TRANSACTIOXS

IRE

82

O N AATTENNAS AArD PROPAGATION

,I

i
I

Januay

thickness
ing
ofplasma
the
layer,
awhile
for
fixed thickness
number
the
of oscillations
decreases
asin-u p is
creased. For C<O P(4) equals 1 at 4 = 0 and decreases
monotonically as increases to ~ / 2 .This
decrease
in
power is sharp because of the hyperbolic cosine term in
denominator
the
and
is more
marked
for larger CI or
L (Fig. 2).

authors
The

0.2

I
.
.
-

I80

30

0
Fig. 2-Radiation pattern of plasma-covered
magnetic line source.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Dr.wishgratitude
tot otheir
express

A.

Hessel of the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, MicrowaveInstitute,who

suggested theapproach used in
this paper.

Plasma Simulation by Artificial Dielectrics

and Parallel-Plate Media*
WALTERROTMANT,

EMBER,

IRE

Summary-A plasma in the absence

of dcmagneticfields is homogeneous, analytic solutions are not always
possible.
representable, from the electromagnetic viewpoint,
as a lossy di- Experimental techniques for simulating the effects
of
electric with a complex index of refraction whose real part is less
plasma
upon
radiative
systems
are
therefore
desirable.
than one. I t s electrical properties, such a s propagation constant and
intrinsic impedance, can be simulated by microwave structures, such For purposes of simulation, the plasma in the absence
as artiiicial dielectrics of lossy metallic rods,and by H-plane parallel- of dc magnetic fields can be represented as an isotropic
plate guides.
lossy dielectric whose magnetic permeability is unity,
Design techniques are presented for application to the modeling its complex dielectric constant eP and propagation conof plasmamedia.Examplesincludeproblems
of radiationfrom
s t a n t y p respectively given by'
antennas on aplasma-coatedgroundplane,withmagneticline
sources and electric aperture radiators simulated
by parallel-plate
guides and rodded media, respectively. Radiation patterns of these
models show good agreement with established theory. Waveguide
measurements on theroddedmediaalsoconfirmtheexpected
propagation and impedance characteristics.
and

I. INTRODUCTION
ROBLEMS of aerospace research dealing withthe where u p is the plasma frequency, v is the collision frequency, and
po are the dielectric constant and maginteraction of microwaveradiationwithshockionized flow fields and other plasmas involve the netic permeability of freespace, respectively.
Thisrepresentationneglectsnonlinear(strong
sigeffects of plasma sheaths and rocket exhausts upon the
nal) interactions with the electromagnetic radiation and
radiation and impedance of re-entry-vehicle antennas
and radarreflections from ionized trails. Since the vehic-self-radiation. Under these restrictions the plasma has
ular geometry is usually complex and the plasma is not a complex indexof refraction whose realpart is less than
Received
by
the
PG.lP,
October
t ElectromagneticRadiationLab.,
Labs., Bedford, Mass.

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2, 1961.
4F CambridgeResearch

1 R. F. IVhitmer,
"Principles
of microwave
interactions
with
ized media;Part I: Plasmaresonance," Xicrozcrave J.,

17-19; February, 1959.

ionpp.

Rotman: Plasma
Simulation
Airfl:ficid
by
Dielectrics

1962

unity.Obviouslp,since
all materialshaverefractive
indexes greater than unity, the plasma cannot be simulatedby
any- realdielectric.Severaltechniques
for
plasma simulation, including the use of lumped electric
circuitelementsandmechanicalanalogs,havebeen
suggested.2 In our approach, the behaviorof the plasma
is approximatedby
usingartificialmedia
thathave
electrical characteristics similar to those of the plasma.
Thetwotypes
of artificialmediainvestigatedwere:
1) an artificial
dielectric
composed
of periodically
spaced lattices of metallic rods, 2) a parallel-plate guide
carrying the fundamental TEol mode.
In general, the electrical properties
of any isotropic
homogeneous dielectric including plasma can be characterizedbytwocomplexquantities
a t asinglefrequency; the complex dielectric constant and magnetic
permeabilityor,alternatively,thepropagationconstant and characteristic impedance. Hence, four scalar
parameters (the real and imaginary parts
of two independent complex quantities) must be simulated to approxiate the electrical properties of the plasma.
For a plasma (in the absence of an external magnetic
field) the propagation constant is related to the characteristic impedance by3

