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INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS PUBLISHING JOURNAL OF PHYSICS D: APPLIED PHYSICS
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 38 (2005) 555–567 doi:10.1088/0022-3727/38/4/007

The physics and phenomenology of One

Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge
Plasma (OAUGDP™) reactors for surface
treatment applications
J Reece Roth1 , Jozef Rahel2 , Xin Dai1 and Daniel M Sherman3
1
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
2
University of Tennessee, and Atmospheric Glow Technologies, Inc., Knoxville, TN, USA
3
Atmospheric Glow Technologies, Inc., Knoxville, TN, USA
E-mail: jrr@utk.edu

Received 15 July 2004, in final form 8 November 2004

Published 3 February 2005
Online at stacks.iop.org/JPhysD/38/555

Abstract
In this paper, we present data on the physics and phenomenology of plasma
reactors based on the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma
(OAUGDP™) that are useful in optimizing the conditions for plasma
formation, uniformity and surface treatment applications. It is shown that
the real (as opposed to reactive) power delivered to a reactor is divided
between dielectric heating of the insulating material and power delivered to
the plasma available for ionization and active species production.
A relationship is given for the dielectric heating power input as a function
of the frequency and voltage at which the OAUGDP™ discharge is
operated.
(Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)

1. Introduction in figure 1, and the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge

Many plasma processing applications operate at pressures
below 10 Torr, where various forms of electrical discharge
can be easily generated [1], [2, chapter 21]. Because
low pressures require expensive vacuum systems and batch
processing of workpieces, interest has grown over the past
few years in applying atmospheric pressure plasmas to plasma
processing. The regimes of the classical dc electrical discharge
indicated in the current–voltage diagram of figure 1 provide
a framework within which to discuss plasmas used for
processing applications [1]. These plasmas include corona
discharges, from D to E in figure 1 [2, section 15.2];
dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs), including filamentary
discharges and ozonizers, from C to E in figure 1 [3],
[2, section 15.3]; and arcjets, from H to K in figure 1
[2, section 15.5]. More recent developments include the
atmospheric plasma jet (APJ), from F to K in figure 1 [4],
the atmospheric pressure glow (APG) discharge from D to G
Plasma (OAUGDP™), from F to H in figure 1 [1, section
12.5.2, 5, 6].
Compared with other forms of atmospheric pressure
plasma, the uniformity and low-to-moderate areal power
density of the glow discharge highly recommend it for
applications in which it is important to have uniformity of effect
and avoid damaging or heating the surface of the workpiece.
A recent Internet search identified approximately 122 sites
containing a reference to ‘atmospheric glow discharge’, a topic
that scarcely existed 15 years ago.
Identification of the OAUGDP™ as a normal glow
discharge through experimental observation and computer
modelling [7–11] is particularly important because it brings
into play nearly 200 years of accumulated observations and
understanding from electrical discharge research [1, chapter 9].
An important example is the knowledge that the OAUGDP™,
like all normal glow discharges, operates at the Stoletow point.
This provides assurance that the generation of ion–electron

0022-3727/05/040555+13$30.00 © 2005 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK 555

