Physics and applications of dielectric-barrier discharges

Summary form only given. The dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD), also referred to as silent discharge or SD, represents the most important non-equilibrium discharge that can be conveniently operated at atmospheric pressure or above. Originally developed for large-scale industrial ozone production it has found a number of additional applications in plasma surface treatment and pollution control, and in such technical devices as high-intensity sources of incoherent ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet excimer radiation and industrial high-power carbon dioxide lasers. Most recently, novel large volume DBD applications were introduced to the consumer market in the form of ac plasma display panels, flat large-area, wall hanging TV sets. Future DBD applications may include the conversion of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane to liquid fuels. The discharge physics and the plasma chemistry of this special gas discharge will be discussed with respect to different applications. The phenomena leading to electrical breakdown in such electrode configurations will be described.