Low voltage microplasma generation in conducting liquids and their medical applicaton

Plasma production in liquids has been investigated using a wide range of experimental setups and different kinds of liquids. Among those, discharges operating in water have drawn considerable interest¹. The predominant setup in this environment is a pin to plate discharge created with pulsed applied voltages of between 10 and 100 kV in low conductivity water. This leads to multiple micro-channel breakdown plasmas, similar to the corona discharges in high pressure gas plasmas. Disease treatment in vivo gave rise to the exploration of plasmas in conducting liquids. It has been found that those have the ability to ablate tissue in electrosurgical operations² and, when operated at the right conditions, do not cause nerve stimulus.