Particle simulation of filamentary structure formation in dielectric barrier discharge

Filamentary discharges in dielectric barrier discharge operating in a glow regime are studied by use of two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation with Monte Carlo collisions included. The formation of multiple filaments and the involved electric fields, electric potentials, plasma densities, and particle temperatures are presented. It is found that the filaments are not ignited simultaneously, and they expire with the shift of the plasma sheaths. “Dark discharges”, which produce ion densities lower by one order of magnitude than a typical filamentary discharge, are observed while the filaments from earlier discharges are decaying.