Dielectric Barrier Discharge

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Dielectric Barrier Discharge

The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), also referred to as dielectric

barrier or just barrier discharge, silent discharge, is characterized
by the presence of at least one (two) insulating (dielectric) barrier in
the form of a sheet, layer or coating, which is in direct contact with
the electric discharge and is located between two planar or
cylindrical electrodes, supplied with alternating voltage.

Depending on the conditions, the size of the working (discharge)

gap varies from 0.1 to about 100 mm, and the frequency of the
applied voltage can be industrial frequency (50 Hz) to up to several
GHz.

The materials used for the dielectric barrier are glass, quartz,
ceramics, but also enamel or plastic
Common dielectric barrier discharge electrode configurations
The barrier discharges produce highly non-equilibrium (and non-
isothermal) plasma under atmospheric pressure in various plasma-
forming (diluted) gases, such as air, helium, argon, gas mixtures,
vapour etc., with varying temperature.

The barrier discharges provide controllable and efficient chemical

active particles generation (atoms, radicals, excited molecules and
atoms) under normal conditions, by electrons with high enough
energy - from 3 to 10 eV.

Many of the barrier discharges used under high (atmospheric)

pressure exist in the form of filament (discrete) discharges sets with
short lifetime, appearing continuously at the same place and thus
forming stable spatial structure of so-called micro discharges.

There is also a diffuse (homogeneous) form of the barrier discharge,

whose structure is very similar to that of the glow discharge (under
low pressure), called pseudoglow discharge.
Different gases can be used for generation of DBD

The capacity of helium to produce atmospheric pressure glow (or

rather homogeneous barrier) discharge is determined by its low
electric strength - about 3 kV/cm, which is about ten times lower that
that of the air under normal conditions. These conditions allow easy
production of the required set of separate avalanches, composing it.

The presence of metastable levels with relatively long lifetime, make

helium prone to ionization (penning) degree and explain this
behavior.

The ability of the dielectric barrier to retain (absorb) electrons in its

surface layer also contributes to the stable existence of APGD.

The dielectric barrier, which is in electrets (electrically polarized)

state, can retain sufficient quantity of electrons, which further
enhances the memory effect observed at repetition of the elementary
discharges, constituting the individual microdischarge.
Penning ionization is a fundamental atomic collision process whereby
ions are produced in chemical reactions involving excited atoms.

The Penning ionization process, in which a metastable atom or

molecule A* collides with another atom or molecule B, to leave A
unexcited and B+ as an ion,

A* + B A + B* + e
DBD

A discharge having one or two dielectric boundaries has many

similarities with discharges operated between metal electrodes.

For the first, ignition breakdown in a homogeneous electrical field is

governed by the same Paschen law that is known from breakdown
between metal electrodes.

One fundamental difference is, of course, that DBDs cannot be

operated with dc voltages because the capacitive coupling of the
dielectric(s) necessitates an alternating electric field to drive a
displacement current.

Prudent utilization of the current limiting properties of the dielectric

barriers is one of the major features in designing DBD configurations
and their matching to the power supplies. As soon as charges are
deposited on the dielectric they have an influence on local fields.
After the first ignition these memory charges soon dominate DBD
behavior.

DBDs can be operated with sinusoidal or square-wave currents

between line frequency and microwave frequencies or with special
pulsed wave forms.

For large-scale industrial applications power supplies operating

between 500 Hz and 500 kHz are preferred.
The properties of these micro discharges have been investigated
experimentally as well as theoretically.

Typical parameters for air discharges in a 1 mm gap are summarized

in Table .

Characteristic micro discharge properties in air at atmospheric

pressure
Microdischarge Properties

The most interesting property of DBDs is that in most gases at

about atmospheric pressure breakdown is initiated in a large
number of independent current filaments or micro discharges.
Figure below shows a snapshot of such micro discharges in a 1 mm
air gap photographed through a transparent electrode.

