Mode transitions of a helium dielectric barrier discharge from Townsend, normal glow, to abnormal glow with varying voltage rising time

Abstract

Transition from a Townsend mode to a normal glow mode has been reported in the literature for uniform dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure. In this paper, through a one-dimensional fluid model, more modes of uniform DBD in helium and transitions between them are found with varying rising time of a saw-tooth voltage. The results indicate that a positive discharge initiates at the positive-slope voltage phase, whose pulse duration decreases, while the peak value increases with decreasing rising time. During this process, a negative discharge initiating at the negative-slope voltage phase keeps weakening to almost zero current. The predominant positive discharge is then investigated through analyzing spatial distributions of electron density, ion density, and electric field at the peak current moment. In combination with the voltage-current curve, discharge modes of DBD are revealed to transit from a Townsend, a normal glow, to an abnormal glow with decreasing voltage rising time. These mode transitions are qualitatively explained by analyzing the gap voltage and electron density averaged in the gap just before discharge initiation. The results also suggest that by reducing the rising time or increasing voltage amplitude, DBD is prone to operate in the abnormal glow mode. Moreover, DBD in the abnormal glow mode has an increasing peak current and a decreasing pulse duration with increasing voltage amplitude. Finally, the critical voltage amplitude is given as a function of voltage rising time for the mode transitions from the Townsend to the normal glow and the normal glow to the abnormal glow.