A High Voltage High Frequency Resonant Inverter for Supplying DBD Devices with Short Discharge Current Pulses

In this paper, the merits of a high-frequency resonant converter for supplying dielectric barrier discharges (DBD) devices are established. It is shown that, thanks to its high-frequency operating condition, such a converter allows to supply DBD devices with short discharge current pulses, a high repetition rate, and to control the injected power. In addition, such a topology eliminates the matter of connecting a high-voltage transformer directly across the DBD device and avoids the issues related to the parasitic capacitances of the latter which disturbs the control the power transfer to the plasma. The design issues of the converter, including the inverter and its switches, the resonant inductor, and the parameter drift compensation are studied. An experimental validation is performed: a mega Hertz resonant converter using GaN FET switches has been manufactured and tested with an excimer lamp.