Induced field of an electromagnetic vibrator above a conducting screen placed in a microwave beam

Abstract

The induced field of a cylindrical electromagnetic vibrator with spherically rounded ends is calculated. The vibrator is above a flat screen placed in a linearly polarized quasi-optical microwave beam. The plane of the screen is perpendicular to the Poynting vector of the radiation. The axis of the vibrator is aligned with the vector of the exciting field electrical component. In calculation, the length of the vibrator and the vibrator-screen distance were varied, while its diameter and the initial field were kept constant. It is found that the induced field of the vibrator with a length close to the half-wavelength of the field is maximal at the ends of the vibrator and the field strength resonantly depends on the length of the vibrator. The shortening of the “half-wavelength” vibrator that provides a maximal induced field is determined. The result of numerical simulation is to an extent intriguing. It is revealed that the induced field of a resonance half-wavelength vibrator rises considerably when the vibrator-screen distance becomes shorter than the quarter-wavelength of the field. The Q factor of an equivalent electromagnetic oscillating circuit characterizing the vibrator also grows, and the induced field more and more concentrates between the screen and the surface of the vibrator’s ends facing the screen. Full-scale experiments qualitatively support theoretical predictions. The results allow researchers to considerably extend the application area of vibrators as initiators of breakdown in high-pressure gases to ignite microwave discharges in quasi-optical beams with a low initial field.