What microplasma technology is and why it matters now

Microplasma technology confines plasma discharges to sub-millimeter geometries — typically gap distances or channel widths below 1 mm — enabling operation at atmospheric pressure, low power input (often below 1 kW), and near-ambient gas temperatures. This physical architecture unlocks a class of non-equilibrium chemistry that is otherwise inaccessible: electron temperatures can reach 1–10 keV while bulk gas temperatures remain near room temperature, producing reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) — including atomic oxygen, ozone, hydroxyl radicals, nitric oxide, and singlet oxygen — that are the primary functional agents across virtually all application domains in this landscape.

The field has moved through three identifiable phases. A 2016 review from Old Dominion University — titled “20 Years of Microplasma Research” — documented growth from fewer than 20 peer-reviewed papers per year in 1995 to over 150 by 2014, marking recognition of microplasma as a distinct research discipline. The 2017 Plasma Roadmap from CSIRO Manufacturing formalized the broad sub-field taxonomy still governing the field. By 2022, the Ohio State University Plasma Roadmap introduced new emphasis on AI-driven plasma science, plasma-enabled additive manufacturing, and plasma electrification of chemical conversions — signaling that intelligent control and scale-up have become primary challenges.

This combination of low power, atmospheric pressure operation, and precise reactive-species delivery distinguishes microplasma sharply from thermal or arc plasmas. It is this distinction that has enabled translation from physics laboratories into clinical, industrial, and field-deployable systems over the past decade, as documented across the patent and literature records in this dataset.

Three discharge architectures driving the field

Three primary discharge architectures account for the majority of microplasma innovation signals in this dataset: dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) sources, atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJs), and plasma-liquid interaction systems. Each architecture produces RONS through distinct mechanisms and is suited to different application contexts.

Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Microplasma

DBD microplasma generates non-thermal plasma by interposing a dielectric layer between electrodes, suppressing arc formation and enabling stable discharge at voltages below 1 kV. This is the most widely deployed configuration in environmental and biomedical applications due to its simplicity and scalability. Applications span NOx removal, indoor air purification, surface polymer treatment, and transdermal drug delivery. A notable 2021 development from the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy demonstrated inkjet-printed thin-film DBD plasma sources — enabling disposable, flexible, origami-compatible disinfection formats previously impossible with rigid reactor architectures.

Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jets (APPJs)

APPJs direct plasma effluent through a nozzle into open air or onto a target surface, enabling spatially precise delivery of RONS. The standardized COST Reference Microplasma Jet — developed at Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum under EU COST Action MP1101 and described in a 2016 publication — was specifically engineered to address reproducibility challenges in the biomedical domain, allowing globally consistent characterization of plasma sources across laboratories. Kiel University validated the cross-laboratory reproducibility of this reference source in 2020 through absolute atomic oxygen and ozone measurements combined with optical emission spectroscopy.

“The COST Reference Microplasma Jet was specifically engineered to enable reproducible results across global laboratories — acknowledging that reproducibility gaps were impeding application development.”

Plasma-Liquid Interaction Systems

Plasma-liquid systems represent a distinct sub-field in which microplasma is generated at a liquid interface or within a liquid medium, producing RONS-enriched plasma-activated media (PAM). Ghent University’s 2019 review covers applications including nanomaterial processing, water purification, plasma sterilization, plasma medicine, food preservation, and polymer treatment via plasma-liquid interaction. Kyushu University’s 2022 work demonstrated on-demand selective deposition of copper, nickel, chromium, cobalt, and zinc on biological and inorganic substrates using pulsed micro-plasma bubbles injected into metal-ion solutions — a novel intersection of plasma-liquid chemistry and 3D micro-nano device wiring.

A fourth, smaller cluster addresses microplasma as an active electronic component. University of Utah researchers in 2017 described microplasma field-effect transistors with 1–10 μm gap devices operating in the sub-Paschen regime at atmospheric pressure, with applications in metamaterial skins and high-power electromagnetic wave amplification. Nanyang Technological University (2020) explored plasma-metamaterial integration for CubeSat micropropulsion. These electronic architectures remain a minority strand in the dataset but represent a qualitatively distinct application vector.

Application domains: from wound healing to water treatment

Biomedical applications constitute the largest cluster in this dataset, followed by environmental remediation, nanomaterial synthesis, microelectronics, and space micropropulsion. Each domain exploits different aspects of the RONS chemistry generated by microplasma sources.