where 2, is the characteristic impedance of plasma, 2 0

thecharacteristicimpedance
of freespace,and
x / p O j l ~ ,is
, the free space propagation constant.
medium that simulates the electrical characteristics of
the plasma must satisfy the proportionality of (3) and
must therefore have a relative magnetic permeability
of
unity.
Previous simulation techniques approximate one or
two of the characteristic scalar parameters
of the plasma
but neglect theothers.Forexample,conductivesolutions of acids or salts can give the proper attenuation
constant,buttheirrefractiveindex
is greaterthan
unity. Also, artificial media made of metal spheres, holes
in plates,ordiskscanhaveapropagationconstant
equivalent to t h a t of a plasma but the relative magnetic
permeability- of suchmediadifferssignificantlyfrom
unity.
Rodded artificial dielectrics and parallel-plate structurestendtomaintainthecharacteristics
of plasma
media, such as the relation between the characteristic
impedance (which determinesthe reflection a t interfaces) andthepropagationconstant.Theirapplication to antenna-plasma interaction problems
will be discussed after a consideration of their characteristics and
design parameters.
R. N. Bracew~ll,Analogues of a n ionized medium: applications
to the ionosphere, H - i r e l m Efzp., vol. 31, pp. 321r326; December,
1951.
R. Ion Hippel, Dielectrics and \l:aves, Technology Press,
Cambridge, Mass., pt. 1, sect. pp. 20-21; 1954.

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a.nd Parallel-Plate Jiedicr

T h e roddedmediumconsisting
of a tn-o- orthreedimensionalrectangularlattice
of Ivire grids(Fig. 1)
has been extensively i n ~ e s t i g a t e d ~i n- ~microwave lens
design
for
its
desirable
low-loss characteristics.
In
plasma simulation, to covera wide range of parameters,
rodded media are desirable for their medium- and highloss characteristics.Thesecan
be obtainedbyusing
either grids of resistive wires or lossy embedding dielectric. Onl); the resistive wire medium is treated here,
since lossy dielectricsusuallyhaverefractiveindexes
whose real parts are substantially greater than unity.

u
(c)
Fig. 1-The roddedmedia.
( a ) Two-dimensionallattice,electric
field in direction. (b) Three-dimensional lattice, electric field i n
plane. ( c ) Three-dimensional lattice, arbitrary polarization.
J.Brown.Artificialdielectricshaving
refractiL-e indices less
than unity, PTOC.
IEE, hlonograph KO. 62R, vol. 100, pt.
pp.
51-62; May, 1953.
J . Brown and
Jackson, The properties of artificial dielectrics a t centimetre waveleneths. Proc. IEE. uauer no. 1699R. vol.
102B, pp. 11-21; January, 1955.
A. Carne and J . Brown, Theory of reflections from the roddedtype artificialdielectric, Proc. I E E , paper no. 2742R, col. 105C,
pp. 105-115; November, 1958.
J. s. Seeley, The quarter-wave matching of dispersive materials, Proc. IEE, paper no. 2i36R, vol. I O K , pp. 103-106; November, 1958.
J. S. Seeley and J. Brown, The use of dispersive artificial dielectricsin a beam scanning prism, Proc. I E E , paper no. 2735R,
vol. 105C, pp. 93-102; Kovember, 1958.
9 A . M. Model, Propagation of plane electromagnetic waves in a
space which is filled with plane parallel grids,Radiotekknika, vol. 10,
pp.
June, 1955. (In Russian.)

IRE TRA:VSACTIONS ON ANTEXNAS

AXD

84

PROPAGATION

Januarry

The equation for the complex propagation constant

in a rodded medium with resistive
wires is derived in the
Appendix as
where

ZO
X0

sin

(T)

$2

2r

is the effective index of refraction of the rodded medium,l6 and

where
y r =ar+j& the complex propagation constant in the
rodded artificial dielectric
is the normalized grid impedance.
b =the grid spacingin the direction of wave
Since (6) is qualitatively of the same form as the expropagation [Fig. 1(a)
pressionfor a lossless rodded medium3 (with a minor
E,,,= therelativedielectricconstant
of the
modification of the grid reactance), the phase velocity
lossless embedding medium
-frequency behavior of a rodded medium with small or
X. the free space wavelength
moderate attenuation is similar to that of the lossless
the free space characteristic impedance
structure. Theexpressions for indexof refraction cutand
off wavelength X,, degree of isotropy, and similar pathe grid impedance.
r a m e t e r ~ ~for
- ~the lossless case can, therefore, serve as
guides
in
obtaining
theapproximatedimensionsand
The shunt impedance of a grid of lossy rods is comelectrical
characteristics
of the lossy rodded medium.
posed of two
the
internal
impedance
of the
An
inspection
of
(6)
shows
that the phase velocityrods, and the reactive impedanceof a grid of equivafrequency
behavior
of
the
lossy
rodded medium (for the
lent lossless rods.12-14 Thus,
case ern 1) follows t h a t of a slightly lossy plasma. I n
fact, under the conditions

where
(1) and (2) for the propagation constant
reduce to the simplified form1

is the shunt reactanceof a lossless grid of rod diameter

and rod spacing a [Fig. l ( a ) ] for a normally incident
plane wave and an electric field parallel to the rods; Ri
and Xi are, respectively, the resistive and reactive comand
ponents of the impedance of a single rod.15
For low and medium attenuation (a,/&<<l),(4)separates into the approximate relations

of a plasma

( 3 1 ' 2

(VP)']""

