Effect of Ground and Floating Electrode on a Helium-Based Plasma Jet and Its Applications in Sterilization and Ceramic Surface Treatment

In this paper, we compare the helium-based atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJs) with power-ground (PG) and power-floating (PF) configurations by using optical analysis. We find that the PG jet traps plasma between two electrodes (discharge region); thus, the hydroxyl radical intensity is significantly strong in discharge region; however, the plasma intensity in downstream region is relatively weak as compared with that of PF configuration. In contrast, using the APPJ with PF configuration, the hydroxyl radical and nitric oxide are approximately two and three times stronger, respectively, in the downstream region, even though the gas temperature and power consumption are lower. The PF jet successfully eradicates S. mutans and decreases water contact angle by ~40 within 15-s treatment, which demonstrates higher efficient than that of PG jet, and shows highly potential for dental filling demand.