A

Technical Seminar Report

on

PLASMA ANTENNA
Submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of

Bachelor of Technology
in

Electronics and Communication Engineering

By

MORISHETTY ASRITHA (16R01A0438)

Under the esteemed guidance of

Dr.Prasad Janga
Professor

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

CMR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
(Permanently Affiliated to JNTU Hyderabad and Accredited by NBA & NAAC with ‘A’ Grade New Delhi)
Kandlakoya (V), Medchal Road, Hyderabad – 501 401
2019-2020

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

Date: -11-2019

Certificate
This is to certify that the Technical Seminar report entitled “PLASMA ANTENNA”
is the bonafide work done and submitted by

M.ASRITHA (16R01A0438)

towards the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Bachelor of Technology in
Electronics and Communication Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological
University, Hyderabad.

Guide Head of Department

Dr.Prasad Janga Mr.K. Niranjan Reddy
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are deeply indebted to Dr.Prasad Janga Associate Professor, Department of

Electronics and Communication Engineering, the guiding force behind this paper, we want to
thank him for giving us the opportunity to work under him. In spite of his schedules in the
Department, he was always available to share with us his deep insights, wide knowledge and
extensive experience. His advices have value lasting much beyond this project.

We express my respects to Mr. K. Niranjan Reddy, Head of Department, Electronics

and Communication Engineering (ECE), for encouraging us throughout our project and for his
support.
We are very thankful to Dr. M. Janga Reddy, Director and Dr. B. Sathyanarayana,
Principal of CMR Institute of Technology for providing us with the opportunity and facilities
required to accomplish our project.
Also we would like to thank all teaching and non-teaching members of ECE
Department for their generous help in various ways for the completion of this thesis. They have
been great sources of inspiration to us and we thank them from the bottom of my heart.

Last but not least we would like to thank my parents. They are my first teachers when
we came into this world, who taught me the value of hard work by their own example and to
our friends whose support was very valuable in completion of the work.

M.ASRITHA (16R01A0438)
 ABSTRACT
On earth we live upon an island of "ordinary" matter. The different states of matter
generally found on earth are solid, liquid, and gas. Sir William Crookes, an English physicist
identified a fourth state of matter, now called plasma, in 1879. Plasma is by far the most
common form of matter. Plasma in the stars and in the tenuous space between them makes up
over 99% of the visible universe and perhaps most of that which is not visible. Important to
ASI's technology, plasmas are conductive assemblies of charged and neutral particles and fields
that exhibit collective effects. Plasmas carry electrical currents and generate magnetic fields.
Plasma antenna technology offers the possibility of building completely novel antenna
arrays, as well as radiation pattern control and lobe steering mechanisms that have not been
possible before. To date, the research has produced many novel antennas using standard
fluorescent tubes and these have been characterized and compare favorably with their metal
equivalents.
 CONTENTS

Chapter No Title Page No

Certificate i
Declaration ii
Acknowledgement iii
Abstract iv
Contents v
List of Figures vi
List of Table vii
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Initiative 1
1.2 Organization of report 2
2 Literatures survey 3
3 System Design 4
3.1 Plasma Theory 4
3.2 Plasma Antenna Technology 7
3.3 Antenna and Transmission Line Application 8
3.5 Plasma radiation 13
4 Construction and Analysis 16
4.1 Experimental Setup of Plasma Antenna 16
4.2 Experimental Analysis of Plasma Antenna 18
4.3 characteristics 21
5 Conclusions 23
5.1 Advantages 23
5.2 Disadvantages 24
5.3Comparision 24
5.4 Applications 25
5.5 Conclusion 26
References 27
 LIST OF FIGURE

Figure No Name Page No

3.1 Reflection Coefficient For A Plane Wave 5
3.2 Loss In Db/M Below The Plasma Frequency 5
3.3 Plasma Mirror Using A Laser 8
3.4 Plasma Mirror Using A Chamber 9
3.5 Plasma Reflector 9
3.6 Comparison Of Radiation Patterns 10
3.7 Loop Antenna 11
3.8 Reconfigured By Selecting One Of Multiple Plasma 11
Paths
3.9 Hardware Implementation 12
3.10 An Operational HF Monopole With Surface Wave 12
Excitation
3.11 Ionization Of A Path In The Atmosphere Using Multiple 12
Lasers
3.12 Multiple Stage Ionization Laser 13
3.13 Currents Generated By Opposed Photon Beams 14
3.14 Two Band Pass Filter Using Plasma 15
4.1 The Structure Of The Plasma Antenna Excited By High 16
Voltage
4.2 Monopole Plasma Antenna Excited By Surface Wave 17
4.3 The Gain Of The Plasma Antenna AC-Biased 18
4.4 The Radiation Pattern Of The Plasma Antenna 19
 LIST OF TABLE

