Self-organized pattern formation in an atmospheric-pressure single dielectric barrier discharge

Summary form only given. With the advantages of nonvacuum plasma operation, low gas temperature, mild discharge, high yield of active species, etc., atmospheric-pressure DBDs have shown immense potentials for numerous applications. As a spatially extended dissipated system, atmospheric-pressure DBDs with a large number of freedom degrees possess rich and complex temporal nonlinear behaviors including period doubling bifurcation, quasi-periodic behaviors, chaos, etc., and complex spatial nonlinear behaviors including filamentary discharge, self-organized pattern, spatial chaos, etc. A deep understanding of these nonlinear behaviors not only can offer valuable guidance to effective control of the stability and uniformity of atmospheric-pressure DBDs, but also makes it possible to lock atmospheric-pressure DBD operation in a preferred manner to meet the specific application requirements.The spatial nonlinear behaviors in the DBD system with a single dielectric barrier in He-N₂ mixtures are studied using a two-dimensional fluid model. Results show that under the simulation parameters, one or more discharge channels appear in the discharge space. It can be seen the discharge channels extend outwards near dielectric layer and shrink inwards near the naked electrode. And the positive and negative discharges on the current and the discharge spatial distribution are asymmetric in such electrode structure. By increasing the voltage amplitude, enlarging the electrode width, or increasing the nitrogen content, the number of the discharge channel increases. It should be noted that in a certain electrode width the maximum number of discharge channel is fixed and when the nitrogen content is high enough, the discharge could become relatively uniform.