Effect of driving frequency on new filament generation in atmospheric-pressure pulsed radio-frequency discharges

Side discharges as well as filament clusters in atmospheric pressure pulsed radio-frequency dielectric barrier discharges were manipulated by varying the driving frequency, monitored with voltage and current probes, imaged with a slow camera, and quantified by gray-value analysis. Results show that the way of producing a new filament varies with the driving frequency. Based on the side discharge and filament-cluster structure, the key factors influencing the variation are discussed in terms of the electron trapping effect, activation-inhibition effect, and electric field distribution.