J R Roth et al
Figure 1. Regimes of the classical dc electrical discharge.
pairs at 1 atm in the OAUGDP™ cannot be done more
efficiently.
Characteristic power fluxes on the electrode surface of
parallel-plate OAUGDP™ reactors are a few tens of milliwatts
to a few watts per square centimetre, not high enough
to damage or degrade most materials exposed for surface
treatment, particularly moving webs. Also very important to
industrial applications is the circumstance that glow discharges
are energy efficient in maintaining themselves in an ionized
state. Unobstructed normal glow discharges in the regime from
F to G in figure 1 operate at the Stoletow point [1, p 246], at
which only 81 eV is required to produce an ion–electron pair
in air. In contrast, arcjets and plasma torches typically require
an energy input of more than 10 000 eV per ion–electron pair,
nearly all of which goes into heating the neutral gas instead
of producing ionization or active species useful for plasma
processing.
The production of atmospheric glow discharges has a long
history. In 1933, von Engle et al [12] reported the production
of dc and RF normal glow discharges in air and other gases
at 1 atm. However, their procedure required initiation of the
discharge under vacuum, followed by a gradual increase in
pressure to 1 atm. This discharge also required aggressive
cooling of the cathode to suppress the glow-to-arc transition,
and it found few if any industrial or laboratory applications.
The later work of Okazaki et al [13–15], Massines et al
[8–11] and Roth et al [2, 5, 6, 16–19] between 1988 and 1995
clearly showed that capacitively coupled, parallel-plate RF
discharges can, under the proper operating conditions, generate
a diffuse glow discharge plasma of uniform effect over the
entire gap, and at 1 atm of pressure. The earlier work of
Okasaki et al [13–15] and Massines et al [8–11] was confined
to such gases as helium, nitrogen and argon with an admixture
of acetone. The work of the UT group included these gases,
as well as air [5, 6, 17–19].
Fast optical measurements of an APG discharge in He and
N2 gas revealed a different light distribution in the discharge
gap for the two gases [20, 21]. While the He discharge exhibits
the same structure as a glow discharge (positive column,
Faraday dark space, negative glow, etc), the discharge in
N2 displays only a luminous layer close to the anode. The
presence of luminosity only near the anode instead of the
cathode is characteristic of the Townsend discharge mode, or
556
the transition from the Townsend discharge to the normal glow
(sub-normal glow), where the distortion of the electric field is
present but not great enough to form the cathode layer of a
normal glow discharge.
A comparative study of helium and nitrogen emission
spectra during the afterglow of an atmospheric pressure DBD
and an APG discharge made by Massines et al confirmed the
original statement of Okazaki et al about the important role
of metastables He(23 S1 ) and N2 (A 3
u+ ) in such discharges.
Later numerical simulations [20] suggest that helium atoms
stabilize the APG by the two-step process of Penning
ionization. Fast electrons are effectively removed by exciting
the He (23 S1 ) = 19.8 eV and He (21 S1 ) = 20.6 eV metastable
states. This slows down the ionization process of avalanching
and increases its radial diffusion, making it more difficult to
satisfy the streamer formation criterion.
The role of N2 metastables inside the APG is different,
although initially a model similar to that of the helium APG
was introduced [22]. Since the discharge is in the Townsend
discharge regime, the electrons near the anode are more
energetic and have a higher concentration. This in turn causes
the maximum density of N2 (A 3
u+ ) metastables to be located
close to the anode. The flux of metastables is claimed to
significantly improve the secondary electron emission, thus
helping to initiate the Townsend discharge after the polarity
of the electrodes is reversed by the next half cycle of the
RF. Golubovskii et al [23] showed using a two-dimensional
numerical simulation of a homogeneous N2 discharge that the
Townsend discharge is stable to radial perturbations, unlike
the normal glow discharge regime in N2 . The normal glow
discharge will inevitably collapse into a streamer ionization
front, but any time a Townsend discharge is established, the
resulting plasma is expected to be uniform. Due to the rapid
quenching of nitrogen metastables [24] in nitrogen–oxygen
mixtures, the metastable models described above suggest that
it is not possible to generate the uniform glow discharge in air.
This, as will be shown below, is not the case.
At the UT Plasma Science Laboratory, a programme to
produce an atmospheric glow discharge in air was initiated in
1988, and produced a 1.6 litre OAUGDP™ between parallel
plates in helium gas in January 1992 [16]. Subsequent
development allowed the OAUGDP™ to be generated in a
variety of geometries, including a plane, parallel slab geometry
and an aerodynamic plasma actuator in the form of a surface
layer of plasma on flat panels [2, sections 15.4, 17.1, 25–29].
Investigation of physical processes in the OAUGDP™ at UT
identified the ion trapping mechanism and its limitation to
a relatively narrow range of audio RF driving frequencies
as a requirement for a stable, uniform plasma [1, 5, 6].
Further information on the physics and phenomenology of the
OAUGDP™ can be found in [1, sections 15.4, 17.1 and 18.6].
2. The charge trapping mechanism
The cathode heating responsible for the glow-to-arc instability
of the von Engle discharge arises from ion bombardment of
the cathode. To avoid this cathode heating, the ion trapping
mechanism was conceived [5, 6], in which an RF is applied to
the electrodes at such a frequency that ions, but not electrons,
are trapped between the electrodes [1,2], and a dielectric

Figure 2. Normal glow discharge structures in a parallel plate One
Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma™ with
dielectric-coated electrodes.
plate is used to further suppress the glow-to-arc transition.
This transformation of the von Engle discharge from dc to
RF greatly reduces cathode heating, reduces sputtering and
erosion of the electrodes, reduces contamination of the plasma,
stabilizes the plasma against the glow-to-arc transition and
provides a form of electrodynamic trapping that increases
the ion and electron number density available for Lorentzian
collisions, and active species production. In addition to these
real or potential advantages, operating at the optimum RF
frequency makes it possible to produce a plasma in air and other
gases that is not only visibly uniform and without filamentation
but is also uniform in effect, without the pitting and pin-holing
of surfaces characteristic of DBDs.
Numerical simulations of the OAUGDP™ by Ben Gadri
[7, 10] and measurements of axial luminous intensity by
Massines et al [11], both in helium gas, showed that the
OAUGDP™ has all the classic structures of the dc normal
glow discharge and that these reverse with each half cycle
of the RF. These structures are indicated schematically in
figure 2. Later work by Chen addressed the issues of proper
impedance matching of the OAUGDP™ to its power supply
[30], and PSPICE simulation of the OAUGDP™ as a circuit
element [31].
The electric fields employed to create the One Atmosphere
Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma are normally less than
10 kV cm−1 in air, values too low to achieve dc electrical
breakdown (sparking) of the operating gas. The electrode gap
spacing, electric field and frequency are adjusted so that the
mobility drift of the ions in the oscillating RF electric field
traps them between the electrodes during an RF cycle. During
ion trapping, the electrons are free to travel to the electrodes,
where they are collected, recombine or build up a surface
charge.
In section 12.5.2 of [1], it was shown that the critical
frequency, ν0 , above which the uniform glow discharge should
build up in the plasma volume is given by
eUrms
ν0 ≈ [Hz]. (1)
πmνc d 2
The parameters in equation (1) define the operational
envelope of the uniform discharge regime. It should be
noted that the product (mνc ) in the denominator is smaller
for electrons than for ions. The critical frequency for onset of
the uniform discharge (ion trapping) therefore is lower than
the critical frequency for onset of the filamentary discharge
(electron trapping). Thus, for operation in the uniform glow
discharge regime, the driving frequency should lie between
limits as follows:
eUrms eUrms