Biomedical and Plasma Medicine

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) delivered via jets or DBD sources generates RONS that exhibit bactericidal, antifungal, antiviral, wound-healing, and anticancer effects at tissue-tolerable temperatures. The Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP Greifswald) achieved the first clinical accreditation of a gas plasma device in Germany in 2013 for chronic wound treatment — the most clinically advanced institution in this dataset. Research published in 2020 by the same institute demonstrated that gas plasma jet treatment reduced melanoma tumor growth in vivo and stimulated immunogenic cell death and CD8+ T-cell infiltration. Apyx Medical Corporation’s 2023 active patent (JP) covers a fractionated skin regeneration mask enabling spatially selective plasma beam application, representing one of the most recent filings in the dataset.

Indiana University School of Dentistry’s 2020 review covers a further range of biomedical applications including oral biofilm treatment, viral infection management, and implant surface optimization — illustrating that plasma medicine has broadened well beyond wound care into systemic clinical contexts. According to WHO surveillance data, antimicrobial resistance is a growing global priority, making plasma-based sterilization approaches — which bypass conventional antibiotic mechanisms — of increasing strategic relevance.

Environmental Remediation and Water Treatment

Microplasma ozone generation is established as an energy-efficient alternative to conventional ozonation. A University of Illinois at Chicago study (2020) demonstrated that a 15-watt solar panel is sufficient to drive a microplasma ozone system, achieving a 2.3 log-order E. coli reduction in Kenyan field conditions. This positions microplasma as a viable point-of-use drinking water treatment technology for low-resource settings — a capability with significant implications given that, according to WHO estimates, over two billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water. Japan’s National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (MEXT) published a 2022 survey covering electrostatic precipitators, air pollutant removal, and waste and water treatment applications.

Nanomaterial Synthesis

Microplasma provides a substrate-free, high-energy-density synthesis environment for nanoparticles compatible with printing-technology throughputs. University of Illinois (2019) documented gas-phase synthesis of metallic, semiconducting, metal oxide, and carbon nanocrystals with applications in optoelectronic device fabrication and water purification. Charles University Prague’s 2017 work covers RF magnetron sputtering and plasma polymerization to produce hydrocarbon, fluorocarbon, silicon-containing, and core@shell nanoparticles.

Microelectronics and Semiconductor Processing

Plasma nanotechnology is essential for sub-nanometer semiconductor patterning. National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (Taiwan, 2022) described neutral beam processes at room temperature for defect-free atomic-layer-level surface chemistry in nanodevice fabrication — directly addressing the charge accumulation and UV damage challenges that constrain conventional plasma processing at nanoscale dimensions. Standards bodies including IEEE have identified plasma processing as a critical enabler for continued semiconductor scaling.

Geographic and institutional landscape

The microplasma innovation base is genuinely global rather than concentrated in a single region, with distinct geographic specialisations visible across the dataset. Germany and the USA lead in clinically-oriented plasma medicine; Japan and Taiwan lead in device and manufacturing applications; Singapore is emerging in space propulsion applications.

Germany is anchored by the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP Greifswald) — the most clinically advanced plasma medicine institution in this dataset — and by Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum and Kiel University, which jointly lead on international standardisation through the COST Reference Microplasma Jet. USA contributions span the University of Illinois (advanced materials synthesis and solar-powered water treatment), Old Dominion University and Drexel University’s Nyheim Plasma Institute (foundational science reviews), George Washington University (AI-plasma integration), and University of Utah (microplasma transistors).

Japan is represented by Kyushu University (on-demand micro-plasma bubble metallization, 2022), Okayama University of Science (disinfection and sterilization), and Japan’s MEXT National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (environmental purification survey). South Korea contributes the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy’s inkjet-printed plasma film work (2021), alongside legacy Samsung SDI plasma display patents. Taiwan‘s National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University leads on plasma nanotechnology for semiconductor processing. Singapore‘s Nanyang Technological University is active in plasma-metamaterial space micropropulsion. Additional contributions come from Ghent University (Belgium), Charles University Prague (Czech Republic), and CSIRO Manufacturing (Australia).

The geographic distribution of research activity aligns with national technology priorities documented by bodies such as WIPO, which tracks plasma-related patent filings as part of its green technology and biomedical innovation monitoring. The breadth of contributing nations — spanning Europe, North America, East Asia, and Southeast Asia — indicates that microplasma has achieved the status of a genuinely international enabling technology rather than a regionally concentrated research programme.

Five emerging directions shaping the next phase

The most recent results in this dataset (2021–2023) converge on five distinct emerging directions, each representing a vector where new IP formation is likely to be concentrated over the near term.