Table No Name Page No

5.1 Comparison 24
 Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Initiative
The plasma antenna R&D project has proceeded over the last year at the Australian
National University in response to a DSTO (Defence Science and Technology Organization)
contract to develop a new antenna solution that minimizes antenna delectability by radar. Since
then, an investigation of the wider technical issues of existing antenna systems has revealed
areas where plasma antennas might be useful. The project attracts the interest of the industrial
groups involved in such diverse areas as fluorescent lighting, telecommunications and radar.
Plasma antennas have a number of potential advantages for antenna design.
When a plasma element is not energized, it is difficult to detect by radar. Even when it
is energized, it is transparent to the transmissions above the plasma frequency, which falls in
the microwave region. Plasma elements can be energized and de–energized in seconds, which
prevents signal degradation. When a particular plasma element is not energized, its radiation
does not affect nearby elements. HF CDMA Plasma antennas will have low probability of
intercept( LP) and low probability of detection( LPD ) in HF communications.
Initial studies have concluded that a plasma antenna's performance is equal to a copper
wire antenna in every respect. Plasma antennas can be used for any transmission and/or
modulation technique: continuous wave (CW), phase modulation, impulse, AM, FM, chirp,
spread spectrum or other digital techniques. And the plasma antenna can be used over a large
frequency range up to 20GHz and employ a wide variety of gases (for example neon, argon,
helium, krypton, mercury vapor and xenon). The same is true as to its value as a receive
antenna.
1.2 Organization Of The Report

This report provides an overview of the subject Augmented Reality, its requirements and
applications.

The outline of the report is as follows –

 Chapter 2 provides the historical background of the subject.

 Chapter 3 provides idea about the hardware requirements for the implementation of the
subject in daily life. It also introduces different technologies used for the
implementation.
 Chapter 4. enclose the parameters and characteristics.
 Chapter 5 it includes the benefits and encloses different application areas where the
plasma antenna can be very useful.
 Chapter 2
LITERATURE SURVEY
A newer application of the plasma antenna is in the development and evolution of anti-
crash features found on many newer makes and models of automobiles. Integrated with the on
board computer system of the automobiles, the feature can interface with wireless technology
to identify potential crash incidents and take evasive measures to prevent or at least lessen the
severity of the impact. Newer systems with plasma antenna technology can note when a vehicle
traveling in front has stopped suddenly and automatically begin to reduce speed and apply
breaks in order to avoid a collision. In a similar approach, this type of technology can also
identify situations in which the driver is veering slightly onto the shoulder and take specific
steps to get the car back on the road. For travelers who may be weary and not concentrating on
the road properly, technology of this type can go a long way toward preventing injuries and
even minimizing the number of deaths from road related accidents

This is a fundamental change from traditional antenna design that generally employs
solid metal wires as the conducting element. We believe our plasma antenna offers numerous
advantages including stealth for military applications and higher digital performance in
commercial applications. We also believe our technology can compete in many metal antenna
applications. Our initial efforts have focused on military markets. General Dynamics' Electric
Boat Corporation sponsored over $160,000 of development in 2000 accounting for
substantially all of our revenues.

The design further provides the opportunity to construct an antenna that can be compact
and dynamically reconfigured for frequency, direction, bandwidth, gain and beam width.
Plasma antenna technology will enable antennas to be designed that are efficient, low in weight
and smaller in size than traditional solid wire antennas.
 Chapter 3
SYSTEM DESIGN
3.1.Plasma Theory:
A plasma can be generated from neutral molecules that are separated into negative
electrons and positive ions by an ionization process (e.g., laser heating or spark discharge). The
positive ions and neutral particles are much heavier than the electrons, and therefore the
electrons can be considered as moving through a continuous stationary fluid of ions and
neutrals with some viscous friction. Furthermore, the propagation characteristics of
electromagnetic (EM) waves in a uniform ionized medium can be inferred from the equation
of motion of a single “typical” electron. Such a medium is called a “cold plasma.” This model
would be rigorous if the ionized medium was comprised entirely of electrons that do not
interact with the background particles (neutrals and ions) and posses thermal speeds that are
negligible with respect to the phase velocity of the EM wave.
The intrinsic impedance of the plasma medium is

