A nitrogen microplasma jet operated at atmospheric pressure was developed for treating thermally sensitive materials. For example, the plasma sources in treatment of vulnerable biological materials must operate near the room temperature at the atmospheric pressure, without any risk of arcing or electrical shock. The microplasma jet device operated by an electrical power less than 10 W exhibited a long plasma jet of about 6.5 cm with temperature near 300 K, not causing any harm to human skin. Optical emission measured at the wide range of 280-800 nm indicated various reactive species produced by the plasma jet. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.