A harmonic oscillator model to study the intensification of microwave radiation by a subwavelength uniform plasma discharge

Abstract

A harmonic oscillator model is proposed to study the intensification of microwave radiation of an electrically small antenna when surrounded by a subwavelength plasma discharge. This model describes the oscillations of free electrons in a spherical plasma when it is excited by an incident electromagnetic wave. It shows that at resonance, these charge oscillations lead to a significant volume current, and thus to an enhancement of the radiation. Depending on the electron density of the plasma, this radiation enhancement may occur in the microwave range. The proposed model is compared with the Mie scattering theory with perfect agreement when the electrical size ka of the spherical plasma remains smaller than 0.1. Despite its apparent simplicity, this model unveils the main mechanism that stands behind the intensification of microwave radiation by a subwavelength plasma discharge.

Nonlinear Effects of Electromagnetic Pulse on a Plasma-Based Electrically Small VHF Antenna

“…an Epsilon NeGative (ENG) material. More specifically, the operation of the antenna is based on the coupling between a transmitting chain and the plasmonic resonance of electrons within a hemispherical plasma discharge [14], [15].…”