Role of ambient dielectric in propagation of Ar atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium plasma jets

A single-electrode atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium plasma jet surrounded with different ambient dielectrics is investigated driven by AC power supply. Another three ambient dielectrics, distilled water, ethanol, and carbon tetrachloride, are adopted to compare with air. By examining electrical and optical characteristics, it was found that the molecular polarity of ambient dielectrics had its significant effect on the propagation of atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium plasma jets. When the polarization of molecules was enhanced, the discharge current and the bullet velocity were also increased. For nonpolar dielectric of carbon tetrachloride, this was mainly resulted from the electron polarization in the built-in electric field. For polar dielectrics of ethanol and distilled water, in addition to the electron polarization, orientation polarization was the main cause for the further increase in discharge current and bullet velocity. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.