End on view of micro discharges

At a dielectric surface the micro discharge channels spread into
surface discharges covering a much larger region than the original
channel diameter.

The micro discharge filaments can be characterized as weakly

ionized plasmas with properties resembling those of transient high
pressure glow discharges.

They start when the breakdown field is reached locally and

extinguish when the field is reduced to such an extent that electron
attachment and recombination dominate over ionization.

Due to charge build-up on the dielectric surfaces the field at the

location of a micro discharge collapses within a few ns after
breakdown, thus terminating the current flow at this location. The
short duration results in little transient gas heating of the current
channel.
Photo of filaments
The dielectric barrier limits the amount of charge and energy
deposited in an individual micro discharge and distributes the micro
discharges evenly over the entire electrode surface.

As long as the external voltage is rising additional micro discharges

are initiated at new locations because the presence of residual
charges on the dielectric has reduced the electric fields at positions
where micro discharges have already occurred.

When the voltage is reversed, however, the next micro discharges

will form at old micro discharge locations.

Consequently, high voltage low frequency operation tends to spread

the micro discharges, while low voltage high frequency operation
tends to reignite the old micro discharge channels every half period.

This memory effect due to charge accumulation on the dielectrics is a

dominant feature in all DBDs.
In dielectric barrier discharges we can make use of residual species
from the previous half period. Thus, in addition to the already
mentioned memory charges on the dielectric surface(s), we also have
a memory effect in the volume if the repetition frequency is properly
chosen.

Also special dielectric properties can help to establish a

homogeneous volume discharge.

Electret dielectrics are capable of accumulating appreciable amounts

of charges on the surface. Supported by the applied voltage, the
charges are trapped uniformly on the surface. When the electric field
changes its polarity and exceeds a certain threshold value, the charge
carriers are expelled spontaneously from the surface and initiate a
homogeneous discharge
In Dielectric barrier discharge, the dielectric layer acts as a current
limiter and prevents the formation of a spark or an arc discharge.

The electrical energy coupled into a DBD-plasma is mainly

transferred to energetic electrons, while the neutral gas remains
close to ambient temperatures.

The non-equilibrium plasma that is produced in DBD system can be

operated at elevated pressures. This combination of plasma
properties makes it a unique device for many industrial applications

Mechanism of Discharge:

An individual filamentary discharge is initiated when a high voltage

Electrons emission from the surface of the dielectric is also
stimulated by UV photoemission and are accelerated in the electric
field to energies that equal or exceed the ionization energy of the gas
and create an avalanche in which the number of electrons doubles
with each generation of ionizing collisions.
The high mobility of the electrons compared to the ions allows the
electrons to move across the gap in durations measured in
nanoseconds.

The electrons leave behind the slower ions and various excited and
active species that may undergo further chemical reactions.

When the electrons reach the opposite electrode, the electrons

spread out over the insulating surface, counteracting the positive
charge on the instantaneous anode.

This factor, combined with the cloud of slower ions left behind,
reduces the electric field in the vicinity of the filament and
terminates any further ionization along the original track in time
scales of tens of nanoseconds in the gap space between the
electrodes.
The deposition of electrons from the conducting channel into the
anode dielectric barrier results in charge accumulation and prevents
the formation of new avalanches and streamers nearby, until the
cathode and anode are reversed.

After the voltage polarity reverses, the deposited negative charge

facilitates the formation of new avalanches and streamers in the
same spot.

As a result, many-generation family of streamers is formed that can

be macroscopically observed as a micro discharge that appears to
be spatially localized.
 Micro discharges and streamers in DBDs
DBD is not uniform, but consists of numerous non-steady-state local
micro discharges distributed in the discharge volume.

The term micro discharge refers to a bright, thin plasma filament

that is observed in DBDs.

The physics of these micro discharges is very sophisticated and is

based on the initial avalanche-to-streamer transition that is followed
by the streamer formation.

The time-line (from left to right) for these processes that result in
micro discharge streamer formation is presented in Fig. 1.

