Generation of cold atmospheric plasma jet by a coaxial double dielectric barrier reactor

In this study, the generation of cold atmospheric plasma jet was investigated in a coaxial double dielectric barrier configuration conjugated with a microsecond voltage pulse generator. The advanced reactor comprised two coaxial dielectric tubes of different diameters with two ring-shaped electrodes covering outside the larger tube. The electrodes were immersed in a liquid dielectric (i.e. transformer oil) in order to isolate them from the ambient air, which completely prevented the direct sparks formation between them within the investigated range of the applied voltage. The He discharge gas was fed to the inner tube while either air, N-2, or O-2 as a shielding gas was introduced into the gap between the two dielectrics. The result revealed that with these shielding gases, the unwanted abnormal discharge in the inter-dielectric gap was extinguished and the plasma discharge occurred only in the He gas in the inner tube. Consequently, the electrical power delivered to the He discharges maintained at a level of around 1 W with a considerable variation in the applied voltage. Meanwhile, the discharge power of the unshielded jet was almost tripled as the applied voltage was increased from 7 to 10 kV. Interestingly, the cold plasma jet generated by the alternative reactor design in this study, which had the electron density up to 2.5 x 10(13) cm(-3), consumed relatively less He gas with less restriction on the high voltage range applied. The design also enhanced the possibility to control the plasma chemistry and jet temperature by changing the shielding gas. Therefore, the reactor is capable of producing a cold atmospheric plasma jet for the emerging plasma application such as plasma medicine and bio-applications.