Energy coupling to the plasma in repetitive nanosecond pulse discharges

TLDR: In this article, a quasi-one-dimensional model of energy coupling to nanosecond discharge plasmas in plane-to-plane geometry has been developed, based on images of repetitively pulsed nano-cond discharge plasma in dry air demonstrating that the plasma remains diffuse and uniform over a wide range of pressures.

Abstract: A new analytic quasi-one-dimensional model of energy coupling to nanosecond pulse discharge plasmas in plane-to-plane geometry has been developed. The use of a one-dimensional approach is based on images of repetitively pulsed nanosecond discharge plasmas in dry air demonstrating that the plasma remains diffuse and uniform on a nanosecond time scale over a wide range of pressures. The model provides analytic expressions for the time-dependent electric field and electron density in the plasma, electric field in the sheath, sheath boundary location, and coupled pulse energy. The analytic model predictions are in very good agreement with numerical calculations. The model demonstrates that (i) the energy coupled to the plasma during an individual nanosecond discharge pulse is controlled primarily by the capacitance of the dielectric layers and by the breakdown voltage and (ii) the pulse energy coupled to the plasma during a burst of nanosecond pulses decreases as a function of the pulse number in the burst. T...