The conditions of the very first breakdown happening in a periodical dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) are not the same as those in the discharge established regime. The main intriguing problem in the very first breakdown is the source of the initial seed electrons. In this work, the role of atmospheric small negative ions in the appearance of seed electrons is investigated. The very first breakdown was studied by using a pin-to-plane barrier corona and plane-to-plane DBD operated with ambient air. These discharges were driven by fast- and slow-growing applied voltage. The experimental data related to the very first breakdown are presented. A short summary sounds as follows. In the case of a barrier corona initiated by a fast-growing voltage, seed electrons can appear due to their detachment from background negative ions in the bulk. Under a slow-increasing voltage, background ions have the time to be fully adsorbed on the cathode and the anode long before breakdown occurs. In such a case, seed electrons can appear from negative ions desorbed from the cathode. This desorption is induced by a strong electric field in the gap. The latter mechanism can work in a plane-to-plane DBD driven by both fast- and slow-growing applied voltage. Based on numerical calculations, a qualitative explanation of the obtained results is given. The influence of UV irradiation on the very first breakdown was also studied.

周期性介电势垒放电（DBD）中发生的第一个击穿条件与放电确定状态中的条件不同。最初击穿的主要有趣问题是初始种子电子的来源。在这项工作中，研究了大气中小的负离子在种子电子外观中的作用。最初的击穿是通过使用针对平面势垒电晕和在环境空气下工作的平面对平面DBD进行的。这些放电是由快速增长和缓慢增长的施加电压驱动的。提出了与第一次故障有关的实验数据。简短的摘要听起来如下。在由快速增长的电压引发的电晕势垒的情况下，由于种子电子与主体中的背景负离子脱离，可能会出现种子电子。在缓慢增加的电压下，背景离子有足够的时间在击穿发生之前很长时间就完全吸附在阴极和阳极上。在这种情况下，种子电子会从阴极解吸的负离子中出现。这种解吸是由间隙中的强电场引起的。后一种机制可以在由快速增长的和缓慢增长的施加电压共同驱动的平面DBD中工作。基于数值计算，给出了所得结果的定性解释。还研究了紫外线辐射对第一次击穿的影响。后一种机制可以在由快速增长的和缓慢增长的施加电压共同驱动的平面DBD中工作。基于数值计算，给出了所得结果的定性解释。还研究了紫外线辐射对第一次击穿的影响。后一种机制可以在由快速增长的和缓慢增长的施加电压共同驱动的平面DBD中工作。基于数值计算，给出了所得结果的定性解释。还研究了紫外线辐射对第一次击穿的影响。