Atomic oxygen generation by in-situ plasma and post-plasma in dielectric barrier discharges for surface treatment

Abstract

Atomic oxygen (AO) generation is experimentally and numerically investigated for in-situ plasma and post-plasma produced by dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) for surface treatment. The AO generation in in-situ plasma inside a DBD reactor is closely related to the plasma characteristics depending on the applied voltage and O2 additive concentration, while the AO density distribution along the post-plasma ejected outside the reactor exit is influenced by the AO generation in the in-situ plasma, gas flow rate, and effluent distance. Contact angle measurements show that the metal surface characteristics, which are treated by in-situ plasma and post-plasma, respectively, are distinctive from each other depending on the AO densities.