volume | PIER Journals

Abstract

In this paper, the frequency-dependent electromagnetic response of argon, krypton, and xenon plasmas is investigated using a fluid approach, the Drude model and the Transfer Matrix Method (TMM). The key plasma properties, electron density, collision frequency and plasma frequency, of a Capacitively Coupled Plasma (CCP) were obtained using a drift-diffusion fluid model within the COMSOL Multiphysics. These properties were then used to predict how the plasma would react to electromagnetic waves in the 0 to 200 gigahertz band. The obtained results demonstrate that the reflective and transmissive characteristics of each gas depend on its plasma frequency. Argon acts as an efficient reflector below 20 GHz and becomes highly transparent above 30 GHz. In contrast, Krypton maintains strong reflection up to 85 GHz, while xenon remains reflective up to 140 GHz before it becomes transmissive. The observed differences are caused by the variations in each gas's plasma frequency and electron-neutral collision rates. The TMM results show excellent agreement with Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) simulations. The comparison between the two methods demonstrates that TMM is a faster and equally accurate approach for wideband electromagnetic analysis and for the design of adaptive plasma-based frequency-selective devices, including plasma antennas, plasma reflectors and intelligent reflective surfaces (IRS).

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Dr. Ayoub El Jaouhari

Dr. Abdelhak Missaoui

Dr. Moussa El Yahyaoui

Dr. Majid Rochdi

Dr. Morad El Kaouini