Theoretical and experimental investigation of plasma antenna characteristics on the basis of gaseous collisionality and electron density

This paper reports plasma antenna characteristics investigated theoretically and experimentally, on the basis of the plasma parameters: gaseous collisionality and electron density. The antenna structure is a basic quarter-wavelength monopole antenna in the UHF band. The dependence of the antenna gain on the plasma parameters is obtained by analytical equations from plasma and antenna theory, and by numerical simulations. In the plasma antenna, the ratio of the electron elastic collision frequency to the total number of electrons at the plasma cross section determines the antenna's internal loss and the electrical equivalent antenna length, whereas the ratio of the radio wave frequency to the total number of electrons at the plasma cross section determines the antenna's resonant frequency. These results are confirmed by experimental results of the antenna's impedance and radiation patterns.