Transformation of an ultra-wideband electromagnetic pulse in the process of its propagation through a large laboratory plasma

Abstract

The transformation of a subnanosecond ultrawideband electromagnetic pulse (UWB EMP) in a large-volume transparent plasma has been demonstrated experimentally using a large-scale KROT plasma device. The column of the plasma generated in the device chamber has a length of more than 4 m and a diameter of more than 1 m. This allows one to implement the regime of quasiuniform ionization, which is necessary to simulate UWB EMP propagation through the ionosphere. It is shown that the length of the wave propagation path in the plasma is sufficient for dispersion transformation of the pulse retaining the envelope of its frequency spectrum.