Plasma reactor and method of determining abnormality in plasma reactor

摘要

A plasma reactor is provided which does not require a high power supply voltage and can form a plasma with a necessary and sufficient average current density over the whole region between a pair of electrodes to efficiently modify a gas flowing between the electrodes. The plasma reactor comprises first and second electrodes positioned to face each other, a dielectric material placed between the two electrodes and an electrical power supply for applying an alternating or pulsed current to the two electrodes and generating a plasma in the gas passing through the gap between the two electrodes to thereby modify the gas. By setting the average current density Ird of the plasma generated in the gap so that it satisfies the formula 10^-4 A/cm²<=IRD<=10^-1 A/cm², a concentrated discharge and a barrier discharge are simultaneously generated, thus forming a plasma having a sufficient average current density Ird for the efficient modification of the gas over the whole region of the gap.