https://doi.org/10.1051/epjap/2026005
Original Article
Selectively igniting plasmas in air at atmospheric pressure through time-reversal of microwaves
1
ONERA/DMPE, Université de Toulouse, 31055 Toulouse, France
2
LAPLACE, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INPT, UPS, Toulouse, France
3
ISAE-SUPAERO, Université de Toulouse, France
* e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Received:
16
September
2025
Accepted:
27
March
2026
Published online: 24 April 2026
Abstract
Methods that could enable the generation of plasmas in air, at atmospheric pressure, and with the ability to precisely target where and when the plasmas are created are of great interest to domains such as fuel combustion. In this study, we show experimentally that this can be achieved by focusing nanosecond pulses through time reversal (TR) on split-ring resonator initiators. The choice of the TR signal determines the initiator on which the plasma is created. The role of the initiator in reaching the required gas breakdown field, the influence of the TR pulse duration and the electrical signature of the plasma on the received signal are also briefly investigated.
Key words: Time-reversal / microwave plasma breakdown / split-ring resonator / nanosecond plasma
© P. Dussolliet-Berthod et al., Published by EDP Sciences, 2026
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
