IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PLASMA SCIENCE, VOL. 38, NO.
7, JULY 2010
A Compact Repetitive Unipolar Nanosecond-Pulse
Generator for Dielectric Barrier
Discharge Application
Tao Shao, Member, IEEE, Dongdong Zhang, Yang Yu, Cheng Zhang, Jue Wang, Ping Yan, Member, IEEE,
and Yuanxiang Zhou, Member, IEEE
Abstract—Dielectric barrier discharge excitated by pulsed
power is a promising approach for producing nonthermal plasma
at atmospheric pressure, but pulsed power generators vary widely
in performance and should be chosen according to applica-
tion requirements. In this paper, a repetitive unipolar nanosec-
ond-pulse generator is constructed using resonant charging and
one-stage magnetic compression circuits, where IGBT and mag-
netic switches are the key units, respectively. The generator is
capable of providing repetitive pulses with a voltage of up to 30 kV
and duration of 70 ns at a 300 Ω resistive load. Output pulse
voltage can be adjusted by varying ac input voltage or trigger
pulse-width. This compact and convenient generator has been used
successfully to produce stable dielectric barrier discharge.
Index Terms—Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), gas dis-
charge, homogeneous DBD, magnetic compression, nanosecond
pulse, non-thermal plasma, pulsed power, repetition rate.
I. I NTRODUCTION
A TMOSPHERIC pressure nonthermal plasma produced
by atmospheric pressure glow discharge and dielectric
barrier discharge (DBD) has attracted significant attention in
the past two decades [1]–[4]. Generally, DBD generated by an
ac source of periodic sine waves has a relatively low energy
input because only spike-like currents imposed on the ac current
waveform can enter into the reacting plasma field [3]. Com-
pared with ac DBD, more powerful plasma can be generated
by unipolar pulsed high-voltage, especially by nanosecond-
Manuscript received March 22, 2010; revised April 15, 2010; accepted
April 15, 2010. Date of publication May 24, 2010; date of current version
July 2, 2010. This work was supported in part by the National Natural
Science Foundation of China under Grant 50707032 and 50907068, the
Knowledge Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences under
Grant KGCX2-YW-339, and the State Key Laboratory of Control and Simula-
tion of Power System and Generation Equipment in Tsinghua University under
Grant SKLD09KZ05.
T. Shao is with the Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy
of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China, and also with the State Key Laboratory
of Control and Simulation of Power Systems and Generation Equipments,
Department of Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084,
China (e-mail: st@mail.iee.ac.cn).
D. Zhang, Y. Yu, C. Zhang, J. Wang, and P. Yan are with the Institute of
Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
(e-mail: pingyan@mail.iee.ac.cn).
Y. Zhou is with State Key Laboratory of Control and Simulation of
Power Systems and Generation Equipments, Electrical Engineering Depart-
ment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China (e-mail: zhou-yx@mail.
tsinghua.edu.cn).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPS.2010.2048724
0093-3813/$26.00 © 2010 IEEE
1651
pulse voltage, and it is much more efficient in some applicable
fields. Currently, the applications are involved with ozone for-
mation, exhaust gas treatment, ultraviolet or vacuum ultraviolet
radiation generation, surface modification, plasma jet produc-
tion, medical sterilization, and so on [4]–[12]. Therefore, a
high repetition rate, high reliability, and long lifetime pulsed
power generator is one of the key factors for various DBD
applications.
Typically, pulsed-power generators can be divided into ca-
pacitive and inductive energy storage types, and the generator
performance mainly depends on the switching units [13], [14].
For the industrial application, compact all-solid-state switched
generators are convenient and desirable [13]–[19]. However,
these generators vary widely in performance and should be cho-
sen according to load requirements [13]. For DBD applications,
the generator performance is required to meet the demand of
a pulsed voltage of dozens of kilovolts, a power of hundreds
to thousands of watts, and a repetition-rate order of kHz or
higher. In this paper, an all-solid-state repetitive nanosecond-
pulse generator with one-stage magnetic pulse compression is
described, which can provide repetitive high-voltage pulses of
up to 30 kV, a rise time of 40 ns, and a full width at half
maximum of 70 ns. In addition, some test results and excitation
of DBD using the generator are presented.
