Single wire microwave conductors for density diagnostics of flowing anisotropic transient plasmas

With a single wire conductor, microwave radiation can be guided through a plasma so that high spatial resolution (~0.5 cm) can be realized at X-band frequencies (λ₀≃3 cm). Dispersion relations for a single wire surrounded by a longitudinally magnetized plasma have been calculated. A Fabry-Perot single wire interferometer for measurements in magnetized flowing plasmas (U~10⁷ cm/sec) with a fast time resolution (~50 nanoseconds) has been built and calibrated, and used for electron density measurements.