ν0
[Hz]. (2)
πmi νci d 2 πme νce d 2
The One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma reactor
Figure 3. The Mod VI OAUGDP™ reactor operating in air at 1 atm
of pressure. Recirculating air flows from left to right.
The qualitative functional dependence of power on
frequency, voltage, gap distance, etc in equations (1) and (2)
has been investigated and found to be generally valid
[1, section 12.5.2]. While equations (1) and (2) predict the
functional dependence of the critical ion trapping frequency on
the gap distance d, the rms voltage and the collision frequency,
quantitative predictions based on average electron number
densities, electron kinetic temperatures, potentials, electric
fields, etc are not expected to be valid, as a result of the
extreme time and spatial variations that occur during each half
cycle of the RF [7–9]. Such quantitative comparisons will
require a detailed comparison with numerical models more
sophisticated than any currently available.
3. OAUGDP™ reactor configurations
A variety of atmospheric reactor configurations are possible.
Here, we give some examples with features that are particularly
useful for research or industrial surface treatment applications.
The Mod VI parallel plate reactor. A photograph of the Mod VI
OAUGDP™ reactor operating in air at 1 atm is shown in
figure 3, and its main features are shown in the schematic
of figure 4. This reactor was designed to expose samples
to the OAUGDP™ for biological (sterilization) or surface
energy testing in three modes of operation: direct exposure—
the workpiece is placed on an electrode, and is directly exposed
to the plasma; single pass remote exposure—the workpiece is
located outside the plasma volume on a platform in the exit
manifold, and active species from the plasma are convected
over its surface only once; and recirculating remote exposure—
the workpiece is located on the platform outside the plasma
volume, and active species from the plasma are convected
over its surface by a gas flow that recirculates through the
OAUGDP™ multiple times.
In our research with this reactor [32, 33], we performed
paired comparisons of direct exposure and recirculating
remote exposure of samples to the OAUGDP™ active
species generated by air, and found that direct exposure
to the OAUGDP™ is much more effective in increasing
the surface energy of materials than single- or multiple-
pass remote exposure. We also found, in contrast with
this trend, that sterilization of surfaces by remote exposure
remains highly effective, nearly as much as direct exposure
to the plasma. In this early work, we also found that
microbial killing/sterilization is more effective for multiple-
pass recirculating remote exposure than for single-pass remote
exposure [33]. The active species responsible for sterilization
appear to build up (or at least become more effective) upon
recirculation of the working gas through the plasma.
557
J R Roth et al
The Mod T transparent electrode reactor. The transparent
electrode parallel plate reactor shown in figure 5 (Mod T) was
built at Atmospheric Glow Technologies (AGT) to investigate
the uniformity of the OAUGD plasma. Two parallel water
electrodes are separated by two vertically spaced 1 mm thick
Pyrex™ panes in a closed transparent plastic reactor for gas
content control. The active dimensions of the electrodes are
130 × 128 mm2 . As shown in figure 5, the bottom electrode
was positioned vertically by four threaded stainless steel bolts
(a)
(b)
Figure 4. Structure of the Mod VI OAUGDP™ reactor. (a) Plan
view from top. (b) Elevation view from front, with remote exposure
platform in plenum on left. Note path of recirculating airflow
through the reactor.
Figure 5. Mod T reactor: (A) water electrodes, (B) discharge gap, (C) adjusting bolts for the bottom electrode positioning. Hollow arrows
indicate direction of gas flow; solid arrows correspond to the flow of cooling water.
558
and held in position by a fifth horizontal bolt. Tap water
(specific conductivity 100 µS cm−1 ) served simultaneously as
an electrical conductor and cooling medium. The calculated
resistive path through the 25 mm thick water electrode was
150 , which is negligible compared with the resistivity of
the discharge plasma (tens of kiloohms). The capacitance of
the Mod T reactor was measured to be Cp = 110–160 pF,
depending on the width of the discharge gap.
A block diagram of the Mod T reactor system is shown
in figure 6. Cooling water was forced to circulate through
the electrodes by two independent water pumps that provided
active cooling. To reduce parasitic electrical currents to ground
through the cooling water to negligible levels, a long (several
metres), small diameter (3 mm) tube was inserted between the
high voltage electrodes and the water pumps. The Mod VI
reactor was also outfitted in this way, and had no significant
leakage currents compared with those needed to energize the
reactor.
Both the Mod VI and Mod T reactors were energized
by a sinusoidal signal from a HP 3310A function generator,
amplified by two RF power amplifiers (Industrial Test
Equipment Co., Inc., Model 1599CN; output 300 V, 1.5 kW)
and four high voltage transformers (Industrial Test Equipment,
model VT-35/RM-109; turns ratio 1 : 40, 5 kV rms).
Two high voltage probes (Tektronix P6015A (1000×))
were used to monitor the potential of the two electrodes, and the
actual inter-electrode voltage was calculated as the difference
between their readings. This approach was necessary to
account for a mutual asymmetry of RF amplifiers and/or
transformers. A Pearson current monitor, Model 2100 (1 : 1),
was employed to measure the electrical current flowing to the
reactor electrodes. The amplitude of the reactive current for
the Mod T reactor is typically 50% larger than the total current
signal, and was nulled out with the circuit shown in figure 6.
For the Mod VI reactor, a current transformer without biasing
was used.
The time dependence of emitted light was studied with a
Hamamatsu H5773-04 photomultiplier module (185–850 nm).
The optical signal was fed into the photomultiplier module
by 2 m of 400 µm diameter optical cable (250–900 nm). The
visual appearance of the plasma was recorded was a Canon
PowerShot A70 digital camera (3.2 Mpx) signals from the
HV probes, the current transformer and the photomultiplier
were recorded using a Tektronix TDS 3014B (100 MHz,
1.25 GS s−1 (Gigasamples per second)) and processed using
WaveStar™ software on a PC.

