Direct measurement of electron density and temperature distributions in a micro-discharge plasma for a plasma display panel

Spatial distributions of electron density (n_e) and electron temperature (T_e) of a micro-discharge plasma for an alternating current plasma display panel cell were directly measured using the laser Thomson scattering method. The use of a triple-grating spectrometer was very successful in suppressing the strong stray laser light and allowed us to perform measurements at 0.1 mm above the surface of the electrode substrate. Values of n_e and T_e were (0.2–3)×10¹⁹ m^-3 and (1.6–3.4) eV, respectively, depending on the time from the beginning of the pulsed discharge and the observation position. The structure of the micro-discharge is discussed in terms of the obtained distributions of n_e and T_e. © 2002 American Institute of Physics.