The Applied Plasma Technology Laboratory (APTL) is part of ODU’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department as well as the Laser And Plasma Engineering Institute. LPEI, a research institute belonging to the Batten College of Engineering & Technology, is a facility dedicated to research on lasers, plasmas and their applications. Research topics at APTL include the generation of non-equilibrium, low temperature plasmas, characterization of plasmas using electrical and spectroscopic diagnostics methods, the interaction between microorganisms and cold plasmas, and material processing by plasmas .
Below are few examples of ongoing research projects:
Barrier Discharges&Their Applications
The physics and chemistry of non-equilibrium high pressure discharges are studied. Both electrical and optical diagnostics are applied. Applications of these type of discharges, including biological ones, are under investigation.
VUV
Generation & Applications
The generation of vacuum ultraviolet radiation and its use for various practical
processes are the subject of this line of research. One application is
microlithography. Work on VUV microlithography, in the 130 nm range, is
currently underway with collaboration with other ODU-ARC Labs and Stevens
Institute of Technology (funded by DARPA). Application of excimer UV to decontaminate
the ballast water of ships entering the Chesapeake Bay is also under
investigation with collaboration with ODU’s Dept. Ocean, Earth & Atmospheric
Sciences (funded by Virginia Seagrant).
Air
Plasma Ramparts
The generation and maintenance of low temperature plasma, in air, at atmospheric
pressure, and with a reasonable amount of input power is a serious challenge.
Such plasma can
be used to shield aircraft from radar detection and from directed high energy
electromagnetic weapons. Investigations of various means to generate such
plasmas are conducted. This work is supported by AFOSR.
Study of Liquid Dielectrics
To move high energy pulsed power systems from the laboratory to practice requires the development of compact lightweight drivers. To develop such drivers, an in-depth understanding of the behavior of typical materials used in pulsed power systems is needed. As part of a multidisciplinary research effort sponsored by AFOSR and led by the University of New Mexico, we are studying the hold-off and breakdown properties of liquid dielectrics. For more information on this research visit the Compact Portable Pulsed Power link.
