The experimental analyses of the surface erosion in an MgO surface discharge of an ac plasma display panels (PDPs) were performed. As the result of the surface observation on the MgO layer after accelerated discharge test, the erosion pattern of the MgO surface was spatially non-uniformed and a maximum erosion region existed near the electrode edge side in the MgO surface. To explain the localized erosion of the MgO layer, spatiotemporal distributions of Mg particles emitted from an MgO surface discharge were directly measured using the laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) method. The use of two-level scheme with fluorescence light of 285.2nm (Mg 3(1)P(1)-3(1)S(0)) allowed us to perform measurements at 2 mm above the MgO surface under the condition of S/N (signal to noise ratio) > 3. The result of LIF measurement was found to explain the localized erosion profile obtained from the surface observation on MgO layer. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.