Profile

Career

Qualifications

MSc (UCD, Ireland); PhD (DCU, Ireland)

Summary of expertise

• Low temperature plasmas
• Plasma diagnostics
• Applications of technological plasmas, including plasma medicine

Previous posts

• 04/2010 – 05/2011 EPSRC Career Acceleration Fellowship, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
• 04/2008 – 03/2010 Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
• 01/2007 – 03/2008 Senior Scientist, Institute for Electrical Engineering and Plasma Technology, Centre for Plasma Science and Technology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
• 09/2004 – 12/2006 Post-doctoral researcher, Institute for Plasma and Atomic Physics, Faculty for Physics and Astronomy, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany

Committees

• IoP Plasma Group Committee member
• European Physical Society (EPS) Conference on Plasma Physics 2010, LoC Scientific Secretary
• 30th International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases (ICPIG) 2011 co-Chair LoC
• International Conference on Atomic Processes in Plasmas (APiP) 2011 LoC member

Research

Overview

Research interests

• Low temperature plasmas: low pressure rf plasmas, atmospheric pressure plasma jets, microplasmas
• Technological applications of plasmas, including plasma medicine
• Plasma diagnostics

Research group(s)

• Dr Kari Niemi (Research fellow)
• Laura Cox (PhD student, Queen’s University Belfast)
• Mahmoud Alkawareek (PhD student, Queen’s University Belfast)

Publications

Full publications list

Electron dynamics and plasma jet formation in a helium atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge jet
Q. Th. Algwari and D. O'Connell
Appl. Phys. Lett. 99, 121501 (2011)

The Role of Helium Metastable States in Radio-Frequency Driven Helium-Oxygen Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jets: Measurement and Numerical Simulation
K. Niemi, J. Waskoenig, N. Sadeghi, T. Gans, D. O’Connell
Plasma Sources Sci. and Technol. 20, 055005 (2011)

Energetic electron avalanches and mode transitions in planar inductively coupled radio frequency driven plasmas operated in oxygen
M. Zaka-ul-Islam, K. Niemi, T. Gans, and D. O'Connell
Appl. Phys. Lett. 99, 041501 (2011)

Plasma Jet Interaction with A Dielectric Surface
Q. Th. Algwari, D. O’Connell
IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. (2010), in press

Cold atmospheric pressure plasma jets as sources of singlet delta oxygen for biomedical applications
J. S. Sousa, K. Niemi, L. J. Cox, Q. Th. Algwari, T. Gans, and D. O’Connell
J. Appl. Phys. 109, 123302 (2011)

Cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet interactions with plasmid DNA
D. O'Connell, L.J. Cox, W.B. Hyland, S.J. McMahon, S. Reuter, W.G. Graham, T. Gans, F.J. Currell
Applied Physics Letters, 98, 043701 (2011)

The influence of the relative phase between the driving voltages on electron heating in asymmetric dual frequency capacitive discharges
D. Ziegler, J. Trieschmann, T. Mussenbrock, R.P. Brinkmann, J. Schulze, U. Czarnetzki, E. Semmler, P. Awakowicz, D. O’Connell, T. Gans
Plasma Sources Sci Technol 19, 045001 (2010)

The challenge of revealing and tailoring the dynamics of radio-frequency plasmas
T. Gans, D. O’Connell, V. Schulz-von-der Gathen, J. Waskoenig
Plasma Sources Sci Technol. 19, 034010 (2010)

Excitation dynamics of micro-structured atmospheric pressure plasma arrays
H. Boettner, J. Waskoenig, D. O’Connell, T.L. Kim, P.A. Tchertchian, J. Winter, V. Schulz-von-der Gathen
J. Phys D: Appl. Phys 43, 124010 (2010)

Argon metastable state densities in inductively coupled plasma in mixtures of Ar and O2
Y. Hayashi, S. Hirao, Y. Zhang, T. Gans, D. O’Connell, Z.L. Petrovic, T. Makabe
Journal Phys D: Appl. Phys. 42, 145206 (2009)