Figure 3.1 shows the magnitude of the reflection coefficient at an infinite plane
boundary between plasma and free space, which is given by the formula

The impedance of free space is ho 377 ohms. From the figure 3.1 it is evident that at
frequencies below the plasma frequency, the plasma is a good reflector.
 Figure 3.1: Reflection Coefficient For A Plane Wave Normally Incident On A Sharp
Plasma/Air Boundary ( Ne =1´1012 /m3, n = 0 , dashed line is the plasma frequency, fp = 8.9
MHz).

The loss in decibels per meter (dB/m) is

Loss is plotted in Figure 3.2 for several electron densities. This shows that plasma can
be a good absorber once the EM wave enters the plasma medium, a feature that has been
exploited in the design of plasma radar absorbing material (RAM) for stealth applications.

Figure 3.2: Loss In db/m Below The Plasma Frequency For Several Electron Densities (v=0).
 For neutral plasma the positive and negative charges are uniformly distributed, so that
on a macroscopic scale it is electrically neutral. Plasma oscillations (or space-charge
oscillations) can arise when a disturbance causes a displacement of the charges, which sets up
an electric field that acts to restore them to their equilibrium positions. However, inertia carries
the charges back past their neutral positions and an opposite electric field is set up. In the
absence of collisions (damping) the back and forth plasma oscillations continue indefinitely.
Plasma oscillations generally do not propagate in cold plasma unless it has a drift
velocity, or is finite and has normal modes that arise from boundary conditions. An example
of the second case is a plasma column having a sharp boundary with a vacuum or dielectric. In
addition to modifying the EM wave, a longitudinal wave arises, analogous to a sound wave in
non-ionized gas. These waves are variously referred to as plasma, electrostatic, space-charge,
or
electro-acoustical waves.
In a “warm plasma” the electron thermal velocity cannot be ignored, but non-relativistic
mechanics still apply. The spatial variations (gradients) in temperature and density over a
wavelength drive the particle currents, along with the electric field of the EM wave passing
through. Generally, for antenna applications, a cold plasma can be assumed.
When a magnetic field or density gradient is present, space-charge waves may couple
to EM waves. Electrons with thermal speeds close to the phase velocity of the EM wave can
exchange energy with the wave by the processes of Landau damping and Cerenkov radiation.
These processes are exploited in some commonly used devices such as linear accelerators and
traveling-wave tubes.
3.2.Plasma Antenna Technology:
Since the discovery of radio frequency (RF) transmission, antenna design has been an
integral part of virtually every communication and radar application. Technology has advanced
to provide unique antenna designs for applications ranging from general broadcast of radio
frequency signals for public use to complex weapon systems. In its most common form, an
antenna represents a conducting metal surface that is sized to emit radiation at one or more
selected frequencies. Antennas must be efficient so the maximum amount of signal strength is
expended in the propagated wave and not wasted in antenna reflection.

Plasma antenna technology employs ionized gas enclosed in a tube (or other enclosure)
as the conducting element of an antenna. This is a fundamental change from traditional antenna
design that generally employs solid metal wires as the conducting element. Ionized gas is an
efficient conducting element with a number of important advantages. Since the gas is ionized
only for the time of transmission or reception, "ringing" and associated effects of solid wire
antenna design are eliminated. The design allows for extremely short pulses, important to many
forms of digital communication and radars.
When gas is electrically charged, or ionized to a plasma state it becomes conductive,
allowing radio frequency (RF) signals to be transmitted or received. We employ ionized gas
enclosed in a tube as the conducting element of an antenna. When the gas is not ionized, the
antenna element ceases to exist.
3.3Antenna and Transmission Line Applications
This section describes several antenna and transmission line concepts that incorporate
plasmas.
3.3.1 Plasma Mirrors (Reflectors) and Lenses
Figures 3.3 and 3.4 depict reflector antennas that use a plasma sheet in place of a solid
conductor as the reflecting surface. The reflections actually occur within the plasma, not at an
abrupt interface as they do for a metal reflector. For the purpose of ray tracing the reflection is
considered to occur at a “critical surface” that lies somewhere inside of the plasma (similar to
the virtual reflection point when tracing rays through the ionosphere). The advantages of these
antennas are rapid inertia-less two-dimensional scanning, frequency selectivity by setting the
plasma parameters, and potential wideband frequency performance. In one approach, a laser
beam and optics generate a reflecting surface by using a sequence of line discharges that diffuse
together to form a sheet of plasma. Curvature can be obtained in one dimension (i.e., a singly
curved reflector).