ffp

The phase constant

0, for

moderately lossy plasma

does not depend on thecollision frequency and is thereJ . P..Case>-, Jr., and E. A . Lewis, "Interferometer action of a
parallel palr of wire gratings," J . O p f .
Am., vol. 42, pp. 971-977;
December, 1952.
l1 E. A. Lewis and J. P. Casey, "Reflection and transmission by
resistive gratings,'' J . AppZ. Phys., vol. 23, p.
June, 1952.
l2 J. K. Skwirzynski and J. C. Thackray, Transmission
of electromagnetic waves through wire gratings (theory)," X a r c o ~ iRev.,
vol. 22, 2nd qtr., pp. 77-90; 1959.
l 3 E. G. Z. Goodall and
A. C. Tackson. "Transmission of electromagnetic waves throuph-wire crritinps le&erimentall." X a r c o n i
Rk., vol. 22, 2nd qtr.;pp.%1-98; 1359.
T. Decker, Transmission and reflectionby a parallelwire
grid," J.
vol. 63D, pp. 87-90; July-August, 1959.
S. Ram0 and J. R. lyhinnery, "Fields and IiTaces in Modern
Radio,"John \Viley and Sons, Inc., Y e a York, N. Y . , sects. 6-08
t o 6-10, pp. 242-248; 1953.
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fore independent of theattenuation for aconstant

plasmafrequency.Eq.
the relation for the phase
constant, is identical in form with that
fora lossless
waveguide or a lossless plasma. 4 t high frequencies, the
effective indices of refraction for both the lossy rodded
medium and plasma are close to unity, and the attenuationconstantsare
small.Belowsomecritical
frequency (the plasma frequencyw p for plasma or the cutoff frequency w c for theroddedmedium),thephase
constant becomes small and the attenuation increases
Eq. (7) for the attenuation constant
of a rodded medium reduces to (4) of Seelev' under the approximation thatZl<<Zp

n~arkedly..Although (6) and

are approximate, exact
values of attenuation and phase constants may be obtainedfrom (4) for thegeometry of a givenrodded
medium.
The characteristic impedance Z , of the rodded medium is related to its other electrical characteristics and
geometry bl: (see -Appendix for derivation)

or less than
however, the factor F(+, a.'Xc,j is less
than 0.1 for all values of a n d may be neglected. T h e
grid impedance then has the required
cos
variation
with angle so t h a t Fresnel's equations for the rodded
medium become similar to those for the plasma dielectric. The restriction of grid and rod spacing to less than
therefore satisfies the requirementsfor both characteristic impedance and isotropic behavior
in plasma
simulation modeling.

111. PARALLELPLATE
MEDIA

where 7,.
is defined by (4). If the propagation constant
i n theroddedmedium
is madeequaltothat
of the
plasma (rl= y p ) , (3) and 1) may be combined to give

where

X0

Parallel-plate guides carrying the TEo1 mode appear

to better advantage than the rodded media because of
their wider rangeof complex propagation constants and
easier construction for plasma simulation; but theiruse
is limited to two-dimensional problems, since they permitonlylinearpolarizationandplanarpropagation.
Their electrical characteristics important to plasma simulation include a complex propagation constant and reflections a t air-parallel-plate interfaces.
A resistive sheet is placed between the plates (Fig. 2)
to provide attenuationsince perfectly conducting parallel plates are lossless for the TEolmode. The electrical
characteristics of this lossy type of guide are discussed
by Knudsen,'? who derives analytic expressions for the
complex propagation constantas a function of the plate
spacing lz and of the position 6 and resistivity X of the
resistive sheet. The geometry required for a given complex propagation can be determined from tables (based
onKnudsen'sequations)
now i n preparation.lsThe
simulation of nonhomogeneous plasma is achieved
bq;
varying the plate spacing and position
of the resistive
sheet in accordance with the desired plasma characteristics.

Theratio of thecharacteristicimpedance
of the
rodded medium t o t h a t of the plasma Z,/Z, approaches
unity (the condition required for accurate plasma simulation) only in the limit as the grid spacing b becomes
verysmall; however,forequal
grid and rodspacing
(a b ) and a given index of refraction, the diameter of
the rods
becomes impractically small
a t microwave
frequencies as the grid spacing ratio b d c / h O decreases
below about
This lower limit on permissible grid
spacing can lead to substantial errors
(on the order of
15 per cent for n 0.5) in the characteristic impedance
ratio. Several techniques, among them the use of resistive films a t interfaces between the rodded medium and
free space, are being investigated in a n effort to reduce
these errors.
For an arbitrary angleo i incidence, the reflection and
transmission of a wave striking an air-plasma interface
are determined by Fresnel's equations. The angular dependence of the characteristic impedance
cos (for
the case where the electric field is parallel to the plane
of incidence) in the Fresnel equations isalso required for
the grid impedance in the rodded medium
for plasma
simulation. The reactance of a lossless grid of rods is
Fig. 2-Lossy
given by"*'?

