Microcavity Plasma Ozone Generator for Air Filtration: Design and Investigation of Ozone Flow Distribution

Arrays of microcavity devices designed for the operation in a forced flow of laboratory air. Microcavities having a diameter of 100 ~300 μm are encapsulated and protected with an Al2O3 ring-shaped dielectric for the protection from plasma sputtering. With a micropatterning process by simple lithography and a microfabrication technique for microcavity formation, precise control of microcavity and its array geometry was obtained with an accuracy of less than 5 %. In particular, to control the plasma properties and flow dynamics of air inside the device microcavities, the shape of the microcavity has been modified to be asymmetric between electrodes. These devices have been generated up to ~ 1 wt%t ozone from ambient air or oxygen and ozone concentration depended on a number of cavities and injected flow rate. It can be utilized as an air filter that can control the diffusion of ozone. Since air passes microplasma for a short time, ozone generated by microplasma in microcavities decomposed immediately and concentration is lower ozone concentration that FDA limited for safety. The goal of this research is to fabricate an ozone filter that will purify the air but not be harmful to humans. For the spatially localized ozone concentration, the ozone detector is used to check decaying time and distance.unpublishednot peer reviewedU of I OnlyUndergraduate senior thesis not recommended for open acces