Optical emission spectroscopic diagnostics of a non-thermal atmospheric pressure helium-oxygen plasma jet for biomedical applications

Abstract

In this work, we have applied optical emission spectroscopy diagnostics to investigate the characteristics of a non-thermal atmospheric pressure helium plasma jet. The discharge characteristics in the active and afterglow region of the plasma jet, that are critical for biomedical applications, have been investigated. The voltage-current characteristics of the plasma discharge were analyzed and the average plasma power was measured to be around 18 W. The effect of addition of small fractions of oxygen at 0.1%-0.5% on the plasma jet characteristics was studied. The addition of oxygen resulted in a decrease in plasma plume length due to the electronegativity property of oxygen. Atomic and molecular lines of selected reactive plasma species that are considered to be useful to induce biochemical reactions such as OH transitions A 2 R þ ð ¼ 0; 1Þ ! X 2 PðD ¼ 0Þ at 308 nm and A 2 R þ ð ¼ 0; 1Þ ! X 2 PðD ¼ 1Þ at 287 nm, O I transitions 3p 5 P!3s 5 S 0 at 777.41 nm, and 3p 3 P!3s 3 S 0 at 844.6 nm, N 2 (C-B) second positive system with electronic transition C 3 P u ! B 3 P g in the range of 300-450 nm and N 2 þ (B-X) first negative system with electronic transition B 2 R þ u ! X 2 R þ g ðD ¼ 0Þ at 391.4 nm have been studied. The atomic emission lines of helium were identified, including the He I transitions 3p 3 P 0 !2s 3 S at 388.8 nm, 3p 1 P 0 ! 2s 1 S at 501.6 nm, 3d 3 D!2p 3 P 0 at 587.6 nm, 3d 1 D!2p 1 P 0 at 667.8 nm, 3s 3 S 1 !2p 3 P 0 at 706.5 nm, 3s 1 S 0 !2p 1 P 0 at 728.1 nm, and H a transition 2p-3d at 656.3 nm. Using a spectral fitting method, the OH radicals at 306-312 nm, the rotational and vibrational temperatures equivalent to gas temperatures of the discharge was measured and the effective non-equilibrium nature of the plasma jet was demonstrated. Our results show that, in the entire active plasma region, the gas temperature remains at 310 6 25 K and 340 6 25 K and it increases to 320 6 25 K and 360 6 25 K in the afterglow region of the plasma jet for pure helium and helium/oxygen (0.1%) mixture, respectively. Additionally, the vibrational temperatures range from 2200 6 100 K and 2500 6 100 K for pure helium and helium/oxygen (0.1%) mixture, respectively. The plasma jet was tested on heat sensitive polymer films used in biomedical applications such as polyethylene terephthalate and poly-L-lactide samples continuously for several minutes without causing any physical or thermal damage to the films. The plasma jet produces significant reactive species of interest while the gas temperatures remain very low demonstrating its potential for a range of biomedical applications. V C 2013 AIP Publishing LLC. [http://dx.

Enhancing the mechanical performance of additive manufactured polymer components using atmospheric plasma pre‐treatments

“…At λ = 391 and 427 nm the first negative system of molecular nitrogen ions N 2 + [B 2 Σ + u − X 2 Σ + g ] is recorded. Two lines from atomic species are found in the near‐infrared region, He I transition 3s 3 S 1 → 2p 3 P 0 at 706 nm and O I transition 3p 5 P → 3s 5 S 0 at 777 nm . While in the UV emission band, OH radicals OH [A 2 Σ + − X 2 Π] around 307 nm are observed .…”

Electrical and Spectroscopic Diagnostics of Atmospheric Pressure DBD Plasma Jet

“…Unipolar positive voltage pulse is applied across the electrodes. Our experimental setup is different from that of Thiyagarajan et al (2013) in that they used linear-field type electrode configuration with bipolar sinusoidal type voltage source having different source parameters. In our setup, commercial grade O 2 gas (99.65%) is fed through the upper side of the inner glass tube from the O 2 gas cylinder.…”

“…The electronegative O 2 gas plays a significant role of plasma discharges in air (Raizer et al 1991). Generally, breakdown of O 2 gas occurs from several microdischarges that are randomly spread in time and space at atmospheric pressure DBD plasma jet (Thiyagarajan et al 2013). The DBD plasma is produced with increased O 2 gas flow rate but it looks filamentary-like at the flow rate lower than 2 lmp.…”

Generation of a planar direct-current glow discharge in atmospheric pressure air using rod array electrode

“…Moreover, a continuum is observed in the planar discharge spectrum, which can be attributed to the overlapping of abundant energy levels for the diatomic molecule (N 2 (B-A)). Figure 5(b) presents the vibrational temperature ( T v ) and the rotational one ( T r ) obtained by fitting the second positive system of N 2 and the OH radicals transition, respectively 29 . T r nearly equals to the gas temperature of the discharge 29 .…”

“…Figure 5(b) presents the vibrational temperature ( T v ) and the rotational one ( T r ) obtained by fitting the second positive system of N 2 and the OH radicals transition, respectively 29 . T r nearly equals to the gas temperature of the discharge 29 . It is found from Fig.…”