Measurement of Ar metastables near a dielectric surface in barrier and plasma display panel discharges

The density of Ar 1s5 metastable excited atoms in the vicinity of a surface in barrier and display panel discharges was measured by the laser-induced evanescent-mode fluorescence technique. The temporal and spatial distributions of excited atoms were also measured by conventional spontaneous emission and laser absorption methods. From these measurements at various pressures, the behavior of the metastable atoms is clarified and the flux of the metastable atoms on the barrier surface is estimated.