As shown in FIGS. 1A to 4, the microwave plasma torch 100 includes the at least one conductive rod 140, where the at least one conductive rod 140 functions as the igniter within the microwave plasma torch 100. The at least one conductive rod 140 provides a means of ionizing the at least one plasma-forming gas without requiring an external power supply to be connected to the igniter. Ignition circuits in conventional microwave plasma systems require an external DC circuit to power the igniter. By providing an igniter, in the form of the at least one conductive rod 140, that does not require an external DC circuit to function, the microwave plasma torch 100 as disclosed herein has lower power requirements that conventional microwave plasma torches, while still produce high-temperature flows of plasma.

The at least one conductive rod 140 is mounted within the torch chamber 120 of the microwave plasma torch 100 for igniting the at least one plasma-forming gas using the electromagnetic field produced by the magnetron 162. The ignition of the at least one plasma-forming gas via the at least one conductive rod 140 drives an ionization of the at least one plasma-forming gas to produce the aforementioned plurality of plasma streamers 180. The plurality of plasma streamers 180 as described herein are fast-moving ionization fronts of the at least one plasma-forming gas that extend from the conductive rod 140 and can take on various forms or complicated tree-like structures. The plurality of plasma streamers 180 will each arc between the tip 142 of the at least one conductive rod 140 and an inner wall of the torch chamber 120, where the distance between the rod and the inner wall of the torch chamber 120 defines a torch gap.