Jiting Ouyang

Uniformity of a dielectric barrier glow discharge: experiments and two-dimensional modeling

The experimental and calculated results of uniformity in a glow dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) under sub-atmospheric pressures are reported. Driven by a square-wave power source, the discharge in a parallel-electrode DBD system shows uniform or various lateral structures under different conditions. There exists a critical frequency below which the DBD is uniform for almost all the applied voltages. Above the critical frequency, a non-uniform (patterned) discharge is observed and the patterned structures change with frequency and voltage. A two-dimensional fluid modeling is performed on this DBD system which shows similar results in agreement with the experiments. The simulations reveal that the distribution of the space electron density at the beginning of each voltage pulse plays an important role in achieving the uniformity. Uniform space charge results in a uniform DBD. The patterned DBD always evolves from the initial uniform state to the eventual non-uniform one. During this process, the space electrons form a patterned distribution ahead of the surface charges and lead to non-uniform discharge channels.

Numerical study on xenon positive column discharges of mercury-free lamp

In this paper, the numerical study has been performed on the xenon positive column discharges of mercury-free fluorescent lamp. The plasma discharge characteristics are analyzed by numerical simulation based on two-dimensional fluid model. The effects of cell geometry, such as the dielectric layer, the electrode width, the electrode gap, and the cell height, and the filling gas including the pressure and the xenon percentage are investigated in terms of discharge current and discharge efficiency. The results show that a long transient positive column will form in the xenon lamp when applying ac sinusoidal power and the lamp can operate in a large range of voltage and frequency. The front dielectric layer of the cell plays an important role in the xenon lamp while the back layer has little effect. The ratio of electrode gap to cell height should be large to achieve a long positive column xenon lamp and higher efficiency. Increase of pressure or xenon concentration results in an increase of discharge efficiency and voltage. The discussions will be helpful for the design of commercial xenon lamp cells.

Self-pulsing operating mode of hollow cathode discharge in noble gas

The self-pulsing phenomenon of hollow cathode discharge in a semi-cylindrical hollow cathode in noble gas is investigated in this paper. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics and the time evolution of the current and voltage of self-pulsing are measured under different conditions. The results show that the pulse frequency ranges from a few to tens kilohertz depending on the pressure and the averaged current. It increases with the averaged current and decreases as the pressure rising. The external parallel capacitances have no influence on the self-pulsing frequency. It is supposed that the mode transition between pre-discharge and hollow cathode discharge may contribute to the self-pulse.

Effect of volume and surface charges on discharge structure of glow dielectric barrier discharge

The effect of volume and surface charges on the structure of glow dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) has been investigated numerically by using two-dimensional (2D) fluid modeling. The local increase of volume or surface charges induces a kind of activation-inhibition effect, which enhances the local volume discharge and inhibits the discharge in neighborhoods, resulting in non-uniform discharge. The activation-inhibition effect due to the non-uniform volume and/or surface charges depends on the non-uniformity itself and the applied voltage. The activation-inhibition of non-uniform charges has different effects on the volume charges and the accumulated surface charges. The distribution of remaining free charges (seed electrons) in volume at the beginning of voltage pulse plays a key role for the glow DBD structure, resulting in a patterned DBD, when the seed electrons are non-uniform at higher frequency and moderate voltage or uniform DBD, when the seed electrons are uniform at lower frequency or high voltage. The distribution of surface charges is not the determining factor but a result of the formed DBD structure.

Self-pulsing of hollow cathode discharge in various gases

In this paper, we investigate the self-pulsing phenomenon of cavity discharge in a cylindrical hollow cathode in various gases including argon, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, and air. The current-voltage characteristics of the cavity discharge, the waveforms of the self-pulsing current and voltage as well as the repetition frequency were measured. The results show that the pulsing frequency ranges from a few to tens kilohertz and depends on the averaged current and the pressure in all gases. The pulsing frequency will increase with the averaged current and decrease with the pressure. The rising time of the current pulse is nearly constant in a given gas or mixture. The self-pulsing does not depend on the external ballast but is affected significantly by the external capacitor in parallel with the discharge cell. The low-current self-pulsing in hollow cathode discharge is the mode transition between Townsend and glow discharges. It can be described by the charging-discharging process of an equivalent circuit consisting of capacitors and resistors.

Prediction of atmospheric pressure glow discharge in dielectric-barrier system

A one-dimensional fluid model was used to investigate the breakdown mechanism and discharge mode in dielectric-barrier system. The results show that the dielectric barrier discharge mode depends strongly on the gas property (i.e., the electron multiplication). The atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier glow discharge could only be achieved in a gas (e.g., noble gas) in which the first Townsend ionization coefficient is sufficiently small and the electron multiplication does not rise up rapidly with the electric field, while could not be sustained in the gas (e.g., N2 and O2) in which the electron multiplication is sensitive to the field.

Imaging of a macroscopic plasma display panel cell

In this paper, we present results from the imaging of a macroscopic plasma display discharge cell obtained with an intensified charge coupled device using infrared optical filters. The macro-cell geometry is identical to that of a plasma display panel (PDP) cell with a coplanar electrode configuration, but the macro-cell dimensions are about 60 times larger than those of a real cell and the operating pressure is 60 times lower. The similarity laws are not expected to be fully valid, but the macro-cell provides a very good insight in the physics of a PDP cell and can help optimizing the discharge efficiency and validate the models.

Numerical simulation of the sustaining discharge in radio frequency hollow cathode discharge in argon

In this paper, a two-dimensional fluid model was developed to study the radio frequency (RF) hollow cathode discharge (HCD) in argon at 1 Torr. The evolutions of the particle density distribution and the ionization rate distribution in RF HCD at 13.56 MHz indicate that the discharge mainly occurs inside the hollow cathode. The spatio-temporal distributions of the ionization rate and the power deposition within the hollow cathode imply that sheath oscillation heating is the primary mechanism to sustain the RF HCD, whereas secondary electron emission plays a negligible role. However, as driving frequency decreases, secondary electron heating becomes a dominant mechanism to sustain the discharge in RF hollow cathode.

Pattern Formation in a One-Dimensional Dielectric-Barrier Discharge Using Coplanar Electrodes

This paper focuses on the patterns in a quasi 1-D coplanar dielectric-barrier discharge system. Various characteristics, such as splitting, merging, and broadening of the filaments are observed by changing the applied voltage. The effect of the surface charge is considered important for the formation of the patterns.

Self-pulsing in a low-current hollow cathode discharge: From Townsend to glow discharge

We investigate the self-pulsing phenomenon of a low current cavity discharge in a cylindrical hollow cathode in pure argon. The waveforms of pulsed current and voltage are measured, and the time-averaged and time-resolved images of hollow cathode discharge are recorded by using high-speed intensified charge coupled device camera. The results show that the self-pulsing is a mode transition between low-current stage of Townsend discharge and high-current stage of glow discharge. During the self-pulsing, the current rising time relates to the dissipation of space charges, and the decay time relates to the reconstruction of the virtual anode by the accumulation of positive ions. Whether or not space charges can form and keep the virtual anode is responsible for the discharge mode and hence plays an important role in the self-pulsing phenomenon in low current hollow cathode discharge.