Investigation of surface treatment of conductive wire in cylindrical atmospheric pressure plasmas

• Published in: Thin solid films 2009-12, Vol.518 (3), p.971-975
• Main Authors: Ye, Rubin, Kagohashi, Tsutomu, Zheng, Wei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atmospheric pressure plasma; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Electrical properties of specific thin films; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Exact sciences and technology; Ion and electron beam-assisted deposition; ion plating; Materials science; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Physics; Physics of gases, plasmas and electric discharges; Physics of plasmas and electric discharges; Plasma applications; Plasma-based ion implantation and deposition; Surface discharge; Surface treatment
• ISSN: 0040-6090; 1879-2731
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2009.07.168

Polyethylene insulated electric wire was treated in He and Ar dielectric barrier discharge atmospheric pressure plasmas generated in a quartz tube wound with tubular electrodes. The wire was put penetrating through the high voltage and the grounded electrodes, improving the discharge and facilitating uniform surface treatment. In this work, the influences of conductivity of the wire on the effects of surface treatment and discharge behavior were investigated. Surface properties of the wire samples were analyzed by means of surface energy measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In order to reveal the mechanism for treating the conductive wire, I– V discharge waveforms were measured and time-resolved plasma images were taken. It was demonstrated that the conductive wire was involved in the discharge process, reducing the breakdown voltage significantly and enhancing the discharge. It shows that the discharge mode was strongly dependent on the conductivity of a wire. Intensive surface discharges developed along the conductive wire were found to be mainly responsible for noticeable improvement in the treatment effect.