Simple analytical expression for electron temperature in an alternating current plasma display discharge

A simple analytical expression was derived for electron temperature T-e in discharge conditions typical for an alternating current plasma display panel discharge, in which the least possible number of parameters was introduced so as to provide good physical insight into the mechanisms of determining T-e under various discharge conditions. From this derivation, an explicit dependence of T-e on discharge parameters (gas composition and pressure, and the strength of the electric field E) has been derived. It was tested for a discharge condition studied in our previous article on the discharge-radiation dynamics, yielding reasonable values for a cathode fall and a positive column. Also, the values of T-e obtained experimentally using laser Thomson scattering in a positive column are well predicted from this analysis.