Multistage, monolithic ceramic microdischarge device having an active length of ∼0.27 mm

A three-stage, multilayer ceramic microdischarge device, having an active length of similar to 267 mum and a cylindrical discharge channel 140-150 mum in diameter, has been developed and operated continuously in Ne gas. Stable glow discharges are produced for pressures above 1 atm, operating voltages as low as 137 V (at 800 Torr), and specific power loadings of similar to 40 kW cm(-3). The V-I characteristics for a fired ceramic structure exhibit a negative resistance, whereas the resistance is positive prior to firing. The manufacturability of the fabrication process as well as the "flow-through" and multistage design of this device make it well suited for the excitation of gas microlasers or the dissociation of toxic or environmentally hazardous gases and vapors. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.