In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a method for increasing the ignition reliability of a plasma in a plasma reactor, the method comprising: supplying a source gas to the plasma reactor, the source gas comprising: (a) at least one reactive compound; and (b) at least one ignition gas, wherein the at least one ignition gas increases the ignitability of the source gas as compared to the ignitability of the source gas lacking the at least one ignition gas.