1. AI and Machine Learning Integration with Plasma Chemistry

The 2022 Plasma Roadmap (Ohio State University) explicitly elevates data-driven plasma science as a field priority. George Washington University (2021) demonstrated a dual-neural-network system using spontaneous emission spectroscopy to perform real-time passive plasma chemical diagnostics and optimise therapeutic delivery — described as the first attempt at “intelligent plasma medicine.” The University of Shiga Prefecture (2022) reviewed machine learning for low-temperature plasma complexity visualisation. This convergence represents an area where foundational IP claims on intelligent plasma control systems may still be available to first movers.

2. Flexible and Printed Microplasma Sources

The Korea Institute of Fusion Energy’s 2021 demonstration of inkjet-printed thin-film DBD plasma sources enables disposable, flexible, body-contoured plasma delivery — unlocking high-dimensional and pandemic-response disinfection applications previously impossible with rigid reactor formats. Companies with printing technology capabilities, rather than traditional plasma equipment vendors, may hold unexpected strategic advantage in this emerging segment.

3. Plasma Robotics for Precision Medicine

Jiangnan University (2021) articulated the concept of “plasma robots” — combining cold atmospheric plasma with robotic delivery systems at macro and micro scales — for tumor therapeutics, viral disease prevention, and pandemic response. This represents a convergence of plasma medicine with robotics and autonomous systems that is distinct from both pure plasma device development and conventional surgical robotics.

4. On-Demand Micro-Plasma Bubble Metallization

Kyushu University’s 2022 work demonstrated selective deposition of copper, nickel, chromium, cobalt, and zinc on biological and inorganic substrates using pulsed micro-plasma bubbles injected into metal-ion solutions. This technique represents a novel intersection of plasma-liquid chemistry and 3D micro-nano device wiring with potential applications in bioelectronics and miniaturised sensor fabrication.

5. Plasma Electrification of Chemical Conversions

The 2022 Plasma Roadmap identifies “electrification of chemical conversions” — including nitrogen fixation, CO₂ conversion, and green chemistry — as a newly prominent direction. This is consistent with the dataset’s references to plasma-driven nitrogen fixation and environmental remediation, suggesting microplasma systems will increasingly be designed as chemical reactors for sustainable chemistry. This direction aligns with the broader decarbonisation agenda tracked by bodies including the IEA in its industrial electrification programmes.

Strategic implications for IP and R&D teams

Biomedical IP is the highest-velocity zone in this dataset. Plasma medicine patents — including skin regeneration and cancer therapy — represent the most recent and actively maintained filings, with Apyx Medical Corporation’s JP active patent from 2023 being the most current record. R&D teams entering this space should prioritise RONS delivery precision, device miniaturisation, and clinical evidence generation, where IP density appears lowest relative to scientific publication density.

Standardisation creates both an opportunity and a barrier. The COST Reference Microplasma Jet has established a de facto international benchmark. New entrants must either demonstrate compatibility with this reference or justify divergence — creating space for IP around novel source architectures that offer equivalent or superior reproducibility metrics.

“AI-plasma integration is at an early IP formation stage. The convergence of machine learning with real-time plasma chemistry diagnostics, demonstrated in 2021, represents an area where foundational IP claims on intelligent plasma control systems may still be available.”

Printed and flexible plasma formats disrupt conventional device economics. Inkjet-printed plasma sources reduce capital cost and enable single-use applications in infection control and food safety. Companies with printing technology capabilities — not traditional plasma equipment vendors — may hold unexpected strategic advantage here. Platform IP around plasma-activated medium (PAM) generation from plasma-liquid systems could support licensing strategies across nanomaterial synthesis, water treatment, food safety, and pharmaceutical activation simultaneously, with a single core technology serving multiple verticals.

For IP strategists, the plasma electrification of chemical conversions direction — identified in the 2022 Plasma Roadmap — merits particular attention. Nitrogen fixation and CO₂ conversion via plasma represent intersections with the green chemistry and decarbonisation agenda, where patent activity from adjacent fields (electrochemistry, catalysis) is already dense. Early, well-scoped claims on microplasma-specific reactor architectures for these conversions may represent defensible white space before the field attracts broader industrial attention. PatSnap’s innovation intelligence platform tracks patent white space analysis across emerging technology domains, enabling R&D and IP teams to identify these opportunities systematically.

Landscape monitoring via tools such as PatSnap’s R&D intelligence suite can help teams track the five emerging directions identified here — AI-plasma integration, printed sources, plasma robotics, micro-plasma bubble metallization, and plasma electrification — as they transition from publication signals to patent filings over the 2024–2027 window.