Investigation of breakdown in a pulsed 13.56 MHz asymmetric surface barrier discharge in atmospheric pressure argon

摘要

The breakdown of a radio frequency asymmetric surface barrier discharge in atmospheric pressure argon is investigated. The frequency of the applied field is increased above that typically used for asymmetric surface dielectric barrier discharges (ASDBDs), which employ high-voltage fields reaching 30 kV at up to about 10 kHz to generate non-thermal randomized microdischarges. Here, a discharge comprised of stationary filaments is generated using pulse-modulated 13.56 MHz power. The breakdown characteristics are reported using electrical, spectroscopic and imaging measurements, and the time-resolved optical emission of the 696.5 nm Ar (I) line is similar to that of a parallel-plate argon barrier discharge operating in ambient air at the same rf frequency.