Dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) is the electrical discharge between two electrodes separated by an insulating dielectric barrier. Originally called silent (inaudible) discharge and also known as ozone production discharge [1] or partial discharge, [2] it was first reported by Ernst Werner von Siemens in 1857. [3]
The process normally uses high voltage alternating current, ranging from lower RF to microwave frequencies. [4] However, other methods were developed to extend the frequency range all the way down to the DC. One method was to use a high resistivity layer to cover one of the electrodes. This is known as the resistive barrier discharge. [5] Another technique using a semiconductor layer of gallium arsenide (GaAs) to replace the dielectric layer, enables these devices to be driven by a DC voltage between 580 V and 740 V. [6]
DBD devices can be made in many configurations, typically planar, using parallel plates separated by a dielectric or cylindrical, using coaxial plates with a dielectric tube between them. [7] In a common coaxial configuration, the dielectric is shaped in the same form as common fluorescent tubing. It is filled at atmospheric pressure with either a rare gas or rare gas-halide mix, with the glass walls acting as the dielectric barrier. Due to the atmospheric pressure level, such processes require high energy levels to sustain. Common dielectric materials include glass, quartz, ceramics and polymers. The gap distance between electrodes varies considerably, from less than 0.1 mm in plasma displays, several millimetres in ozone generators and up to several centimetres in CO2 lasers.
Depending on the geometry, DBD can be generated in a volume (VDBD) or on a surface (SDBD). For VDBD the plasma is generated between two electrodes, for example between two parallel plates with a dielectric in between. [8] At SDBD the microdischarges are generated on the surface of a dielectric, which results in a more homogeneous plasma than can be achieved using the VDBD configuration [9] At SDBD the microdischarges are limited to the surface, therefore their density is higher compared to the VDBD. [10] The plasma is generated on top of the surface of an SDBD plate. To easily ignite VDBD and obtain a uniformly distributed discharge in the gap, a pre-ionization DBD can be used. [8]
A particular compact and economic DBD plasma generator can be built based on the principles of the piezoelectric direct discharge. In this technique, the high voltage is generated with a piezo-transformer, the secondary circuit of which acts also as the high voltage electrode. Since the transformer material is a dielectric, the produced electric discharge resembles properties of the dielectric barrier discharge. [11] [12]
Manipulation of the encapsulated electrode and distributing the encapsulated electrode throughout the dielectric layer has been shown to alter the performance of the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator. [13] Actuators with a shallow initial electrode are able to more efficiently impart momentum and mechanical power into the flow. [14] [15]
A multitude of random arcs form in operation gap exceeding 1.5 mm between the two electrodes during discharges in gases at the atmospheric pressure . [16] As the charges collect on the surface of the dielectric, they discharge in microseconds (millionths of a second), leading to their reformation elsewhere on the surface. Similar to other electrical discharge methods, the contained plasma is sustained if the continuous energy source provides the required degree of ionization, overcoming the recombination process leading to the extinction of the discharge plasma. Such recombinations are directly proportional to the collisions between the molecules and in turn to the pressure of the gas, as explained by Paschen's Law. The discharge process causes the emission of an energetic photon, the frequency and energy of which corresponds to the type of gas used to fill the discharge gap.
DBDs can be used to generate optical radiation by the relaxation of excited species in the plasma. The main application here is the generation of UV-radiation. Such excimer ultraviolet lamps can produce light with short wavelengths which can be used to produce ozone in industrial scales. Ozone is still used extensively in industrial air and water treatment. [7] Early 20th-century attempts at commercial nitric acid and ammonia production used DBDs [17] as several nitrogen-oxygen compounds are generated as discharge products. [3]
Since the 19th century, DBDs were known for their decomposition of different gaseous compounds, such as NH3, H2S and CO2. Other modern applications include semiconductor manufacturing, germicidal processes, polymer surface treatment, high-power CO2 lasers typically used for welding and metal cutting, pollution control and plasma displays panels, aerodynamic flow control... The relatively lower temperature of DBDs makes it an attractive method of generating plasma at atmospheric pressure.
