Review of Power Electronic Solutions for Dielectric Barrier Discharge Applications

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive review of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) power supply topologies, aiming to bridge the gap between DBD applications and power electronics design. Two key aspects are examined: the dependence of the DBD electrical model on reactor geometry, and application-driven requirements for injected waveform characteristics, including shapes, voltage amplitude, frequency, and modulation techniques. On this basis, the paper systematically reviews two major categories of power supplies: sinusoidal types comprising transformerless and transformer-based resonant inverters, and pulsed power supplies (PPSs). The review summarizes performance trade-offs, highlights untested topologies and emerging applications, and offers guidance for advancing high-performance DBD power supply design for next-generation systems.