Not all atmospheric pressure plasmas are the same. There are different means of generating atmospheric pressure plasmas. Requirements differ for electrode composition and materials, feed gases, operating frequencies and key plasma characteristics, such as electron temperature, density of charged species and gas temperature.

Helium for higher efficiency
APJeT's proprietary plasmas generally operate with a majority concentration of helium feedgas. Helium enables the plasma to operate at a lower voltage level, increasing safety and energy efficiency, and at a lower gas temperature because helium is an excellent conductor of heat. From a chemical viewpoint, helium is the least effective third body reactant. As a result, the active chemical species produced in a helium-based will last longer: providing greater reactivity with the target material and the working distance over which the treatment is reactive, will be much longer than with other plasmas operating at atmospheric pressure.

The fact that the helium feedgas used by APJeT's proprietary plasma sources is never consumed by the plasma or by the surface reaction permits APJeT to recycle and re-use the helium feedgas, so its purchase does not enter into the operating cost equation. We use helium reprocessing and purification systems manufactured by our strategic investor, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Balancing price and performance
The real end-goal of many industrial applications is to produce a desired quantity of product that meets the customers' needs for a price that will generate the desired profit. APJeT's technology provides the highest average operating power by far of any low-temperature, atmospheric-pressure plasma, beating others by 20x - 1000x. As a result, APJeT's technology will provide the fastest processing speed, which equates to the highest throughput per system. Though its hourly operating cost may be higher than atmospheric-pressure plasmas that do not use helium, its cost-per-unit-treated will be much lower. Operating cost can be reduced further by adding a helium reprocessing unit, which re-uses the helium feedgas multiple times.

APJeT's technology offers key advantages over other atmospheric-pressure plasmas as well as conventional vacuum-based plasmas, such as small footprint, high throughput and better process quality. Thanks to these technology advantages, the APPJ Technology earned the international recognition of a prestigious R&D 100 Award in 1999. The achievement denotes the worldwide recognition we have received for this unique and entirely-new plasma technology.