The plasma itself is used to modify or clean (plasma cleaning) surfaces of materials (e.g. polymers, semiconductor surfaces), that can also act as dielectric barrier, or to modify gases [18] applied further to "soft" plasma cleaning and increasing adhesion of surfaces prepared for coating or gluing (flat panel display technologies).
A dielectric barrier discharge is one method of plasma treatment of textiles at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. The treatment can be used to modify the surface properties of the textile to improve wettability, improve the absorption of dyes and adhesion, and for sterilization. DBD plasma provides a dry treatment that doesn't generate waste water or require drying of the fabric after treatment. For textile treatment, a DBD system requires a few kilovolts of alternating current, at between 1 and 100 kilohertz. Voltage is applied to insulated electrodes with a millimetre-size gap through which the textile passes. [19]
An excimer lamp can be used as a powerful source of short-wavelength ultraviolet light, useful in chemical processes such as surface cleaning of semiconductor wafers. [20] The lamp relies on a dielectric barrier discharge in an atmosphere of xenon and other gases to produce the excimers.
An additional process when using chlorine gas for removal of bacteria and organic contaminates in drinking water supplies. [21] Treatment of public swimming baths, aquariums and fish ponds involves the use of ultraviolet radiation produced when a dielectric mixture of xenon gas and glass are used. [22] [23]
An application where DBDs can be successfully used is to modify the characteristics of a material surface. The modification can target a change in its hydrophilicity, the surface activation, the introduction of functional groups, and so on. Polymeric surfaces are easy to be processed using DBDs which, in some cases, offer a high processing area. [24] [25]
Dielectric barrier discharges were used to generate relatively large volume diffuse plasmas at atmospheric pressure and applied to inactivate bacteria in the mid 1990s. [26] This eventually led to the development of a new field of applications, the biomedical applications of plasmas. In the field of biomedical application, three main approaches have emerged: direct therapy, surface modification, and plasma polymer deposition. Plasma polymers can control and steer biological–biomaterial interactions (i.e. adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation) or inhibition of bacteria adhesion. [27]
Interest in plasma actuators as active flow control devices is growing rapidly due to their lack of mechanical parts, light weight and high response frequency. [28] [29]
Due to their nature, these devices have the following properties:
Operation with continuous sine waves or square waves is mostly used in high power industrial installations. Pulsed operation of DBDs may lead to higher discharge efficiencies.
Drivers for this type of electric load are power HF-generators that in many cases contain a transformer for high voltage generation. They resemble the control gear used to operate compact fluorescent lamps or cold cathode fluorescent lamps. The operation mode and the topologies of circuits to operate [DBD] lamps with continuous sine or square waves are similar to those standard drivers. In these cases, the energy that is stored in the DBD's capacitance does not have to be recovered to the intermediate supply after each ignition. Instead, it stays within the circuit (oscillates between the [DBD]'s capacitance and at least one inductive component of the circuit) and only the real power, that is consumed by the lamp, has to be provided by the power supply. Differently, drivers for pulsed operation suffer from rather low power factor and in many cases must fully recover the DBD's energy. Since pulsed operation of [DBD] lamps can lead to increased lamp efficiency, international research led to suiting circuit concepts. Basic topologies are resonant flyback [30] and resonant half bridge. [31] A flexible circuit, that combines the two topologies is given in two patent applications, [32] [33] and may be used to adaptively drive DBDs with varying capacitance.
