Microplasma array devices with coplanar electrodes operating in neon

Microplasma array devices with coplanar electrodes have been fabricated and operated in neon at pressures up to 684 Torr. The microcavity of the device is composed of a couple of electrodes instead of dielectric or single cathode. The experiment results for the line array with 12 microcavities driven by AC sinusoidal voltage show that the power loading of each microcavity reaches approximately several kW cm−3 and the luminance reaches 2500 cd m−2. The discharge delay time for the devices excited by AC pulse voltage is about 1–3 μs. The lighting patterns of the devices with address electrode validate the addressing ability of the proposed devices.