Active Microwave Single-Wire Line System for Anisotropic Plasma Diagnostics

The interaction of the surface wave fields on a single-wire transmission line with an anisotropic plasma is treated. An equation relating the electron number density in the plasma to the frequency shift of a single-wire coupled active microwave system is derived. The equation shows that there is a linear relationship between the number density and frequency shift, and that the magnetic field effect is cut in half relative to the normal k¿¿B¿0¿¿ wave mode case. Preliminary experimental results are presented.