Microwave scattering from laser spark in air

Journal Article · Sat Sep 15 00:00:00 EDT 2012 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4752261· OSTI ID:22089441

Sawyer, Jordan; Zhili, Zhang ^[1]; Shneider, Mikhail N. ^[2]

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1. Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996 (United States)
2. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544 (United States)

In this paper, microwave Mie scattering from a laser-induced plasma in atmospheric air is computed. It shows that the scattered microwave transitions from coherent Rayleigh scattering to Mie scattering based on the relative transparency of the laser-induced plasma at the microwave frequency. The microwave penetration in the plasma alters from total transparency to partial shielding due to the sharp increase of the electron number density within the avalanche ionization phase. The transition from Rayleigh scattering to Mie scattering is verified by both the temporal evolution of the scattered microwave and the homogeneity of polar scattering plots.

• OSTI ID: 22089441
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 112, Issue 6; Other Information: (c) 2012 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
AIR
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
DENSITY
ELECTRONS
IONIZATION
LASER RADIATION
LASER-PRODUCED PLASMA
LIGHT TRANSMISSION
MICROWAVE RADIATION
OPACITY
PLASMA DENSITY
RAYLEIGH SCATTERING