Characteristics of a fast rise time power supply for a pulsed plasma reactor for chemical vapor destruction

Rotating spark gap devices for switching high voltage direct current (DC) into a corona plasma reactor can achieve pulse rise times in the range of tens of nanoseconds. The fast rise times lead to vigorous plasma generation without sparking at instantaneous applied voltages higher than can be obtained with DC. The resulting energetic plasma is effective for destroying a variety of molecules. The spark gap circuit configuration plays an important role in the effectiveness of the plasma generation. A single-gap circuit is effective for generating moderate peak voltages, but is limited by a multiple sparking phenomenon. A double-gap circuit can achieve equal peak voltages with every spark, but with a reduced number of pulses, compared to the single gap. Both configurations have an upper voltage imposed by the changing impedance of the reactor as voltage and frequency are varied. The pulse characteristics are reported for both types of circuits. The general performance of the reactors for destruction of some compounds with both circuits is also reported.