Effect of O2 additive on spatial uniformity of atmospheric-pressure helium plasma jet array driven by microsecond-duration pulses

• Published in: Applied physics letters Vol. 105; no. 4
• Main Authors: Zhang, Cheng, Shao, Tao, Zhou, Yixiao, Fang, Zhi, Yan, Ping, Yang, Wenjin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melville American Institute of Physics 28.07.2014
• Subjects: Applied physics; Arrays; Helium plasma; Ionization; Penning ionization; Plasma jets
• ISSN: 0003-6951; 1077-3118
• DOI: 10.1063/1.4887992

Plasma jet array is a promising device for producing low-temperature plasma at atmospheric pressure. In our letter, the effect of O2 additive on spatial uniformity of one-dimensional helium plasma jet array is described. The length of the plasma jet in the middle of the array before the injection of O2 additive is less than that on the edges of the array. However, when a small amount of O2 additive is injected into the plasma jet array, the length increases and becomes approximately the same as the length of the plasma jets on the edges of the array. The improvement of spatial uniformity of the plasma jet array is due to the enhancement of the Penning ionization in the plasma jets caused by O2 additive. Too much quantity of O2 additive, however, may lead to discharge quenching in the plasma jet array.