Plasma spatial distribution manipulation and electrical property enhancement through plasma coupling effect

Plasma pattern transition in a symmetric hybrid structure cavity device at micrometer scale is researched through microplasma interaction in intervening microchannel between adjacent cavities while manipulating electric field strength. Plasma distribution reconfiguration in central (objective) cavity is observed when sidearm (donor) cavities are ignited. As long as coupling effect occurred by modulating the electric field strength in the sidearm cavities, stable plasma pattern transition in objective cavity is obtained, exhibiting plasma pattern split from one circular spot (initial pattern) to two small circular spots (transited pattern), along with plasma peak emission intensity displacement over 100 μm to its equilibrium position. The shape of transited plasma patterns are depending on the coupling effect from sidearm cavities. The two circular spots unsymmetrically distributed if either donor cavity is ignited, and the ratio of average emission intensity between the two plasma spots is over 30%, however, which is less than 4% if coupling symmetrically occurred. The electrical and optical properties of central microplasma are also modulated, that the breakthrough voltage is decreased by 22% and emission intensity is improved by ∼30%, by means of plasma coupling. The microplasma pattern formation at micrometre scale and manipulation of the electrical properties in microscale cavity implies significant value in the application of plasma transistor and signal processing.