Figure 6. Mod T reactor system: (A) water electrodes, (B) cooling
system individual for each electrode. HV, high voltage probes;
PMT, photomultiplier probe; CT, current transformer; BIAS,
parasitic current elimination tool; Cv , variable capacitor; OSC,
oscilloscope; PC, computer; SIGNL, harmonic signal generator; RF
AMP, radio frequency power amplifier; CCD, digital camera.
(a)
(b)
Figure 7. Two 6.3 mm diameter copper rods with annular glass
sleeves operating in helium at 1 atm at 4.5 kV rms and a frequency
of 10 kHz. Gap distance is 2.5 cm. (a) Plasma off. (b) Plasma on.
Two rods and rod-and-plane configurations. In addition to the
above, we developed OAUGDP™ configurations based on
two rods and a rod-and-plane geometry that may be useful
in treating webs or flat surfaces. Figure 7 is an image of two
6.3 mm diameter copper tubes covered with glass sleeves with a
gap distance of 2.5 cm operating at 1 atm in helium gas at an RF
voltage of 4.5 kV and a frequency of 10 kHz. Notable features
of this plasma are the axial uniformity along the length of the
rods and the greater luminosity near the electrode surfaces,
due to the negative glow that forms when the electrode is the
instantaneous cathode.
The One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma reactor
(a)
(b)
Figure 8. A 6.3 mm diameter copper rod with annular glass sleeve
located 1 cm above an insulating ground plane. (a) Plasma off.
(b) Plasma energized at 4.5 kV rms and a frequency of 10 kHz in
helium gas.
Figure 8(a) is an image of a rod-and-plane configuration
containing a 6.3 mm diameter copper tube covered with a glass
sleeve spaced at a gap distance of 1 cm above an insulated
ground plane. Figure 8(b) shows this configuration operating at
1 atm in helium gas at an RF voltage of 4.5 kV and a frequency
of 10 kHz. This plasma also exhibits axial uniformity along
the length of the rod, and greater luminosity near the electrode
surface, due to the greater luminosity of the negative glow that
forms when the electrode is the instantaneous cathode.
4. Uniformity of appearance of the OAUGDP™
For such plasma processing applications as increasing the
surface energy, wettability or sterilization of materials,
particularly thin webs, it is important that the plasma be
sufficiently uniform and free of filamentation not to damage
the surface by pitting or pin-holing. The latter two forms of
damage are a frequent result of the microdischarges that are
the plasma-generating mechanism of the DBD. As a result of
these forms of damage, it is essential in industrial applications
to distinguish between the uniform OAUGDP™ mode of
operation and the DBD. Both forms of discharge utilize the
same geometry (insulators covering one or both electrodes)
and can operate at the same frequencies and electric fields,
although the DBD usually functions at higher electric fields.
It is an important advantage of the OAUGDP™ that it can
be operated in a mode in which pitting and pin-holing do not
occur, even on a scale down to tens of nanometres. In this
section we discuss the visible uniformity of the OAUGDP™,
and in the next section we discuss its uniformity of effect down
to the nanoscale by reference to scanning electron micrographs
(SEMs) of surfaces used as witness plates for filamentary
discharge activity.
Uniformity viewed perpendicular to the electric field. The
visual uniformity of a OAUGDP™ operating with helium gas
in two dimensions is illustrated by the rod configurations of
figures 7(b) and 8(b). Its uniformity in a three-dimensional
volume is illustrated in figure 9, which shows four images
taken of the Mod I OAUGDP™ reactor operating in helium
at 1 atm with an insulating coating on both electrodes, and an
applied RF voltage of 4.5 kV rms. As the RF frequency was
raised from below 1 kHz, the discharge first appeared as a few
559
J R Roth et al
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Figure 9. Appearance of the Mod I parallel plate OAUGDP™
reactor operating at 1 atm of helium at 4.5 kV rms and a gap spacing
d = 2.5 cm at frequencies of (a) 30 kHz; (b) 40 kHz; (c) 60 kHz; and
(d) 80 kHz.
coarse filaments, and then became brighter and more uniform,
to the point where it was uniform to the eye at about 2–3 kHz.
As the frequency was further raised, it remained uniform to the
eye until 30 kHz, as shown in figure 9(a). Above this frequency,
however, the appearance of the discharge became progressively
less uniform, with increasing gaps and coarse filaments, as
shown in figures 9(b)–(d). These filaments were as much
as 2 mm in diameter, larger than the sub-micrometre scale
filaments normally associated with avalanching in the DBD.
Under uniform conditions, a slight increase in luminosity near
the electrodes was evident, consistent with the presence of the
negative glow near the instantaneous cathode. In helium gas,
the luminosity appeared to be greatest circa 10 kHz. In helium
and argon, the plasma was initiated at electric fields from 2 to
3 kV cm−1 ; in air, an electric field of at least 8.5 kV cm−1 was
required, and the frequency range over which the plasma was
uniform was much more restricted.
Uniformity viewed along the electric field. Figure 9 shows the
luminosity in helium perpendicular to the electric field. We
used the Mod T transparent electrode reactor of figure 5 to study
the uniformity of the OAUGDP™ along the electric field lines.
Previous research on OAUGDP™ reactors revealed significant
560
long-term (approximately 10 s) start-up transients affecting the
plasma uniformity and the nature of the active species (as
determined by their ability to sterilize remote samples).
We have also seen a similar slow initial change in plasma
uniformity on our Mod T transparent electrode parallel plate
reactor when operating in air and nitrogen. Images of this
phenomenon are illustrated in figure 10. The first image of
figure 10 at 0 s shows the reactor volume before the RF voltage
is turned on. In the image 3 s after turn-on, the plasma is
filamentary, particularly near the edges. After a few additional
seconds have elapsed, a uniform region of high luminosity
spreads from the interior to fill the reactor cross section, and
this process is virtually complete after 15 s.
The time required—15 s—is too long for a plasma
instability based on Maxwell’s equations and the equations of
continuity, momentum, etc. It does not appear to be a thermal
time constant associated with heating of the electrode surface
or with a change of chemistry associated with such heating,
as a temperature rise of the electrode surface induced with
a heat gun of up to 20 ˚C—far greater than the temperature
rise associated with plasma contact—had no effect on the
uniformity. Removal of adsorbed monolayers or contaminants
by plasma cleaning also had no relation to this phenomenon, as
was confirmed by paired comparison studies with and without
deliberately introduced surface contamination.
The uniformity of appearance is associated with the shift
of breakdown voltage to lower values, which is believed to be
due to the alteration of existing memory voltage, i.e. the slow
accumulation of surface charge on the dielectric. Moreover,
after turning the plasma off and restarting it a few seconds
later, a uniform plasma appears instantaneously at the same
location it occupied when it was interrupted, proving again the
importance of surface conditioning. This effect is observed
for up to a 30 s plasma-off period for the dielectric material
(Pyrex™) used in the Mod T reactor.
Experiments for N2 , He and air confirmed that a uniform
OAUGDP™ can be easily obtained in the Mod T reactor by
flowing N2 and He gases, at a 5 lpm flow rate, through the
discharge volume. The gap distance and frequency domain
required to produce a uniform He plasma are 1–5 mm and
0.5–37 kHz, respectively. Above 20 kHz, our power supply
had to be operated out of its resonant frequency with the Mod T
reactor (3.7 kHz), and was therefore not able to energize the
plasma sufficiently to cover the entire electrode area.
Only a uniform plasma was obtained in helium up to a
3 mm gap distance. Above 3 mm, three modes of He discharge
were identified. Immediately after breakdown, as shown in
figure 11(a), a plasma spot several centimetres in diameter
formed, and this was associated with a single current pulse
and continuous light emission lasting for 10 µs. An increase
in voltage changes this uniform region into a microfilament
DBD mode, as shown in figure 11(b), with multiple current
pulses of the same time duration as the primary uniform mode.
Increasing the voltage further enhances the number density of
the discharge filaments in the reactor until it is not possible
to identify individual filaments, as illustrated in figure 11(c).
For frequencies below 7 kHz, a ‘primary uniform mode’ with
a single current peak is not present.
The gap distance and frequency domain for a nitrogen
uniform plasma were 1–3 mm and 1–12 kHz, respectively.

