Attenuation of microwaves propagating through parallel-plate helium glow discharge at atmospheric pressure

Abstract

The experimental study of microwave-plasma interaction has been performed to demonstrate the transmission and attenuation of microwaves in atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma. The cold-collisional plasma produced at atmospheric pressure can absorb the microwave energy because of its complex dielectric constant. The microwave of 10 GHz frequency was launched into the plasma and attenuation was measured as a function of electron plasma density, plasma thickness, electron-neutral collision frequency, etc. It was observed that the attenuation significantly depends on electron plasma density and thickness. The microwave attenuation measurement was also used as a diagnostic to estimate electron plasma density. It was validated by optical emission spectroscopic measurements with helium line intensity ratio method. Both the methods show good agreement.