Coplanar Dielectric Barrier Discharge on a High-Permittivity Dielectric Surface

Coplanar barrier discharge with concentric electrode configuration was used to study the processes affecting the mutual interactions of individual discharge microfilaments. To elucidate the role of surface charge on the dielectrics, discharge characteristics on various coatings with different permittivity have been investigated. Owing to the thermo-chemical erosion of the coating with particularly high-permittivity (ε
_r
= 12000) a novel regime of discharge appearance is observed, consisting of micro-plasma spots filling the pores in high-ε dielectric created by the action of initial microfilaments and bright, extended length plasma channels arching over the interelectrode space. A visual record of this phenomenon is presented.