Effect of electrode configuration on the uniformity of atmospheric pressure surface dielectric barrier air micro-discharge

Abstract

The electrode configuration of atmospheric pressure air discharge is one of the key elements that have significant effects on the discharge properties. In this study, double-sided printed circuit boards with square-shaped lattice structure are used to generate surface dielectric barrier air micro-discharge (SDBAMD) at atmospheric pressure. The effects of the lattice width on the discharge properties are reported. The uniformity of the SDBAMD is evaluated by adopting the digital image processing method. Our measurements show that the power and ignition voltage of the SDBAMD significantly depended on the configuration of the grounded electrode. The digital image processing results show that the uniformity of the SDBAMD is severely affected by the lattice width, and the most uniform discharge is achieved at the lattice width of 2.0 mm. The numerical model based on COMSOL demonstrated that increasing the lattice width can lead to an increase in the electric field in the vicinity of the grounded electrode and a decrease in the lattice center. Furthermore, our analysis suggests that the different electrode configurations can change the interaction between the space charges during the discharge, which ultimately affects the uniformity of the SDBAMD.