A study of 1.74 MHz atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge for non-conventional treatments

The paper presents a study on the atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge plasma, generated with Teflon covered electrodes in flowing helium at a driving frequency of 1.74 MHz. Besides generation techniques and running principle, an operating stability diagram is presented for the discharge. By means of optical emission techniques, characteristic temperatures were determined and the reactive species were identified. The applicability of generated discharge was tested by surface functionalization and bacterial inactivation. It was found that even for short treatment times the plasma is efficient for surface treatment and it can inactivate Escherichia coli with a D-time of 10 s.