The effect of air plasma on barrier dielectric surface in dielectric barrier discharge

Barrier dielectric is an important part of atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (AP-DBD), which partly affects discharge characteristics. Conversely, discharge plasma also has influence on dielectric surface properties. To investigate this influence, some experiments were carried out on a home-built AP-DBD system with glass plate as barrier dielectric. Surface wettability was evaluated by water contact angles on a drop shape analysis system. The morphologies and chemical compositions of the glass sample surfaces were observed by field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) attached to FESEM. The results show that water contact angles decrease as discharge energy increases, micro-discharge etching zones are formed into glass surface and different from the control glass in surface micro-structure and chemical compositions.     

Surface wettability of atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge processed Armos fibers

Wettability of Armos fibers has been investigated after exposed to dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma, which was performed at atmospheric pressure in air while varying the sample treatment time between 9 and 27 s. Contact angles and surface free energy of the original and plasma-treated fibers were measured with dynamic contact angle analysis (DCAA) to reveal the correlation between the fiber wettability and the surface treatment, including surface composition and topography modifications, which were evaluated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. It was found by XPS analysis that the O/C atomic ratio on Armos fiber surface can be increased from 0.134 to 0.248 after the 18 s exposure to the plasma and many polar functional groups were proved to be incorporated into the surface, which aided good wetting. In addition, AFM observations revealed the changes of fiber surface microstructure, showing significant enhancement of the surface roughness after the treatment, which could also bring the fiber better wettability. What's more, the impacts of fiber surface treatment on its tensile properties were characterized by single fiber tensile strength (SFTS) testing. Results showed that Armos fibers exhibited only slight reductions in their tensile strengths with the great enhancement in fiber surface free energy.     

Surface modification of Angora rabbit fibers using dielectric barrier discharge

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) of Helium and Helium + air modify the surface of Angora rabbit fibers. DBD treatment carried out at different power densities, changes the morphology and chemical composition of the surface of Angora fiber. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results reveal that the DBD treatment eliminates fibrosity from the fiber surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) spectrum confirm the increase in oxygen bonding at the surface. These changes reduce shedding of the fibers and improve dye-uptake property. However, even after 10 min of plasma exposure the thermal insulation (heat keeping ratio) of Angora fibers nearly remain unchanged. It has been noticed that DBD treatment (10 min) reduces whiteness of the fiber.     

Effect of dielectric barrier discharge on semiconductor Si electrode surface

Electrode materials and shapes affected the discharge modes. Meanwhile, the discharge has influence upon electrode surface. In order to study the effect of discharge on semiconductor electrode, the experiments were carried out using single crystal Si wafer as high voltage electrode of atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge in air. The effects of dielectric barrier discharge on Si electrode surface are analyzed by means of field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results show that surface roughness and oxidation increase with discharge time, while surface nitridation is not observed on Si electrode surface. It is different from Cu electrode. The difference is due to different chemical reactions between electrode surface and air plasma but could also be ascribed to the different analysis techniques used.     

纳秒脉冲表面介质阻挡放电特性实验研究

在常规大气环境条件下,基于单极性纳秒脉冲电源对表面介质阻挡放电特性进行了实验研究。结果表明:纳秒脉冲表面介质阻挡放电的本质是丝状放电,放电集中在电压脉冲的上升沿;激励电压和脉冲重复频率越大,放电越强烈,越接近均匀放电,但电压的作用更侧重于均匀性,而频率的作用则侧重于放电的强度;电极间隙的优化可以使表面介质阻挡放电特性最好;玻璃作为阻挡介质时容易发生沿面闪络。     

Experimental study on characteristics of nanosecond-pulse surface dielectric barrier discharge

在常规大气环境条件下,基于单极性纳秒脉冲电源对表面介质阻挡放电特性进行了实验研究.结果表明:纳秒脉冲表而介质阻挡放电的本质是丝状放电,放电集中在电压脉冲的上升沿;激励电压和脉冲重复频率越大,放电越强烈,越接近均匀放电,但电压的作用更侧重于均匀性,而频率的作用则侧重于放电的强度;电极间隙的优化可以使表面介质阻挡放电特性最好;玻璃作为阻挡介质时容易发生沿面闪络.     

