Linear arrays of ceramic microcavity plasma devices (127-180 /spl mu/m diameter) driven by buried coplanar electrodes

Summary form only given. In this paper, we present the characteristics of linear arrays of microplasma devices having cylindrical cavities 127 mum or 180 mum in diameter and in the rare gases at pressures of 400 to 800 torr. Each device is comprised of 6 rows of 72 via holes each formed in a multilayer stack of low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC). The arrays are driven by two coplanar or two crossed electrodes buried in the LTCC. The separation between the electrodes is 220 mum in the coplanar electrode structure and 200 mum in the crossed electrode structure and driven at ~20 kHz by either a sinusoidal AC or pulsed DC waveform. The arrays show very stable operation and all microplasmas ignite simultaneously. Cavity-to-cavity uniformity in a single row is better than 10%. Optical and electrical measurements of these devices operating with 400 to 800 torr in Ne and Xe/Ne mixtures reveal several interesting phenomena. The curvature of the microcavity walls, combined with the location of the electrodes, allows for the electric field within the microcavity to be shaped, and the results of optical microscopy studies of the spatially-resolved emission from the microplasmas will be presented. Also, the electrical characteristics and several potential applications of this new microcavity design will be discussed