Microdischarges in ceramic foams and honeycombs

Microdischarges in spatially confined geometries, such as microcavities and micropores of various materials, present a promising method for the generation and maintenance of stable discharges at atmospheric pressure. They have been successfully used in many biomedical, environmental and industrial applications. The paper presents two relatively new types of discharges in confined volumes - a capillary microdischarge in ceramic foams and a sliding discharge inside the capillaries of ceramic honeycombs - and describes their basic physical properties and mechanisms. Microdischarges inside the microporous ceramic foams develop from the surface barrier discharge if the amplitude of the applied voltage reaches given threshold, but only for a specific pore size. Sliding discharge inside the honeycomb capillaries is produced by a combination of AC barrier discharge inside catalytic pellet bed coupled in series with DC powered honeycomb monolith. Both discharges produce relatively cold microplasmas with high level of non-equilibrium. The basic characteristics of the microdischarges, addressing the effects of the applied voltage, discharge power, pore size, length and diameter of the capillaries are discussed.