On the Application of Neon Discharge Plasmas in Construction of Plasma Waveguide Attenuators

摘要

Many papers and texts can be found on waveguide attenuators filled with magnetized (biased) or unmagnetized (unbiased) plasma layers; but there are no works on experimental verification and numerical modeling with electromagnetic softwares such as CST MICROWAVE STUDIO, HFSS, or ANSYS Electromagnetics. In this paper, we have demonstrated the application and properties of neon discharge plasmas in construction of X-band plasma waveguide attenuators, by both experimental and various numerical and theoretical simulations. The effects of tube lengths on attenuation are also investigated. One of the advantages of plasma waveguides is that their dielectric constant is sensitive to frequency, and hence, the amount of wave transmission can be controlled. Moreover, plasma can be set off and on very quickly, and therefore, we can remove its effects without removing the plasma waveguide physically.