II. D ESIGN OF NANOSECOND -P ULSE G ENERATOR
Fig. 1 shows the schematic circuit diagram of the pulsed
power generator, which consists of two units: the low-voltage
unit and the high-voltage unit [18]. The former achieves a
resonant charging performance and IGBT provides the primary
switch. The latter increases the pulse voltage and compresses
the pulse width. The demonstrations of each unit are explained
in the following paragraphs. The voltages are measured by
a high-voltage probe (Tektronix, P6015, 1000:1) and currents
are measured by a current transformer (Pearson, Model 4100,
1 A/V). All measured signals of the measurement are recorded
by a 1 GS/s, 200 MHz digital oscilloscope (Tektronix, DPO
2024). Fig. 2 shows a picture of the generator.
First, in the low-voltage unit, capacitor C1 (2.2 mF) is
charged by a rectifier circuit from an ac variac power source,
and the primary energy storage capacitor C2 (2 μF) is charged
to about 600 V via diode D1, inductors L1 (500 μH) and L2
(4 μH). When the trigger signal produced by the trigger
1652
Fig. 1. Schematic circuit diagram of the pulsed power generator.
Fig. 2. Picture of the pulsed power generator.
modulator reaches the IGBT switch unit, the IGBT turns on,
and then C2 discharges and a pulse voltage is fed to the primary
side of pulse transformer PT (1 : 40). After C2 discharges and
IGBT turns off, the remaining energy is recycled to C2 by diode
D2 and L2. When the voltage of C2 is less than that of C1, C1
will continue to charge C2 via L1 and L2. In order to protect
the IGBT, an absorption circuit is used, and it consists of diode
D3, resistor R1 (12 Ω), and capacitor C3 (0.2 μF). It should
be noted that for DBD application, R1 should be a large-power
resistor due to peak currents, which is attributed to the repetitive
occurrences of the start and quenching of DBD. In the case, the
power rating of R1 is about 100 W. Furthermore, the polarity
of the unipolar pulse voltage can be changed to positive or
negative only by exchanging the wiring points “A” and “B”
in Fig. 1.
As for the high-voltage unit, the electrical energy from the
low-voltage unit is compressed and the voltage is amplified.
One-stage magnetic pulse compression is the key circuit and
composed of a saturation pulse transformer PT and a magnetic
switch MS (20 windings). The PT is a type of non-crystalline
magnetic alloy, and the MS is a kind of Mn-Zn Ferrite core [18],
[19]. In the secondary side of PT, capacitors C4 (500 pF) and
C5 (500 pF) are regarded as a parallel circuit. Therefore, C4 and
C5 are charged in parallel to almost equal voltage via PT by the
primary pulse. When C5 is fully charged, PT saturates and the
voltage polarity of C5 reverses. After the polarity reversion of
C5 is finished, MS is also saturated. Accordingly, C4 and C5
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PLASMA SCIENCE, VOL. 38, NO. 7, JULY 2010
Fig. 3. Positive and negative Uload waveforms (Uin = 250 V, Td = 8 μs).
discharge in series through inductor L3 (200 μH) and the load
unit. Because L3 is much larger than the saturation inductance
of MS, most of the discharge current passes through the load
and an inductive voltage appears across the load. Accordingly,
the output load of a resistor with low inductance can result in
a stable output pulse voltage. In addition, the high-voltage unit
including PT and MS is located in the oil-filled box to prevent
overheating and the repetition rate of the generator can be up
to 1 kHz.
III. T EST R ESULTS
Via the exchange of the wiring points “A” and “B” in
Fig. 1, the generator can output positive or negative pulses.
For a repetition rate of 1 kHz, Fig. 3 shows single positive
and negative voltage waveforms across the load (Uload ) at a
resistive load of 300 Ω. It can be seen that the width and rise
time of Uload are about 70 ns and 40 ns, respectively, and the
amplitude is 26 kV. Under the same conditions, the envelope
mode of acquisition is also employed to characterize signal
stability, and the overlap measured waveforms have shown the
reproducibility of Uload and the shot-to-shot difference is minor
except for the first output pulse. Fig. 4 shows the effect of
repetition rate on Uload . It is found that Uload stays around
SHAO et al.: COMPACT REPETITIVE UNIPOLAR NANOSECOND-PULSE GENERATOR
Fig. 4. Dependence of Uload on repetition rate at a fixed load resistor of 300
Ω (Uin = 250 V, Td = 8 μs).
