Controlling Electrostatic Charge on Particles Moving on a Dielectric Plate by Charge Extraction using an Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet

Abstract

Experiments were carried out on the electric charging of particles continuously fed on a dielectric plate using charges generated by an atmospheric pressure plasma jet. The jet was generated by supplying 1 SLM (standard liter per minute) of helium gas and by applying AC voltage (6 kHz, 5 kV) and DC bias voltage (range: −5 to +5 kV). By varying the DC bias voltage, positive or negative charges could be extracted at a certain ratio from the plasma; the charges were homogeneously deposited onto the dielectric plate. The surface charge density of the dielectric plate was evaluated using surface potential. When the particles moved on the inclined dielectric plate, the particles were charged according to the amount of charge on the dielectric plate. It was found that the material of the dielectric plate and the external electric field do not affect the particle charging, although the initial charge does.