The optical measurement of periodicity characteristics of micro-discharge in dielectric barrier discharge

The temporal behaviour of micro-discharge in DBD (Dielectric barrier discharge) in air at atmospheric pressure was measured non-intrusively and in-situ in a nanosecond time scale with a specially designed DBD setup of two water electrodes by using optical method. The non-symmetrical characteristic of the temporal behaviour of micro-discharge in pattern mode of DBD was discovered for the first time. According to the different effect of cumulated charge on the surface of dielectric on the adjacent discharges, the relation between the moments of adjacent discharges was analyzed. The experimental phenomenon that the intervals between adjacent discharges varied between long one and short one was interpreted by considering the memory effect of the cumulated charge on the surface of dielectric.