Pre-breakdown phase of coplanar dielectric barrier discharge in helium
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2016 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | The European Physical Journal Applied Physics |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/epjap/2016150538 |
| Field | Plasma physics |
| Keywords | coplanar DBD; discharge formation; helium |
| Description | Coplanar barrier discharge in single-pair electrode configuration was used to study the formation of helium diffuse mode discharge. Transition from Townsend avalanching to the cathode and anode directed ionization waves was documented by high-speed camera imaging. When alumina dielectric barrier was coated by a thin layer of high permittivity coating (epsilon_r = 120–140), a new partial discharge preceding the Townsend avalanching phase was clearly visible. We suggest that this new pre-Townsend breakdown event is analogous to the known backward discharge of surface barrier discharge. Low magnitude of local electric field strength during the pre-Townsend breakdown reduces the number of competing electron collision excitation processes. This opens a new opportunity for studying optical emission from surface charge recombination processes. |
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