Atmospheric pressure microplasma source based on parallel stripline resonator

Abstract

Microplasma sources with potential use in different applications can be found in the recent literature. The lifetime of most microplasma sources operating at atmospheric pressure is limited by electrode erosion due to energetic ion bombardment. These drawbacks were solved recently by several microplasma sources based on microstrip structure, which are more efficient and less prone to perturbations than other microplasma sources. This paper proposes a microplasma system source based on microwave parallel stripline resonator (MPSR), developed for the generation of microplasmas even in atmospheric air and analyzes the MPSR system with microwave field simulation via comparative study with two previous microwave sources (Microwave Spit Ring Resonator (MSRR), Microstrip Structure Source (MSS)). The result shows that the MPSR can concentrate a strong electric field of which direction is rather parallel to the stripline surface around the discharge gap, compared with other plasma sources. From the result, it is expected that the MPSR can be operated readily in low power level with high electron density because of its high strength of electric field and low plasma loss rate stemming from the parallel direction of the electric field to the stripline surface.