Modeling of a Plasma Antenna with Inhomogeneous Distribution of Electron Density

The distribution of the electron density along a plasma antenna can influence the antenna's performance. But little has been done in this regard in former studies. In this paper, a model of a practical plasma antenna with an inhomogeneous distribution of electron density is founded according to the transmission-line equivalent theory of a metal monopole, from which the current distribution and the radiation pattern of a plasma antenn a with appropriate parameters are calculated. The results show that the electrical current distribution, the maximum radiation direction, and the beamwidth of a plasma antenna vary with electron density distributions. To validate the model, the plasma antenna with the same parameters is also simulated based on electromagnetic software HFSS. It is found that the results from the two ways are almost consistent.