Figure 3.3.plasma mirror using a laser

 Figure 3.4 Plasma Mirror Using A Chamber

A high quality plasma reflector(shown in fig.3.5) must have a critical surface that can
be consistently reproduced and is stable over the transmission times of interest. When the
plasma is turned off, its decay time will limit how fast the reflecting surface can be moved.
Turn-on and turn-off times of 10 microseconds have been achieved.

Figure 3.5. Plasma reflector

Above the plasma frequency, its shape and dielectric properties can be designed to act
as a lens. For example, a column with circular cross section and varying radial electron density
can be used to scan a beam passing through it. This concept has been demonstrated using a
helicon wave to excite the plasma. The frequency of the deflected beam was 36 GHz, the peak
density approximately 7´1018 /m3, and the insertion loss ~2.0 dB. The sweep time for a 30
degree scan was 200 microseconds, which was limited by the decay rate of the plasma.
Figure3.6 shows a comparison of radiation patterns from plasma and metal reflector
antennas. The plasma antenna shows lower side lobes, especially at wide angles, due to its
higher surface resistivity compared to a solid conductor.
 Figure 3.6: Comparison Of Radiation Patterns From Plasma And Metal Reflectors

3.3.2. Linear and Loop Antennas With Plasma Enclosures

The first plasma antenna concepts were essentially linear antennas with conductors
replaced by plasmas. The basic concept is illustrated in Figure 3.7 for a loop-shaped antenna.
The gas can be ionized using electrodes with sufficient voltage, or by using an EM field to
excite the gas.
A Ionization Using Electrodes
Figures 3.7 and 3.8 show two of the many designs that incorporate closed tubes of gas
excited by voltages applied to electrodes. Figure 3.6 is reconfigurable in that one or more
plasma paths can be excited. Different paths would be used in different frequency bands. The
gas contained in a tube can be ionized by lasers or high power microwave beams.
 Figure 3.7: Loop Antenna

Figure 3.8 Antenna That Can Be Reconfigured By Selecting One of Multiple Plasma
Paths (Dashed Lines)
B Ionization Using an Electromagnetic Field
It is desirable to have only a single electrode in order to minimize the scattering and
interference of the antenna feed and support structure with the radiated or received EM field.
A surface wave can be used to excite a tube of gas from one end, as shown in Figure 3.9. The
electric field in the gap excites a surface space-charge wave that propagates down the walls of
the tube and eventually ionizes the gas inside.
Figure 3.9: The Surfatron Feed. Left: Operational Principle. Right: Hardware Implementation

Figure 3.10: An Operational HF Monopole With Surface Wave Excitation

3.4.Linear Antennas and Transmission Lines by Ionizing the Atmosphere
Linear plasma filaments can be generated by ionizing the atmosphere. As discussed
previously, when trying to establish a highly ionized path from the source, the problem of
opacity due to absorption occurs. There are two approaches that avoid this problem. One is to
ionize a path using multiple lasers sequentially focused to points in space (Figure 3.11).

Figure 3.11: Ionization Of A Path In The Atmosphere Using Multiple Lasers

Sequentially
Focused To Points In Space
The second approach, illustrated in Figure 3.12, uses a laser (usually pulsed) to
establish a low ionization path, and then subsequent power is applied to achieve intense
ionization over the entire path. Early patents proposed using ionized paths in the atmosphere
for information transmission (i.e., as transmission lines) or discharging clouds to prevent
lightning strikes.

Figure 3.12: Multiple Stage Ionization Of An Atmospheric Path Using A Laser

3.5. Plasma Radiation
Several proposed antenna concepts use the plasma space-charge waves to couple to the
EM wave. In Figure 3.13(a) blocks 15 and 20 represent oppositely directed lasers that are fired
alternately. Each time the laser is fired, a pulse train is transmitted. The resonant frequency of
the plasma in the tube is the transmit frequency. As depicted in Figure 3.13(b), the oppositely
directed photon beams produce an alternating electric current in the plasma that radiates.

