Initial Investigation of the Mode Transition of a Nanosecond Guided Streamer to Spark

Understanding the discharge mode of a nanosecond pulsed atmospheric pressure plasma jet (ns-APPJ) or a guided streamer is of fundamental importance for predicting its properties and applying it for various applications.A recent streamer breakdown study showed that the streamer-to-spark transition under a DC voltage was significantly influenced by the discharge polarity
¹
. Under a pulsed condition, guided streamers driven with a longer pulse duration, or a higher pulse repetition frequency (PRF) resulted in their transitions to spark discharges at lower breakdown voltages
²
.