Influence of voltage waveforms and frequencies on dielectric barrier discharges in low air pressure

In order to find out the effects of the applied voltage on dielectric barrier discharges (DBD), a microsecond pulse generator and a microsecond sinusoidal generator (f<20 kHz, Tr>5 us) were employed to our DBD experiment. We found from our tests that the uniformity in space of DBD is closely related to the rise time and frequency of the applied voltage. The higher is the frequency of the applied voltage, the larger is the pressure range formed the uniform discharges. The shorter is the rise time of the applied voltage, the larger is the pressure range formed the uniform discharges.