Restraining Effect of Filaments on Applied Voltage

In this study, argon and nitrogen were used as the discharge gases in radio-frequency (RF:13.56MHz) powered dielectric barrier atmospheric plasma. It was noticed that in single dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) with nitrogen as the discharge gas, or in argon plasma with a high applied power, micro-filament channels were easily formed. The channels in these two kinds of discharge were both constrictive on the bare metallic electrode and expansive on the opposite electrode covered with a quartz layer. The number of micro-channels was increased along with the input power, which caused the change in the I-V curve shape, i.e., the current kept increasing and the voltage fluctuated within a confined range. With double dielectric layers, however, no micro-channels appeared in the ICCD images, and the I-V curve demonstrated a totally different shape. It was assumed that micro–filaments exhibited a restraining effect on the discharge voltage. The mechanism of this restraining effect was explored in this work.