Plasma and a New Antenna

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May 18, 2009

Contents
1 Introduction to Plasma Physics

1.1

Definition of a plasma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.2

Plasma Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.3

Waves in a plasma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2 Plasma Antennae

2.1

Passive elements

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.2

Active elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.3

Why use Plasma antennae? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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A Appendix

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1
1.1

Introduction to Plasma Physics

Definition of a plasma

A simple definition of a plasma is a gas that consists of charged and neutral particles[5].
However if we consider the Saha equation:
3/2
ni
15 T
2.4 10
eUi /kB T
nn
ni

(1)

This equation gives a ratio of the density of ionized particles (ni ) to that of neutral particles
(nn ) as a function of temperature (T ) and the ionization energy of the atom (Ui ), where kB
is the Boltzmann constant. This equation shows that as the temperature is increased neutral
particles will separate into ions, and the higher the temperature the larger the number of
ions. Using the simple definition of a plasma this means that any gas at a finite temperature
should be considered a plasma. According to this many gases that are not considered plasmas
should be. Since most gases will contain ions, there needs to be a definition of plasmas that
takes into account the relative number of ions and neutral particles and how they interact.
To do this we can introduce parameters for the definition of plasmas.

1.2

Plasma Parameters

Figure 1: Example of how Debye shielding works[5].

To come up with a more descriptive definition of a plasma we can consider what happens
if we place a charged sphere into an ionic mixture. Particles of opposite charge will build up
around the sphere to neutralize it, this is called Debye shielding, figure 1, and is a property
that needs to be found in a gas for it to be classified as a plasma[5]. Now if we consider
particles at a finite temperature, hence they have thermal motion, there will be an exchange
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of particles to and from this shield where the electric field is too weak to overcome the
kinetic energy of the ions. The approximate thickness of this cloud where exchange of
particles occurs is called the Debye length, D . The Debye length can be expressed in terms
of the kinetic energy of the electrons (the electron temperature, Te )[5].
D

kB T e
4ni e2

1/2

(2)

We can now define a requirement that for a plasma the Debye length is much less than the
smallest dimension, L, of the total system[5].

For the Debye shield to be valid statistically there is a requirement that the cloud
consists of a large number of particles. This gives the second criterion for a plasma: The
total number of particles in the Debye shield has to be much larger than 1[5].

A third and final requirement for a gas of ionized atoms to be classified as a plasma is
that the number of collisions between electrons and neutral particles are rare compared to
electron-electron collisions[5]. With these three parameters we can now determine if a gasses
properties will be dominated by collisions of particles, as in a normal gas, or long range
electromagnetic interactions, as in a plasma.

1.3

Waves in a plasma

Waves in plasma can be separated into two distinct types: electron modes and ion modes[9].
In the case that the velocity of the electrons is comparable or larger than the ions and the
wave propagates as electron density variations (electron modes). To calculate these modes
the ion mass can be considered infinite compared to the electrons and therefore acts as a
stationary background charge. The second type of modes can be found by assuming the electrons mass is infinitely small when compared to the ions, hence the electrons can redistribute
instantaneously. In this case the wave propagates as variations in ion density. More complex
mode types exist but will not be considered through this report. The electron modes are the
modes that will be consider when looking at electromagnetic-wave/plasma interactions.

The most fundamental oscillatory behaviour to look at is called the plasma frequency
(p ). When a disturbance displaces the electrons and ions relative to each other the coulomb
force pulls the electrons back towards the ions. The rapid oscillations of the electrons to cor-

rect these disturbances give rise to waves in a plasma at a specific frequency. The equation[9]:
s
ne e 2
(3)
p =
0 m e
can be used to calculate the plasma frequency for a plasma where electron modes dominate.
Where e is the charge of an electron, me is the mass of an electron and 0 is the permeability
of free space. Since the plasma frequency depends on the electron density, it can be manipulated by varying the amount of ionized gas.

An antenna is a device used to control the propagation of electromagnetic (EM) waves.

This means that what happens as an EM wave crosses a free-space/plasma boundary is
important when considering using a plasma as a component in antennas. The simplest case
is when no external magnetic field is applied. The complex dielectric constant for a plasma
can be written as[9]
p2
r = 1
(4)
( i)
where is the frequency of a time dependant (eit ) EM wave and is the frequency of
electron collisions in the plasma. With freedom to select any arbitrary axis we can set an
incident EM plane wave to propagate along the x-axis
ikx
E = Ee

(5)

Looking at the case when the electron temperature is low then the electron collisions are low
( 0) and the propagation constant k is then given by[9]
r
p2
(6)
k = k0 1 2

where k0 is the propagation constant in free space. There are three cases to consider for EM
waves with this propagation constant: If the frequency of the incident wave is greater than
the plasma frequency the propagation constant is real leading to a propagating EM wave. In
the second case the incident wave has a lower frequency than the plasma frequency resulting
in a decaying wave, known as an evanescent wave, in the plasma. The final case is when the
frequency of the incident wave is equal to the plasma frequency, this is called the critical
frequency and is the boundary between a propagating wave and an evanescent wave. The
position & motion of the electrons in the plasma can couple to these EM fields and vice versa.

