Duncan Trosan
Advised by Dr. Katharina Stapelmann

3:00pm – 5:00pm
1202 Burlington Laboratory

Abstract

Dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) have been found to have a variety of uses since their discovery in the 1800s. A very common use for DBDs is sterilization due to the creation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. The two most common geometries of dielectric barrier discharge are volume (VDBDS) and surface (SDBDs) DBDs. This work seeks to build on established literature and elucidate the power and circuit characteristics of surface dielectric barrier discharges specifically. A comparison between VDBDs and SDBDs is established, and the differences between the two are investigated. The thesis then shifts to analyzing novel flexible SDBD devices for the purpose of food decontamination. These devices proved to be effective in inactivating bacteria on the surface of produce. These devices’ electrical and optical characteristics are investigated, and different circuit models of SDBDs are discussed. The impact of plasma treatment on the devices themselves is also examined and shown to impact the performance and degradation of the polymer dielectric layer. Finally, an in-package plasma reactor prototype is presented and analyzed for the long-lived generated chemistry. Overall the SDBD geometry was shown to be ideal for the sanitation of produce, but concerns remain about the polymer degradation of the devices themselves.