Inhibition and promotion of quasi-uniform to filamentary discharge transition in negative repetitive nanosecond surface dielectric barrier discharge

The transition from quasi-uniform to filamentary modes in a repetitive nanosecond surface dielectric barrier discharge under atmospheric pressure was studied. Raising the repetition frequency can trigger a transition from quasi-uniform to filamentary mode after several pulses, but systematic study of this repetitive discharge transition remains limited. Our focus encompassed both discharge morphology and electrical characteristics, leading to two main findings. First, by analyzing the current and deposited energy waveforms, we identified three characteristic frequency ranges corresponding to the discharge modes. Notably, within the 5–8 kHz range, we observed non-monotonic changes in the propagation distance, the current amplitude, and the deposited energy, which are associated with the discharge transition. Second, the count of current extrema in the primary discharge process changed only during the transition to the filamentary mode, and remained stable in the steady discharge mode. Additionally, we present a discharge mode control curve outlining parameter windows for the discharge modes. This curve facilitates the optimization of pulse power supply and control schemes in practical applications.