Dynamics of an impulse dielectric barrier discharge in pure ammonia gas using electrical characteristics and imaging analysis

TL;DR

This study investigates the dynamics of impulse dielectric barrier discharges in pure ammonia using electrical diagnostics and imaging, revealing a correlation between wave velocity and current rise in diffuse mode discharges.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the relationship between excitation wave velocity and current rise in ammonia plasma discharges, supported by quantitative proportionality.

Findings

Strong correlation between wave velocity and current rise in diffuse mode

Proportionality factor of 1.5 x 10^{-3} systematically observed

Imaging and electrical diagnostics effectively characterize discharge dynamics

Abstract

A glow nanosecond discharge from a plane-to-plane impulse dielectric barrier discharge (iDBD) with ammonia gas has been characterised by employing fast imaging and electrical diagnostics. More precisely, the aim of this study is to investigate the dynamics of the discharge establishment under various conditions of applied voltage, pressure, and gas gap. The comparison between the current measurements and the image analysis exposes a strong correlation between the fast excitation and ionization wave velocity and the rising current velocity. This correlation has been found only for diffuse mode discharge since a front wave could be clearly defined, denoted as the luminous propagation front (LPF). Furthermore, this correlation is supported by a proportionality factor of 1.5 10$^{-3}$ which is systematic over the studied conditions. Further investigations are considered to evaluate the relevance of such a value over more parameters.