Formation Of Large-Volume, High-Pressure Plasmas In Microhollow Cathode Discharges

We have developed two electrode configurations that employ one primary supply circuit with a variable resistor for large-volume, high-pressure glow discharges without glow-to-arc transitions, and have investigated their electrical and the photoimages in microhollow cathode sustained discharges. The applied voltage and the discharge current between electrodes were controlled by changing the resistance of a variable resistor, which could replace the secondary supply circuit in microhollow cathode sustained discharges for the formation of secondary discharge. The electrical and the optical measurements showed that the discharge passed through three distinct stages: no discharges, microhollow cathode discharges, and microhollow cathode sustained discharges. Compared with the two-supply circuit system that has a primary and a secondary supply circuit, this electrode configuration is very simple and inexpensive process in generating large-volume plasmas at high pressures. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.