Development of a flexible dielectric-barrier-discharge plasma actuator fabricated by inkjet printing using silver nanoparticles-based ink

Abstract

We demonstrate that a flexible dielectric-barrier-discharge (DBD) plasma actuator fabricated by an inkjet printing process using metallic inks generates stable surface discharge and ionic wind for active airflow control. The establishment of a practical fabrication method for DBD plasma actuators is a critical issue to be tackled for industrial applications. The inkjet process requires just the printing of the metallic inks and sintering processes while the conventional photolithography technology requires a lot of processes for the fabrication of the DBD plasma actuators. The electrical and mechanical characteristics of a multi-stage DBD plasma actuator fabricated by this printed electronics technology are investigated and are compared with the DBD plasma actuator made by the conventional method using copper tape. The DBD plasma actuator developed in this study induces a similar or even stronger ionic wind than that of the conventional one. Also, a thin exposed electrode (≃1 μm), which is preferable in terms of airflow control applications, is achieved by the inkjet printing process. The development of the fabrication method using printed electronics expands the application field of the DBD plasma actuator, including complex curved surfaces and full-scale size applications.