Capacity-coupled multidischarge at atmospheric pressure

A new method of plasma production at atmospheric pressure, capacity-coupled multidischarge (CCMD), is proposed. The discharge gaps in the CCMD consist of a common electrode and a number of compact electrodes (CCE) which are directly coupled with small capacitors for quenching the discharge. A simple CCE structure is provided by a cylindrical capacitor, the inner conductor of which is used as a gap electrode. A short pulse discharge is observed to appear homogeneously at each CCE. A charge transfer for the single pulsed discharge is 10-100 times as large as that of the conventional dielectric barrier discharge. In the CCMD using O/sub 2/ gas, a high efficiency of ozone production has been obtained. A device configuration of the CCMD is quite flexible with respect to its geometrical shape and size. The CCMD could be used to produce plasmas for various kinds of industrial applications at atmospheric pressure.