Numerical simulation of electromagnetic-wave interference induced by ionization-front of millimeter-wave discharge at subcritical conditions and application to discharge structure identification

Abstract

A standing wave induced in front of the ionization-front of a millimeter-wave discharge was numerically investigated to develop an interferometric discharge structure identification method. The time-varying waveform of the standing-wave intensity obtained at a distant observation point was smooth when a continuous comb-shaped structure was formed, whereas it was noisy with high-frequency components when a discrete structure was formed. The peak frequency of the Fourier spectrum of the time-varying waveform was proportional to the ionization-front propagation speed. The rapid time-variation of the waveform was caused by an increase in millimeter-wave absorption in a new plasma spot formation in the discrete structure. The results suggest that discharge structure identification, measurement of ionization-front propagation, and timing of plasma spot formation can be conducted experimentally without using a high-speed camera.