Dynamics of dielectric micropore discharge in atmospheric pulsed dielectric barrier discharge

Abstract

In this paper, a two-dimensional self-consistent fluid model was developed in atmospheric helium for dielectric barrier discharge excited by microsecond voltage pulses, in which a dielectric sheet with micropore is inserted in the interelectrode gap. It demonstrates that the discharge generated in dielectric micropore is in the form of propagating ionization wave, which reaches the plasma density of 1.32 × 1020 m−3 and the mean electron energy of 17.70 eV. The transverse electric field perpendicular to the applied longitudinal electric field in dielectric micropore is found to play an important role on the electron acceleration and generation, which is induced by the space charges in the micropore. The migration fluxes of electron and ions driven by electric field and diffusion explains the formation of transverse electric field and sheath regions above the dielectric surfaces.