Mechanism of streamer stopping in a surface dielectric barrier discharge

Two-dimensional numerical simulations of streamer development in a surface dielectric barrier discharge excited by a voltage pulse with a duration of 30–50 ns in atmospheric air show that the streamer propagation velocity is mainly governed by the velocity of potential diffusion along streamer channels. The calculated streamer length substantially exceeds the experimentally observed one due to the long-term conservation of the conductivity of these channels. A hypothesis on the three-dimensional character of the decay of the surface streamer channel is proposed. The model account of this effect in two-dimensional simulations reduces the calculated time of streamer development and the calculated streamer length to the experimentally observed values.