Striation mechanism and triggered striation in dielectric microdischarge plasma

Abstract

The striation mechanism of dielectric microdischarges, as in many plasma devices, is extensively explored by collisional kinetic and fluid simulations. Striation in a typical dielectric microdischarge device predominantly occurs near the anode region and is basically governed by the ionization-dominated alpha -processes, wherein surface and space charges collectively dictate the phenomenon in a complex manner. A novel type of striation has been investigated by us near the cathode region, which is dominated by gamma -processes and is driven by the secondary-electron emission mechanism.