Importance of the dependence of the secondary electron emission coefficient on E/p0 for Paschen breakdown curves in ac plasma panels

Apparent deviations from Paschen's law, observed in ac plasma panels, have been resolved by generalizing the breakdown criterion to include the dependence of the secondary electron emission coefficient on E/p0. Incorporation of this dependence into the proposed effective coefficient involves consideration of both the back-diffusion phenomenon and the influence of E/p0 on the efficiency of metastable atom generation. Calculated voltage breakdown curves in pure neon and neon plus 0.1% argon mixture are in good agreement with experimental data for both the metal electrode dc discharges and the insulator-covered electrode discharges found in ac plasma panels