0s 3s
9s 12 s
Figure 10. Plan view images of the Mod T transparent electrode reactor, showing intensification and propagation of the uniform glow
discharge mode from the centre to fill the reactor cross section. Images taken with 1 s exposure time, artificially enhanced contrast and
plasma operating conditions of 3.5 kHz and 12 kV rms.
The current waveform exhibits a characteristic single hump
free of any streamer pulse component. Unlike the situation
in helium, the nitrogen OAUGDP™ in the Mod T reactor
always operated in the primary uniform mode. Above 12 kHz
the power supply used was not able to initiate electrical
breakdown.
When a gap distance of 3 mm is exceeded, a nitrogen
plasma begins to operate in the gas stream-line coupled mode
illustrated in figure 12(a). This appears to be the mode referred
to by Gherardi et al [22]. The associated current waveform
was, however, the same as that of the uniform mode, i.e. free
of streamer pulses.
For dry air and discharge gaps larger than 1.5 mm, the
plasma generated is in the DBD mode when operated in still
air. In flowing air, it operates in a stream-line coupled mode,
as shown in figure 12(b). The presence of gas flow makes
the transition from the DBD to the uniform mode much faster
(<2 s). A bistable oscillation between the DBD and uniform
modes was not observed in the flowing gas.
5. Uniformity of effect of OAUGD plasmas
The type of data represented by figures 9–12 refer only to
the apparent, visible luminosity of the plasma. For industrial
applications, one would like to have, in addition, data showing
that the OAUGDP™ is uniform in its effect on workpieces at
the microscopic scale. Such data were produced in the course
of research programmes conducted with other objectives.
Uniformity of effect in etching of photoresist. In one such
programme, we exposed several 20 cm diameter silicon wafers,
coated with a proprietary photoresist, to an air OAUGDP™ in
The One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma reactor
6s
15 s
the Mod VI reactor of figures 3 and 4 for various durations,
for various arrangements of recirculating gas flow, for visibly
uniform OAUGDP™ conditions and under conditions for
which the reactor was filamentary and functioning as a DBD.
During these tests, the lower electrode of the Mod VI
reactor (15 cm in diameter) was covered by a 20 cm diameter
silicon wafer, with the photoresist directly exposed to the
plasma. After adjustment of the flow velocity, flow geometry,
RF frequency and rms voltage, we obtained the result shown in
figure 13, a topographical representation of the average depth
of photoresist removed over 5 min of OAUGDP™ exposure.
The macroscopic uniformity of stripping across the 15 cm
diameter of the plasma was a commercially acceptable 5%,
and the stripping rate was 270 nm min−1 .
An additional requirement for microelectronic stripping
is that the process not deposit dust or contaminants on the
wafer, and this is normally assured by maintaining clean room
conditions. Our lab is not a clean room, and this requirement
was not met. Figure 14 is an SEM of the etched surface
depicted in figure 13, under uniform OAUGDP™ conditions,
which reveals small ≈50 nm grains of dust that settled on the
surface of the photoresist. The corrugated, parallel structures
at the bottom of the etch are aligned with the gas flow in the
Mod VI reactor (see figure 4). It should be noted that under
these uniform OAUGDP™ conditions, the surface of the wafer
is free of the pitting associated with filamentation and/or DBD
operation.
SEMs of the surface obtained when the Mod VI reactor
was operating in a visibly filamentary/DBD mode revealed the
features shown in the images of figure 15. These features are
consistent with surface damage at the root of microfilaments
in the DBD, where the local energy flux is highest.
561
J R Roth et al