Study on the transition from filamentary discharge to diffuse discharge by using a dielectric barrier surface discharge device

Discharge characteristics have been investigated in different gases under different pressures using a dielectric barrier surface discharge device. Electrical measurements and optical emission spectroscopy are used to study the discharge, and the results obtained show that the discharges in atmospheric pressure helium and in low-pressure air are diffuse, while that in high-pressure air is filamentary. With decreasing pressure, the discharge in air can transit from filamentary to diffuse one. The results also indicate that corona discharge around the stripe electrode is important for the diffuse discharge. The spectral intensity of N电介质 表面放电 扩散放电 发射光谱学dielectric barrier surface discharge, diffuse discharge, optical emission spectroscopyProject supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos 10575027 and 10647123), the National Science Foundation of Hebei Province, China (Grant No A2007000134), the Education Department of Hebei Province, China (Grant No 2006106),2006-10-24Discharge characteristics have been investigated in different gases under different pressures using a dielectric barrier surface discharge device. Electrical measurements and optical emission spectroscopy are used to study the discharge, and the results obtained show that the discharges in atmospheric pressure helium and in low-pressure air are diffuse, while that in high-pressure air is filamentary. With decreasing pressure, the discharge in air can transit from filamentary to diffuse one. The results also indicate that corona discharge around the stripe electrode is important for the diffuse discharge. The spectral intensity of N＋ （391.4nm） relative to N2 （337.1 nm） is measured during the transition from diffuse to filamentary discharge. It is shown that relative spectral intensity increases during the discharge transition. This phenomenon implies that the averaged electron energy in diffuse discharge is higher than that in the filamentary discharge.     

亚微秒脉冲表面介质阻挡放电等离子体诱导连续漩涡的研究

使用粒子激光图像测速技术对亚微秒脉冲激励表面介质阻挡放电激励器连续产生诱导漩涡进行了实验研究, 给出了包含脉冲重复频率和漩涡频率的双频率激励模式的具体形式. 实验过程中出现了原发型与继发型两类示踪粒子空白区, 前者由放电释热的微爆炸作用造成, 使得诱导流动远离壁面, 能够减小壁面摩擦阻力的作用; 以暴露电极左侧继发型空白区被完全吹除作为重复启动激励的临界点. 为提高控制效果应采用尽可能高的脉冲重复频率, 漩涡时间内脉冲数量应大于10, 最大诱导速度随脉冲数量增大而增大, 但动量传递效率降低. 使用亚微秒脉冲激励具备释热、体积力两种作用机理. 关键词： 双频率亚微秒脉冲 表面介质阻挡放电 连续漩涡     

Surface treatment of aramid fiber by air dielectric barrier discharge plasma at atmospheric pressure

Aramid fiber samples are treated by air dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma at atmospheric pressure; the plasma treatment time is investigated as the major parameter. The effects of this treatment on the fiber surface physical and chemical properties are studied by using surface characterization techniques. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is performed to determine the surface morphology changes, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is analyzed to reveal the surface chemical composition variations and dynamic contact angle analysis (DCAA) is used to examine the changes of the fiber surface wettability. In addition, the wetting behavior of a kind of thermoplastic resin, poly(phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone) (PPESK), on aramid fiber surface is also observed by SEM photos. The study shows that there seems to be an optimum treatment condition for surface modification of aramid fiber by the air DBD plasma. In this paper, after the 12 s, 27.6 W/cm³ plasma treatment the aramid fiber surface roughness is significantly improved, some new oxygen-containing groups such as C-O, CO and OC-O are generated on the fiber surface and the fiber surface wettability is greatly enhanced, which results in the better wetting behavior of PPESK resin on the plasma-treated aramid fiber.     

