Generation of Cold Argon Plasma Jet at the End of Flexible Plastic Tube

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method to generate a cold atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet at the end of a flexible plastic tube, enabling safe medical and decontamination applications.

Contribution

A new technique for producing a cold plasma jet at the end of a flexible plastic tube using dielectric barrier discharge in argon.

Findings

Plasma jet can be generated at the tube's end without inside discharge.

The plasma jet is cold enough for direct contact with human skin.

The method is suitable for medical treatment and decontamination.

Abstract

This brief communication reports a new method for generation of cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet at the downstream end of a flexible plastic tube. The device consists of a small chamber where dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is ignited in Argon. The discharge is driven by a conventional low frequency AC power supply. The exit of DBD reactor is connected to a commercial flexible plastic tube (up to 4 meters long) with a thin floating Cu wire inside. Under certain conditions an Ar plasma jet can be extracted from the downstream tube end and there is no discharge inside the plastic tube. The jet obtained by this method is cold enough to be put in direct contact with human skin without electric shock and can be used for medical treatment and decontamination.