Dependence of the Ultraviolet Intensity and the Density of Electrons Produced by a Surface Corona Discharge for Pre-ionization on the Waveform of Pulsed Voltage

Abstract

Streamer discharges generated by pulsed power are used for decomposition of harmful gas and liquid. The homogeneous formation of streamer discharges in a large volume in a reactor improves the efficiency of decomposition. To produce streamer discharges homogeneously, the performance of space ionization by a surface corona discharge for pre-ionization has been investigated. The increase of a pulse width from 20 ns to 100 ns brings the increase of about 2 times of ultraviolet intensity and an electron density. For the positive discharge with the pulsed voltage of 6 kV and the rise time of 11 ns, the electron density was increased from 1.2x10⁸ to 2.3x10⁸ cm^-3 with the pulse width from 20 to 100 ns (FWHM). As the magnitude of pulsed voltage was increased from 6 to 10 kV, the ultraviolet intensity and the electron density were increased about 3 times. In contrast, the rise time of the pulsed voltage slightly affects the ultraviolet intensity and the electron density. The decrease of the rise time from 30 to 10 ns brings the increase of 5 % of the ultraviolet intensity and 10 % of the electron density.