Publications

Selected publication  

Machala Z., Marode E., Laux C.O., Kruger C.H.: DC glow discharges in atmospheric pressure air, J. Advanced Oxid. Technol. 7, No. 2, 133-137 (2004).
citations: 57  

Abstract

We present experimental investigations of DC glow discharges in atmospheric pressure air with the aim of producing nonequilibrium air plasmas with high electron density (~10e12 cm-3) and relatively low gas temperature (less than 2000 K). Such plasmas are potentially interesting for many applications, including air pollution control. The discharge of our study is ignited by a streamer-to-spark transition, but thanks to an appropriate ballast resistor, it operates in a pulseless regime with currents from 2 to 500 mA, current densities of 1e-10 A/cm2, and electric fields of 3000-300 V/cm. Spectroscopic and electrical measurements show that the dis-charge is of the glow type and generates a nonequilibrium air plasma. We also describe an innovative approach where thermionic cathodes and tubes with swirl gas flow are employed. With this approach, electron densities of up to 10e13-10e14 cm-3 can be obtained and the production of relatively large plasma volumes is possible.