A Nanosecond Pulsed Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet Driven by a Solid-State Multiwinding Inductive Voltage Adder

Atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) driven by nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) have been investigated and employed in plasma medicine applications, owing to nonthermal characteristics and abundant reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). Compared with conventional nanosecond pulse generators for ns-APPJ, the inductive voltage adder (IVA) is capable of achieving high-voltage step-up ratios through electromagnetic coupling while simultaneously reducing insulation requirements. In this study, a solid-state nanosecond IVA with variable winding is proposed. The apparatus consists of ten stages coupled with nanocrystalline cores, producing 10-kHz repetitive pulses on capacitive loads. The output voltage is up to 24 kV with a step-up ratio of 53.3 and a turn ratio of 1:3 with a load capacitor of 400 pF. The minimum full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) on capacitive loads is 100 ns with a narrow falling edge owing to a designed magnetic switch. The influence of parasitic parameters on pulse performance is analyzed, and pulse specifications and circuit parameters are discussed. Furthermore, the generator is used to drive an argon plasma jet using a coaxial pin-ring electrode. The APPJ is diagnosed by optical emission spectroscopy (OES). This study provides a feasible design for nsPEF-driven plasmas.