Fig. 5. Uload waveforms at different Uin (Td = 36 μs).
the constant value. The output voltages are measured after 10 s
continuous run at single pulse and different repetition rates of
10–1000 Hz, and each Uload at a repetition rate is repeated by
3 measurements.
Because the voltage applied to the load results from the
discharge of C4 and C5 via MS, the load determines Uload .
Therefore, this type of generator based on magnetic pulse
compression system can adjust Uload by changing the load [15],
[17]. However, in the DBD application, adjusting Uload via the
load is troublesome. There are two methods to change Uload
due to the use of IGBT switch in the design. On the one hand,
adjusting the output voltage of the variac can change Uload .
Fig. 5 shows the Uload waveforms at different variac output
voltages (Uin ). It can be found that the rising edge of Uload is
consistent when Uin increases from 160 V to 250 V, and pulse
width is also amplified. On the other hand, the IGBT switch
is triggered by the trigger modulator by a 15-V pulse signal of
8–36 μs width. Adjusting the trigger pulse width (Td ) can als
change Uload , which occurs since more charge can be drained
from C2. Fig. 6 shows the variation of Uload with Uin and Td .
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Fig. 6. Dependence of Uload on Uin and Td (The solid symbols show the data
of positive pulses and the hollow symbols show the data of negative pulses).
Fig. 7. Typical DBD voltage and current waveforms (the upper is the wave-
form of no discharge, and the lower is single mode of discharge waveforms at
a repetition rate of 500 Hz).
It can be seen that Uload increases with increasing Uin and Td .
Each data point has a mean value of 3 measurements.
IV. A PPLICATION OF D IELECTRIC BARRIER D ISCHARGE
Differing from a resistive load, DBD is a nonlinear load, and
the gas gap will be intermittently bridged. Therefore, in order to
apply the pulse voltage to the DBD circuit, the DBD chamber
is connected in parallel with a carbon ceramic resistor with
low inductance R2 (300 Ω, 200 W). Typical DBD voltage and
current waveforms are shown in Fig. 7, where the experimental
conditions in atmospheric air in both the electrodes are covered
with 10 mm × 10 mm glass sheets 2 mm thick and 2 mm
gap spaces. When only a single pulse is applied, DBD current
only presents a displacement current following applied pulse
voltage as shown in the upper waveforms in Fig. 7 and there
is no discharge. However, after repetitive pulses of 500 Hz are
applied, DBD occurs and the peak value of discharge current
is much larger than that of thr displacement current. Applied
voltage and discharge current are shown in the lower waveforms
in Fig. 7. It can be seen that though the applied voltage is
1654
Fig. 8. Pulse train waveforms of DBD voltage and current at a repetition rate
of 500 Hz.
Fig. 9. Typical DBD image.
positive, the discharge current has both positive and negative
pulses, indicating that a primary discharge starts at the rising
phase of the applied pulse and a secondary discharge begins at
the falling phase. With an applied pulse amplitude of 26 kV,
even if both the electrodes are covered by a glass sheet
2-mm-thick, the positive and negative peaks of the discharge
current of DBD are about 60 A and 20 A, respectively, which
is significantly different from the discharge current in ac DBD
with an amplitude of tens to hundreds of milli-amperes.
Furthermore, pulse train waveforms with 8 consecutive
pulses are shown in Fig. 8 and the time between consecutive
pulses is not displayed. It can be seen that repetitive dis-
charges occur for each voltage pulse and the corresponding
discharge current is also repetitive, indicating the stability of
the discharge. The pulse train waveforms are recorded by a
Lecroy WR204Xi (10 GS/s, 2 GHz) digital oscilloscope. Under
the same experimental conditions, Fig. 9 shows an image of
DBD recorded by a commercial digital camera DSC-H9 with
an exposure time of 1/10 s. It can be seen that no filament
is observed and the discharge is homogeneous in the whole
discharge regime. Some electrical characteristic and application
of the DBD driven by this generator will be given in the future.
