Temporal evolution of atmospheric cascade glow discharge with pulsed discharge and radio frequency discharge

Abstract

Atmospheric cascade discharges with pulsed discharge and radio frequency (RF) discharge were experimentally investigated by the temporal evolution of discharge spatial profile and intensity. The indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass was employed as the transparent electrode to capture the discharge distribution above the electrode surface. It is demonstrated that in the pulsed discharge with dielectric barrier, the first discharge at the rising edge of pulse voltage is uniformly ignited and then forms an expanding plasma ring on the ITO electrode surface, which shrinks to the same diameter as that of bare stainless steel electrode with the generation of second discharge at the falling edge of pulse voltage. The discharge profiles along the electrode surface and discharge gap of the successive RF discharge are dependent on the intensity and spatial distribution of residual plasma species generated by the pulsed discharge, which is determined by the time interval between the pulsed discharge and RF discharge. It is demonstrated that the residual plasma species before the RF discharge ignition help to achieve the stable operation of RF discharge with elevated intensity.