An Atmospheric Large-Scale Cold Plasma Jet

This letter reports on the generation and characteristics of a large-scale dielectric barrier discharge plasma jet at atmospheric pressure.With appropriate parameters,diffuse plasma with a 50×5mm2 cross-sectional area is obtained.The characteristics of the discharges are diag-nosed by using electrical and optical methods.In addition to being generated in helium,plasma is also generated in a mixed gas of helium and oxygen.The oxygen atomic radiant intensity (3p5P→ 3s5S,3p3P→ 3s3S transition) is not proportional to the proportion of oxygen in the gas mixture,as shown by the experimental results.     

Measurement of Electron Density and Ion Collision Frequency with Dual Assisted Grounded Electrode DBD in Atmospheric Pressure Helium Plasma Jet

The properties of a helium atmospheric-pressure plasma jet（APPJ）are diagnosed with a dual assisted grounded electrode dielectric barrier discharge device.In the glow discharge,we captured the current waveforms at the positions of the three grounded rings.From the current waveforms,the time delay between the adjacent positions of the rings is employed to calculate the plasma bullet velocity of the helium APPJ.Moreover,the electron density is deduced from a model combining with the time delay and current intensity,which is about 10¹¹cm^-3.In addition,The ion-neutral particles collision frequency in the radial direction is calculated from the current phase difference between two rings,which is on the order of 10⁷ Hz.The results are helpful for understanding the basic properties of APPJs.     

Influence of Additive Gas on Electrical and Optical Characteristics of Non-equilibrium Atmospheric Pressure Argon Plasma Jet

Electrical and optical properties of an argon plasma jet were characterized. In particular, effects of an additive gas, namely nitrogen or oxygen, on these prop...     

Mechanisms of Streamer Propagation Affected by Driven Voltage Polarity in a Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet

A two-dimensional self-consistent fluid model is used to investigate the effects of DC-voltage polarity in plasma initiation and propagation of helium plasma jet.The simulation results indicate that the difference in initial breakdown for the positive jet and negative jet leads to a difference in the electron density of about 4 orders of magnitude,even with the same initial electric field,which also influences the subsequent propagation.In the propagation process of negative jets,the ionization process exists in a longer gas channel behind the streamer head.In addition,the drift process to the infinite grounded electrode driven by the electric field results in higher energy consumption in the ionization process.However,in the positive jet,the ionization process mainly exists in the streamer head.Therefore,the differences in the initial breakdown and propagation process make the electric field intensity and the ionization weaker in the streamer head of the negative jet,which explains the weaker and shorter appearance of the negative jet compared to the positive jet.Our model can adequately reproduce the experimental results,viz.a bullet-like propagation in the positive jet and a continuous plasma plume in the negative jet.Furthermore,it also indicates that the streamer velocity shows the same variations as the electron drift velocity for both positive and negative jets.     

Non-Thermal Equilibrium Atmospheric Pressure Glow-Like Discharge Plasma Jet

Non-thermal equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) is a cold plasma source that promises various innovative applications,and the uniform APPJ is more favored.Glow discharge is one of the most effective methods to obtain the uniform discharge.Compared with the glow dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in atmospheric pressure,pure helium APPJ shows partial characteristics of both the glow discharge and the streamer.In this paper,considering the influence of the Penning effect,the electrical and optical properties of He APPJ and Ar/NH3 APPJ were researched.A word "Glow-like APPJ" is used to characterize the uniformity of APPJ,and it was obtained that the basic characteristics of the glow-like APPJ are driven by the kHz AC high voltage.The results can provide a support for generating uniform APPJ,and lay a foundation for its applications.     

Characteristics of RF Cold Plasma at Atmospheric Pressure

The characteristics of a stable discharge at atmospheric pressure is investigated. The plasma source consisted of two closely spaced parallel-plated perforated electrodes, driven by a radio frequency power to generate a uniform cold plasma in Helium at atmospheric pressure. Both alpha and gamma modes were clearly observed. The hollow cathode effects were found in the discharge. The influence of the dielectric barrier on the discharge was also investigated by utilizing a surface-anodized aluminium electrode as the anode.     

