Interactions between micro-plasma devices
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen's University Belfast
Department Name: Sch of Mathematics and Physics
Abstract
Plasma - the 4th state of matter - is an ionized gas exhibiting collective phenomena. The outstanding role of plasmas in our daily lives remains largely hidden; many products could not exist without plasmas. They underlie technologies, such as TV-displays, mobile phones, solar-cells, nano-chip fabrication, aerospace applications, high-efficiency lighting, biomedicine, cancer treatment, etc. Plasmas are, therefore, often referred to as nano-scale engineering tools of the future.Both fascinating fundamental scientific issues and the enormous social impact that result from their applications drive the field of plasma science and technology. The unique property of low temperature plasmas lies in the fact that the plasma species are not in thermodynamic equilibrium. These plasmas consist of electrons, ions and neutrals. Electron temperatures are around 10000 - 50000 K, while the heavier ions and neutrals are around room temperature. The 'hot' electrons can provide a unique active chemical environment in a cold gas. This offers the facility for precise treatment and modifications of surfaces - even temperature sensitive surfaces such as semiconductors or bio-materials.Particularly challenging and at the same time highly promising is the emerging field of so-called micro-plasmas operated at ambient atmospheric pressure. Micro-plasmas are confined to dimensions on a micro-metre scale and are at present probably the 'hottest' topic in low-temperature plasma science. One can envisage the development of inexpensive disposable micro-plasma sources. High concentrations of radicals can be provided at low gas temperatures without complicated vacuum equipment, e.g. for sterilization and cancer treatments under atmospheric pressure conditions. These areas are frontier technologies with enormous future industrial benefit and social significance.The proposed project, on fundamental investigations of interaction mechanisms between multiple micro-plasmas, provides extraordinary opportunity to lift this research area to its next level. A key issue in understanding fundamental processes, towards their intelligent use for tailoring plasma properties, is insight into power coupling and plasma sustainment mechanisms. There has been some recent progress in understanding single micro-plasma devices, but the interaction of multiple micro-plasma devices is far more complex. In multiple devices, e.g. micro-plasma arrays, single devices interact with each other and their coupling can result in pattern and structure formation. Detailed studies of relevant interaction mechanisms are absent but crucial for further developments and exploitations of micro-plasma arrays. The key to understanding the interaction is to investigate details of energy transport mechanisms. Important factors are the individual roles of energy carrying particles (electrons, ions, radicals, metastables), radiation transport and photo-ionization, and material dependent surface reactions.Measurements on micro-plasmas are extremely challenging due to their very small structures (micron scale) and the collision dominated high-pressure environment requiring exceptionally high temporal resolution down to pico-seconds. Essential diagnostics are newly available modern optical diagnostic techniques and laser spectroscopy - both with pico-second resolution. The most promising approach is exploiting the synergy of these ultrafast diagnostic techniques and state-of-the-art numerical computer simulations.
People |
ORCID iD |
Deborah O'Connell (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Algwari Q
(2011)
Electron dynamics and plasma jet formation in a helium atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge jet
in Applied Physics Letters
Alkawareek MY
(2012)
Eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms by atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasma.
in PloS one
Alkawareek MY
(2012)
Application of atmospheric pressure nonthermal plasma for the in vitro eradication of bacterial biofilms.
in FEMS immunology and medical microbiology
Brandt S
(2016)
Electron power absorption dynamics in capacitive radio frequency discharges driven by tailored voltage waveforms in CF 4
in Plasma Sources Science and Technology
Bruneau B
(2016)
Slope and amplitude asymmetry effects on low frequency capacitively coupled carbon tetrafluoride plasmas
in Journal of Applied Physics
Bruneau B
(2015)
Strong ionization asymmetry in a geometrically symmetric radio frequency capacitively coupled plasma induced by sawtooth voltage waveforms.
in Physical review letters
Bruneau B
(2016)
Capacitively coupled hydrogen plasmas sustained by tailored voltage waveforms: excitation dynamics and ion flux asymmetry
in Plasma Sources Science and Technology
Bruneau B
(2016)
Effect of gas properties on the dynamics of the electrical slope asymmetry effect in capacitive plasmas: comparison of Ar, H 2 and CF 4
in Plasma Sources Science and Technology
Chechik V
(2016)
An Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Setup to Investigate the Reactive Species Formation
in Journal of Visualized Experiments
Dedrick J
(2017)
Controlled production of atomic oxygen and nitrogen in a pulsed radio-frequency atmospheric-pressure plasma
in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics
Dedrick J
(2013)
Formation of spatially periodic fronts of high-energy electrons in a radio-frequency driven surface microdischarge
in Applied Physics Letters
Gibson A
(2014)
Interactions of a Non-Thermal Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Effluent with PC-3 Prostate Cancer Cells
in Plasma Processes and Polymers
Gorbanev Y
(2017)
Initiating radical reactions with non-thermal plasmas.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
Gorbanev Y
(2016)
An Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Setup to Investigate the Reactive Species Formation.
in Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE
Gorbanev Y
(2016)
Non-Thermal Plasma in Contact with Water: The Origin of Species.
in Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
Greb A
(2014)
Energy resolved actinometry for simultaneous measurement of atomic oxygen densities and local mean electron energies in radio-frequency driven plasmas
in Applied Physics Letters
Greb A
(2013)
Improved fluid simulations of radio-frequency plasmas using energy dependent ion mobilities
in Physics of Plasmas
Greb A
(2015)
Influence of surface conditions on plasma dynamics and electron heating in a radio-frequency driven capacitively coupled oxygen plasma
in Plasma Sources Science and Technology
Greb A
(2013)
The influence of surface properties on the plasma dynamics in radio-frequency driven oxygen plasmas: Measurements and simulations
in Applied Physics Letters
Hirst AM
(2014)
Low temperature plasma: a novel focal therapy for localized prostate cancer?
in BioMed research international
Hirst AM
(2015)
Low-temperature plasma treatment induces DNA damage leading to necrotic cell death in primary prostate epithelial cells.
in British journal of cancer
Hirst AM
(2016)
Low temperature plasmas as emerging cancer therapeutics: the state of play and thoughts for the future.
in Tumour biology : the journal of the International Society for Oncodevelopmental Biology and Medicine
Hurlbatt A
(2016)
Bridging the gap between global models and full fluid models: a fast 1D semi-analytical fluid model for electronegative plasmas
in Plasma Sources Science and Technology
Jansky J
(2012)
Experimental-Modeling Study of an Atmospheric-Pressure Helium Discharge Propagating in a Thin Dielectric Tube
in IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science
Murakami T
(2014)
Afterglow chemistry of atmospheric-pressure helium-oxygen plasmas with humid air impurity
in Plasma Sources Science and Technology
Murakami T
(2012)
Chemical kinetics and reactive species in atmospheric pressure helium-oxygen plasmas with humid-air impurities
in Plasma Sources Science and Technology
Murakami T
(2013)
Interacting kinetics of neutral and ionic species in an atmospheric-pressure helium-oxygen plasma with humid air impurities
in Plasma Sources Science and Technology
Niemi K
(2011)
The role of helium metastable states in radio-frequency driven helium-oxygen atmospheric pressure plasma jets: measurement and numerical simulation
in Plasma Sources Science and Technology
Niemi K
(2013)
Comparison of a global model to semi-kinetic fluid simulations for atmospheric pressure radio-frequency plasmas
in Plasma Sources Science and Technology
O'Connell D
(2011)
Cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet interactions with plasmid DNA
in Applied Physics Letters
Privat-Maldonado A
(2018)
Nontarget Biomolecules Alter Macromolecular Changes Induced by Bactericidal Low-Temperature Plasma.
in IEEE transactions on radiation and plasma medical sciences
Privat-Maldonado A
(2016)
Spatial Dependence of DNA Damage in Bacteria due to Low-Temperature Plasma Application as Assessed at the Single Cell Level.
in Scientific reports
Schüngel E
(2016)
Tailored voltage waveform capacitively coupled plasmas in electronegative gases: frequency dependence of asymmetry effects
in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics
Tsutsumi T
(2017)
Investigation of the radially resolved oxygen dissociation degree and local mean electron energy in oxygen plasmas in contact with different surface materials
in Journal of Applied Physics
Wagenaars E
(2012)
Two-photon absorption laser-induced fluorescence measurements of atomic nitrogen in a radio-frequency atmospheric-pressure plasma jet
in Plasma Sources Science and Technology
Wijaikhum A
(2017)
Absolute ozone densities in a radio-frequency driven atmospheric pressure plasma using two-beam UV-LED absorption spectroscopy and numerical simulations
in Plasma Sources Science and Technology
Zaka-Ul-Islam M
(2011)
Energetic electron avalanches and mode transitions in planar inductively coupled radio-frequency driven plasmas operated in oxygen
in Applied Physics Letters
Zaka-Ul-Islam M
(2015)
Electron dynamics and frequency coupling in a radio-frequency capacitively biased planar coil inductively coupled plasma system
in Plasma Sources Science and Technology
Description | We have investigated and understand the plasma generation and sustainment mechanism of atmospheric pressure plasmas, including the chemical kinetics. Our measurements of the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species have proven to be important for biomedical applications and other technologies. We have also successfully demonstrated inactivation of bacteria and a reduced survival of cancer cells in a near-patient model using these types of plasma sources. |
Exploitation Route | These findings will be important for the development of new plasma therapeutics e.g. sterilisation, wound healing, cancer treatments and atmospheric pressure plasma technologies e.g. CO2 to CO conversion. |
Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Energy,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Description | We are exploiting our findings on tailoring atmospheric pressure plasmas for various applications, including manufacturing, biorenewables and biotechnology e.g. from our mechanistic understanding of inducing cancer cell death we are developing plasma sources for potential cancer therapy. |
First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
Description | EPSRC Manufacturing the Future |
Amount | £1,979,776 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/K018388/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2013 |
End | 06/2018 |
Description | Leverhulme Trust Project Award |
Amount | £150,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 12/2013 |
End | 12/2016 |