Flexible and transparent microplasma devices for ultraviolet medical treatment

Summary form only given. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) for the treatment of dermato-oncologic conditions is an area of great interest to the scientific and medical community. Also, low dose exposure of UV light to the infected area has shown remission in several skin diseases with few side effects. To deal with these medical conditions, low-cost and hand-held incoherent lamps can be a promising solution because of their convenient accessibility to the affected tissue. Lightweight and UV-A transparent microcavity plasma devices have been fabricated on plastic substrates by replica molding techniques. Polymer-based replica molding processing enables precisely controlled fabrication of complex arrays in an inexpensive, transparent, and flexible substrate that is both disposable and recyclable. The depth of each microcavity was ~80 microns, and aluminum foil and mesh were used as electrodes. The device was designed to emit UV light in a single direction. Plastic based arrays have been demonstrated that generate uniform glow discharges confined to microcavities over a broad range of gas mixtures and pressure. To control device performance, gas pressures, electrode geometry and configuration have been changed. Details concerning the performance of these microplasma sources will be presented.