Spatial distributions of O, N, NO, OH and vacuum ultraviolet light along gas flow direction in an AC-excited atmospheric pressure Ar plasma jet generated in open air

Abstract

Ground-state O (3Pj) and N (4Sº) atoms, nitric oxide (NO) and hydroxyl (OH) radicals, and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation emitted from an AC-excited Ar atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) operated in open air were measured using VUV absorption spectroscopy, laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy and optical emission spectroscopy, respectively. The O (3Pj) density decreased with increasing distance from the plasma head, and the decrease rate in the edge region of the plasma jet around 8 mm distance was especially high. On the other hand, the N (4Sº) atom density was almost constant up to approximately 10 mm and increased with the distance over 12 mm. The relative NO density increased with the distance up to 10 mm and then became saturated, although the OH density was significantly reduced from the plasma jet exit of the head, and could be observed in the plasma jet only up to the distance of 5 mm. Emissions due to N, H and O atoms were observed in the VUV region and the emission intensity for N atoms (wavelength: 174.3 nm) decreased exponentially with increasing the distance. The results obtained with the Ar APPJ operated in open air conditions indicate the generation of many different reactive oxygen and nitrogen species by gas-phase reactions, and the composition of the reactive species is strongly dependent on the distance from the plasma head. These results are very useful for clarifying the kinetics of reactive species in APPJs and their application in various technological fields.