Discharge Characteristics of an Atmospheric Pressure Argon Plasma Jet Generated with Screw Ring-Ring Electrodes in Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge

An atmospheric-pressure argon plasma jet with screw ring-ring electrodes in surface dielectric barrier discharge is generated by a sinusoidal excitation voltage at 8 kHz. The discharge characteristics, such as rotational and vibrational temperature of nitrogen, electronic excitation temperature, oxygen atomic density, nitrogen molecular density, and average electron density, are estimated. It is found that the rotational temperature of nitrogen is in the range of 352 ～ 392 K by comparing the simulated spectrum with the measured spectrum at the C3Πu→ B3Πg (△ν = 2) band transition, the electronic excitation temperature is found to be in the range of 3127 ～ 3230 K by using the Boltzmann plot method, the oxygen atomic and nitrogen molecular density are of the order of magnitude of 1016 cm-3 by the actinometry method, and the average electron density is of the order of magnitude of 1012 cm-3 by the energy balance equation. Besides, the effective power, conduction, and displacement current are measured during the discharge.     

Characteristics of Low Power CH4/Air Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet

A low power atmospheric pressure plasma jet driven by a 24 kHz AC power source and operated with a CH_4/air gas mixture has been investigated by optical emission spectrometer.The plasma parameters including the electron excitation temperature,vibrational temperature and rotational temperature of the plasma jet at different discharge powers are diagnosed based on the assumption that the kinetic energy of the species obeys the Boltzmann distribution.The electron density at different power is also investigated by H_β Stark broadening.The results show that the plasma source works under non-equilibrium conditions.It is also found that the vibrational temperature and rotational temperature increase with discharge power,whereas the electron excitation temperature seems to have a downward trend.The electron density increases from 0.8×10~(21) m~(-3) to 1.1×10~(21)m~(-3) when the discharge power increases from 53 W to 94 W.     

High-Density Polyethylene(HDPE) Surface Treatment Using an RF Capacitive Atmospheric Pressure Cold Ar Plasma Jet

In this study,a high-density polyethylene（HDPE,5-mm-thick,0.95 g/cm3） surface was treated using an RF capacitive atmospheric pressure cold Ar plasma jet.By using this Ar plasma jet,a hydrophilic HDPE surface was formed during the plasma treatment.In particular, the effects of an additive gas（N₂ or O2） on the HDPE surface treatment were investigated in detail.It was shown that the addition of N2 or O2 gas had an important influence on the HDPE surface treatment.Compared to pure Ar plasma treatment,a lower value of water contact angle （WCA） was obtained when a trace of N2 or O2 gas was added.It was also found that besides the quantities of active species in the plasma jet,the treatment temperature played an important role in the HDPE surface treatment.This is because surface molecular motion is not negligible when the treatment temperature is close to the melting point of the polymer.     

Compact High-Velocity Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Plasma Jet in Ambient Air

In this paper,a non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma jet at high streaming velocity operating with ambient air is highlighted.In the present technological approach,the employment of air poses a significant challenge.The high oxygen concentration in air results in a reduced concentration of reactive species in combination with a short species lifetime.The plasma jet assembly presented here contains a special dielectric barrier with a high secondary emission coefficient.In this way,the electron density and in turn the density of reactive species is increased.In addition,the plasma jet assembly is equipped with a short electrode.This leads to a higher voltage across the discharge gap and in turn to an increased density of reactive plasma species.The plasma jet is formed within and emitted by a small conical nozzle.A high-speed gas flow with gas velocity of 340 m/s was achieved at the end of the nozzle.In the jet the concentration of toxic and unwanted neutral plasma species like O_3 or NO_x is significantly reduced because of the shorter residence time within the plasma.The range of short-lived active plasma species is in turn considerably enhanced.The jet efficiency and action range measured through the oxidation of a test surface were determined by measuring the increase of surface tension of a polypropylene substrate via contact angle measurements after plasma treatment.Numerical modeling of the plasma plume indicates that oxygen atoms are in fact the main active species in the plasma plume.     

