Aerosol Charging with a Piezoelectric Plasma Generator

Abstract

A novel piezoelectric plasma generator developed by TDK Electronics GmbH & Co. OG, the CeraPlas®, was investigated for its feasibility as a charger for aerosol particles. The CeraPlas® charger was directly compared to a commercially available bipolar X-ray charger regarding its efficiency of charging atomized NaCl particles in a size range from 30 nm to 100 nm. First results show the ability of the CeraPlas® to perform bipolar aerosol charging with high reproducibility, and measurements of the charge distribution in the (Formula presented.) product yielded about 1012 m−3 s for our experimental charging configuration. Unwanted generation of ozone was suppressed by a dedicated charging chamber and operation in N2 atmosphere.