(a)

(b)

(c)

Figure 11. Current (——) and PMT (· · · · · ·) waveforms and corresponding photographs for three different modes of helium OAUGDP™ at
a fixed frequency f = 8 kHz, gap width D = 3 mm: (a) primary uniform mode, (b) DBD mode, (c) secondary uniform mode.

Uniformity of effect in etching PET. In the course of research
aimed at increasing the surface energy of polymeric films
[34], we saw unmistakable evidence of vertical etching in a
poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film that was exposed to
a uniform OAUGDP™ operating in air. This film is made
commercially for the white plastic covering of baby diapers,
and the white colour is imparted by fine grains of titanium
dioxide (TiO2 ) pigment. The titanium dioxide is much harder
and more resistant to etching than the PET that surrounds it.
Figure 16(a) shows an SEM of an untreated sample of
this white PET film. A few grains of the TiO2 pigment are
embedded in the surface. Figure 16(b) shows an SEM of a
piece of the same white PET film made after direct exposure
for 5 min to an air OAUGDP™ operating in the Mod IV reactor
[34] at 5 kHz and 12 kV rms, with single-pass airflow. Close
inspection of figure 16 reveals numerous spires that feature a
grain of titanium dioxide at their top, some with diameters less
than 200 nm and length/diameter ratios as high as 20.
The etching rate of PET implied by the tallest spires (those
with the TiO2 grains originally nearest the surface) over the
5 min exposure period is about 500 nm min−1 . There is no
indication in the field of view of the SEM of pitting or melt

562

(a)
Figure 12. OAUGDP™ in flowing gas at 3.5 mm discharge gap; f = 3.5 kHz; 0.6 s exposure time; diameter of figures corresponds to
120 mm: (a) nitrogen, (b) dry air.
Figure 13. Isometric contour plot of etching depth across a 20 cm
diameter silicon wafer with a uniform coating of photoresist (outer
circle) directly exposed to a visibly uniform air OAUGDP™, 15 cm
in diameter, for 5 min (wafer and topographic analysis courtesy of
Eaton Corporation).
damage similar to that of figure 15. It is also likely that the
spire structures would have served as ‘lightning rods’ for the
formation of avalanches and filamentation, and would have
been destroyed. The fact that no such damage is evident is
another indication that the OAUGDP™ can be made uniform
in effect. The physical process(es) responsible for vertical
etching have not been identified at this time.
6. Parasitic heating of reactor components
In the course of our research, we noticed that the input power
into our OAUGDP™ reactors appeared to be greater than could
be accounted for by the power needed to create the OAUGDP™
plasma itself. We then took measurements to determine the
role of dielectric heating of the insulating plates (3 mm thick
Pyrex) and other forms of parasitic losses in the Mod VI parallel
plate reactor, and the dielectric heating losses to the 1 mm thick
Pyrex pane in the Mod T transparent electrode parallel plate
reactor.
Direct measurement of the real dissipated power below the
plasma onset voltage. To measure directly the real current
flowing in our capacitively coupled OAUGDP™ reactor,
The One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma reactor
(b)
a simple method involving a Pearson current monitor and a
variable high voltage capacitor was used, as shown in figure 10.
The OAUGDP™ reactor is represented as a parallel connection
of a parasitic capacitance Cp and a real reactance Z. A Pearson
current monitor is placed between the compensating variable
capacitor, Ck , and the reactor. It measures Ip and Iz , which
represent the parasitic current and real current, respectively.
The wire carrying the compensating current, Ik , is wound
around the body of the Pearson current monitor, forming nk
loops. The sense of winding is such that Ik is opposite to
I = Ip + Iz (figure 17).
The voltage induced on the Pearson current monitor is
R R R
U = − (Ip + Iz − Ik nk ) = − Iz − j U0 ω(Cp − nk Ck ),
n n n
(3)
where R and n are parameters of the Pearson current monitor
itself. When Ck = Cp /nk , the imaginary term is equal to zero,
and the Pearson current monitor senses only the real current,
Iz , through the plasma:
R
U = − Iz . (4)
n
The power dissipated in the reactance Z by the harmonic
current can then be expressed as
P = 21 Umax Imax , (5)
where Umax and Imax are the maxima of the applied voltage and
Pearson current monitor reading, respectively.
The general formula describing the dielectric power losses
is [35]
2 2πf A
P = Umax εr ε0 tan δ. (6)
d
Substituting typical values for our experiment, Umax = 1 kV;
f = 5 kHz; A = 13 × 13 cm2 ; d = 1 mm; tan δ = 0.04
and εr = 5, we obtain 0.9 W of absorbed power. The values of
tan δ and εr correspond to Pyrex 7740, the Pyrex glass with the
highest loss factor (based on CRC Handbook of Chemistry and
Physics 84th edn, pp 12–59). This gives us an upper estimate
of the expected power losses in the Pyrex material of typical
parallel plate reactors.
563
J R Roth et al