(b)

parallel-plateguide (TEol mode). (a) Parallel plates

with resistive sheet. ( b ) Ii'aveguide equivalent.

s,

log,

(2;d)COSm+

(13)

X0

where F(+, a / h o ) is a complex function of the angle of

incidence and rod spacing. If the rod spacing is equal to
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L. Knudsen, "Champ dans un guide rectangulaire A membrane conductrice," L'onde elect., vol. 33, no. 313, pp. 217-234; April,
1953.
'8 C. E. Ellis and LY. Kotman. "Dominant Mode Propagation i n
Rectangularb'aveguide
with a IZesistive Sheet,'' AFCambridge
Research Labs., Bedford, Mass., Tech. Rept. ( I n preparatioll.

Fortwo-dimensionalstructuressuch
as aplanar
plasma-air
boundary
or parallel-plate
guide
(TEoI
mode), the reflection coefficient for a wave incident a t
an arbitrary angle of incidencecanbeobtainedform a I I ~ 7from
~ ~ the reflection a t normal incidence by substituting
for y in the equations, wherey is the
complex propagation constant in the direction normal
tothewavefrontand
is itscomponentalongthe
longitudinal axis. For normal incidence the reflection
coefficient r at a plasma-air interface is

where z T / z m and YT/Y m are, respectively, the terminal

impedance and admittanceof the structure, normalized
relative to the characteristic impedanceof the parallelplate guide. Since the same transformation of propagation constant with angleof incidence applies to both the
plasma and the parallel-plate media, the variation
of
theirreflection coefficients withbothfrequencyand
angle of incidence can be made identical, provided
Y p

Z T
Zm

(18)

YO

Z p

and
Yp,

(19)

Ym

where y m is the complex propagation constant of the

parallel-plate medium.
Eqs. (18) and (19) are the conditionsfor plasma simwhere Zo and 2, are the respective intrinsic impedances,
ulation with respect to propagation constant andreflecand
and y p are the respective complex propagation
tion coefficient as well as the transmission coefficient
constants of free space and the plasma medium. The
rewhich is uniquely determined by these equations,
Snells
flection coefficient a t oblique incidence is obtained by
law, and one of the Fresnel equations. For the special
substituting
for y p and ~ / Y O ~ - - Y for
~ ~ yo,so
case of a lossless plasma, (1)-(3) reduce to
that

where u pis the plasma collision frequency and is t h e

wavelengthintheplasmamedium.Thepropagation
constant for the TE,, mode in a lossless parallel-plate
guide is given by

where
Yz

sin

YO
and

where
Yz

sin

YP

ha
2h

.YO
I

kc

~e

where and J. are the complex angles of incidence and lz being the separation of the plates. The identities of
(18) and (19) for plasma simulation then become,for the
refraction, respectively.
lossless
case,
Eq. (15) can also be obtainedby combining Fresnels
equationwithSnellslawofrefraction
x0
y m
x0

sin4

Zp

YO

sin$

ZO

yP

Y T

(16)

For a two-dimensional parallel-plate guide, the reflection at normal incidence can be expressed inthe form
Z T

Y,

hp

xm

and
w,

up.

(23)

Eq. (23) ensures that the propagation constants and the

refractive index, as expressed by Snells equations, are
identical for the plasma and the parallel-plate media,
and (22) ensures equality for theircomplexreflection
and transmission coefficients.
The normalized terminal admittance YT/Y , of a pair
of parallel plates radiating into a half-space is, in general,acomplicatedfunction20
of theplatespacing
h

l9 L.
Gddstone and A. A. Oliner,Leaky LYave Antennas;
Part I : Rectangular kVaveguides, PolytechnicInst. of Brooklyn,
Marcuvitz, Waveguide Handbook, M.I.T. Rad. Lab. Ser.,
Y.,Rept. KO. R-606-57, PIB-534, Contract AF19(604)-2031; AuMcGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York,
Y., vol. 10, sect. 4.9,
gust, 1957. See also, IRE TRANS. ANTENSAS AND PROPAG-~TIOK,
pp.
1951.
vol. .4P-7. pp. 307-319; October, 1939.

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andoperatingfrequenq-.Undertherestrictionthat
h . X7>L<<l, this adnlittance has the approximate value

-A capacitive susceptanceL3,l I, can be approximated

bp a film of high dielectric constant E~ n-ith thickness t
[Fig. 3(bj], whose shunt ad~nittanceis

where

and

hih,,<<l also implies t h a t

Since
the
restriction

(25)
which is of the form of
except that the constant
coefficient is 0.570-j0.312 instead of unity. This coefficient can be changed to the desired value
of unity by
adding an admittance of (0.430Sj0.312)
to this
boundary.
T h e normalized conductance ER:I;E.:, of a transverse
resistive film [Fig. 3(aj] i n a parallel-plate guide (.TEol
mode) is
(26)

I,

where
is the intrinsic impedanceof space (3i7 ohms)
and K is the surface resistivity of the sheet (ohms per
square). A resistive f i l m of 877 ohms per square has the
conductive component of 0.430
required for the
compensation of the terminal admittance.

thin &stlve

E
gatlon

The approximation is made above that

2 h and that
e,>>l. Thesusceptivecomponent
of
required for the compensation of the terminal admittance
can therefore be obtained froma dielectric film of thickness
0.099
1

tr

2.5.

