Patent ID: 7589296

Claim:
A plasma generating electrode comprising at least two opposing plate-shaped unit electrodes, each having a rectangular surface and four end faces, and a holding member which holds at least one fixed end of a pair of parallel end faces of the unit electrode in a state in which the unit electrodes are separated at a specific interval, and is capable of generating plasma upon application of voltage between the unit electrodes, a majority of the unit electrodes being held sandwiched by a pair of the holding members, respectively, at the at least one end face, where outer most edges of both the holding members and an outer most edge of the unit electrode together form a substantially planar outer edge of the plasma generating electrode, at least one of the opposing unit electrodes being a conductive-film-containing electrode including a ceramic body as a dielectric and a conductive film disposed inside the ceramic body, and a distance “a” from an edge of the conductive film to an edge of the ceramic body on a second pair of parallel end faces of the conductive-film-containing electrode adjacent to the first pair of parallel end faces and a thickness “c” of the ceramic body satisfying a relationship “(c/2)≦a≦5c”.