Observation of the Emission Spectra of an Atmospheric Pressure Radio-frequency Plasma Jet

An atmospheric pressure plasma jet （APPJ） using radio-frequency （13.56 MHz） power has been developed to produce homogeneous glow discharge at low temperature. With optical emission spectroscopy, we observed the excited species （atomic helium, atomic oxygen and metastable oxygen） generated in this APPJ and their dependence on gas composition ratio and RF power. O and O2（b1∑g^＋） are found in the effluent outside the jet by measuring the emission spectra of effluent perpendicular to the jet. An interesting phenomenon is found that there is an abnormal increase of O emission intensity （777.4 nm） between 10 mm and 40 mm away from the nozzle. This observation result is very helpful in practical operation.     

Plasma Parameters of a Gliding Arc Jet at Atmospheric Pressure Obtained by a Line-Ratio Method

A generator of the gliding arc jet (GAJ), which is driven by a transverse magnetic field, is developed to produce non-equilibrium plasma at atmospheric pressure. The gas temperature is estimated using the spectrum of OH radicals to be about 2400±400 K. The determinations of electron temperature and electron density by using a line-ratio method are elaborated for the gliding arc jet plasma. This line-ratio method is based on a collisional-radiative model. The experiment results show that electron temperature is about 1.0 eV and electron density is about 6.9×1014 cm-3 . Obviously, the plasma of GAJ is in a non-equilibrium state.     

Nonequilibrium Atmospheric Pressure Ar/O2 Plasma Jet: Properties and Application to Surface Cleaning

In this study an atmospheric pressure Ar/O_2 plasma jet is generated to study the effects of applied voltage and gas flux rate to the behavior of discharge and the metal surface cleaning.The increase in applied voltage leads to increases of the root mean square(rms) current,the input power and the gas temperature.Furthermore,the optical emission spectra show that the emission intensities of metastable argon and atomic oxygen increase with increasing applied voltage.However,the increase in gas flux rate leads to a reduction of the rms current,the input power and the gas temperature.Furthermore,the emission intensities of metastable argon and atomic oxygen decrease when gas flux rate increases.Contact angles are measured to estimate the cleaning performance,and the results show that the increase of applied voltage can improve the cleaning performance.Nevertheless,the increase of gas flux rate cannot improve the cleaning performance.Contact angles are compared for different input powers and gas flux rates to search for a better understanding of the major mechanism for surface cleaning by plasma jets.     

Design,Construction and Characterization of AC Atmospheric Pressure Air Non-thermal Plasma Jet

This paper presents the design and construction of non-thermal plasma jet device which was built in plasma phys. Dept., NRC, AEA, Egypt with a plasma application group. This design will be useful to initiate research in different fields such as low temperature plasma, polymer and biomedical applications. The experimental operation of this device is conducted with power supply of (10 kV, 30 mA, and 20 kHz). The discharge process takes place by using Air as input gas with different flow rates. The experimental results showed that the maximum plasma jet length of 7 mm is detected at air flow rate of 12 L/min. The electrical characteristics of discharge at different flow rates of Air such as discharge voltage, current, mean power, power efficiency, and energy have been studied by using potential dividers and Lissajous figure techniques. The results of plasma jet temperature along the jet length showed that the jet plasma has approximately a room temperature at the end of jet column.     

