Spatiotemporal dynamics of discharge filaments in dielectric barrier discharges

A pair of water electrodes used in dielectric barrier discharge was served as coolant and transparent conductors for observation. Stable filamentary discharge was formed after cleaning discharges with high applied voltages. The temporal behavior of discharge of single filament can be measured with a lens-imaging and PMT system. The two-dimensional filamentary pattern can be divided into discharge domains with different shapes. Each discharge domain consists of several neighboring filaments. Their discharges overlap in time inside the domain. The temporal order of discharges of two filaments inside a domain or two neighboring domains can be alternately opposite for positive and negative half-cycles. The experimental results can be interpreted with breakdown-charge diffusion model. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.