Design and Application of High-Density Cold Plasma Devices Based on High Curvature Spiked Tungsten Structured Electrodes

Abstract

Featured Application: This paper presents the use of tungsten electrodes with high-curvature-radius spiked structures to replace traditional electrodes in plasma elements, achieving an ultra-high-density, low-pressure cold plasma with a density reaching 1.15 × 1012 cm−3. The fabricated tubular and annular high-density cold plasma elements exhibit very low radar cross-sections, indicating their potential for use in plasma transient antennas. The large-area plasma generated by an array of high-density plasma elements can effectively absorb electromagnetic waves, reducing the radar cross-section of metallic objects and achieving radar stealth. This has significant application value in the field of electronic countermeasures. Advances in radar technology have driven efforts to develop effective countermeasures. Plasma is recognized as a highly effective medium for absorbing electromagnetic waves. Recent research has focused on enhancing plasma element performance. This paper achieved ultra-high-density, low-pressure cold plasma with a density of 1.15 × 1012 cm−3, surpassing similar studies by more than an order of magnitude. Tungsten electrodes with high-curvature spiked structures were invented to replace traditional iron–nickel alloy electrodes, increasing plasma density by 88.2% under the same conditions. Lightweight and cost-effective tubular and annular ultra-high-density, low-pressure cold plasma devices were developed, demonstrating exceptional performance in electromagnetic wave absorption, plasma transient antennas, and radar stealth technology. The influence of plasma on electromagnetic waves and its numerical relationship were analyzed. By measuring the radar cross-section (RCS), the reduction in radar detection rates was quantified. The results show that the ultra-high-density cold plasma devices exhibit very low intrinsic RCS values, suitable for plasma antenna applications. The array of plasma elements generates a large-area high-density low-pressure cold plasma. This plasma effectively reduces the radar cross-section (RCS) of metallic equipment in the S and C bands and shows attenuation in the X band. These effects highlight the superior characteristics of plasma technology in electronic warfare. This exploratory research lays the groundwork for further defense applications. Show more