Atmospheric Pressure DC Glow Discharge in Semiconductor Gas Discharge Electronic Devices

The stabilization of dc glow discharges in a dc plasma is studied experimentally in air and neon media functions of pressure p, interelectrode distances d, and diameter D of the cathode areas in the semiconductor gas discharge electronic devices (SGDED) with GaAs cathode. Comparison of current and discharge light emission (DLE) from SGDED are used for the determination of the stabilization under low- and atmospheric-pressure glow microdischarge conditions. It is found that uniform DLE can be generated in Ne up to atmosphere pressure different from the case in air under specific conditions. Apart from the homegeneous results, nonhomogeneous current-voltage characteristic forms are also observed for some parameter sets. The experimental results reveal different discharge behaviors in both gas media at atmospheric pressure.