Dielectric barrier discharge in needle-to-plane configuration: Model of surface charge relaxation

Relaxation process of surface charge owing to dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in “needle – air gap – polyethylene terephthalate film – plane” configuration is considered. Experimental data of the surface charge relaxation (SCR) are obtained by means of the rotating capacitive probe. Taking into account Gaussian radial distribution of accumulated charge density, effective surface and volume electrical conductivities of a barrier dielectric, phenomenological model of SCR for any dielectric thickness is proposed and exact solutions are obtained. The adequacy of the model is confirmed by the numerical computation. There is a good agreement between the experimental results and the model calculations.     

The effect of discharge power density on polyethylene terephthalate film surface modification by dielectric barrier discharge in atmospheric air

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films are modified using non-equilibrium plasma generated by DBD in atmospheric air, and the effects of discharge power density on the surface modification are studied. It is found that increasing discharge power density can induce more effective treatment of PET films, because this leads to a faster decrease in water contact angle and a faster increase in surface energy due to more creation of polar groups and more obvious etching occurring on the PET surface. So the treatment time needed to achieve the same level of surface treatment can be reduced by increasing the discharge power density.     

Surface properties of silicon oxide films deposited using low-pressure dielectric barrier discharge

The deposition of SiO_X films from low-pressure dielectric barrier discharge plasmas has been investigated using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)/O₂ as the feed gas. Films were analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), AFM-based nanoindentation/nanowear techniques, and conductive AFM. Film deposition rates and hydrocarbon incorporation in the SiO_X film decrease with addition of O₂. High-quality SiO_X films with extremely low surface roughness are deposited at high oxidant concertrations. Addition of oxidant to the feed gas leads to a change in the SiO_X film structure from precursor-like to a dense SiO_X structure. The SiO_X films deposited with TEOS/O₂ plasmas were found to have soft surface layers, 0.5-1.5 nm thick, which contribute to an improvement of their field emission properties. The effect of gas phase compositions on the surface properties of the conductive surface layer was discussed.     

重复频率纳秒脉冲介质阻挡放电对聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯表面改性

介绍了0.1 MPa下的纳秒脉冲介质阻挡放电(DBD)对聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯(PET)材料表面进行的亲水性改善。分别采用均匀和丝状放电模式对PET表面改性处理,并采用水接触角测量、原子力显微镜观察、X射线光电子能谱分析对改性材料进行表面分析。实验发现介质阻挡放电处理后PET表面水接触角明显减小,接触角从78°下降到25°,但随处理时间的增加有饱和效应;PET表面粗糙程度增加,亲水性含氧基团被引入,从而改善了材料表面亲水性;纳秒脉冲下的均匀DBD比丝状DBD处理效果更为显著。     

重复频率纳秒脉冲介质阻挡放电对聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯表面改性

介绍了0.1 MPa下的纳秒脉冲介质阻挡放电(DBD)对聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯(PET)材料表面进行的亲水性改善。分别采用均匀和丝状放电模式对PET表面改性处理,并采用水接触角测量、原子力显微镜观察、X射线光电子能谱分析对改性材料进行表面分析。实验发现介质阻挡放电处理后PET表面水接触角明显减小,接触角从78°下降到25°,但随处理时间的增加有饱和效应;PET表面粗糙程度增加,亲水性含氧基团被引入,从而改善了材料表面亲水性;纳秒脉冲下的均匀DBD比丝状DBD处理效果更为显著。     

介质阻挡放电中的局域态六边形结构

在氩气介质阻挡放电中得到了稳定的局域态六边形结构，并对其进行了时空动力学的测量.发现位于中心的放电丝的放电时刻总是领先，相邻两次放电的时间间隔表现出长短交替的周期性.利用壁电荷放电模型对上述结果进行了分析，表明微放电丝在放电过程中不仅受自身场的作用，还受到周围其他微放电丝的影响. 关键词： 介质阻挡放电 壁电荷 自组织 局域态结构     

