Large Arrays of Microplasmas: Science, Applications, and the Road Ahead

The science and technology of microcavity plasma devices has advanced rapidly over the past 5 years. Large arrays, comprising $>10^5$ devices, have been realized and electron number densities as large as $>10^{17}$ cm$^{-3}$ have been generated reproducibly on a pulsed basis. This presentation will review briefly the characteristics of microplasmas generated within cavities as small as 10 $\mu$m. A view of future scientific opportunities will be offered and the recent discovery of a hybrid plasma/semiconductor device, based upon coupling of electron-hole and gas phase plasmas, will be reported.