Generation of reactive species by an atmospheric pressure plasma jet

The role of gas mixing in reactive species delivery to treatment surfaces for an atmospheric pressure capacitively coupled plasma helium jet is investigated by numerical modelling. Atomic oxygen in the jet effluent is shown to quickly convert to ozone for increasing device to surface separation due to the molecular oxygen present in the gas mixture. Surface profiles of reactive oxygen species show narrow peaks for atomic oxygen and broader surface distributions for ozone and metastable species. Production efficiency of atomic oxygen to the helium plasma jet by molecular oxygen admixture is shown to be dependent on electro-negativity. Excessive molecular oxygen admixture results in negative ion dominance over electrons which eventually quenches the plasma. Interaction of the plasma jet with an aqueous surface showed hydrogen peroxide as the dominant species at this interface. Gas heating by the plasma is found to be dominated by elastic electron collisions and positive ion heating. Comparison with experimental measurements for atomic oxygen shows good agreement.