PLASMA ANTENNA

Submitted by: Leena Vaikunthe PRN:09070121258

INTRODUCTION
A plasma antenna is a type of radio antenna currently in development in which plasma is used instead of the metal elements of a traditional antenna. A plasma antenna can be used for both transmission and reception

PLASMA
plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize (reduce the number of electrons in) its molecules or atoms, thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons. Ionization can be induced by other means, such as strong electromagnetic field applied with a laser or microwave generator, and is accompanied by the dissociation of molecular bonds, if present.

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The presence of a non-

negligible number of charge carriers makes the plasma electrically conductive so that it responds strongly to electromagnetic fields. Some common plasmas are stars. In the universe, plasma is the most common state of matter.

Plasma Antenna Technology

Plasma antenna technology employs ionized

gas enclosed in a tube (or other enclosure) as the conducting element of an antenna. The design allows for extremely short pulses, important to many forms of digital communication and radars. 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.

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Plasma antenna technology will enable

antennas to be designed that are efficient, low in weight and smaller in size than traditional solid wire antennas.

Unique features of plasma antenna

One fundamental distinguishing feature of a

plasma antenna is that the gas ionizing process can manipulate resistance. A second fundamental distinguishing feature is that after sending a pulse the plasma antenna can be deionized, eliminating the ringing associated with traditionalmetal elements.

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.

Characteristics
Higher power Enhanced bandwidth EMI/ECI Higher efficiency and gain Reconfiguration and mutifunctionality Lower noise Perfect reflector