Repetitive unipolar nanosecond-pulse DBD in atmospheric air

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is an effective method for generating large-scale and stable non-thermal plasma under atmospheric pressure. In this paper, DBD is generated in air at atmospheric pressure using a solid-state pulse generator; the output pulse has a rise time of about 15 ns and a full width at half maximum of 30-40 ns. The discharge characteristics are shown by the measurement of their electrical discharge parameters and image. The experimental results show that discharge current exhibits two pulses of positive and negative polarities and are on the order of hundreds of amperes, and the calculated instantaneous peak power is up to MW order. Moreover, the discharge images shown that homogeneous discharge is obtained under certain experimental conditions and the air gap spacing significantly affects the uniform of DBD. All the experimental results are discussed.