Current methods for plasma-based modification of material surfaces (e.g., etching; modifying adhesion, surface chemistry, or wettability; and deposition) cannot often deliver precise control over the location of treatment without extensive use of complex lithographic or photoresist masks. Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasmas operating at atmospheric pressure can accomplish such surface treatments through the creation of random plasma filaments or ‘streamers’ where surface treatment preferentially occurs. Unfortunately, spatially random and intermittent formation of plasma streamers usually precludes precise patterning.

In this work, we demonstrate how DBD streamers can be sufficiently controlled, via self-organization (with voltage and frequency) and more specifically with topographically patterned dielectrics and raster-scanning of a single streamer, to accomplish localized and user-defined spatial treatment of various substrates without the use of lithographic masks. Spatially organized DBD steamers were used to locally modify the wettability (hydrophilic vs. phobic character) and chemistry of various material surfaces (PMMA, nylon, Teflon, glass, metals), as well as modify surface roughness and etch. Contact angle, XPS, AFM, IR and Raman mapping before and after treatment reveal that surface chemical changes occur preferentially where streamers form, and moreover, that streamer exposure can be tailored to achieve different kinds of multifunctional surfaces. Examples to be highlighted include (i) maskless etching of PMMA on Si at specific locations, (ii) creating bio-inspired chemical patterns on glass to mimic insect carapaces with differential wetting, (iii) rendering Teflon hydrophilic at precise locations, and (iv) creating surfaces with orthogonal wetting characteristics (e.g., simultaneously hydrophilic and phobic over different length scales).

The interaction of atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJ’s) with various materials and material topologies can greatly influence an array of existing and new plasma based applications.One area of interest is the ionization waves that are generated by these plasma jets. These ionization waves provide consistent and repeatable application of fields and excited species to the target surface. The focus of this work is to study the effect of dielectric thickness on the propagation of ionization waves as they impinge upon the target surface.

The plasma source in question is an APPJ with helium as the working gas as used in [J. Jiang et al., PSST29(2020), 045023]. The work presented utilizes a nanosecond DC pulse of positive polarity. Pulse width is 500 ns with voltage ranging from 3.5-4.5 kV. Voltage and current data is collected via integrated current probe and a high voltage probe at the source head. The dielectric surfaces consist of two experimental configurations. The first is a 3-D printed stage with a metal foil ground plane. Microscope cover glass 150 micron thick is stacked on this stage to provide a dielectric surface from 0.15 – 3.0 mm thick. The cover glass is 24x24 mm. The second configuration is a 3-D printed stage where the ground plane is a 50 mm square glass plate 1.1 mm thick with conductive ITO deposited on one side. 1 mm thick microscope slides are used to make a dielectric surface of 1.1-10.1 mm thick. Both configurations have a constant gap between the source tip and dielectric surface of 10.5-11mm. A PI-MAX 3 ICCD camera is used to image the ionization wave interaction with the target dielectric. The ICCD is gated to 5 ns and a 5 ns delay time step.

For both experiments, the surface wave velocity has a strong dependence with dielectric thickness, increasing by a factor of three from 0.15mm to 1.65mm.For thicknesses greater than 1.65mm the velocity remains relatively constant for measurements out to 10mm thickness. Surface velocity ranges from 1.5-4.5*10⁴ m/s. It is noted that the initial conditions for each dataset is kept constant by ensuring that the velocity of the impinging axial ionization wave is constant. Axial velocities for the fine and bulk studies are 1.88*10⁵ m/s and 1.81*10⁵ m/s, respectively. These results suggest a transition in electric field structure as the axial component of the impinging wave dissipates into the dielectric bulk more readily than the radial field with a maximum penetration depth that eventually saturates the velocity of the surface wave.

This work is supported as part of the Department of Energy Center for Plasma Interactions with Complex Interfaces (PICI).

Metal oxides are an extraordinary class of materials that have found wide applicability for a number of century-defining technologies (e.g. flat-panel display, capacitors and energy storage) mainly due to their dielectric properties and chemical inertness. Doping, defect engineering, quantum confinement and extending to clusters, ternary or high entropy oxides can create disruptive materials with new or improved properties. Atmospheric pressure microplasmas represent a viable synthesis platform to achieve exceptional tuning capability therefore achieving an exquisite control of the size, composition and defects of metal oxide nanoparticles [1-4]. In this contribution we will show how microplasmas can offer a generalized methodology for the synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles and produce very desirable opto-electronic properties. Therefore we will discuss the formation of metal oxide nanoparticles with gas-phase microplasmas as well as hybrid plasma-liquid systems [5-10]. We will further provide an overview of their application opportunities in energy-related applications as well as other disciplines [8-9]. Examples will include oxides from Ni, Cu, Mn, Sn, Co, Mo and Zn. Finally we will provide future directions at the boundaries between ordered and disordered crystal structures.

