Atmospheric pressure plasma jet assisted by magnetic field: A simulation study

Abstract

The application of cold plasma has been popular in recent times due to the capability for thermal-sensitive applications in the industry such as biomedical or surface treatments. Air plasma offers lower operational costs and produces similar outcomes to conventional noble gas plasma treatment. Introducing a coupled magnetic field through the external magnetic circuit is one of the prominent techniques in concentrating the trajectory and emission of radical species due to the diamagnetic nature of the species. However, the effectiveness of this technique still requires to be explored in validating its significant role in improving the characteristics of plasma. Hence, this study aims to investigate the effects of external magnetic fields on plasma particle projection and their significance towards the plasma uniformity and intensity of the plasma produced. The COMSOL Multiphysics software is used to simulate the implementation of the magnetic field on an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ). It has been discovered that the optimum parameter for producing the most concentrated and intensified plasma discharge is under the magnetic field produced at 0.5 A of excitation current. It can be elucidated that the external magnetic field at the optimum excitation current becomes a tangible factor in concentrating and intensifying the trajectory of electrons and radical species produced through plasma discharge in endeavouring to diversify the use of air atmospheric pressure plasma over plasma discharge enriched by noble gases.