Self-organization of microdischarges in dielectric barrier discharge plasma

Although microdischarges in dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) have been studied for the past century, their mutual interaction, discussed in this paper, was explained only recently. This interaction is responsible for the formation of microdischarge patterns reminiscent of two-dimensional crystals. Depending on the application, microdischarge patterns may have a significant influence on DBD performance, particularly when spatial uniformity is required. This paper briefly describes the subtle physics behind the microdischarge interaction and resultant pattern formation. The theory of the microdischarge interaction is presented along with experimentally observed microdischarge patterns.