Failure of Paschen's scaling law for Ne-0.1% Ar mixtures at high pressures

Abstract

The criterion for voltage breakdown in Ne-0.1% Ar mixtures is generalized to include the pressure-dependent conversion of atomic to molecular neon ions. A strong dependence of the Paschen curve on gas pressure results by incorporating a significant difference in the secondary electron coefficients for the atomic and molecular neon ions. The effective secondary emission coefficient γ of the gas mixture now becomes pressure dependent. The deviation from Paschen's law observed recently in ac plasma display panels is accounted for by the present theory to the extent that it shows qualitatively all the important characteristics of the experimental results.