Computational Investigation of Microstrip Antennas in Plasma Environment

Microstrip antennas are extensively used in spacecraft systems and other applications where they encounter a plasma environment. A detailed computational investigation of change in antenna radiation properties in the presence of plasma has been presented in this paper. The study shows antenna properties such as the resonant frequency, return loss, radiation properties and the different characteristics of the antenna changes when it is surrounded by plasma. Particular focus of the work is to understand the causes behind these changes by correlating the complex propagation constant in the plasma medium, field distribution on the patch and effective dielectric of the antenna substrate with antenna parameter variations. The study also provides important insights to explore the possibilities of designing tunable microstrip antenna where the substrate can be replaced with plasma and important antenna characteristics can be controlled by varying the plasma density.