Aerosol Charging with a Piezoelectric Plasma Generator

Abstract

A novel piezoelectric plasma generator developed by TDK Electronics GmbH & Co OG, the CeraPlas®, was investigated for its feasibility as a charger for aerosol particles. The CeraPlas® charger was directly compared to a commercially available bipolar X-ray charger regarding its efficiency of charging atomized NaCl particles in a size range from 30nm–100nm. First results show the ability of the CeraPlas® to perform bipolar aerosol charging with high reproducibility, and measurements of the charge distribution in the Nit product yielded about E12/m3s for our experimental charging configuration. Unwanted generation of ozone was suppressed by a dedicated charging chamber and operation in N2 atmosphere.