A compact nanosecond pulse generator for DBD tube characterization

• Published in: Review of scientific instruments 2018-03, Vol.89 (3), p.033505-033505
• Main Authors: Rai, S. K., Dhakar, A. K., Pal, U. N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0034-6748; 1089-7623
• DOI: 10.1063/1.5017564

High voltage pulses of very short duration and fast rise time are required for generating uniform and diffuse plasma under various operating conditions. Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) has been generated by high voltage pulses of short duration and fast rise time to produce diffuse plasma in the discharge gap. The high voltage pulse power generators have been chosen according to the requirement for the DBD applications. In this paper, a compact solid-state unipolar pulse generator has been constructed for characterization of DBD plasma. This pulsar is designed to provide repetitive pulses of 315 ns pulse width, pulse amplitude up to 5 kV, and frequency variation up to 10 kHz. The amplitude of the output pulse depends on the dc input voltage. The output frequency has been varied by changing the trigger pulse frequency. The pulsar is capable of generating pulses of positive or negative polarity by changing the polarity of pulse transformer’s secondary. Uniform and stable homogeneous dielectric barrier discharge plasma has been produced successfully in a xenon DBD tube at 400-mbar pressure using the developed high voltage pulse generator.