Theory of high-frequency guided waves in a plasma-loaded waveguide

The theory of high-frequency guided waves in a plasma-loaded waveguide is presented. The formulation is based on kinetic theory, The theory Includes the effects of finite electron/ion temperatures and radial gradients in the plasma density and particle temperatures. The inclusion of gradients into the formalism results in three, coupled, second-order, ordinary differential equations in the plasma fields, These equations show a singularity on the plasma axis (r=0); regularization of the field equations at the singular Feint leads to constraints on the plasma fields that yield the necessary boundary conditions at r=0. Using the vacuum solutions, and the boundary conditions at r=0 and the plasma-vacuum interface, the field equations are solved as a two-point boundary-value problem, The numerical methods used are also discussed. Solutions are presented in the form of dispersion curves (plots of upsilon(phase) vs omega/Omega(e)) and radial profiles of the field polarizations for the m=+/-1 modes near electron cyclotron resonance (ECR). (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.