The avalanche-to-streamer transition and streamer propagation

takes about 10 ns in typical DBDs.
Streamers are local ionization waves usually moving from anode to
cathode to meet avalanches propagating in the opposite direction.

The streamer occurs when the applied voltage is high enough that
the local electric field caused by charge accumulation in avalanches
allows streamer formation.

The streamers move very fast (about 108 cm/s, an order of magnitude
faster than avalanches) and cover the distance between electrodes
in nanoseconds

The right side of the following figure shows streamer propagating

from the anode to the cathode while attracting additional avalanches.
Evolution of electron avalanche in discharge gap, showing
avalanche development, avalanche-to-streamer transition, and
streamer propagation
A micro discharge is formed by channel streamers that strike at the
same place each time the polarity of applied voltage changes. The
persistence of streamers to strike at the same place of their
ancestor is due to memory effect.

The memory effect is associated with charge deposited on the

dielectric barrier, as well as on residual charges and excited
species in the micro discharge channel.

The description of micro discharges is based on an understanding

of the formation, propagation, and interaction of streamers. The
electrons in the conducting channel established by the streamers
dissipate rapidly from the gap (in about 10 ns), while the heavy,
slowly drifting ions remain in the discharge gap for several
microseconds.

The deposition of electrons from the conducting channel onto the

anode dielectric barrier results in charge accumulation and
prevents the formation of new avalanches and streamers nearby,
until the cathode and anode are reversed.
After the voltage polarity reverses, the deposited negative charge
facilitates the formation of new avalanches and streamers in the
same spot.

As a result, a many-generation family of streamers is formed that can

be macroscopically observed as a micro discharge that appears to be
spatially localized.

Existence and Importance of Patterns

The space charge of the micro discharge channel will decrease the
electric field and prevent streamer formation in the vicinity of this
channel. The plasma channel that forms after the streamer strike has
a net positive charge because the electrons leave the gap much
faster than ions.

This residual positive charge influences the formation of the nearby

streamers and therefore of the neighboring micro discharges
(families of streamers).
The mechanism of the influence is the following: positive charge
intensifies the electric field in the cathode area near the channel and
decreases the electric field in the anode area.

Since the avalanche-to-streamer transition depends mostly on the

electric field near the anode, where a new streamer originates from,
the formation of neighboring streamers and micro discharges is
actually prevented, and so, micro discharges effectively repel each
other.

The quasi-repulsion between micro discharges leads to the

formation of short-range order that is related to a characteristic
repulsion distance between micro discharges, and in some cases, it
results in micro discharge self-organization into regular patterns.
Streamers were the subject of intensive study over the past century;
however, mutual interaction of micro discharges was discovered only
recently.

This interaction forces micro discharges to arrange themselves into

regular patterns, which are similar to Coulomb crystals

Observation of this cooperative phenomenon depends on several

factors, including the number of the micro discharges occurring and
the operating frequency (which affects the strength of memory
effect).

For example, when the number of micro discharges is not large

enough, then no significant micro discharge interaction is observed.
In all cases, filaments stay separated at least by a distance
corresponding to the length scale of the micro discharge interaction.
If the applied electric field is high enough, it will cause micro
discharges to develop in all of the unoccupied spaces, so that the
discharge area becomes completely filled, and as all of the micro
discharges are separated by approximately the same distance,
regular patterns of micro discharges are formed.
Streamer footprints images in a DBD gap in air for 10 excitation
cycles at 20.9 kHz and a discharge gap of 0.762 mm: (a) original
experimental image
Homogeneous and Nonhomogeneous DBD modes

Barrier discharges can exhibit two major discharge modes: streamer

(with bright micro discharges) and glow.

The glow mode of DBDs is not necessarily uniform, but can be

filamentary also. These glow filaments are formed by avalanches
rather than streamers (micro discharges are initiated by Townsend,
not a streamer breakdown).

Much experimental and theoretical work has been done in this area.

