First experimental characterization of a gaseous plasma antenna in the UHF band

Gaseous plasma antennas are devices that exploit partially or fully ionized gas to transmit and receive electro-magnetic waves, in contrast with conventional antennas that are only made by metal and dielectric materials. Since plasma discharge parameters, e.g. plasma density, can be tuned, plasma antenna properties can be changed dynamically; this constitutes a promising alternative to conventional metallic antennas for applications in which reconfigurability is desired. In this work, we report on the first steps toward the realization, and the characterization in terms of radiation pattern, and magnitude of the reflection coefficient of an early prototype of a gaseous plasma antenna in the UHF frequency range. Numerical investigations have supported the design of the setup, and helped in the evaluation of the the role of plasma density profiles in affecting the antenna properties.