Another thing to consider with an incident EM wave is whether it will transmit through or
be reflected by the plasma. To predict which behaviour will occur the reflection coefficient
is of use. The absolute value of the reflection coefficient can be written in terms of the
impedance of the plasma, , an the impedance of free space, 0 [9].


 0 


|| = 
(7)
+ 0 
4

(a) active element[6]

(b) passive element[6]

Figure 2: Example of a active and passive element using plasma.

the impedance of a plasma can be calculated using the formula[9]:
r
0
=
0 r

(8)

Plasma Antennae

Conventional antennae utilize metal to guide the movement of charges to generate an oscillating electromagnetic field of a specific pattern. These antennae can also be used to convert
an oscillating electromagnetic field to an electrical current. Plasma antennas are antennae
that work around microwave and radio wave frequencies, and use a plasma in place of a
metal to facilitate the movement of charges.

To use a plasma as an antenna there are many technical considerations that must first
be considered. To control the pattern of the radiation emitted by a plasma, the containment
shape and plasma density can be used. To act as an antenna the plasma needs to take on
a specific spatial shape. The easiest way to create a plasma in a specific shape is to confine
a noble gas in a glass tube, the gas can then be be ionized by various methods to create a
plasma. The methods used include electrical discharge, lasers and heating.

When constructing an antenna there are passive elements that are used to redirect the
EM waves and there are active elements that are used to convert the EM wave into an
electrical signal. Plasma can be used to replace the metal components in both types of
elements, figure 2.

2.1

Passive elements

In an antenna the passive elements are the components, such as reflectors, used to redirect
the electromagnetic waves towards the active elements (the section used to convert the electromagnetic waves into an electrical signal signal and vice versa). In the previous section the
reflection coefficient was derived for an incident EM wave at a free-space/plasma boundary.
By tuning the properties of the plasma, such as density of electrons and velocity, it can be
made to have high reflectivity below the plasma frequency.

To create a reflecting element it is as simple as using sheets of plasma in the same manner
as a sheet of metal in a conventional antenna, figure 3. Approaching the reflector as a mirror,
with ray tracing there will be a defined surface where the incident ray is reflected, in the
case of a plasma this surface is called the critical surface. For plasma reflectors to be a
viable option the critical surface needs to be reproducible and consistent over the times
involved in transmission and reception.

Figure 3: Example of a reflector sheet constructed from multiple discharge tubes[6].

The Naval research laboratory in Washington D.C. has performed experiments to characterize the capabilities of plasma reflectors in the microwave spectrum [7]. To generate
the plasma they used a low pressure gas excited using an anode and cathode. Their results
showed that when the gas sheet was ionized a detector behind it no longer received a signal
while a detector placed to detect reflected beams would then receive a signal. They found
that their method of ionizing the gas had a reproducible critical surface that was not
sensitive to fluctuations in the current and voltage of the power supply. The final results
showed a plasma reflector that could reflect waves with frequencies up to 10GHz, that could
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be switched on/off in under 10s was achievable, figure [7].

2.2

Active elements

A plasma cannot transmit EM waves below the plasma frequency, this means that it can
only transmit EM waves above the plasma frequency. The dispersion relation for these
transmitted waves are 2 = p2 + k2 c2 . By controlling the electron density and the collision
rate of electrons the plasma frequency can be tuned and the operating frequency of a plasma
antenna can be adjusted. There are three main methods for implementing plasma antennae:
electrode excitation, surface wave excitation and laser excitation.

Figure 4: A loop plasma antenna that uses two electrodes to excite the gas[6].

Electrode excitation is one of the more cumbersome methods for creating the plasma
in an antenna. A tube containing a noble gas requires two or more electrodes to ionize
the gas and create the plasma, figure 4. This type of antenna commonly employs a loop
configuration. By using multiple electrodes, this type of antenna can be made to work on
different bands by changing which electrodes the voltage is applied across, figure 5.