Most industrial DBD applications utilize filamentary discharges

because the specific power of filamentary discharge is typically
higher.

However, for homogeneous treatment of surfaces, or for the

deposition of thin films, the glow mode of discharge has obvious
advantages over the filamentary one.
Glow discharges with average power densities comparable to those
of filamentary discharges will find a lot of applications, if reliable
control could be achieved.

Organization of the APG discharges in DBDs is one of the most

challenging problems.
Schematic diagram summarizing the general principle of dielectric-
barrier discharges and major applications.
Applications of DBD

The early phases of micro discharge formation are characterized

by electron multiplication, excitation and dissociation processes
initiated by energetic electrons and by ionization processes and
space charge accumulation.

The ionic and excited atomic and molecular species initiate

chemical reactions that finally result in the synthesis of a desired
species (e.g., ozone, excimers,) or the destruction of pollutants
(e.g., volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nerve gases, odors, NH3
,H2S, NOx,SO2 , etc.).

If the major reaction paths are dominated by charged particle

reactions, the term plasma chemistry adequately describes the
situation. In the majority of DBD applications, most charged
particles disappear before any major changes occur
In this case it is most appropriate to speak of a free-radical chemistry
primarily involving neutral species like atoms, molecular fragments
and excited molecules. The generated active species set the initial
conditions for the ensuing chemical reactions.

Typically, the first step is a dissociation of the initially molecular

species by electron collisions. The dissociation of oxygen by
electron impact can be highly efficient (up to 85% of the electron
energy can be utilized for the dissociation process) corresponding to
average electron energies of about 4 to 8 eV.

This situation is unique in oxygen. In pure nitrogen the fraction of

discharge energy spent on dissociation is much less due to energy
lost for the excitation of vibrational levels. In CO2 under favorable
conditions, at most 40% of the electron energy can be utilized for the
dissociation process. The efficiency of the different processes
involved depends on their cross sections for electron collisions and
the reduced field.
Ozone production

Ozone was first discovered by the European researcher C.F.

Schonbein in 1839. It was first used commercially in 1907 in
municipal water supply treatment in Nice and in 1910 in St.
Petersburg.

Ozone (O3), is a strong oxidizing agent made from stable molecular

oxygen (O2), replacing chlorinated compounds in a variety of
applications including waste-water treatment, polluted air
treatment and as a disinfectant. Ozone is unstable and
decomposes slowly (in minutes) at ambient temperatures and
rapidly (1s) at higher temperatures.

In order to generate ozone, a diatomic oxygen mole molecule must

first be split; the resulting oxygen free radical is thereby free to
react with another diatomic oxygen to form the tri-atomic ozone
molecule. However, in order to break the OO bond a great deal of
energy is required.
Ultraviolet radiation (188 nm wavelength), corona discharge and
DBD methods can be used to initiate free radical oxygen formation.
Coaxial DBD ozone generator is shown in the following Figure

Next Figure shows the relation between the applied voltage (in kV)
and ozone concentration at constant flow rate at different applied
frequency..
Schematic diagram for coaxial DBD used for ozone production
Ozone concentration with applied voltage at different frequencies
The behavior between the applied voltage and ozone concentration
at constant flow rate be explained as follow, at first no ozone is
detected, since the applied voltage has not reached a high enough
value for the gas breakdown to occur.

Increasing applied voltage, breakdown in oxygen takes place and

dissociation of oxygen molecules occurs, producing atomic oxygen
that recombines with oxygen molecules to produce ozone and
hence the ozone detected.

The ozone concentration can be noticed to increase at slow rate, up

to certain voltage and then it tends to increase at a higher rate.
Ozone being produced in pure oxygen through two different
mechanisms:
It is believed that ozone is generated at a slow rate by the first
reaction, while it is generated by both reactions in high rate region.

