A non-equilibrium diffuse discharge in atmospheric pressure air

The generation and maintenance of non-thermal air plasmas at atmospheric pressure with low power requirements remain formidable challenges. Here, we report on a promising method allowing the production of an air plasma between a planar disc-shaped metal electrode and a second electrode made of a static volume of water contained in a shallow glass dish. Currently, we have used only tap water as one of the electrodes. However, other liquids with low conductivity could also be used. In this paper, the power requirements, gas temperature measurements, and atomic and molecular emission bands of the discharge will be presented. Potential applications of this atmospheric pressure discharge include decontamination, radiation sources, etc.