| AVS 57th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Plasma Science and Technology | Thursday Sessions |
| Session PS-ThP |
| Session: | Plasma Science and Technology Poster Session |
| Presenter: | C.Y. Sie, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, Republic of China |
| Authors: | C.Y. Sie, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, Republic of China C.L. Chen, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, Republic of China C.C. Hsu, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, Republic of China |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
The studies of the erosion of metal electrode by microplasmas in saline solutions are preformed. The plasma is ignited in saline solution of concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 2 M . This plasma is sustained by a DC power source with the voltage up to 600 V or a AC power source with the same voltage range and the frequency between 50 ~ 1000 Hz. The electrode on which the plasma is ignited is a metal electrode covered 0.5 mm in diameter by an alumina tube to precisely define the length exposes to the solution. The erosion of tungsten, titanium, and platinum electrodes is studied. During the plasma processing, the electrode erosion appears to be inevitable. It is found that when tungsten is used as the electrode, the most severe erosion occurs when the electrode is positive biased with the applied voltages at which no plasma is ignited, suggesting the electrolytic reaction plays an important role in the electrode erosion. With the plasma ignited at a higher applied voltage, increase in the applied voltage leads to a decrease in the erosion rate. When the AC power source is used, the erosion rate increases with the power frequency. In this presentation, the major erosion mechanism will be proposed and the strategy how the erosion rate can be minimized will be presented.