This explains the enhancement of the rate of ozone generation. With

more increase of the applied voltage ozone concentration tends to
slow down, that can be attributed to several reasons that can be
summarized as follows:

1- Ozone can be destroyed through collision with electron and

atomic oxygen according to the reaction:
2- Self-emitted light (200 - 300 nm) in the oxygen discharge can
cause the ozone to be dissociated through photo-dissociation
reactions.

3- The amount of energy dissipated in micro discharge at high

applied voltage leads to a minute instantaneous local temperature
rise, which may cause a significant dissociation of the ozone
molecules.
Ozone generation from oxygen and air
Ozone Generation
Properties of ozone O3
Discharge tubes in ozone generators
Traditional Ozone Generator with Glass Tubes
Modern Ozone Generator
Advanced Technology Ozone Generator
Generation of Ozone
Ozone Water Treatment

Ozone - How it works

Hydrogen production

Hydrogen is supposed to play an important role in the worldwide

energy supply. It allows a more efficient utilization of fossil fuels and
the reduction of noxious emissions by using hydrogen fuel cells or
the hydrogen enriched fuels in combustion engines or gas turbines.

Plasma methods are expected to allow low temperature and fuel

flexible on-site hydrogen generation.

Experiments on methane steam reforming for hydrogen generation

with a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor were performed.
Methane or natural gas reforming is widely used in industry to obtain
hydrogen or synthesis gas (H2 + CO), which are utilized in industry
for as source materials for the production of raw chemicals like
methanol and ammonia, hydrogenation agents in oil refinery and as
reducing gases in steel industry.

The main reaction in steam reforming of methane is the oxidation

with steam, yielding a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide:
This strong endothermic reaction is industrially carried out using a
nickel based catalyst at about 800C and 25 bar.

To further increase the hydrogen yield and to remove carbon

monoxide from the product gas, the exothermic water shift reaction
can be applied in an additional stage at temperatures between 190
and 260C over a copper zinc based catalyst.
Pollution control

An increasing number of investigation have been devoted to the

reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in automotive diesel exhaust and
sulphur oxides (SOx) and to the decomposition of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) like hydrocarbons, chlorofluorocarbons and other
hazards air pollutants using DBD.

The principles which are behind the destruction of pollutants with non
thermal plasma like DBDs may be understood based on the fact that
energetic electrons inside the plasma can activate gas molecules by
collision processes different and subsequently initiate a number of
reactions generating free radicals O, OH, HO2 for decomposing
pollutants.

Oxidation is the main process in reducing exhausts containing dilute

concentration of pollutants (NO, VOC) in mixture of N2 and O2. In
humid gas mixture the formation of OH radicals result in the formation
of HNO2 and HNO3 by reaction with NO and NO2.
Biological applications of DBD

The recent trends focus on using plasmas in the health care for "processing"
of medical equipment and even living tissues. The major goal of tissue
treatment with plasmas is non-destructive surgery, controlled, high precision
removal of diseased sections with minimum damage to the organism.

Furthermore, plasmas allow fast and efficient bacterial inactivation, which

makes them suitable for sterilization of surgical tools and local disinfecting
of tissues.

Much research effort must be undertaken before these techniques will

become common in medicine, but it is expected that a novel approach to
surgery will emerge from plasma science.

An extremely promising field will be the plasma-based treatment of chronic

wounds. A selective antimicrobial (antiseptic) activity without damaging
surrounding tissue, combined with a controlled stimulation of tissue
regeneration could revolutionize wound care. Other fields are the treatment
of skin diseases and tissue engineering.
The formation of excimer complexes in dielectric-barrier
discharges
When DBDs are operated in high-pressure rare gases or rare gas /
halogen mixtures, the plasma conditions in the micro discharge
channels resemble those in pulsed excimer lasers.

Each micro discharge can act as an intense source of ultraviolet

(UV) or vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation. Excimer formation is
favored by high collision rates at elevated pressure and efficient
excitation or ionization of precursor species, which requires non
equilibrium discharge conditions.

