Transparent, Flexible Microplasma Arrays Fabricated by a Micro Replica Molding Process

Summary form only given. The fabrication of flexible, and optically transparent, arrays of microplasma devices having microcavities fabricated by a polymer-based, replica molding process is reported. This process enables arrays of microcavity plasma devices or microchannels with feature sizes as small as ~ 10 mum to be produced inexpensively and precisely over surface areas of at least tens of cm². With the incorporation of a thin dielectric barrier coating within and around the microcavity, stable glow discharges are obtained without any degradation of the device or outgassing from surrounding polymeric materials. Devices having transparent electrodes and substrates (including glass and flexible plastic) have been operated successfully at rare gas pressures up to 800 Torr. Individual microplasma pixels with cross-sectional dimensions of 200 times 200 mum² and 50 times 50 mum², as well as plasma channels having widths of 20 mum and 150 mum and aspect ratios as large as 10⁴:1, have been fabricated and tested. Hermetically sealed microplasma arrays with various microcavity shapes are successfully demonstrated for applications such as transparent displays, micro-reactors, and micro-fluidic cell detectors. Representative voltage-current data for these structures and lifetime measurements for a series of arrays are presented.