(a) (a)

(b) (b)

(c)

Figure 15. SEMs of photoresist etched in the Mod VI reactor

operating in the DBD mode with airflow from left to right. The
approximate distance across the width of the above images is
(a) 25.8 µm and (b) 2.4 µm. Note the pits formed by the roots of
microdischarges and/or filaments.

(a)

Figure 14. SEMs of photoresist etched in the presence of surface

dust in the Mod VI reactor (see figures 3 and 4) operating in the
OAUGDP™ mode with airflow from left to right. The approximate
distance across the width of the above images is (a) 7.9 µm,
(b) 3.1 µm and (c) 1.1 µm. Note the absence of microdischarge pits
and the presence of vertical etching.

Dielectric heating power in the Mod T reactor. Figures 18

and 19 show our results for the dissipated power as a function
(b)
of the applied rms voltage and the parameter f (Urms )2 ,
respectively. Data were obtained for two discharge gaps,
d = 1 mm, 3 mm.
The frequencies were within the range 3–15 kHz, and the
applied voltage, Urms , between 600 and 9400 V. The linear
dependence between the dissipated power and the f (Urms )2
product from figure 19 enables us to identify the dissipated
power as pure dielectric losses. The lower value of the
linear slope for the data at the d = 3 mm gap suggests the
contribution of the discharge volume to dielectric losses as
well, by increasing the value of d in equation (6). Figure 16. SEMs of PET film before (a) and after (b) a 5 min
exposure to an air OAUGDP™. Both images are approximately
Dielectric heating power in the Mod VI reactor. The power 20 µm wide [37]. (a) Unexposed film with scattered grains of
titanium dioxide pigment. (b) PET film after direct exposure to an
input to the parallel plate Mod VI OAUGDP™ reactor was air OAUGDP for 5 min at operating conditions of 5 kHz and
calculated using a programmable oscilloscope that multiplied 12 kV rms. Note the sub-micrometre spires under titanium dioxide
the instantaneous voltage and current flowing to the reactor grains and the absence of pitting due to filamentation.

564
 The One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma reactor

d=1mm
(a) 100
3 kHz
5 kHz Plasma ON
7 kHz
15 kHz
-11 2
6.0x10 *U f
10

Power [W]
1 Plasma OFF

Figure 17. Schematic of the method.

d 0.1
(a)

0.01
9 10 11 12
10 10 10 10
2 2 -1
f (Urms)[V s ]

d=3 mm
(b) 100
3 kHz
5 kHz Plasma ON
7 kHz
15 kHz
-11 2
4.1x10 *U f
10
Power [W]

1 Plasma OFF

Voltage RMS
0.1

d
(b)
0.01
9 10 11 12
10 10 10 10
2 2 -1
f (Urms)[V s ]

Figure 19. Mod T reactor power versus f (Urms )2 for (a) d = 1 mm,
(b) d = 3 mm.

us to determine the functional relation corresponding to

equation (6).

P = KU 2 f = 0.05U 2 f [W, kV, kHz]. (7)

This formula has been used to plot the dielectric heating

Figure 18. Mod T reactor (transparent electrode configuration)
power versus voltage for various frequencies: (a) d = 1 mm,
(b) d = 3 mm.
and integrated over an RF cycle. This removed the reactive
power, leaving only the power delivered to the plasma and
the power used by dielectric heating of the panel material. The
latter two inputs were resolved by operating the Mod VI reactor
below the point of plasma initiation, so that all input power was
consumed by heating the dielectric material.
The total power to the reactor is shown in figure 20. In
these data, the plasma was initiated above 4 kV. The data
below 5 kV are due to dielectric heating only and allow
power alone as a dashed line in figure 20. At a given frequency
and voltage, the dielectric heating power can be as much as
5–30% of the power deposited in the plasma.
7. Conclusions
The formation of a uniform plasma at 1 atm was demonstrated
in various gases, including dry air. In a manner similar to
that in helium, atmospheric pressure air could operate in both
a spatially uniform and a filamentary DBD mode. At the
macroscopic level, the uniform mode is characterized by
the absence of localized highly luminous hot filaments. At
the microscopic level, their absence was confirmed by SEM
images of OAUGDP™ treated polymer samples. Surface
charge appears to play an important role in the growth and
stabilization of the uniform mode of plasma operation in air,
and is currently being studied intensively.

