Study on the influence of dielectric barrier materials on the characteristics of atmospheric plasma jet in Ar

In this paper, an Ar plasma jet is generated under atmospheric pressure using a DBD configuration device equipped with a copper-ring powered electrode as well as an aluminous plate ground electrode, which is driven by a sinusoidal excitation voltage at 10 kHz, and three types of dielectric barriers, i.e., quartz glass, epoxy, and PTFE, are employed to study the influence of the barrier materials on the characteristics of the plasma jet. The jet characteristics are studied by electrical and optical diagnostics, and the voltage-current waveforms, Lissajous figures, lighting emission images, and optical spectrum are obtained. The electric discharge parameters and plasma parameters, such as discharge power, transported charges, electronic excitation temperature, etc., are calculated and compared by using different dielectric barriers, and the mechanism of the influence of the barrier material on the jet discharge is discussed. The experimental results show that the influence of the barrier materials on the characteristics of the plasma jet is related not only to the relative dielectric constant but also to the desorption of surface electrons from them. Under the same operation conditions, more intensive jet discharge can be obtained by using PFTE as the barrier material, and the discharge power, transported charges, and electronic excitation temperature are higher than those of quartz glass and epoxy as dielectric barriers.