Temporal Development and Properties of an Overdense Plasma Produced by High Power Microwaves in a Coaxial Discharge Device

Abstract

A coaxial plasma-waveguide-system exhibits strong absorption near its dipole resonance. Due to the plasmaguide-mode overdense plasmas can be generated in this device. Ionization dynamics and properties of this discharge are investigated by means of different diagnostic methods; the results are compared with analytical calculations of the dispersion relation in the plasma-waveguide-system. In this way the occurrence of nonlinear absorption mechanisms in presence of strong microwave fields is examined