Chamber experiment for simulating the artificial ionization layers produced in the atmosphere by two intersecting microwave beams

The authors have investigated the means and feasibility of producing artificially ionized regions in the earth's atmosphere using microwave discharges. A chamber experiment has been set up to simulate discharges in the upper atmosphere. The authors have used this approach to simulate scanning of the ionization region, steer the ionospheric layer, and minimize pulse energy loss before reaching the designated region. The microwave power is generated by a single magnetron tube with 1-MW peak output power at a frequency of 3.59-3.7 GHz. The pulse width can vary from 1.1 μs to 3.3 μs. A microwave probe, an optical probe, and a three-dimensional movable Langmuir probe are used to measure the plasma parameters and microwave field intensity in the plasma. The results of breakdown Paschen curve, plasma growth and decay rates, and density and temperature have been determined. The effect of the relative polarization of the two crossed pulses on the plasma structure has been explored. It has been observed that parallel plasma layers (up to eight) can be produced by two crossed pulses with parallel polarization.