AVS 52nd International Symposium
    Plasma Science and Technology Tuesday Sessions
       Session PS-TuP

Paper PS-TuP6
Stabilization of the Atmospheric Glow Plasma

Tuesday, November 1, 2005, 4:00 pm, Room Exhibit Hall C&D

Session: Plasma Science and Technology Poster Session
Presenter: E. Aldea, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
Authors: E. Aldea, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
P. Peeters, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
H. de Vries, Fuji Photofilm B.V
M.C.M. Van De Sanden, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
Correspondent: Click to Email
*****PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST IDENTIFY A DIFFERENT PRESENTER FOR THIS ABSTRACT. YOU MAY ONLY PRESENT ONE (1) PAPER AT THE CONFERENCE.*****Due their huge potential for cost efficient industrial applications uniform atmospheric plasmas (atmospheric glow) attracted a lot of interest in the recent years. Commonly atmospheric glow plasma can be straightforwardly generated only in He or very pure nitrogen and at relatively low power density. It is widely believed that atmospheric glow generation is related to a large pre-breakdown pre-ionization but the link between pre-ionization and atmospheric glow remains debatable. In this paper it is argued that not the pre-ionization but thermal/ionization instability is the key factor, which is preventing the atmospheric glow generation. Excepting He atmospheric plasma generation requires the suppression of the unstable plasma modes. In this way we succeeded to generate the atmospheric glow at high power density and for a large variety of gases. Several dedicated electronic circuits were developed for the suppression of the unstable plasma varieties. The plasma stabilization electronics is exploiting the peculiar low ratio of the dynamic to static resistance of the unstable plasma varieties.