Atmospheric Pressure Radio Frequency Dielectric Barrier Discharges in Nitrogen/Argon

This work reports the experimental results on the characteristics of radio frequency dielectric barrier N2 /Ar discharges.Depending on the nitrogen content in the feed gas and the input power,the discharge can operate in two diferent modes: a homogeneous glow discharge and a constricted discharge.With increasing input power,the number of discharge columns increases.The discharge columns have starlike structures and exhibit symmetric self-organized arrangement.Optical emission spectroscopy was performed to estimate the plasma temperature.Spatially resolved gas temperature measurements,determined from NO emission rotational spectroscopy were taken across the 4.4 mm gap filled by the discharge.Gas temperature in the middle of the gas gap is lower than that close to the electrodes.     

N2 Mole Fraction Dependence of Plasma Bullet Propagation in Premixed He/N2 Plasma Needle Discharge at Atmospheric Pressure

In this work, a computational modeling study on the mechanism of the acceleration behavior of a plasma bullet in needle-plane configuration is presented. Above all, in our model,two sub-models of time-dependent plasma dynamics and laminar flow are connected using a oneway coupled method, and both the working gas and the surrounding gas around the plasma jet are assumed to be the same, which are premixed He/N_2 gas. The mole fractions of the N_2(NMF)ingredient are set to be 0.01%, 0.1% and 1% in three cases, respectively. It is found that in each case, the plasma bullet accelerates with time to a peak velocity after it exits the nozzle and then decreases until getting to the treated surface, and that the velocity of the plasma bullet increases at each time moment with the peak value changing from 0.72×10~6m/s to 0.80×10~6m/s but then drops more sharply when the NMF varies from 0.01% to 1%. Besides, the electron impact ionizations of helium neutrals and nitrogen molecules are found to have key influences on the propagation of a plasma bullet instead of the penning ionization.     

Sterilization of Staphylococcus Aureus by an Atmospheric Non-Thermal Plasma Jet

An atmospheric non-thermal plasma jet was developed for sterilizing the Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The plasma jet was generated by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), which was characterized by electrical and optical diagnostics. The survival curves of the bacteria showed that the plasma jet could effectively inactivate 10 6 cells of S. aureus within 120 seconds and the sterilizing efficiency depended critically on the discharge parameter of the applied voltage. It was further confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) that the cell morphology was seriously damaged by the plasma treatment. The plasma sterilization mechanism of S. aureus was attributed to the active species of OH, N 2 + and O, which were generated abundantly in the plasma jet and characterized by OES. Our findings suggest a convenient and low-cost way for sterilization and inactivation of bacteria.     

Polymer Surface Treatment by Atmospheric Pressure Low Temperature Surface Discharge Plasma： Its Characteristics and Comparison with Low Pressure Oxygen Plasma Treatment

The polymer treatment with a low-temperature plasma jet generated on the atmospheric pressure surface discharge （SD） plasma is performed. The change of the surface property over time, in comparison with low pressure oxygen （O2） plasma treatment, is examined. As one compares the treatment by atmospheric pressure plasma to that by the low pressure O2 plasma of PS （polystyrene） the treatment effects were almost in complete agreement. However, when the atmospheric pressure plasma was used for PP（polypropylene）, it produced remarkable hydrophilic effects.     

Surface Decontamination of Chemical Agent Surrogates Using an Atmospheric Pressure Air Flow Plasma Jet

An atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma jet generator using air flow as the feedstock gas was applied to decontaminate the chemical agent surrogates on the surface of aluminum, stainless steel or iron plate painted with alkyd or PVC. The experimental results of material decontamination show that the residual chemical agent on the material is lower than the permissible value of the National Military Standard of China. In order to test the corrosion effect of the plasma jet on different material surfaces in the decontamination process, corrosion tests for the materials of polymethyl methacrylate, neoprene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), phenolic resin, iron plate painted with alkyd, stainless steel, aluminum, etc. were carried out, and relevant parameters were examined, including etiolation index, chromatism, loss of gloss, corrosion form, etc. The results show that the plasma jet is slightly corrosive for part of the materials, but their performances are not affected. A portable calculator, computer display, mainboard, circuit board of radiogram, and a hygrometer could work normally after being treated by the plasma jet.