Simultaneous address and sustain of plasma-shell display

A method for operating an AC plasma display comprised of a multiplicity of plasma-shells and having a row scan, bulk sustain, and column data electrodes connected to each plasma-shell, which method comprises addressing the plasma-shells in at least one section S1 of the AC plasma display while the plasma-shells in another section S2 are being simultaneously sustained, both of the sections being simultaneously reset before being simultaneously addressed and sustained.

An AC plasma display having a multiplicity of plasma-shells and having row scan, bulk sustain, and column data electrodes electrically connected to each plasma-shell, said display being divided into a plurality of plasma-shell sections S1, S2, Sn, each section having a predetermined number of bulk sustain electrodes and row scan electrodes, and electronic circuitry for addressing the plasma-shells in at least one section of the display while simultaneously sustaining the plasma-shells in another section of the display, and to simultaneously apply a reset voltage to all sections of the display before the simultaneous addressing and sustaining.