Analysis of sterilization effect by pulsed dielectric barrier discharge

Atmospheric pressure (AP) plasmas can sterilize against almost all kinds of bacteria because many ions and reactive species, such as oxygen atoms and ozone, etc., are generated during AP plasmas. So AP plasmas are proper processes for application to air cleaners and sterilizers. The aim of this paper is to evaluate a germicidal effect caused by pulsed plasma system in air utilizing a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) type reactor incorporating alumina, glass, etc. Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria were used for this sterilization experiment. For analysis of the relationship between sterilization results and chemical species generated in the discharge, we used optical emission spectroscopy and we checked emission spectra by atomic oxygen (394.2 and 436.8 nm) and second positive system of nitrogen (337.1 nm). Experimental results showed that DBD treatment during 70 s sterilized E. coli with 99.99% effectively and ozone molecules were the dominant germicidal species. From these results we concluded that the pulsed DBD system is very effective for sterilization.     

Properties of surface dielectric barrier discharge plasma generator for fabrication of nanomaterials

This paper presents surface dielectric barrier discharge plasma generators as an efficient source of low-energy ions. Either positive or negative ions can be extracted from a plasma cloud with an external DC field created by the third electrode. Three different cross-section geometries of DBD generators were analyzed, simulated and fabricated. Currents of ions extracted from the plasma cloud were measured and the results were discussed. It was demonstrated that if the third electrode consists of liquid–gas interface, the presented arrangement can be used as a versatile reactor for nanomaterial synthesis (on the example of the synthesis of silver nanoparticles).     

Effect of atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge air plasma on electrode surface

In order to study the influence of plasma on electrode, atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) air plasma is employed here to treat copper electrode surface. Plasma is generated between the parallel plate electrodes by means of high voltage produced by a high-frequency power supply with transformer. Electrode surface alterations induced by air plasma are investigated by using field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), X-ray energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS) and contact angle measurement. The results show that DBD air plasma removes the organic contaminant on surface and causes electrode surface roughness, oxidization and nitridation. In addition, surface wettability is also improved, as concluded from contact angle measurements.     

Surface modification of polypropylene non-woven fabric using atmospheric nitrogen dielectric barrier discharge plasma

In this paper, a dielectric barrier discharge operating in nitrogen at atmospheric pressure has been used to improve the surface hydrophilic property of polypropylene (PP) non-woven fabric. The changes in the hydrophilic property of the modified PP samples are investigated by the contact angle measurements and the variation of water contact angle is obtained as a function of the energy density; micrographs of the PP before and after plasma treatment are observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the chemical composition of the PP surface before and after plasma treatment is also analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results show that the surface hydrophilic property of the PP samples is greatly improved with plasma treatment for a few seconds, as evidenced by the fact that the contact angle of the treated PP samples significantly decreases after plasma treatment. The analysis of SEM shows that the surface roughness of the treated PP samples increases due to bonding and etching in plasma processing. The analyses of FTIR and the C1s peak in the high-resolution XPS indicate that oxygen-containing and nitrogen-containing polar functional groups are introduced into PP surface in plasma processing. It can be concluded that the surface hydrophilic property of the modified PP samples has been obviously improved due to the introduction of oxygen-containing and nitrogen-containing polar groups and the increase of the surface roughness on the PP surface.     

Concentric-ring patterns in a dielectric barrier discharge system

We report on the first experimental observation of a concentric-ring pattern in a short planar dielectric barrier gas-discharge system and study its spatiotemporal behavior. While increasing the gas pressure the destabilization of the rings into a filamentary structure is observed. The charge carriers deposited on the dielectric electrodes determine the spatiotemporal behavior of the pattern.