DBDs conveniently combine these two requirements. Typical

examples are the formation of Xe2*, KrCl* or XeCl* excimer
complexes, radiating at 172 nm, 222 nm or 308 nm, respectively.
In excimer lamps such excimer forming gas mixtures are sealed in
quartz vessels whose walls act as dielectric barriers. Transparent or
perforated external electrodes are used through which the UV
radiation can exit.

These electrode less lamps can be operated at high power densities

and operating frequencies of a few hundred kHz. A considerable
fraction of the discharge power can be converted to UV or VUV
radiation.

Excimer UV sources provide high intensity narrow-band UV radiation

at various specific wavelengths.

Since, under special discharge conditions, Xe2* excimers reach

theoretical VUV conversion efficiencies of 50-80% and large volume
applications are foreseen in VUV sources and in plasma displays.
Xenon resonance and excimer VUV radiation from dielectric barrier
discharge
Fluorescent lamps and plasma display panels

Efficient generation of VUV excimer radiation can also be utilized in

fluorescent lamps and in plasma display panels (PDPs).

With the aid of phosphors the UV radiation can be converted to visible

light. It is now possible to produce mercury free fluorescent lamps
with obvious advantages for the environment.

Excimer fluorescent lamps filled with a mixture of xenon and neon are
already in use in copying machines. Also at planar large-area excimer
fluorescent lamps have been developed for applications like back-
illumination in liquid crystal displays.

As far as the future market potential of DBDs is concerned the most

important use will be in ac plasma display panels used for at, large-
area, wall hanging TV sets with 1m to 1.5m picture diagonal.
These displays combine the original idea of the plasma display
proposed in 1966 with the more recent experience about efficient
generation of excimer radiation.

In tiny addressable DBD cells of 100 mm electrode spacing and 200

mm width xenon VUV radiation is converted to red, green or blue
image points by activating internally applied phosphor layers.

Gas mixtures containing 5-10% Xe in Ne or He are used at pressures

of 50-70 kPa.

The operating voltage is only 200-300 V.

Multi-billion dollar investments in production facilities for these at

television screens in Japan and South Korea have recently led to a
new dimension of large-scale industrial dielectric-barrier
applications.

The market volume was expected to increase at 5 million sets in the

year 2005.
Applications of excimer UV radiation

Intense ultraviolet radiation can initiate photophysical and

photochemical processes by breaking molecular bonds and by
modifying surface properties.

It can be used for UV curing applications to induce photo-

polymerization of special paints, printing inks, varnishes and
adhesives.

Important novel applications, especially for the shorter UV and VUV

wavelengths, were found in materials processing, surface
modification, thin film deposition and in pollution control.

Photo-induced structured metal deposition, and the formation of

semiconducting or insulating thin films have become important
processes.
In addition to the well-established oxidation of polymers also low
temperature oxidation of silicon could be achieved with the aid of
VUV radiation from an excimer lamp.

These intense novel ultraviolet sources offer an enormous potential

for industrial materials processing.
Excimers formation in DBD plasma

Interest in the excimer synthesis in DBD plasma has been increased mostly
due to the excimer-laser development, which provides the generation of UV
radiation. Developed on the basis of DBD technology, excimer lamps are able
successfully to substitute lasers in all corresponding technologies where the
coherent radiation is not required.

Excimer lamps are easy to manufacture, they do not require an expensive

power supplies and are able to provide high radiation intensity which can be
easily controlled by changing frequency of the applied voltage. A typical
example of excimer synthesis and generation of radiation in DBD is related to
the formation and destruction of Xe2*
* (where Xe is the working gas). This process takes place in micro discharge
channels and consists of three consequent stages:
(excimer destruction and generation of UV radiation).

As shown experimentally, the reaction rates of these three reactions are so

high that the duration of radiation generated by single streamer does not
exceed the corresponding duration of current pulse, which is on the level of
several ns.

The efficiency of an excimer-laser is less than 12 %, while the efficiency of

excimer DBD lamps can reach 1015 %.