The additionof both the dielectric and resistivefilms t o

the parallel-plate-free space boundary (Fig, 4) changes
the normalizedterminaladmittancetothedesired
value of
-Although the electricalparameters of
these films may differ somewhat from the values calculated from (26) and (28), since the films are located a t
the boundary rather than between parallel plates, these
equations can be used as a guide for determining the
required dimensions experimentally.
T h e normalized terminal admittance of the parallelplate guide, which is compensated for by the dielectric
and resistive films at the boundary, is shown in Fig. 5.
These values, obtained by combining the terminal admittancelg of the unmodified parallel-platestructure
\vith theaddedadmittance
of (0.430+j0.312)
agrees reasonably well with the terminal admittance of
a plasma-airboundary
11 for all refractive indexes less than 0.6. The same dielectric and
resistive film combination can be used to modify a pair
of parallel plates opening into full space? which have
almost the same terminal admittance
as the plates opening into a half-space. The technique is likewise applicable to parallel-plate guides that have
low or medium
attenuation constants (less than 10 d b per wavelength)
since their characteristic admittances
differ only slightly
from those of the corresponding lossless cases.
For the H-plane array of semi-infinite parallel plates,
the magnitude of the reflection coefficient a t t h e freespace boundary is i d e n t i ~ a lwith
~ ~ ,Fresnels
~~
equation

dlelecirlc

(b)
Fig. ?-.Admittance elements i n paral!el-plate guide.
Shunt conductance. ( b ) Shunt capacitive susceptance.
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Zhid., sect. 4.8, pp. 186-187.

B. A. Lengyel, Reflection and transmission at the surface of
metal-plate media. J . A p p l . Plzys.. vol. 2, pp. 226-276; March, 1961.
Von Hippel, o p . c i f . , sects. 15 and 16, pp. 50-55.

January
for a plasma-air boundary, that is,
cos

~ r =l p =

cos

sin

cos

sin

+I

cos

(29)

where r=pe+".. Eq. ( 2 9 ) is restricted to parallel-plate

mediawhose platespacingsexcludediffractedwaves
(2h>Xo>h) and for interfaces that are perpendicular to
the planeof the plates (corresponding to
For normally incident waves, an alternate representation for the interface between thesemi-infinite array of
parallel plates and free space is an equivalent network24
consisting of a simple junctionof two uniform transmission lines whose characteristic admittance ratio is
Fig. 4-Boundary modification
of parallel-plate guide
radiating into half-space.

The magnitude of the reflection coefficient for oblique

incidence ( 2 9 ) canbederivedfromthisequivalent
network and the transformation
of (15).
The input and output planes for the equivalent network are located within a small fraction
of a wavelength
of each other. Relatively independentof wavelength for
smallvalues of index of refraction n , theirdistances
from the physical boundary d and d' vary over the range

0.10%

O.lllh

for 0.7

0.127h
I

0.2

0.3

0.7

0.9

OF

The approximationis now made that and are both

located a t a distance d l ,
from the interface. T h e
terminal admittance YT at the boundary is then
2ndl

Y o

YT

c:

Y7ll

Ym

-cos-++sin-

Ym

cos-

I
0

0.2

0.3

0.7

0.9

(b)
Fig. 5-Terminal admittance of parallel-plate guide radiating into
half-space. (a) Conductancecomponent. ( b ) Susceptancecomponent; (n
YT/Ym GT/Urn+j&/ y m

2ndl

j-

Yo

Y,

sin

2~d1

10

j0.361

for

The magnitudes of the real and imaginary parts of the

terminaladmittance at theboundaryare
and
respectively. Theinductivesusceptance
can becancelled through capacitive susceptance
by adding the same typeof thin sheet of dielectric used for the
pair of parallel plates opening into a half-space. T h e required thickness of dielectric t, from
is
(33)

Marcuvitz, op. cit.,

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x,

Am

[l

0.

pp.