V. C ONCLUSION
It is concluded that the repetitive nanosecond-pulse generator
can meet the requirement of DBD load, and be used as a
platform for the experimental investigation of nanosecond-
pulse DBD and some related applications. However, the cur-
rent generator cannot further reduce the pulse width of load
output voltage, which can be realized by means of multi-
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PLASMA SCIENCE, VOL. 38, NO. 7, JULY 2010
stage magnetic compression and pulse sharpening unit such
as semiconductor opening switch [15]–[17]. Further work will
concentrate on digital control of the generator and compression
of output pulse voltage, as well as on improving the reliability
and stability of long-time operation.
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SHAO et al.: COMPACT REPETITIVE UNIPOLAR NANOSECOND-PULSE GENERATOR 1655

Tao Shao (M’10) was born in Hubei, China, in Jue Wang was born in AnQing, AnHui, China, in
1977. He received the B.Sc. degree from the Wuhan 1972. He received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from
University of Hydraulic and Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University of Electrical Engineering,
Wuhan, China, in 2000, the M.Sc. degree in electri- Xi’an, China, in 1996 and 2002, respectively.
cal engineering from Wuhan University, Wuhan, in He is currently with the Institute of Electri-
2003, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering cal Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
from the Graduate University, Chinese Academy of Beijing, China. His current research interests focus
Sciences, Beijing, China, in 2006. on pulse generator, high-voltage insulation, and di-
He is currently with the Institute of Electrical electric wall accelerator.
Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Since
2009, he has been a Senior Visiting Scholar with
the State Key Laboratory of Control and Simulation of Power Systems and
Generation Equipments, Tsinghua University, Beijing. His current research
interests focus on high-voltage insulation, gas discharge, plasma application,
and measurement.
Dr. Shao is a member of the Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society of
IEEE and a Senior Member of the Chinese Society of Electrical Engineering
since 2010.

Dongdong Zhang was born in Daixian, Shanxi,
China, in 1980. He received the B.Sc. and M.Sc.
degrees in electrical engineering from the Dalian
University of Technology, Dalian, China, in 2002
and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from
the Graduate University, Chinese Academy of Sci-
ences, Beijing, China, in 2008.
He is currently with the Institute of Electrical
Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His cur-
rent research interests focus on pulsed power source.
Ping Yan (M’04) was born in Beijing, China, in
1965. She received the B.Sc. degree from the Depart-
ment of Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University,
Beijing, China, in 1988, and the Ph.D. degree from
Akita University, Akita, Japan, in 2000.
She is currently with the Institute of Electrical
Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing.
Her main research fields are high-voltage insulation,
pulsed power, and biodielectrics.

Yang Yu was born in Zibo, Shandong, China, in

1985. He received the B.Sc. degree in electrical
engineering from Shandong University of Technol-
ogy, Zibo, China, in 2008. He is currently working
toward the M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering in
the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing, China.
His current research interests focus on nanosecond
pulse dielectric barrier discharge. Yuanxiang Zhou (M’04) was born in Fujian
Province, China, in 1966. He received the B.E. de-
gree from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, in
1988, the M.E. degree from the Electrical Power
Research Institute, Beijing, in 1991, and the Ph.D.
Cheng Zhang was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu, China, degree from Akita University, Akita, Japan, in 1999.
in 1982. He is currently working toward the Ph.D.
From 1999 to 2000, he did research for the Na-
degree in electrical engineering in the Graduate Uni-
tional Institute for Resources and Environment, Na-
versity of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing,
tional Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and
China. Technology, Japan, as a New Energy and Industrial
His current research interests focus on gas dis-
Technology Development Organization Fellow. He
charge and application.
is currently a Professor with Tsinghua University. His interests include organic
and inorganic dielectrics, high-voltage technology and environmental protec-
tion, electrical equipment, and on-site detection and diagnosis.
Dr. Zhou is the Deputy Secretary-General of China Electrotechnical Society.