Microwave plasma cavity
Plasmas are inseparable from radio-frequency studies. Effectively the most basic properties of a plasma is derived from its plasma frequency. As such, combining plasma physics studies with electromagnetic (EM) wave propagation is a challenging matter for physics with great advances achieved last century before space conquest due to the necessity of wave reflections on the ionosphere for long range communication. An electromagnetic cavity poses a good opportunity to understand the behavior of EM standing waves and how free charges in a plasma affects its resonant frequency and quality factor, interlinking the properties of matter with wave propagation.
Setup description Discharge chamber Vacuum and gas injection setup The penning discharge Network analyzer - basic stuff
Sequence and protocol to conduct the experiment Python interface description Switching ON and OFF procedure Gas Injection and control Data retrieval
Cavity theory
How plasma affects the dielectric constant
Expected results Pressure influence RF Power influence Helium vs Argon - major challenges