Experimental measurement of spatially resolved electron density in a filament of a pulsed positive streamer discharge in water

Abstract

By combining a high-speed frame camera with a monochromator, the spatially resolved optical emission spectrum of hydrogen α line in a single filament of a pulsed positive streamer discharge in water has been experimentally measured. The spatially resolved electron densities in a single filament of a pulsed positive streamer discharge in water with a conductivity of 200 μS/cm were investigated. During the experiment, the average energy per pulse of discharge was 90.6 ± 13.6 mJ. The results show that the electron density in the streamer filament is 1017–18/cm3, and present a decreasing tendency along the axial direction of the streamer filament with increasing distance from the tip of the anode.