  We report on the first observation of white-eye pattern in an air dielectric
barrier discharge. The patterned discharges undergo a development as following:
random spots - quasihexagonal pattern - hexagonal pattern (type I) - hexagonal
pattern (type II) - white-eye pattern - chaos as the voltage is increased. The
spatiotemporal characteristics of patterned discharges are investigated by
using an optical method. Results show that the two discharge modes, uniform
mode and filamentary mode, are actually two different spatial presentations of
the same origin: the microdischarge. From the viewpoint of pattern dynamics,
the white-eye pattern results from a 3-wave resonance interaction.
