Wave transmission characteristics of a wave-cutoff probe in weakly ionized plasmas

Abstract

The physical properties of a wave transmission spectrum were analyzed using a wave-cutoff probe and a three-dimensional wave simulation in weakly ionized plasma. The experimental wave transmission was compared to the calculated wave transmission. The new path of wave transmission below the wave-cutoff frequency was found, and the wave transmission properties depending on the chamber geometry above the wave-cutoff frequency were also analyzed. Through these wave transmission results, the causes of an electromagnetic propagation phenomenon below the wave-cutoff frequency were examined. Moreover, the impacts of a cavity mode within the plasma chamber on the features of wave transmission were identified. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.