Title

Development of a Cold Atmospheric Plasma Array

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-15-2019

College

College of Engineering

Department

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Jim Browning

Abstract

Cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP) is being studied as a method to remove bacteria and biofilms on surfaces. Experiments are being conducted with a parallel plate plasma source fabricated from a low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC). The CAP operates at 20 kHz and 2-4 kV, driving a discharge current of 1-3 mA. The main limitation to this current apparatus is the plasma device size (2 mm x 2 cm), which requires the biofilm sample to rotate to achieve coverage of a typical sample of 2 cm x 2 cm. In order to resolve this inconsistency in data collection, an array of plasma sources is being developed. This new configuration will allow for even streams of plasma to come in contact with an entire sample of bacteria all at once. In the research to be presented, different array designs are tested to determine the optimal configuration. However, initial inconsistencies in the geometry of the sources, results in different plasma discharge condition in each source. Ballast resistors (~ 100 kΩ) are connected to the ground side of each CAP source in order to improve the uniformity of the plasma discharge. Preliminary results show this method does improve plasma uniformity.

Comments

This research is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the NIFA grant #2018-67018-27881, by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Grant # 1R15EB024930-01A1, and program grants NIH/NIGMS P20GM103408 and P20GM109095. The project is also supported by the Helmsley Charitable Trust and Boise State University College of Innovation and Design as a Vertically Integrated Projects course in Plasma Medicine.

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