Figure 3.13: Plasma Antenna With Currents Generated By Opposed Photon Beams. (a)
System Block Diagram, And (b) Alternating Current Vectors Due To The Interaction Of The
Oppositely Directed Laser Beams.

3.6.Microwave Devices:
3.6.1 Filters and Phase Shifters
One of the first proposed applications for plasmas was a microwave band pass filter.
Figure 3.14(a) shows one possible technique, where the plasma column is either transparent,
and the input signal is dissipated in the load, or reflective, allowing the input signal to return to
the circulator and exit the device. Therefore, by changing the plasma parameters, and hence the
plasma frequency, the pass band of the filter can be modified. A second design is shown in
Figure 3.14(b). a plasma operating near resonance generates azimuth and radial components
parallel to the probe. Away from resonance there are no field components parallel to the pickup
probe. Variants of these two circuits can also serve as phase shifters. For the method in Figure
3.14(a) multiple plasma columns could be inserted in one arm so that reflection from, or
transmission through, each plasma column is possible. Variable time delay can be obtained by
switching in different numbers of segments between the plasma columns.
 (a)
(b)
Figure 3.14 Two Band Pass Filter Using Plasma
3.6.2. Microwave Tubes
The presence of a controlled amount of plasma in traveling-wave tubes and backward-
wave oscillators can lead to improvement in their operating characteristics above those of
evacuated devices. Specifically, the bandwidth and power handling capability can be increased
 Chapter 4
CONSTRUCTION AND ANALYSIS
4.1. Experimental Setup of Plasma Antenna
The plasma antenna is constructed from the 12 mm outer diameter and 10 mm inner
diameter and 10 mm inner diameter glass tube, and in-side is filled with Ar gas. On both side
of the tube are two hollow cathode type cylindrical electrodes shown in figure 4.1.Two wires
connect electrodes with a high voltage power sup-ply. When the plasma is first turned on, the
applied volt-age has to exceed the breakdown voltage of roughly 1.5 KV, and then the
discharge turns into current control mode at a fixed voltage of 800 V - 850 V. The discharge
current ranges from 5A to 25A, the diameter of the plasma column is about 18 mm.

Figure 4.1. The Structure Of The Plasma Antenna Excited By High Voltage.
 The diagram and the experimental photos of the mono-pole plasma antenna excited by
the surface wave are given in Figures 4.2. The plasma frequency of the AC-biased plasma
antenna is about 8 GHz. A network analyzer is connected to two copper foils that couple the
signal to the plasma antenna. The copper foils are 3 cm wide, two coupling locations were
tested, at the bottom end and at the center of the tube, but only the end coupling case is
presented here.

Figure 4.2. The Structure Of The Monopole Plasma Antenna Excited By Surface Wave
4.2. Experimental Analysis Plasma Antenna
4.2.1 Gain
In Figure 4.3, the gain of the AC-biased plasma antenna and the plasma antenna excited
by surface wave are. schematically presented, from which we can see that the AC-biased
plasma antenna has a larger gain compared to the plasma antenna excited by the surface wave,
when the electron-ion temperature and the density of the plasma antenna are both high.

Figure 4.3. The Gain Of The Plasma Antenna AC-Biased And The Plasma Antenna Excited
By The Surface Wave.

In the Figure 4.4, the gain of the plasma antenna of AC-biased and the surface wave
excited in the lower electron temperature are given, the plasma density of antenna and the
electron temperature of plasma antenna are both low. From Figure 4.4, it can be found that
when the frequency of signal is below 4 GHz, the plasma antenna excited by the surface wave
has a larger gain, when the frequency of the signal is above 4 GHz, the AC-biased plasma
antenna has a larger gain. It also can be concluded that the AC-biased plasma antenna has a
larger gain than that of the plasma antenna excited by the surface wave in most cases.
 Figure 4.4. The Gain Of The Plasma Antenna AC-Biased And The Plasma Antenna
Excited By The Surface Wave.

