Lowering the ignition voltage by the dual micro-hollow cathode configuration for multi-channel flat panel lamp

Summary form only given. We have developed a dual micro-hollow cathode configuration, employing one power supply circuit with a resistor which is suitable for lamp starting without additional power supplier. And we also investigated their electrical characteristics and photo images, varying the applied voltage. The electrical and optical measurements showed that the discharge passed through four distinct stages: no discharges, the first micro-hollow cathode discharges, both of the first and second micro-hollow cathode discharges, and finally the main discharge. As a result, the V_s and E_s/p of a dual micro-hollow configuration were lower by a factor of about 2 than those of a diode at 40 torr. We have also observed that the parallel operation can be possible with a single resistor in 9 channels flat panel lamp