Frequency effects on the electron density and α-γ mode transition in atmospheric radio frequency discharges

In this paper, a one-dimensional model is explored to investigate the frequency effects on the characteristics of atmospheric radio frequency discharges at a given power. The simulation data and analytical results show that the improvement of electron density can be observed with better discharge stability by increasing excitation frequency in an appropriate range. Using the analytical equations deduced from the model, the mean electron density could be inferred by means of the measured parameters. The α-γ mode transition especially in high frequency discharges is also analytically discussed based on the theoretical equations.