High-power microwave propagation properties in the argon plasma array

The argon plasma induced by the L-/C-band high-power microwave (HPM) is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Influences of the microwave power, pulse width, polarization and the plasma electron density on the protection performance of the plasma array against HPM are studied. The results show that the effect of HPM is caused by energy accumulation, with the gas breakdown emerging only after a short time. The attenuation of the wave by the plasma array with the tubes off can reach approximately 23 dB at 1.3 GHz. It can also be obtained that the protection performance of the plasma array against the TE wave is better than that against the TM one. The plasma array shows better protection performance in the L-band than in the C-band. In addition, the attenuation of 5.6 GHz HPM can reach 30 dB when the tubes are turned on in the experiment. The research shows that the plasma array has protection ability against HPM.