In Figure 4.5, the gain of AC-biased plasma antenna of the different excited power are
given, from the results above, it can found that the different excited power will lead to the
different gain of the plasma antenna, and the higher excited power can cause the higher gain of
the plasma antenna, and when the power is high enough and the density of the plasma antenna
changes slightly and the gain of the plasma antenna presents stable and reaches the larger value.
From the figures mentioned above, We can conclude that the plasma antenna of AC-biased and
excited by the surface wave exhibit the same general trend of rising gain, especially when the
frequency is above 8 GHz.

Figure 4.5. The Gain Of The Plasma Antenna AC-Biased.

4.2.2. Radiation Pattern
The Figures 4.6 and 4.7 are the radiation pattern of the plasma antenna and the signal
frequency is 8 GHz. From the figurers, we can see the radiation pattern of the plasma antenna
of AC-biased and excited by the surface wave. The radiation pattern of the AC-biased plasma
antenna has a larger gain and good direction performance, and the radiation pattern of the
plasma antenna excited by the surface wave presents abnormal distribution in some directions
which may caused by the non-uniform distribution of the plasma, and the energy absorbing in
some part of the plasma antenna excited by the surface wave also leads the abnormality of the
radiation pattern.

Figure 4.6. The Radiation Pattern Of The Plasma Antenna.

Figure 4.7. The Radiation Pattern Of The Plasma Antenna

The Figure 4.8 is the radiation pattern of AC-biased plasma antenna of the different AC
power, and with the increase of power, and presents good directional performance. So if we
control the excited power properly, the radiation pattern of the plasma antenna can be con-
trolled and it can be used in the communication system.
 Figure 4.8. The Radiation Pattern Of The Plasma Antenna
4.3 Characteristics
One fundamental distinguishing feature of a plasma antenna is that the gas ionizing process
can manipulate resistance. When de-ionized, the gas has infinite resistance and does not interact
with RF radiation. When de-ionized the gas antenna will not backscatter radar waves
(providing stealth) and will not absorb high-power microwave radiation (reducing the ffect of
electronic warfare countermeasures).
A second fundamental distinguishing feature is that after sending a pulse the plasma
antenna can be de-ionized, eliminating the ringing associated with traditional metal elements.
Ringing and the associated noise of a metal antenna can severely limit capabilities in high
frequency short pulse transmissions. In these applications, metal antennas are often
accompanied by sophisticated computer signal processing. By reducing ringing and noise, we
believe our plasma antenna provides increased accuracy and reduces computer signal
processing requirements. These advantages are important in cutting edge applications for
impulse radar and high-speed digital communications.
Based on the results of development to date, plasma antenna technology has the
following additional attributes:
 No antenna ringing provides an improved signal to noise ratio and reduces multipath
signal distortion.
 Reduced radar cross section provides stealth due to the non-metallic elements.
 Changes in the ion density can result in instantaneous changes in bandwidth over wide
dynamic ranges.
 After the gas is ionized, the plasma antenna has virtually no noise floor.
 While in operation, a plasma antenna with a low ionization level can be decoupled from
an adjacent high-frequency transmitter.
 A circular scan can be performed electronically with no moving parts at a higher speed
than traditional mechanical antenna structures.
 It has been mathematically illustrated that by selecting the gases and changing ion
density that the electrical aperture (or apparent footprint) of a plasma antenna can be
made to perform on par with a metal counterpart having a larger physical size.
 Our plasma antenna can transmit and receive from the same aperture provided the
frequencies are widely separated.
 Plasma resonance, impedance and electron charge density are all dynamically
reconfigurable. Ionized gas antenna elements can be constructed and configured into
an array that is dynamically reconfigurable for frequency, beam width, power gain,
polarization and directionality - on the fly.
 A single dynamic antenna structure can use time multiplexing so that many RF
subsystems can share one antenna resource reducing the number and size of antenna
structures.
 Chapter 5
CONCLUSIONS
5.1Advantages
1. Higher power - Increased power can be achieved in the plasma antenna than in the
corresponding metal antenna because of lower Ohmic losses. Plasmas have a much
wider range of power capability than metals as evident from low powered plasma in
fluorescent bulbs to extremely high-powered plasmas in the Princeton University
experimental fusion reactors. In this range, a high-powered plasma antenna is still low
powered plasma. Since plasmas do not melt, the plasma antennas can provide heat and
fire resistance. The higher achievable power and directivity of the plasma antenna can
enhance target discrimination and track ballistic missiles at the S and X band.
2. Enhanced bandwidth - By the use of electrodes or lasers the plasma density can be
controlled. The theoretical calculations on the controlled variation of plasma density in
space and time suggest that greater bandwidth of the plasma antenna can be achieved
than the corresponding metal antenna of the same geometry. This enhanced bandwidth
can improve discrimination.
3. Higher efficiency and gain - Radiation efficiency in the plasma antenna is higher due
to lower Ohmic losses in the plasma. Standing wave efficiency is higher because phase
conjugate matching with the antenna feeds can be achieved by adjusting the plasma
density and can be maintained during reconfiguration. Estimates indicate a 20db
improvement in antenna efficiency. Plasma Antennas.
4. Reconfiguration and multi functionality - The plasma antenna can be reconfigured
on the fly by controlled variation of the plasma density in space and time with far more
versatility than any arrangement of metal antennas. This reduces the number of required
elements reducing size and weight of shipboard antennas. The plasma windowing effect
enhances directivity and gain in a single plasma antenna element so that an array will
have less elements than a corresponding metal antenna array. Closing plasma windows
where back lobes and side lobes exist eliminates them and reduces jamming and clutter.
This side lobe reduction below 40db enhances directivity and discrimination. In
addition, by changing plasma densities, a single antenna can operate at one bandwidth
(e.g communication) while suppressing another bandwidth (e.g. radar).
5. Lower noise - The plasma antenna has a lower collision rate among its charge carriers
than a metal antenna and calculations show that this means less noise.
 6. Perfect reflector - When the plasma density is high the plasma becomes a loss-less
perfect reflector. Hence there exist the possibilities of a wide range of lightweight
plasma reflector antennas.

