A Capacitively Coupled Bistable Gas Discharge Cell for Computer Controlled Displays

摘要

The capacitively coupled gas cell is made from a sandwich of three thin glass panels. A hole in the center panel forms the discharge cell and transparent electrodes on the outer surfaces of the outer panels are capacitively coupled into the cell. A simple model of the cell consisting of three capacitors and a spark gap is used to explain the bistable characteristic of the cell and the inherent electrical isolation between cells. The ratio of the firing voltage to the sustaining voltages (the voltage at which the cell refires each half cycle after the cell is first fired) was measured for a number of cells with different pressures. It is suggested that photon bombardment of the negative surface controls the rapid discharge while, in the slower discharge, ion bombardment of the negative surface controls the discharge. Data is given for a variety of gases and gas mixtures. Switching arrays for coincidently selecting a row and a column of an array of cells are also discussed. (Author)