Imaging of a macroscopic plasma display panel cell

In this paper, we present results from the imaging of a macroscopic plasma display discharge cell obtained with an intensified charge coupled device using infrared optical filters. The macro-cell geometry is identical to that of a plasma display panel (PDP) cell with a coplanar electrode configuration, but the macro-cell dimensions are about 60 times larger than those of a real cell and the operating pressure is 60 times lower. The similarity laws are not expected to be fully valid, but the macro-cell provides a very good insight in the physics of a PDP cell and can help optimizing the discharge efficiency and validate the models.