565
J R Roth et al

150 References
8 kV Total power
100 Dielectric heating
50 Hard copies of many of the references by University of
0 Tennessee authors may be downloaded in their entirety
100 from the website http://plasma.ece.utk.edu by clicking on
7 kV ‘publications’ on the homepage and then clicking on the ti-
50 tle of the desired reference.
0
50 [1] Roth J R 1995 Industrial Plasma Engineering
6 kV Vol I—Principles (Bristol: Institute of Physics Publishing)
25 see section 12.5.2
[2] Roth J R 2001 Industrial Plasma Engineering
0 Vol II—Applications to Non-Thermal Plasma
Power [Watt]

20 Processing (Bristol: Institute of Physics Publishing) see

5 kV
10
0
10
4 kV
5
0 [6] Roth J R, Tsai P P, Liu C, Laroussi M and Spence P D 1995
10
3 kV
5 [8] Rabehi A, Ben Gadri R, Segur P, Massines F and Decomps Ph
0 Phenomena (CEIDP 94) (Arlington, TX) pp 840–5
5 [9] Ben Gadri R, Rabéhi A, Massines F and Ségur P 1994 Proc.
2 kV
0
2 4 6 8 10 12
f [kHz]
Figure 20. Total reactor input power as a function of RF frequency
and RF voltage in the Mod VI parallel plate OAUGDP™ plasma
reactor. Calculated dielectric heating for K = 0.04 W kHz−1 kV−2
is represented by the dashed line.
We have shown that the real power input to an OAUGDP™
parallel plate reactor is dissipated both by heating of the
dielectric material covering the electrodes and by power input
to maintain the plasma. The fraction of the total input power
dissipated as dielectric heating ranged over 16–100% for the
Mod VI parallel plate reactor, and over 10–100% for the Mod T
reactor. These power fractions are significant and imply that
care should be taken to select dielectric materials with low
losses. The importance of dielectric heating power loss is
likely to extend to other atmospheric pressure plasma reactors,
including DBDs.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by the National Science
Foundation (NSF) Nanoscale Exploratory Research (NER)
grant, NSF-NER DMI-0210554, in part by the University of
Tennessee Center for Materials Processing (Director Dr Carl
McHargue), in part by Atmospheric Glow Technologies, Inc.
(President Thomas W Reddoch) and in part by AFOSR
Contract AF F49620-01-1-0425 (Roth) (Program Manager
John Schmisseur). The Eaton Corporation provided silicon
wafers and performed SEM analysis for the topographic
studies.
section 18.6
[3] Eliasson B and Kogelschatz U 1988 Appl. Phys. B 46
299–303
[4] Schutze A, Jeong J Y, Babayan S E, Park J, Selwyn G S
and Hicks R F 1998 IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 26
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[5] Roth J R, Tsai P P and Liu C 1995 US Patent No 5,387,842
US Patent No 5,414,324
[7] Ben Gadri R 1999 IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 27 36–7
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pressure and dielectric barrier controlled glow discharge
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1991 Proc. 10th Int. Symp. on Plasma Chemistry vol 3,
pp 3.2-201–3.2-204
[16] Roth J R, Laroussi M and Liu C 1992 Paper No 5P21 Proc.
19th IEEE Int. Conf. on Plasma Science (Tampa, FL)
pp 170–1
[17] Liu C and Roth J R 1992 APS Bull. 37 1563
[18] Roth J R, Tsai P P, Wadsworth L C, Liu C and Spence P D
1995 Method and apparatus for glow discharge plasma
treatment of polymer materials at atmospheric pressure
US Patent No 5,403,453
[19] Roth J R, Tsai P P, Liu C and Wadsworth L C 1995 Method
and apparatus for glow discharge plasma treatment of
polymer materials at atmospheric pressure US Patent
No 5,456,972
[20] Massines F et al 2003 Surf. Coat. Technol. 174–175
8–14
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[23] Golubovskii Yu B et al 2003 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 36
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[24] DeBenedictis S et al 1997 J. Chem. Phys. 107 6219–29
[25] Liu C and Roth J R 1994 Proc. 21st IEEE Int. Conf. on Plasma
Sci. (Santa Fe, NM) pp 97–8
[26] Roth J R 1997 Method and apparatus for covering bodies with
a uniform glow discharge plasma and applications thereof
US Patent No 5,669,583

566

[27] Sherman D M, Wilkinson S P and Roth J R 2001 Paraelectric
gas flow accelerator US Patent No 6,200,539 B1
[28] Roth J R, Sherman D M and Wilkinson S 1998 Proc. 36th
AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting & Exhibit (Reno, NV)
Paper AIAA 98-0328
[29] Roth J R 2003 Phys. Plasmas 10 2117–26
[30] Chen Z 2002 IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 30 1922–30
[31] Chen Z 2003 IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 31 511–20
[32] Montie T C, Kelly-Wintenberg K and Roth J R 2000 IEEE
Trans. Plasma Sci 28 41–50
The One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma reactor
[33] Roth J R, Sherman D M, Gadri R B, Karakaya F, Chen Z,
Montie T C, Kelly-Wintenberg K and Tsai P P 2000 IEEE
Trans. Plasma Sci. 28 56–63
[34] Carr A K 1997 Increase in the surface energy of metal and
polymeric surfaces using the one atmosphere uniform glow
discharge plasma, MS in EE Thesis University of Tennessee,
Knoxville
[35] John D Kraus 1991 Electromagnetics 4th edn (New York:
McGraw-Hill) Sec ‘10–14 Dielectric Hysteresis’,
p 445
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