Dielectric-barrier discharge excitated by repetitive nanosecond pulses in air at atmospheric pressure

This paper illustrates images of dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) excitated by repetitive unipolar nanosecond pulses in atmospheric air. Different images are obtained for three barrier dielectrics and various gap lengths. Discharge images show that the nanosecond-pulse DBD observed with the eye is a diffuse glowlike mode when air gap is 2 mm; clear filamentary discharge is seen with the eye in the case of air gap of 8 mm. The results show that gap length and dielectrics are the important factors influencing the transition from diffusive to filamentary discharges.