Formation of spatially periodic fronts of high-energy electrons in a radio-frequency driven surface microdischarge

J. Dedrick*, D. O'Connell, T. Gans, R. W. Boswell, C. Charles

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    3 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The generation of spatially periodic fronts of high-energy electrons (>13.48 eV) has been investigated in a radio-frequency surface microdischarge in atmospheric-pressure argon. Optical emission spectroscopy is used to study the Ar I 2 p 1 - 1 s 2 transition surrounding a filamentary microdischarge, both spatially and with respect to the phase of the applied voltage. The formation of excitation fronts, which remain at a constant propagation distance throughout the RF cycle and for the duration of the pulse, may be explained by a localized increase in the electric field at the tip of surface-charge layers that are deposited during the extension phase.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number034109
    JournalApplied Physics Letters
    Volume102
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 21 Jan 2013

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