Effects of the electrical excitation signal parameters on the geometry of an argon-based non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma jet.

Mohamed Tahar Benabbas,Salah Sahli,Abdallah Benhamouda,Saida Rebiai

doi:10.1186/1556-276x-9-697

Abstract

A non-thermal atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet for medical applications has been generated using a high-voltage pulse generator and a homemade dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor with a cylindrical configuration. A plasma jet of about 6 cm of length has been created in argon gas at atmospheric pressure with an applied peak to peak voltage and a frequency of 10 kV and 50 kHz, respectively. The length and the shape of the created plasma jet were found to be strongly dependent on the electrode setup and the applied voltage and the signal frequency values. The length of the plasma jet increases when the applied voltage and/or its frequency increase, while the diameter at its end is significantly reduced when the applied signal frequency increases. For an applied voltage of 10 kV, the plasma jet diameter decreases from near 5 mm for a frequency of 10 kHz to less than 1 mm at a frequency of 50 kHz. This obtained size of the plasma jet diameter is very useful when the medical treatment must be processed in a reduced space.PACS 200852.50.Dg; 52.70.-m; 52.80.-s

Highlights

Non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma jets (NAPPJs) are widely studied because of their promising applications in several areas of industry as well as nanomedicine and biotechnology [1,2]
We present the results of some investigations about the effects of the electrical parameters of the excitation signal on the plasma jet geometry
The geometry and the shape of the plasma jet were found dependent on the applied voltage and the signal frequency values

Summary

Introduction

Non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma jets (NAPPJs) are widely studied because of their promising applications in several areas of industry as well as nanomedicine and biotechnology [1,2]. The main advantages of this kind of atmospheric pressure non-equilibrium plasmas are their relatively easy implementation and their use at ambient conditions without any significant risks for the operator and/or the environment. Driven by different high-voltage signals (AC, DC, pulsed DC...) [3,4] at low or high frequencies [5,6], NAPPJs are able to produce electrons, ions, free radicals, and photons. These reactive plasma species are useful in nano-medicine for bacterial inactivation [7], cancer treatment [8], blood coagulation, and injury healing process [9]. Most atmospheric plasma jets are based on dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) configurations, which

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