An overview of different circuit concepts for the pulsed operation of DBD optical radiation sources is given in "Resonant Behaviour of Pulse Generators for the Efficient Drive of Optical Radiation Sources Based on Dielectric Barrier Discharges". [34]
A corona discharge is an electrical discharge caused by the ionization of a fluid such as air surrounding a conductor carrying a high voltage. It represents a local region where the air has undergone electrical breakdown and become conductive, allowing charge to continuously leak off the conductor into the air. A corona discharge occurs at locations where the strength of the electric field around a conductor exceeds the dielectric strength of the air. It is often seen as a bluish glow in the air adjacent to pointed metal conductors carrying high voltages, and emits light by the same mechanism as a gas discharge lamp (Chemiluminescence). Corona discharges can also happen in weather, such as thunderstorms, where objects like ship masts or airplane wings have a charge significantly different from the air around them.
A flashtube (flashlamp) produces an electrostatic discharge with an extremely intense, incoherent, full-spectrum white light for a very short time. A flashtube is a glass tube with an electrode at each end and is filled with a gas that, when triggered, ionizes and conducts a high-voltage pulse to make light. Flashtubes are used most in photography; they also are used in science, medicine, industry, and entertainment.
In electronics, electrical breakdown or dielectric breakdown is a process that occurs when an electrically insulating material, subjected to a high enough voltage, suddenly becomes a conductor and current flows through it. All insulating materials undergo breakdown when the electric field caused by an applied voltage exceeds the material's dielectric strength. The voltage at which a given insulating object becomes conductive is called its breakdown voltage and, in addition to its dielectric strength, depends on its size and shape, and the location on the object at which the voltage is applied. Under sufficient voltage, electrical breakdown can occur within solids, liquids, or gases. However, the specific breakdown mechanisms are different for each kind of dielectric medium.
A plasma ball, plasma globe, or plasma lamp is a clear glass container filled with noble gases, usually a mixture of neon, krypton, and xenon, that has a high-voltage electrode in the center of the container. When voltage is applied, a plasma is formed within the container. Plasma filaments extend from the inner electrode to the outer glass insulator, giving the appearance of multiple constant beams of colored light. Plasma balls were popular as novelty items in the 1980s.
An electric arc is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The current through a normally nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma, which may produce visible light. An arc discharge is initiated either by thermionic emission or by field emission. After initiation, the arc relies on thermionic emission of electrons from the electrodes supporting the arc. An arc discharge is characterized by a lower voltage than a glow discharge. An archaic term is voltaic arc, as used in the phrase "voltaic arc lamp".
Corona treatment is a surface modification technique that uses a low temperature corona discharge plasma to impart changes in the properties of a surface. The corona plasma is generated by the application of high voltage to an electrode that has a sharp tip. The plasma forms at the tip. A linear array of electrodes is often used to create a curtain of corona plasma. Materials such as plastics, cloth, or paper may be passed through the corona plasma curtain in order to change the surface energy of the material. All materials have an inherent surface energy. Surface treatment systems are available for virtually any surface format including dimensional objects, sheets and roll goods that are handled in a web format. Corona treatment is a widely used surface treatment method in the plastic film, extrusion, and converting industries.
A nonthermal plasma, cold plasma or non-equilibrium plasma is a plasma which is not in thermodynamic equilibrium, because the electron temperature is much hotter than the temperature of heavy species. As only electrons are thermalized, their Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution is very different from the ion velocity distribution. When one of the velocities of a species does not follow a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, the plasma is said to be non-Maxwellian.
Plasma activation is a method of surface modification employing plasma processing, which improves surface adhesion properties of many materials including metals, glass, ceramics, a broad range of polymers and textiles and even natural materials such as wood and seeds. Plasma functionalization also refers to the introduction of functional groups on the surface of exposed materials. It is widely used in industrial processes to prepare surfaces for bonding, gluing, coating and painting. Plasma processing achieves this effect through a combination of reduction of metal oxides, ultra-fine surface cleaning from organic contaminants, modification of the surface topography and deposition of functional chemical groups. Importantly, the plasma activation can be performed at atmospheric pressure using air or typical industrial gases including hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. Thus, the surface functionalization is achieved without expensive vacuum equipment or wet chemistry, which positively affects its costs, safety and environmental impact. Fast processing speeds further facilitate numerous industrial applications.
