Numerical study of microwave propagation through a uniformly created fast growing plasma slab

Summary form only given. A monochromatic source microwave is converted into a frequency upshifted and chirped periodic pulse. This is done by generating a fast-growing plasma slab repetitively in time and requiring the plasma density in the slab quickly to exceed the cutoff density of the incident wave. Therefore, the pulse length is determined by the transit time of the wave propagating through the plasma, and the repetition rate of the plasma discharge defines the period of the pulse. By tapping the growth rate of the plasma, the frequency spectrum of the pulse can be made to be uniformly distributed around an up-shifted central frequency. A frequency up-shifted and chirped periodic pulse is, thus, generated. A theoretical model of the problem has been developed for numerical simulation, which has been performed to determine the required plasma growth rate profile in order to achieve the desired frequency up-shift and chirping.