Influence of the secondary electron emission coefficient of argon on Paschen breakdown curves in ac plasma panels for neon+0.1% argon mixture

Abstract

A generalized expression has been derived for the effective secondary electron emission coefficient γ, in Penning mixtures which incorporates the effect of both the majority and minority ions. Specific calculations for ac panels having an Ne+0.1%Ar mixture show that even a relatively small value of γAr not only significantly lowers the breakdown voltages, but also moves the voltage minimum to higher p0d values and makes the right-hand side of the Paschen curve less steep. This sensitivity of the effective coefficient γ on γAr is sufficient to explain the critical dependence of the shape of the measured breakdown voltage curves in ac panels on minor changes in the surface properties of the deposited insulator surfaces.