Continuous Communications Through Plasma During Hypersonic Flight

IERUS proposes to develop a novel plasma microparticle injection method to reduce the cut-off frequency by modifying the plasma dielectric structure via a reduction in the plasma electron density. In the hypersonic environment, the electron thermal speed is larger than the ion thermal speed by several orders of magnitude and thus the flux of electrons to the microparticle surfaces far exceeds that of ions. In this way, the free electron number density in the plasma is reduced due to the microparticles collecting a net negative charge. Using this mechanism, the microparticle-modified dielectric structure of the plasma can be modeled and coupled into the IERUS proprietary antenna design optimization software suite, V-Lox, which will be used to analyze the propagation of RF antenna signals through representative radome materials and the plasma layer. The results will then be used to explore the antenna design, ablation material, and radome material trade space. Approved for Public Release | 19-MDA-10270 (18 Nov 19)