Characteristics of semiconductor bridge (SCB) plasma generated in a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)

Abstract

Plasma ignition method has been applied in various fields particularly to the rocket propulsion, pyrotechnics, explosives, and to the automotive air-bag system. Ignition method for those applications should be safe and also operate reliably in hostile environments such as; electromagnetic noise, drift voltage, electrostatic background and so on. In the present Letter, a semiconductor bridge (SCB) plasma ignition device was fabricated and its plasma characteristics including the propagation speed of the plasma, plasma size, and plasma temperature were investigated with the aid of the visualization of micro scale plasma (i.e., less than or equal to 350 mum), which generated from a micro-electro-mechanical poly-silicon semiconductor bridge (SCB). (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.