L Stollenwerk 2009 New J. Phys. 11 103034 doi:10.1088/1367-2630/11/10/103034
Interaction of current filaments in dielectric barrier discharges with relation to surface charge distributions
L Stollenwerk
Show affiliationsIn a planar, laterally extended dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) system operated in glow mode, a filamentary discharge is observed. The filaments tend to move laterally and hence tend to cause collisions. Thereby, usually one collision partner becomes destroyed. In this paper, the collision process and especially the preceding time period is investigated. Beside the luminescence density of the filaments, the surface charge density accumulated between the single breakdowns of the DBD is observed via an optical measurement technique based on the linear electro-optical effect (pockels effect). A ring-like substructure of the surface charge distribution of a single filament is found, which correlates to the filament interaction behaviour. Furthermore, a preferred filament distance is found, suggesting the formation of a filamentary quasi-molecule.
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GENERAL SCIENTIFIC SUMMARY
Introduction and background. Self-organized structures in planar dielectric barrier discharges are a well known experimental phenomenon. The most common observed structures consist of current filaments. The filaments are able to move along the electrodes and to interact with each other, i.e., they show a particle-like behaviour. Within the last decade, the basic mechanisms leading to their appearance were revealed on the basis of volume and surface charges in the discharge chamber. However, understanding of their dynamics and interactions is still at an early stage.Main results. In this paper, the collision process of two current filaments and the subsequent annihilation of one of the collision partners is investigated in detail. Prior to the disappearance of one of the filaments, they form a metastable molecule-like structure with a distinct filament distance. The experiment is observed via the emitted light of the discharge and the space- and time-resolved distribution of the surface charge. Therefrom, an internal structure of the filaments can be revealed that is apparently connected to the metastable quasi-molecule and hence can explain its occurrence.
Wider implications. The presence of such an inner structure of a current filament is a new aspect of dielectric barrier discharges. Its mechanism of formation as well as its mechanism of interaction need to be investigated theoretically. In the context of nonlinear physics and pattern formation, the current filaments appear as particle-like structures that can appear or vanish solely as a whole and exhibit a distinct interaction law.
- PACS
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41.20.Cv Electrostatics; Poisson and Laplace equations, boundary-value problems
- Subjects
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Accelerators, beams and electromagnetism
- Dates
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Issue 10 (October 2009)
Received 1 September 2009
Published 21 October 2009
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Interaction of current filaments in dielectric barrier discharges with relation to surface charge distributions
L Stollenwerk 2009 New J. Phys. 11 103034
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