Development of an RF-Driven Plasma Jet System: From Physical Diagnostics to Biomedical Efficacy
TL;DR
The paper concludes that obtaining control on power parameters is an important method of customizing plasma characteristics in order to enhance its applicability and perform better in the context of biomedical applications for sterilization/disinfection processes.
Abstract
In this paper the experimental study of an argon plasma jet at atmospheric pressure is presented. Herein are reported spectroscopic diagnostics of the plasma for a range of operating conditions with an emphasis on its response to variation in input power as a means of fully determining physical parameters. The basic plasma parameters were measured using Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES). The variation of the electron temperature (Te) was determined by composing a Boltzmann plot using spectral lines of representing argon atoms. In addition, electron density (ne) was obtained based on the study of the Stark broadening phenomenon for the spectral lines. The experiment showed an unmistakable linear dependence of the electron temperature and electron density both on the multiplier voltage, which was used to increase the input power, thus confirming an intensification of ionizing activity in plasma. The bio-efficacy of the plasma was then assessed against chosen bacterial species. The findings demonstrated that the produced plasma was highly effective in killing bacterial colonies, where increasing power and electron density was correlated with increased bacterial cell death. The paper concludes that obtaining control on power parameters is an important method of customizing plasma characteristics in order to enhance its applicability and perform better in the context of biomedical applications for sterilization/disinfection processes.