Dielectric-barrier discharges in two-dimensional lattice potentials.

We use a pin-grid electrode to introduce a corrugated electrical potential into a planar dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) system, so that the amplitude of the applied electric field has the profile of a two-dimensional square lattice. The lattice potential provides a template for the spatial distribution of plasma filaments in the system and has pronounced effects on the patterns that can form. The positions at which filaments become localized within the lattice unit cell vary with the width of the discharge gap. The patterns that appear when filaments either overfill or underfill the lattice are reminiscent of those observed in other physical systems involving 2D lattices. We suggest that the connection between lattice-driven DBDs and other areas of physics may benefit from the further development of models that treat plasma filaments as interacting particles.