Rotman:
Plasma
Si-mulation

1962

by .-irt$cial

Dieledria
and
Parallel-Plate

Jledin

89

The addition of the dielectric film leaves only the cow

ductance
and effectivelychangesthenetwork
representation to a simple junctionof two transmission
lines a t t h ephysical ilzterface of the parallel-plate media,
which is also an equivalent network for the plasma-air
boundary. I t is interesting that the capacitive susceptances required to modify the array
of plates differs by
only 20 per cent from that required for the pair of plates
opening into a half-space.
Thepreceding discussion hasshownthat
parallelplate media can simulate plasma-air boundary conditions when valuesof the index of refraction areless than
0.60. That they cannot accurately duplicate the variation of reflection coefficient with angle of incidence a t
values greater than 0.60 is a minor'shortcoming: when
the index of refraction is close to unity, refractive (lens)
efTects arepredominatinginfluencesintheradiation
patterns whereas boundary reflections are of secondary
importance. Since the parallel-plate media duplicate the
propagationconstant
of theplasmaandalsoobey
Snell's law of refraction a t boundaries, they can beused
with little error for many simulation problems inwhich
the refractive index of the plasma is greater than 0.60.
Further, parallel-plate models can simulate nonhomo(b)
geneous lossless plasma since the characteristic admitFig. 6-Rodded medium in waveguide. ( a j Plan \-ie\v. ( b ) Front view
tance is related to the propagation constant
for both
types of media by
restricted by two important differences. First, because
a T representation of the periodic structure is used for
the analysis, the boundaries of the rodded medium are
not at the grid surfaces but
at a distance b / 2 from them.
Second,
in
contrast
to
an
ordinary
dielectric sample havwhere the subscripts1 and 2 refer to two different points
ing
a
magnetic
permeability
of
unity,
whose measurein the media.
ment
may
be
taken
either
openor
short-circuited,
the
Eq. (34) requiresthatthespatialvariation
of the
rodded
medium
requires
both
openand
short-circuited
propagation constant be moderate compared with the
measurements of the propagation constants. The difwavelengthand,sinceonlydominantmodepropagaference is that the propagation constant of an ordinary
tion is assumed,thattheplasmathicknessbelarge
enough so that high-order modes do not interact be- dielectric is related to its characteristic impedance by
the simple proportionalit), of the
form of ( 3 ) , whereas
tween interfaces of the parallel plates.
the relation for the rodded medium is the complex transcendental expression of (11).
11'. ~ ~ ~ ' . k V E G U I DY'IEASUREJIENTS
E
O N RODDEDlIEDI.4
Theopen-andshort-circuitedimpedances
of the
The electrical properties of rodded media were meas- roddedmediuminthewaveguidearemeasuredby
ured in a waveguide (Fig. 6) for comparison with the
standardtechniques.The
complexpropagationcontheorydeveloped
in Section 11, waveguidemeasures t a n t y r and characteristic impedance
are obtained
mentsbeingconsiderablymorepreciseandrequiring
from the relationsg5
muchsmallersamplesthanfreespacemeasurements.
The propagation constant and characteristic impedance
can be determined from(4) and (11) by substituting the
guide wavelength X, for the freespacewavelength
and
These waveguide measurements are equivalent to those
in free space for which a plane waveis incident upon the
sample a t a n angle given by
where
is theshort-circuitedimpedance,
is t h e
X0
open-circuitedimpedance,and
is thelength of t h e
cos Q
7
sample.
A,
The properties of the rodded medium can be
measured in the waveguideas though it were a real dielectric,

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25 A. R. \:on
Hippel,"DielectricMaterialsand
App!ications,"
'Technology Press, Cambridge, Mass., pt.
sect. 2 , pp. 63-72;

IRE TRAASACTIONS OLV A1YTE:VNA4S AlVD P R O P A G A T I O N

Thepropagationconstant
and grid impedance Z t
were measured in a waveguide for both lossless (copper
wire)and lossy (nichromewire)roddedmediawith
equal
grid
and
rod
spacings
b). T h e following
results are typical of the values obtained:

1) LVormalizedGridImpedance:

Zt

x 0

x 0

0.090

j0.94 (theoretical)

0.105

j0.99 (measured)

2 0

A . Rods of Copper Wire (Losdess Case)

a

2 ) PropagationConstant:

0.234,

1.01

3960 Mc,

fo

10-3,

0.851,

x,

X0

3a

Enr

1.00.

NormalizedGridImpedance:
jO.873 (theoretical)
j0.Sj (measured)
2) PropagationConstant: For

b (one grid),

2b (two grids),

3b (three grids),

I
?,X,

b (one grid),

=j2.61 radian)
=j2.75 radian (measured)
=j2.64 radian:
=j2.93 radian(theoretical)

For

0.35

2b (two grids),

X0

January

yrh,

j3.5 radian

(measured)
j3.5 radian
j3.8 radian (theoretical)

0.43
=0.35

T h e measured value of the normalized grid impedance

used in computing the theoretical propagation constant
from
has a resistive component about 15 per cent
higher than the theoretical value. Microwave measurements on metal surfaces26show comparable increases in
resistance above values calculated from the dc conductivity(attributedtosurfaceroughness
of thewires).
The agreement between the theoretical and measured
values of propagation constant indicates that the electrical properties of both lossless and lossy rodded media
can be accurately estimated from their physical dimensions.

V.