References

[1] Chiang W-H et al. Adv Mater 32 (2020), 1905508

[2] Wagner A J et al. Physical Review E 80 (2009) 065401R

[3] Ghosh S et al. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics 48 (2015) 314003

[4] Askari S et al. Nanoscale 8 (2016) 17141

[5] Ni C et al. Green Chemistry 20 (2018) 2101

[6] Velusamy T et al. Plasma Processes & Polymers 14 (2017) 1600224

[7] Padmanaban DB et al. Green Chemistry 23 (2021) 3983

[8] McGlynn R et al. Solar Energy 203 (2020) 37

[9] Chakrabarti S et al. Nanoscale Advances 1 (2019) 4915

[10] Ni C et al. Crystal Growth & Design 19 (2019) 5249

Dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) can be ignited in different discharge modes: glow, homogeneous or filamentary. At atmospheric pressure, in most gases, the latter mode is more often obtained than the others. Filamentary DBDs are characterized by the presence of micro-discharge channels (filaments), which are very short-lived (few ns) and ignite randomly in the interelectrode space.¹ This can be seen as a drawback for surface functionalization/thin film deposition by DBDs, as it can lead to inhomogeneous treatments.² Instead of avoiding these filaments, their higher density in current and energetic species was recently exploited to locally modify surfaces. This was achieved using auto-organized filamentary DBDs or directly by immobilization of the filaments.^3,4 Using this latter method, our team has extended the concept further to the deposition of patterned thin films.⁵

In this work, control over the ignition location of the filaments has been achieved in Ar and in N₂ by texturizing one of the dielectric surfaces to locally favor the ignition of the micro-discharges. The distribution of the filaments in the discharge gap and their electrical properties were examined by high-speed camera imaging and by electrical measurements, respectively. By injecting different precursors such as propargyl methacrylate (PMA) or vanadium(V) oxide triisopropoxide in the Ar or N₂ immobilized filaments, hydrophilic/phobic patterned surfaces or crystalline vanadium oxide (VO_x) patterns were obtained, respectively. The spatial differences in chemistry, morphology, wettability (for PMA films) and crystallinity (for VO_x films) of the deposited films were investigated by micro-XPS and micro-IR analysis, by profilometry, water contact angle measurements and XRD, respectively. The properties of the deposited films and of the corresponding discharges could then be correlated.

This opens a new route for the deposition of patterned coatings in a one step-process at atmospheric pressure and could contribute to a better understanding of chemical reactions occurring in filamentary DBDs.

References:
¹Kogelschatz, U. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science2002, 30 (4), 1400–1408.

² Massines, F.; Gouda, G. A. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics1998, 31 (24), 3411–3420.

³ Polonskyi, O.; Hartig, T.; Uzarski, J. R.; Gordon, M. J. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films2021, 39 (6), 063001.

⁴ Polonskyi, O.; Hartig, T.; Uzarski, J. R.; Gordon, M. J. Applied Physics Letters2021, 119 (21), 211601.

⁵ Demaude, A.; Baert, K.; Petitjean, D.; Zveny, J.; Goormaghtigh, E.; Hauffman, T.; Gordon, M. J.; Reniers, F. Advanced Science2022, 2200237.

Photoionization detectors (PIDs) use wavelength specific UV and VUV radiation to selectively ionize, for example, volatile organic and inorganic compounds (VOCs and VICs). These compounds are then detected by collecting the resulting ion current. Miniature PIDs are of interest for lab-on-a-chip applications. A miniature PID has been developed in which VUV photons are produced by a pulsed He atmospheric pressure plasma generated in a double dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). Maximizing the fluence of photons that reach the analyte inlet will increase performance of the PID, lowering the detection limit or increasing speed of operation. The operation and optimization of a DBD-PID with the goal of increasing photon fluence were computationally investigated using the 2-dimensional model nonPDPSIM. Several strategies were identified to increase the photon fluence. For example, making the powered electrode V-shaped instead of flat increased the photon fluence, as the electric field is enhanced at the tip of the powered electrode. Using an array of powered electrodes capable of sustaining multiple streamers also increased the photon fluence, as did positioning the electrodes closer to the analyte inlet. The most substantial increase in photon fluence came from increasing the capacitance of the bounding dielectric by increasing the relative permittivity from 10 (typical of conventional fabrication materials) to 300 (for specialized materials). Increasing the capacitance of the dielectric increased the voltage drop across the plasma and stabilized the plasma filament while increasing current for a given voltage

Work was supported by the Department of Energy Office of Fusion Energy Sciences and the National Science Foundation.