In order to perform data acquisition and avoid unwanted over-current damage to the power supply,a convenient and real-time method of experimentally investigating repetitive nanosecond-pulse breakdown in polymer dielectric samples is presented.The measurement-acquisition and control system not only records breakdown voltage and current,and time-to-breakdown duration,but also provides a real-time power-off protection for the power supply.Furthermore,the number of applied pulses can be calculated by the product of the time-to-breakdown duration and repetition rate.When the measured time-to-breakdown duration error is taken into account,the repetition rate of applied nanosecond-pulses should be below 40 kHz.In addition,some experimental data on repetitive nanosecond-pulse breakdown of polymer films are presented and discussed.
Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) between two cylindrical glass containers with saltwater generated by a nanosecond repetitively pulsed power generator is reported.The electricalparameters,luminous images and spectrum diagnosis are presented.It is shown that the DBDpossesses a large discharge current and an intense optical emission from the nitrogen secondpositive system below 400 nm.The gas temperature remains very close to room temperatureregardless of pulse polarity.Luminous photographs with a short exposure time down to 2 nsindicate that no filament is observed and the discharge is homogeneous.
