The paper presents experimental study of nanosecond surface dielectric barrier discharge (nSDBD) in air and application of nSDBD for initiation of the two-stage ignition of n–heptane in mixture with air. The emission spectroscopy study of rotational and vibrational structure of 2+ system of N2 molecules has been performed for a classical air flow control SDBD configuration. The energy deposition into the discharge has been measured. Strongly non–equilibrium distribution of rotational population is observed in the spectra at the leading and trailing edges of the high–voltage pulse. The time resolved spatial distribution of the rotational temperature along the dielectric surface has been measured. The second part of the paper concerns the ignition of stoichiometric mixture of C7H16/O2/N2 with nanosecond SDBD in Rapid Compression Machine (RCM). Different regimes of ignition initiated by discharge are discussed, including cool flame and fast ignition.