APPLICATIONS TO

RADIATION
PROBLEMS

Plasma simulation techniques have been applied prinSinceanyinteraction

effect
would
show
up in the cipally to experimental models that represent two-dimeasurements of the propagation constant as a variamentional magnetic and electric line source radiatorsi n
tion with the numberof grids, and the results show that a ground plane covered by a homogeneous plasma. T h e
the mutual coupling between adjacent grids
is small, model for the electric aperture case [Fig. f(a)] consists
the measurements bear out thet h e ~ r y . ~ Ttheoretical
he
of a waveguideopeningintoaparallel-plateregion
valueswerecomputedfromthe
followingsimplified
containing a lattice of metallic rods. Theplatesare
form of ( 4 ) and ( 5 ) for a losssless rodded medium in a flared for a smooth transition to free space so that the
waveguide.
far-field H-plane patterns correspond to the radiation
from a two-dimensionalplasma-coveredelectricaperture [Fig. 7(b)]. Pertinent dimensionsof this waveguide
model include
where
Frequency
f 3.6 Gc
Zt j X g -log,
Effective index of refraction a
0.50

x,

(5)

Rod spacing
and
is the guide wavelength in the absence
roddedmedia.

of the

a
x0

0.234,

- 7 - =

x0

X0

3960 hfc,

3a

0.592

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X0

0.851,

Em

1.00,

S 36-ga wire)

X0

Radiator width

4.37

(B
0.865

Aperture dimension

x0

X0

fo

x0

1.5

Rod diameter

B. Rods of Resistive Wire (Lossy Case)

b
-=0.22

Critical
angle

8x0
30.

X,

mhos/meter (dc conductivity of rods)

26 E. T. Maxwell, Conductivitvof metallic surfacesat microwave

frequencies, J . Appl. Pkys.,vol. is, pp. 629-637; July,

Rotman: Plasma
Simulation

1,962

by Arfifirial Dielectrics and

Parallel-Piate

Media

91

tance modification b\- thin dielectric and resistive films

acrosstheinterface(discussed
i n Section 111) was
omitted fromthis model but the experimental results
do not appear to be significantlpaffectedb>-itsabsence.
TheoreticaP radiation patterns for the magnetic line
source are compared with the experimental curves obtained from theparallel-plate modelfor the following
range of parameters (seeFig. 10):

Frequency

9060

N C

Ii

Plate Spacing

0.692
x 0

Plate
Length

0.769

x 0

1=mb

Resistive
Sheet

420 ohms/square
(Filmohm Mylar Metal Film)

Effective Aperture

3810

of

Fig. 7-Simulation of plasma-coated electric apertureradiatorby

rodded medium. ( a ) Esperimental waveguide model. ( b ) Equiualent two-dimensional radiator.

Propagation Constant
x0

The critical angle +bC corresponds in geometric optics

to the angle of total refraction for a ray transversing a
plasma-air interface and is related to the index
of refraction n by Snell's lanarc sin

n.

0.691,

ax0

0 (no loss)

0.694,

15.8 db

(38)

I t is an important parameteri n determining thefar-field

characteristics of radiators in a plasma-coated ground
plane. With angles increasingly greater than
radiation increasingly attenuates; the rate of attenuation increases
proportionately
with
the
thickness
of the
plasma.
Radiationpatterns(Fig.
8) of therodded-medium
model exhibit narrowing of the beam to within the critical angle as the plasma thickness
I is increased. The
theoretical curvespi for the electric aperture
i n a plasmacoveredgroundplaneagreereasonabl),
\vel1 with the
measured radiation patterns for plasma thicknesses up
t o about one \vavelength. The effective radiating aperture of
determilledbptheoveralllength
of the
model? is too small to simulate greater plasma thicknesses with accuracy.
The magnetic line source i n a plasma-covered ground
plane is approximated(Fig.9jby
narrowslit in a
wiveguide t h a t radiatesinto
a parallel-plateregion
('l'Eol modej. 'The plasma losses are simulated by the
resistive sheet between the plates. The terminal admit-

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x,

A0

1,
Theexperimentalagreementwiththeoryshowsthat
when the losses are large the interface reflections are of
secondaq- importance in determining the shape of the
radiationpatterns.Thegain
i n theforwarddirection
(+=OO") is approximatelyproportionaltotheplane
wave attenuation.
The two-dimensional parallel-plate structure will also
model the axial slot on a plasma-covered circular or ellipticc>-linder(Fig. 11j since the radiation pattern i n
the equatorial plane is independent of its axial length,
and the constrained rodded medium
will simulate the
circumferential slot on a cylinder. The theoretical radiation pattern of the axial slot on the circular cylinder has
beenderived?g for uniform lossless and lossy plasma
coatings, but not for the nonhomogeneous cases.
M. Sewsteinand J. Jurye,"The Field of a Magnetic Lin:
Source i n the Presence of a I.ayer of Comp!ex RefractiveIndex,
Technical IZesearrh Group, Inc., SS-oset.
Y.,Sci. Iiept. No. 1
[Purchase Order SLIP 40000 from General Electric Co., under contract .AF041,645)-21]:J u l y
1956.
29 J. I<. \Vait and
E. kIientla, "Slotted cylinder antennas a.ith
a dielectric- coating," J . Res. 3 B S , vol. 58, pp. 287-296; June,

i
5

Fig. 8-H-plane

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radiation patterns of an electric aperture in a plasma-coated ground plane. ( a ) Z=O (no plasma).
(b)
(c)
(d)

93

Rotman: Plasma Simulation by drtificial Dielectrics and Parallel-Plate Media

(b)
Fig, 9-Simulation of plasma-coated magnetic line source by parallel
plate guide. (a) Esperinlental waveguide model. (b) Equivalent
two-dimensional magnetic aperture.

