Microdischarge devices fabricated in silicon

Cylindrical microdischarge cavities 200–400 μm 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/cm3. The discharges are azimuthally uniform and stable operation at N2 and Ne pressures exceeding 1 atm and ∼600 Torr, respectively, has been realized for 400 μm 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+ (2P,2F) states as well as N2 (C→B) fluorescence (316–492 nm), these discharge devices are intense sources of ultraviolet and visible radiation and are suitable for fabrication as arrays.