5.2. Disadvantages
 Ionization and decay times limit scanning
 Plasma volumes must be stable and repeatable
 Ionizer adds weight and volume
 Ionizer increases power consumption
 Not durable or flexible
 Higher ionization energy than for a tube

5.3 Comparison
Table 5.1
Conventional Antenna Plasma Antenna
 Copper-conducting material  Plasma- Conducting material
 Lower power  Higher power due to ohmic loss
 Low Efficiency, Gain  Higher Efficiency, Gain
 Large in size and more weight  Small in size and less weight
 More noisy  Lower noise

5.4 Applications
Plasma antennas offer distinct advantages and can compete with most metal antenna
applications. The plasma antenna's advantages over conventional metal elements are most
obvious in military applications where stealth and electronic warfare are primary concerns.
Other important military factors are weight, size and the ability to reconfigure.
Potential military applications include:
 Shipboard/submarine antenna replacements.
 Unmanned air vehicle sensor antennas.
 IFF ("identification friend or foe") land-based vehicle antennas.
 Stealth aircraft antenna replacements.
 Broad band jamming equipment including for spread-spectrum emitters.
 ECM (electronic counter-measure) antennas.
 Phased array element replacements.
 EMI/ECI mitigation
 Detection and tracking of ballistic missiles
 Side and back lobe reduction
Military antenna installations can be quite sophisticated and just the antenna portion of a
communications or radar installation on a ship or submarine can cost in the millions of dollars.
Plasma antenna technology has commercial applications in telemetry, broad-band
Communications, ground penetrating radar, navigation, weather radar, wind shear detection
and collision avoidance, high-speed data (for example Internet) communication spread
spectrum communication, and cellular radiation protection.
5.5 Conclusion:
The research may one day have far reaching applications from robust military antennas
through to greatly improved external television aerials. Antennas constructed of metal can be
big and bulky, and are normally fixed in place. The fact that metal structures cannot be easily
moved when not in use limits some aspects of antenna array design. It can also pose problems
when there is a requirement to locate many antennas in a confined area.
The type of plasma antenna under investigation is constructed using a hollow glass
column which is filled with an inert gas. This can be ionized by the application of a strong RF
field at the base of the column. Once energized, the plasma column can be made to exhibit
many of the same characteristics of a metal whip antenna of the type mounted on most cars.
The metal whips that may be considered for a plasma replacement are anywhere from a few
centimeters to several meters long.

REFERENCES

 U. Inan and A. Inan, Electromagnetic Waves, Prentice-Hall, 2000.

 ASI Technology Corporation web page: http://www.asiplasma.com
 WWW.Wikipedia.com.