Surface diffuse discharge mechanism of well-aligned atmospheric pressure microplasma arrays

A stable and homogeneous well-aligned air microplasma device for application at atmospheric pressure is designed and its electrical and optical characteristics are investigated. Current-voltage measurements and intensified charge coupled device （ICCD） images show that the well-aligned air microplasma device is able to generate a large-area and homogeneous discharge at the applied voltages ranging from 12 kV to 14 kV, with a repetition frequency of 5 kHz, which is attributed to the diffusion effect of plasma on dielectric surface. Moreover, this well-aligned microplasma device may result in the uniform and large-area surface modification of heat-sensitive PET polymers without damage, such as optimization in hydrophobicity and biocompatibility. In the biomedical field, the utility of this well-aligned microplasma device is further testified. It proves to be very efficient for the large-area and uniform inactivation of E. coli cells with a density of 103/cm2 on LB agar plate culture medium, and inactivation efficiency can reach up to 99% for 2-min treatment.