Microwave interactions with inhomogeneous plasmas are often studied by employing a simplified electromagnetic approach, i.e., by representing the effects of the plasma by an effective dielectric coefficient. The problems and approximations associated with this procedure will be discussed. The equation describing the microwave field in an inhomogeneous partially ionized plasma will be derived, and the method that has been applied to obtain the reflected, transmitted, and absorbed intensities in inhomogeneous plasmas will be presented. The interactions of microwaves with plasmas which have Gaussian electron density profiles have been considered by Klein.
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