Experimental Study of Parameters of a Plasma Antenna

• Published in: Plasma science & technology Vol. 12; no. 5; pp. 592 - 600
• Main Authors: Kumar, Rajneesh, Bora, Dhiraj
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IOP Publishing 01.10.2010
• Subjects: 内置天线; 天线参数; 等离子体天线; 表面等离子体波; 谐波功率; 金属铜; 非线性相互作用
• ISSN: 1009-0630
• DOI: 10.1088/1009-0630/12/5/17

A plasma column excited by a surface wave can act as a plasma antenna. Experiments are carried out to study the current and conductivity distributions, field, power patterns, directivity and efficiency of such a plasma antenna. In addition, an equivalent metallic copper antenna is built up and its antenna parameters are compared with that of the plasma antenna. Our findings indicate that the power content in the harmonics of the plasma antenna is more prominent as compared to the copper antenna （which only generates a fundamental frequency）. However, the power patterns for both antennae are quite similar. To provide a more qualitative understanding regarding the generation of harmonics in the field of the plasma antenna, a bi-spectral analysis is performed to study the nonlinear interactions in the current fluctuations. Some specific features of the plasma antenna are investigated in our study, which may enhance the application prospect of the plasma antenna with respect to the conventional metallic antenna.