Microdischarge devices with 10 or 30 m m square silicon cathode cavities : pd scaling and production of the XeO excimer

Silicon microplasma devices with square trench cathode cavities having cross sections of s10 mmd2 or s30 mmd2 and a depth of 200 mm have been fabricated and operated successfully in the rare gases and Xe/O2 mixtures at pressures s300 Kd up to 1100 Torr. The s10 mmd2 structures exhibit electrical characteristics that contrast with the behavior of larger devices and may indicate the onset of the breakdown of pd scaling. Also, a distinct minimum in the ignition voltage of 10 mm square devices is observed for pd.0.9 Torr cm (p and d are the Ne gas pressure and microcavity cross-sectional dimension, respectively). Strong emission on the 2 1o+→1 o transition of XeO in the green s,510–560 nmd is observed in mixtures of Xe s300–700 Torrd and O2 s1–10 mTorrd. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.1825061]