Discharge analysis and electrical modeling for the development of efficient dielectric barrier discharge

Abstract

Dielectric-barrier discharges (DBDs) are characterized by the presence of at least one insulating layer in contact with the discharge between two planar or cylindrical electrodes connected to an AC/pulse power supply. The dielectric layers covering the electrodes act as current limiters and prevent the transition to an arc discharge. DBDs exist usually in filamentary mode, based on the streamer nature of the discharges. The main advantage of this type of electrical discharges is that nonequilibrium and non-thermal plasma conditions can be established at atmospheric pressure. VUV/UV sources based on DBDs are considered as promising alternatives of conventional mercury-based discharge plasmas, producing highly efficient VUV/UV radiation. The experiments have been performed using two coaxial quartz double barrier DBD tubes, which are filled with Xe/Ar at different pressures. A sinusoidal voltage up to 2.4 kV peak with frequencies from 20 to 100 kHz has been applied to the discharge electrodes for the generation of microdischarges. A stable and uniform discharge is produced in the gas gap between the dielectric barrier electrodes. By comparisons of visual images and electrical waveforms, the filamentary discharges for Ar tube while homogeneous discharge for Xe tube at the same conditions have been confirmed. The electrical modeling has been carried out to understand DBD phenomenon in variation of applied voltage waveforms. The simulated discharge characteristics have been validated by the experimental results.