Spatially resolved surface-charge measurement in a planar dielectric-barrier discharge system.
We investigate a laterally extended dielectric helium discharge system with plane electrodes. The system is operated in the glow mode and is known to exhibit a rich variety of self-organized lateral patterns in the current distribution, most of them being filamentary. It is known from theory that surface charges on the dielectrics play a major role for the emerging patterns. In this work we present a method to measure the spatial charge distribution on the dielectrics via the Pockels effect of a bismuth-silicon-oxide crystal. The experimental results of the surface-charge distribution measurements are in good agreement with previous numerical solutions of the corresponding transport equations.
Institut für Angewandte Physik, Corrensstrasse 2/4, 48149 Münster, Germany. stollenw@uni-muenster.de
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Stollenwerk
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Laven
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Purwins