Around the year 1985 were developed following displays

Some of the indicators connected to the control circuits, thereby forming an indicator system. This was certainly indicators ladder and 8-digital. Noteworthy is the fact that local engineers overcame a number of technical difficulties occurring in the construction this type of indicators that appear have the technology vacuum-tight, flat glass enclosures, pin, transparent conductive layers, layers produced by screen printing technology, heat treatment, pumping and filling indicators. From the oral tradition of the entire project participants that work on indicators were financed in part by ZRK ( Kasprzak Factory in Warsaw) and Aviation Institute.

In one study of this period can be characterized by the statement read:
"According to the authors of this study, only after obtaining satisfactory results in the field alphanumeric panels (multi-character) with large surfaces can proceed to work on the plasma TV panels, monochrome and color. "

and later:
"To be able to develop systems indicative of relatively low weight and volume
should be developed and start production of special integrated circuits to control plasma displays. "

Later developed (around 1990) also dies graphic AC-PDP 59x36 pixels and 84x40 pixels with orange light. They wore contractual designation PI and PII (Panel 1 and Panel 2). External dimensions were 75x72x6 mm, 125x74x6 mm. This provided definition of 30 and 25 lines per inch.




Around 1992, all the work on plasma displays in OBREP stopped. A reminder of Polish plasma are so few surviving copies of my collection, and communicated by me to the Museum of Energy in Łaziskach and gray photographs, a pile of incomplete documentation and memories of the people, blur with time.


Data sheet for PWPC 8/12,5

Back to OBREP's page
Back to main page