Analysis of Discharge Characteristics of Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet

Abstract

In this article, the investigation has been carried out for the characterization of the proposed tapered geometry of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD)-based cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet (C-APPJ) on the basis of optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and imaging for different operating parameters, such as argon gas flow rates, applied voltages, and frequencies. The detailed characteristics for the formation of the plasma plume using argon as a working gas have been presented for a wide range of flow rates [1–3 standard liter per minute (SLM)] and frequencies (15–25 kHz). Increasing the pulse frequency, the length and the diameter of the plasma plume increase, while the length of the plasma plume increases when increasing the gas flow rate up to 2 SLM. Time-integrated images have been captured using the intensified charge couple device (ICCD) camera, which illustrates that the plasma plume comprises different emission layers of definite patterns. The propagation dynamics and formation of different emission layers of the plasma plume have also been investigated using the COMSOL Multiphysics simulation. It has been observed that the local electric field of 6 kV/cm is responsible for the propagation of the plasma bullet and the generation of the electron with an average energy of ~9 eV. OES has also been performed to understand the plasma chemistry and identify the reactive species in the C-APPJ. The discharge analysis and characteristics performed through experiment and simulation would certainly be helpful for the design and development of C-APPJ sources.