Space and phase resolved optical emission in mode transitions of radio-frequency inductively coupled plasmas
D. O’Connell, K. Niemi, Zaka-ul-Islam, T. Gans
Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 162, 012011 (2009)

The role of the relative voltage and phase for frequency coupling in a dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma
D. O’Connell, T. Gans, E. Semmler, P. Awakowicz
Appl. Phys. Lett., 93, 081502 (2008)

Plasma ionization in low-pressure radio-frequency discharges. Part I: optical measurements
D. O’Connell, T. Gans, A. Meige, P. Awakowicz, R. W. Boswell
IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci., 36, 1382 (2008)

Plasma ionisation in low-pressure radio-frequency discharges. Part II: particle-in-cell simulation
A. Meige, D. O’Connell, T. Gans, R. W. Boswell
IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci., 36, 1384 (2008)

Plasma dynamics in an inductively coupled magnetic neutral loop discharge
D. O'Connell, T. Gans, D. L. Crintea, U. Czarnetzki, N. Sadeghi
Plasma Sources Sci. Technol., 17, 024022 (2008)

Spatial dynamics of the light emission from a micro-plasma array
J. Waskoenig, D. O’Connell, V. Schulz von der Gathen, J. Winter, S.-J. Park and J.G. Eden
Appl. Phys. Lett., 92, 101503 (2008)

Neutral gas depletion in dense low-temperature plasmas
D. O'Connell, T. Gans, D. L. Crintea, U. Czarnetzki, N. Sadeghi
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., 41, 035208 (2008)

Comparison of measurements and PIC simulations of ion energy distribution functions in a capacitively coupled radio-frequency discharge
D. O'Connell, R. Zorat, A.E. Ellingboe, M.M. Turner
Phys. Plasmas, 14, 103510 (2007)

Space and phase resolved electron energy distribution functions in an industrial dual-frequency capacitively coupled radio-frequency discharge
J. Schulze, T. Gans, D. O'Connell, U. Czarnetzki, A. R. Ellingboe, M. M. Turner
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., 16, 774 (2007)

Plasma ionisation through wave particle interaction in a capacitively coupled
D. O’Connell, T. Gans, D. Vender, U. Czarnetzki, R. Boswell
Phys. Plasmas, 14, 034505 (2007)

A planar inductively coupled magnetic neutral loop discharge
T. Gans, D. L. Crintea, D. O'Connell, U. Czarnetzki
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 40, 4508 (2007)

Spatial structures of plasma parameters in a neutral loop discharge
D. O'Connell, D. L. Crintea, T. Gans, U. Czarnetzki
Plasma Sources Sci. Tech., 16 3, 543 (2007)

Plasma boundary sheath dynamics in the afterglow of a pulsed inductively coupled RF plasma
M. Osiac, T. Schwarz-Selinger, D. O'Connell, B. Heil, M.M. Turner, Z.Lj. Petrovic, T. Gans, U. Czarnetzki
Plasma Sources Sci. Tech., 16 2, 355 (2007)

Rotation of a nanoparticle cloud in an inductively coupled plasma induced by weak static magnetic fields
M. Schulze, D. O'Connell, T. Gans, P. Awakowicz, A. von Keudell
Plasma Sources Sci. Tech., 16 4, 774 (2007)

Frequency coupling in dual-frequency capacitively coupled radio-frequency plasmas
T. Gans, J. Schulze, D. O'Connell, U. Czarnetzki, R. Faulkner, A.R. Ellingboe, M.M. Turner
Appl. Phys. Lett., 89, 261502 (2006)

Diagnostics for the Dynamics of Power Dissipation in Technologically used Plasmas
T. Gans, D. O’Connell, J. Schulze, V. A. Kadetov, U. Czarnetzki
AIP Conf. Proc. 876, 260-271 (2006)

Characterisation of stationary and pulsed inductively coupled RF discharges for plasma sterilisation
T. Gans, M. Osiac, D. O'Connell, V.A. Kadetov, U. Czarnetzki, T. Schwarz-Selinger, H. Halfmann, P. Awakowicz
Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, 47, A353 (2005)