The previous method has two main disadvantages. It requires the two electrodes to be
placed across the region of gas that needs to be ionized. The second disadvantage is the
noise that is present compared to a metallic antenna, figure 6. To overcome these problems
the gas can be excited using surface waves. At the plasma frequency a wave mode exists that
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Figure 5: A configurable antenna design using multiple electrodes to excite different plasma
paths [8].
propagates along the boundary of a plasma-dielectric interface. It has been demonstrated
that these modes can be excited using RF signals. These waves cause heating that can be
used to establish a plasma column that will act like a metal cylinder that can be used as a
dipole antenna. This method has a similar noise spectrum to a metallic antenna and much
less than the multiple electrode method.

The final method for exciting a plasma antenna is using a laser. A laser beam travelling
through a gas creates a linear plasma column. For this type of antenna the gas can be
contained [1], or this method can also utilize atmospheric gas [2], figure 7. By ionizing a
path through the atmosphere a short lived plasma path can be established that can be used
to transmit and receive EM radiation.

(a) Surface wave antenna [4]

(b) Noise spectra [4]

Figure 6: (a) Example of a plasma antenna excited by surface waves from one end. (b)
The different noise spectra for a (a) multiple electrode plasma antenna, (b) a surface wave
plasma antenna and (c) a metal antenna.

(a) Standing wave laser excitation [1]

(b) Atmospheric plasma laser [2]

Figure 7: (a) patent designs for laser excited plasma antennas.

2.3

Why use Plasma antennae?

One of the most obvious reasons to use plasma antennae is the ability to control the shape
and conductivity of the plasma. Controlling these parameters allows dynamic variation of
the radiation pattern and the bandwidth rapidly. Control over these parameters can also be
used to turn a reflecting element into an absorber or transmitter very quickly.

Once the driving frequency of a metal antenna is turned off it can continue to radiate
as the oscillations die down, this is known as ringing [3]. This can be reduced in Plasma
antennae, once the source of ionization is turned off a plasma quickly returns to a neutral
gas suppressing the EM waves. The ability to turn the plasma off also reduces the radar
cross section (RCS) lowering the probability of interception of communications. This is
favourable for military applications where reducing RCS can help reduce the chance of detection by an enemy. By ionizing the gas only when each packet of data is sent the visibility
time is greatly reduced decreasing the chance of an enemy determining the radar position [3].

If multiple antennae are used in close proximity, such as on a ship, careful placement is
needed to prevent different antennas from interfering with one another. In the case of plasma
antennas they can be made to only interact with EM radiation when they are transmitting
or receiving, reducing the interference with other antennae [4].

Appendix

I have written this report to be directed at people who know some physics, however they
do not need to know a comprehensive amount of electromagnetism theory. I hope that by
reading this report a person can appreciate what plasmas are, some basic physics behind
them, how they interact with electromagnetic waves and the future applications of plasma
antennae and the advantages over conventional antennae. In writing this assignment I have
learnt learnt a significant amount about both plasmas and antennae, extending from the in
class lectures. I have not covered all the material I learnt about in this written part of the
assignment since I have aimed this report at a more general audience and have decided not
to get bogged down in the detail. For these reasons I feel I have satisfied the requirements
for this assignment and that it meets a standard of > 80%.

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References
[1] T. R. Anderson. Standing wave plasma antenna with reflector. Pat. No. 6046705.,
August 2000.
[2] T. R. Anderson. Laser driven plasma antenna. Pat. No. 6650297, November 2003.
[3] G. G. Borg, V. Kamenski, H. J. Harris, G. Miljak, and N. M. Martin. Plasma antenas.
Defence Science and Technology Organistion release, 2006.
[4] G. G. Borg, V. Kamenski, H. J. Harris, G. Miljak, and N. M. Martin. Plasmas as
antennas: Theory, experiment and applications. PHYSICS OF PLASMAS, 7:21982202,
2006.
[5] F. F. Chen. Introduction to Plasma Physics. Plenum Press, New York, 1st, edition, 1974.
[6] D. C. Jenn. Plasma antennas: Survey of techniques and the current state of the art.
Naval Postgraduate School release, September 2003.
[7] R. A. Meger, J. Mathew, J. A. Gregor, R. E. Pechacek, R. F. Fernsler, W. Manheimer,
and A. E. Robson. Experimental investigations of the formation of a plasma mirror for
high-frequency microwave beam steering. PHYSICS OF PLASMAS, 2:25322538, 1995.
[8] E. G. Norris, T. R. Anderson, and I. Alexeff. Reconfigurable plasma antenna. Pat. No.
6369763, April 2002.
[9] L. Spitzer Jr. Physics of Fully Ionized Gases. Interscience Publishers, New York, 2nd
edition, 1962.

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