Study on homogeneous multiple-pulse barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure

Abstract

The homogeneous barrier discharge with multiple current pulses at atmospheric pressure in helium is numerically investigated on the basis of one_dimensional fluid model. The influence of the applied voltage amplitude, frequency, as well as dielectric layer characteristics on the multiple_pulse discharge is discussed and analyzed. The simulation results show that, in the case of smaller gap width, multiple current pulses can be formed in each half_cycle of the applied voltage due to the increase of surface density of the accumulation charges, leading to the enhancement of the induced electric field. Multiple pulses correspond to separate breakdowns in the same time interval. The smaller the gap width, the bigger the number of current pulses per half cycle. The applied voltage and frequency can also influence the number and the amplitude of current pulses. However, there is no obvious influence of the barrier thickness and the permittivity on the number of current pulses.