Patent ID: 6890495
Filing Date: 2005-05-10
Classification: B01D,B01J,F01N,H05H,Y02T

Abstract:
1. A reactor for the plasma assisted processing of a gaseous medium, said reactor including a pair of electrodes having facing surfaces and spaced from each other for providing a separation therebetween, said separation of said facing surfaces being substantially uniform and defining a space between said pair of electrodes, a body of dielectric material positioned for providing a dielectric barrier between said pair of electrodes and configured for dividing said space between said pair of electrodes into a plurality of gas passages, said gas passages providing a plasma volume for said reactor, said gas passages having lengths along which gas flows during use of said reactor, said gas passages being aligned so that said lengths extend between and in a direction parallel with said facing surfaces of said pair of electrodes, said gas passages being spaced apart from one another in a direction perpendicular to the said facing surfaces, said gas passages including a pair of opposed sides having a contour which matches the contour of said facing surfaces of said pair of electrodes, said shape and spacing of said gas passages being configured to provide for a substantially uniform distribution of electric field across said plasma volume between said pair of electrodes, wherein said pair of electrodes are embedded in said body of dielectric material which extends across the space between said lair of electrodes, said plurality of gas passages extending longitudinally of said body of dielectric material to provide said plurality of electrically equivalent plasma volumes extending in series across said space between said pair of electrodes.