Beschreibung:
<jats:p>The response of a microwave resonant cavity with a plasma discharge tube inside is (continuously or intermittently) filled with a plasma and studied both numerically and experimentally. The resonance frequency of the cavity-plasma system is sensitive to plasma densities from 1016 to 1020 m−3 corresponding to resonant frequencies of 12.3–18.3 GHz. The system is first characterized for its quasi-steady state response using a low frequency plasma discharge at 70 kHz and 125 V RMS. A plasma discharge is then driven with a high voltage pulse of 4 kV and a CW input microwave signal is converted to a pulsed output signal. The microwave pulse delay and pulse width are varied by selecting the input microwave frequency. The microwave input power is set to +20 dBm. The delay of the microwave pulse is also used as a diagnostic tool for measuring the variation of plasma density in time and, with numerical fitting, the discharge plasma recombination coefficient and diffusion timescales are estimated.</jats:p>