Fully kinetic simulation of atmospheric pressure microcavity discharge device

Summary form only given. In this talk we will present our recent work on simulating the discharge process in a microscale device using the PIC-DSMC simulation code Aleph. Microcavity discharges have been experimentally studied and computationally simulated, but to our knowledge there have been no completely kinetic simulations. The nominal breakdown process under consideration occurs due to a large field applied across a dielectric spacer between anode and electrode surfaces. Ideally, one would be able to exhibit control over the plasma chemistry (e.g., selection of specific excitations) and predict spatial and temporal evolution. In particular, pre-initiation behavior, initiation itself, and convergence to a subsequent steady state will be presented. Scaled results and comparison to existing device measurements will also be provided.