The plasma pencil is a dielectric tube where two disk-shaped electrodes of about the same diameter as the tube are inserted, and are separated by a small gap. Each of the two electrodes is made of a thin copper ring attached to the surface of a centrally perforated dielectric disk. The plasma is ignited when nanoseconds-wide high voltage pulses at kHz repetition rate are applied between the two electrodes and a gas mixture is flown through the holes of the electrodes. When a plasma is ignited in the gap between the electrodes, a plasma plume reaching lengths up to 12 cm is launched through the aperture of the outer electrode and into the surrounding room air. The cold plasma plume emitted by the plasma pencil can be used to kill bacteria without harming skin tissue.
A microplasma is a plasma of small dimensions, ranging from tens to thousands of micrometers. Microplasmas can be generated at a variety of temperatures and pressures, existing as either thermal or non-thermal plasmas. Non-thermal microplasmas that can maintain their state at standard temperatures and pressures are readily available and accessible to scientists as they can be easily sustained and manipulated under standard conditions. Therefore, they can be employed for commercial, industrial, and medical applications, giving rise to the evolving field of microplasmas.
The Wingless Electromagnetic Air Vehicle (WEAV) is a heavier than air flight system developed at the University of Florida, funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The WEAV was invented in 2006 by Dr. Subrata Roy, plasma physicist, aerospace engineering professor at the University of Florida, and has been a subject of several patents. The WEAV employs no moving parts, and combines the aircraft structure, propulsion, energy production and storage, and control subsystems into one integrated system.
Atmospheric-pressure plasma is a plasma in which the pressure approximately matches that of the surrounding atmosphere – the so-called normal pressure.
Plasma is one of four fundamental states of matter characterized by the presence of a significant portion of charged particles in any combination of ions or electrons. It is the most abundant form of ordinary matter in the universe, mostly in stars, but also dominating the rarefied intracluster medium and intergalactic medium. Plasma can be artificially generated, for example, by heating a neutral gas or subjecting it to a strong electromagnetic field.
Plasma actuators are a type of actuator currently being developed for active aerodynamic flow control. Plasma actuators impart force in a similar way to ionocraft. Plasma flow control has drawn considerable attention and been used in boundary layer acceleration, airfoil separation control, forebody separation control, turbine blade separation control, axial compressor stability extension, heat transfer and high-speed jet control.
Plasma medicine is an emerging field that combines plasma physics, life sciences and clinical medicine. It is being studied in disinfection, healing, and cancer. Most of the research is in vitro and in animal models.
Plasma-activated bonding is a derivative, directed to lower processing temperatures for direct bonding with hydrophilic surfaces. The main requirements for lowering temperatures of direct bonding are the use of materials melting at low temperatures and with different coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE).
An excimer lamp is a source of ultraviolet light based on spontaneous emission of excimer (exciplex) molecules.
Piezoelectric direct discharge (PDD) plasma is a type of cold non-equilibrium plasma, generated by a direct gas discharge of a high voltage piezoelectric transformer. It can be ignited in air or other gases in a wide range of pressures, including atmospheric. Due to the compactness and the efficiency of the piezoelectric transformer, this method of plasma generation is particularly compact, efficient and cheap. It enables a wide spectrum of industrial, medical and consumer applications.
Plasmalysis is a electrochemical process that requires a voltage source. On the one hand, it describes the plasma-chemical dissociation of organic and inorganic compounds in interaction with a thermal/non-thermal plasma between two electrodes. On the other hand, it describes the synthesis, i.e. the combination of two or more elements to form a new molecule. Plasmalysis is an artificial word made of plasma and lysis.
Soft Ionization by Chemical Reaction in Transfer (SICRIT) is an ambient, also known as 'open' ionization, specifically designed for ion generation in mass spectrometers (MS), where ionization occurs at atmospheric pressure.
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