How Can The Arrival Of A Pulsed Streamer At One Side Of A Thin Dielectric Ignite A Secondary Streamer On The Other Side?

The interaction of pulsed streamers with thin dielectric materials has been investigated. The streamers were generated in an atmospheric pressure pulsed dielectric barrier helium discharge. A thin dielectric material was introduced into the path of the streamers so that the surface of the dielectric was perpendicular to the path of the streamer. Under favourable conditions, shortly after a streamer reached the dielectric barrier a similar secondary streamer was ignited on the other side of the dielectric. The secondary streamer continued in the same direction as the initial streamer moving away from the dielectric with a velocity which was perpendicular to its surface. This secondary streamer generation has been investigated with various different dielectric materials. The mechanism by which the secondary streamer is ignited will be discussed.