The consequences of remnant surface charges on microdischarge spreading indielectric barrier discharges

Dielectric barrier discharges (DBD's) consist of filamentary microdischarge s (10s-100s mu m diameter) randomly distributed between the electrodes. Cha rging of the dielectric terminates the microdischarge by removing voltage f rom the gap. When the applied voltage changes polarity, the residual dielec tric charges from the previous pulse can enhance the gap voltage so that a more intense electron avalanche occurs. In this paper, results from a two-d imensional model of a DBD are used to demonstrate the consequences of diele ctric charging on spreading of the microdischarges.