Comparison of two cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet configurations in argon

The present study compares the operation of two cold atmospheric plasma jet (CAPJ) configurations: needle-to-cylinder electrode configuration (CAPJ I) and single high-voltage cylinder electrode around the quartz tube (CAPJ II). The CAPJs were operated in argon flowing through a quartz capillary with 0.5-mm inner diameter into the ambient air, and the plasma was generated by sinusoidal kHz frequency AC power supplies. The main emphasis of the study was on the mechanism of the initiation of ionization waves for these two configurations. For both CAPJs, there appeared several ionization waves during one half-period of the applied voltage waveform, and the number of ionization waves increased at higher voltage amplitudes. However, we discovered marked differences in the initiation of the ionization waves for two different CAPJ configuration. The applied voltage controlled the initiation of consecutive ionization waves, which propagated from the grounded electrode towards the tube orifice in CAPJ I. In the case of CAPJ II, certain time had to pass for the initiation of a new ionization wave, and subsequent ionization waves within the same half-period started at the tube orifice. In addition to the differences in the initiation of the ionization waves, we observed that the CAPJ I was ignited and sustained at lower voltages, while CAPJ II produced a longer plasma jet. The observed advantages and deficiencies of investigated CAPJ configurations point out their potential in different applications.     

Hydrogen doping of MgO thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Hydrogen doped MgO films were grown by pulsed laser deposition method. Gaseous hydrogen stored in cavities of milky MgO single crystal targets provided doping in film deposition process. Clear MgO targets without hydrogen were used in the preparation of reference films. The influence of hydrogen doping on firing voltage (FV) of gas discharge and its AC frequency dependence was investigated. According to thermoluminescence experiments, the films grown from milky targets contained two kinds of electron traps with the activation energies of 0.051 and 0.31 eV, while latter traps were absent in reference samples. The 0.31 eV trap was assigned to the hydride ion H⁻ occupying an oxygen vacancy site in MgO crystal structure. Using standard gas mixture (Ne-10% Xe), FVs of hydrogen doped sample showed considerable frequency dependence and were up to 55 V lower in comparison to the reference sample. The FVs of reference sample were shifted 14-28 V to higher values when N₂ gas was added to the mixture. The N₂ addition lowered the FVs of hydrogen doped sample up to 38 V and almost eliminated the FV frequency dependence.     

Nitrite and Nitrate Production by NO and NO2 Dissolution in Water Utilizing Plasma Jet Resembling Gas Flow Pattern

This study investigated the reactive dissolution of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) mixtures in deionized water. The dissolution study was carried out in a flat surface type gas–liquid reaction chamber utilizing a gas flow-pattern resembling plasma jets which are often used in biomedical applications. The concentration of NO and NO₂ in the gas mixtures was varied in a broad range by oxidizing up to 800 ppm of nitric oxide in Ar carrier gas with variable amount of ozone. The production of nitrite (NO₂^?) and nitrate (NO₃^?) in the water was proportional to treatment time up to 50 min. The concentration of NO₃^? was a power function of gas phase NO₂ while the concentration of NO₂^? increased approximately linearly with gas phase NO₂. The formation of NO₂^? and NO₃^? could be described by reactions between dissolved NO₂ and NO in the water while the production rate was determined by diffusion-limited mass transport of nitrogen oxides to the bulk of the liquid. At higher NO₂ concentrations, the formation of dinitrogen tetraoxide (N₂O₄) increased the formation rate of NO₂^? and NO₃^?. The identified mass transport limitation by diffusion suggests that convection of water created by the gas jet is insufficient and dissolution of nitrogen oxides can be increased by additional mixing. In respect of practical applications, the ratio of NO₂^? /NO₃^? in water could be varied from 0.8 to 5.3 with treatment time and gas phase NO₂ and NO concentrations.

     

Influence of oxygen on diffusion in the Cu/Mo/Au system

The annealing behaviour of the Cu/Mo/Au metallization system is investigated. Backscattering spectrometry reveals a rapid diffusion of Cu and Au across the Mo film and the formation of AuCu after annealing at 600°C for 30 min in vacuum, but only when no impurity is detected in the as-deposited polycrystalline Mo layer. The Au-Cu interaction is impeded when 5.5 at% of oxygen is introduced in the as-deposited Mo layer. The thin film microstructures are analyzed using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The thermal stability difference between the samples with a pure Mo layer and a contaminated Mo layer is discussed in terms of fast diffusion process inhibited by a grain boundary decoration with oxygen atoms.     

Development of Ionization waves in an Atmospheric‐Pressure Micro‐Plasma Jet

Present study investigated the development of ionization waves in an atmospheric‐pressure plasma jet. Plasma was ignited by 6 kHz sinusoidal voltage applied to a cylindrical electrode surrounding the 500 μm inner diameter quartz tube and positioned 10 mm upstream from the tube orifice. The plasma current was observed using a plane electrode placed 20 mm downstream from the tube orifice. The spatial development of ionization waves was monitored by registering the optical emission along the axis of the tube. At voltages in range of 5.5 ‐ 7.5 kV only one pulse occurred during positive half‐period while at higher voltages the number of pulses increased up to 6 ‐ 7 per half‐period. The development of the first and subsequent pulses during one half‐period was essentially different. For the first pulse the sharp rise of optical emission characterizing the front of the ionization wave occurred initially near the high‐voltage electrode and moved towards the tube orifice and further in the He jet. The propagation of ionization wave coincided with the rise of the displacement current measured at the plane electrode. For subsequent ionization waves of the same half‐period, the emission occurred initially at the tube orifice and the ionization wave developed simultaneously in two directions: towards the high‐voltage electrode and towards the end of the jet. The velocity of ionization wave inside the tube was in range of (2. 5 ‐ 5.0) · 10⁴ m/s for first wave and as high as 1.2 · 10⁵ m/s for subsequent waves. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Temperature‐dependent,micro‐Raman spectroscopic study of barium titanate nanoparticles

A comparative, temperature‐dependent (80–500 K at 5 K intervals), micro‐Raman spectroscopic study of 300 and 50 nm diameter ceramic BaTiO₃ nanoparticles was carried out with the purpose of elucidating the nanoparticle size effect on the temperature dependence of the polar and non‐polar phonons. A method for calibrating Raman intensities, along with an iterative spectral fitting algorithm, is proposed for concurrent Raman band position and intensity analysis, increasing the analytical abilities of single temperature point Raman spectroscopy. The 300 nm particles exhibit all three phase transitions, whereas the 50 nm particles do not show evidence of these phase transitions in the same temperature range. The Curie temperature appears to be a phonon converging point, irrespective of the phonon symmetry. An attempt was made to qualitatively relate the temperature‐dependent Raman spectra to complimentary non‐spectroscopic methods, such as heat capacity and X‐ray diffraction studies. The study proves that the temperature‐dependent behavior of the polar phonon, 265 cm⁻¹, can be utilized as a sensitive phase transition probe. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.