Analytical study of ultra-short pulse reflectometry

Abstract

The results of an analytical treatment of the time-dependent 2D full-wave equation are presented here for the case of ultra-short pulse (USP) reflectometry. We consider several models of the plasma geometry, namely linear and nonlinear slab models, as well as a 2D plasma density profile with cylindrical symmetry. The latter model is more realistic when compared to the 1D stratified plasma models previously employed in all the analytical, and most numerical, treatments, since the plasma in fusion toroidal devices, mirror machines and plasma processing chambers can often be considered axially symmetric on the scale relevant to microwave reflectometry.