Fig. 10-E-plane radiation patterns of a magnetic line source in a

plasma-coatedgroundplane.
( a i a-h0=0. ( b j
db ( c )
10.3 db. (dl
15.8 db.

dielectric

Fig. 11-Simulation of axial slot on plasma-coated

cvlinder by parallel-plate guide.

These plasma simulation techniques can also be used

for radar reflection studies of plasma-coated objects or
plasma structures. For example, the H-plane array
of
parallelplates(Fig.
12) cansimulatetheradar
cross
section of a cylindrical column of plasma for transverse
linear polarization of a normally incident wave. .Isimilar modelfor
longitudinalpolarization can bemade
from a t~~o-dimensional column
of the rodded medium.
T h e parallel plates and rods can also be combined into
a singlemodelfor arbitrary elliptic polarization.

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Fig. 12-Simulation of plasmacolumn

of parallelplates.

b)- array

This paper has shown that the radiation characteristics of a variety of two-dimensional plasma structures
can be simulated with accuracy by rodded media and
parallel-plateguides.
Theapplication of thesetechniques to three-dimensional modeling has not met with
corresponding success since parallel plates are not suitable and rodded-medium structures, requiring physical
interconnection a t interior junction points, are difficult
to fabricate.

The relations between the propagation constant and

terminal
admittances
for
very
lossy parallel-plate
guides, techniques for improving the boundary conditions for rodded media, and wave propagation in these
structures for negative indices of refraction are still being explored. T h e use of glow discharge tubes, such as
commercial
fluorescent
lights
between
parallel-plate
guides, is also being studied as a means
of simulating
some of the nonlinear characteristics of the plasma medium.
APPENDIX

ELECTRICAL
CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE RODDED ~:IEDIA
The propagation constant and characteristic impedance of the rodded medium can be obtained by equating
thetransferfunction for onesection of thisperiodic
structure to that for an equivalent continuous line of
C)
equal
length.30
The
transfer
function
matrix
[Fig.
Fig.
13--,4nalysis
of
rodded
medium.
(a) Transfer function matrix.
13(a) is defined as
(b) T section of rodded medium. (c) Equivalent section of continuous lines.

The transfer function matrix for a T section of the

rodded medium [Fig. 13(b)] is of the form

The transfer function matrix

for an equivalent section
of continuous transmission line is

Equating corresponding terms in (39) and

cosh r,.b

a?

sinh-

jZ,

cosh rcb

we get

sinh ycb

and

For the T section, (41) and (42) can be combined to give

and so
tanh

Yfb

z, z,
tanh

(1

sinh y f b

cosh y C b ) ,

Yr b
2

T h e complexpropagationconstant
of therodded
media can be obtained from (41).Its characteristic imC
sinh y f b
cosh y f b )
pedance
is then determined by (43).
Z,
A similar analysis can be made for a T section of the
(41)for the propwhere b is the grid spacing, is the grid impedance, and rodded medium, leading once again to
agation constant. The characteristic impedance of the
are the propagation constant and characteristic
w section is given by
impedance, respectively, of the embedding medium.

1
(1
2Zt

3o J. Brown, "The design of metallic delay dielectrics," Proc. I E E ,

vo!. 97, pt. 3 , pp. 1548;January, 1950.

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z,

sinh y,b
sinh y r b

Rotman: Plasnza Simulaiion by -.1rt<firiul Dielectrics and Parallel-Plate

Media

1942

Two cases of the T section analysis of the rodded me- Case 2 . Lossless Dielectric. Lossy Grids
dium are of interest. In both, em is the relative dielectric
2s
constant of theembeddingmaterial,
n is the effective
jEn,;
R~+j-\-,;
Ern
refractive
index
of the
rodded
medium,
and
Z o , Xoare
respectivel)? the free space characteristic impedance and
Eqs. (41) and (43) become
wavelength.

Eqs.

95

J,

and (43) become

and

ACKKOWLEDGMENT

tan

sd/,b

z,
Em

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tan

T Mb

The author is indebted to

V. Karas for carrying
plasma
the
out
simulation
experiments,
to
C . E. Ellis
for calculatingtheattenuation
of waveguidestto 11.
(46) Omura for computing
theoretical
the radiation
patterns,
and to G. Forbes for assisting i n the calculations: B. S.
advice.
contributed
editorial
Karasik