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A compact Matlab model of plasma discharges in a DBD reactor consisting of two parallel electrode plates with a small gap and a thin dielectric sheet between them is reported. Its DBD plasma is modelled as a voltage controlled current-source switched on when the voltage across the gap exceeds the breakdown voltage. A three cell voltage-source inverter, configured in half-bridge, has been used as a power supply. This configuration has an excellent performance when operating as an open-loop. The distribution of total energy between a large number of low power converters proofs to be advantageous, allowing an efficient high power drive. Simulation results show that the current source and its output current tend to follow an exponential behaviour. A phenomenological characteristic of the voltage-current behaviour of DBD is then described by power laws with different voltage exponent function values. © 2006 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional wisdom assigns the DC glow discharge regime to plasma currents below ∼500 mA values, beyond which the discharge falls into the anomalous glow and the turbulent arc regimes. However, we have found evidence that, during toroidal discharges, this barrier can be ostensibly extended up to 800 mA. Thus, a computer simulation has been applied to the evolution of the main electrical characteristics of such a glow discharge plasma in a toroidal vessel in order to design and construct a respective voltage/current controlled source. This should be able to generate a DC plasma in the glow regime with which currents in the range 10-3–100 A can be experimented and 109–1010 cm-3 plasma densities can be achieved to PIII optimization purposes. The plasma is modelled as a voltage-controlled current source able to be turned on whenever the breakdown voltage is reached across the gap between the anode and the vessel wall. The simulation outcome fits well our experimental measurements showing that the plasma current obeys power laws that are dependent on the power current and other control variables such as the gas pressure. © 2006 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]