Effect of Plasma Antenna Shape on the Antenna Performance Using Plasma Computer Simulation Technology (CST)

Abstract

The manipulation of fluorescent lamps in terms of size and shape was done to investigate the performance of the fluorescent-based plasma antenna. In order to fully utilize different types of commercially available fluorescent lamps, this research dealt with the effects of different shapes and types of fluorescents lamp available in the market. The aim of this research is to test the performance of fluorescent lamps with three basic shapes, namely tubular, 2U and 3U as plasma antennas by means of return loss, gain, directivity and radiation pattern. The electrical properties were determined using the current and voltage probes connected to a digital oscilloscope. Glomac programming was used to generate the average electron density and electron temperature values, using the measured electrical properties. Those parameters are crucial for calculating the plasma parameters i.e., collisions and plasma frequencies. Plasma parameter values were used in Computer Simulation Technology (CST) to simulate antenna performance. From the s-parameter or return loss results, this kind of plasma antenna radiated best at frequencies ranging from 3 to 5 GHz with the best at -41 dB using the 2U type. The gain was within the range of 0.6 dB to 2.3 dB allowing the tubular type to have the best result. The best radiation pattern was shown by tubular shaped lamp due to its uniform and symmetric main lobes in the lower and upper planes. The physical parameters of the fluorescent lamp influenced the amount of current needed to ionize the gas in the lamp. This caused the production of many electrons which altered the average electron density and its temperature. As a result, it can be concluded that by varying the shape of lamps, the plasma and collision frequencies will be affected, and consequently affecting the plasma antenna performance.