Microdischarge devices fabricated in silicon

Cylindrical microdischarge cavities 200-400 mu m in diameter and 0.5-5 mm in depth have been fabricated in silicon and operated at room temperature with neon or nitrogen at specific power loadings beyond 10 kW/cm(3). The discharges are azimuthally uniform and stable operation at N-2 and Ne pressures exceeding 1 atm and similar to 600 Torr, respectively, has been realized for 400 mu m diameter devices. Spectroscopic measurements on neon discharges demonstrate that the device behaves as a hollow cathode discharge for pressures >50 Torr. As evidenced by emission from Ne and Ne+ (P-2,F-2) states as well as N-2 (C-->B) fluorescence (316-492 nm), these discharge devices are intense sources of ultraviolet and visible radiation and are suitable for fabrication as arrays. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.