Computational modeling of a single microdischarge and its interactions with high frequency electromagnetic waves

We discuss the computational modeling of a single microplasma and its interaction with high frequency electromagnetic waves in a microwave regime. The work is motivated by a strong recent interest in the area of reconfigurable plasma-based metamaterials (MM) and photonic crystals (PC) where the interaction of electromagnetic waves with plasma elements (e.g. microdischarges) forms the basis for the MM/PC operation. In this work the microplasma is assumed to be driven by a 1 GHz microwave source in a parallel plate electrode configuration. Its structure and properties are described using a fluid plasma model. The interaction of the microplasma with a 100 GHz transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) polarized microwave propagating in a rectangular waveguide is studied. Two operational regimes of the plasma discharge are considered. One in which the peak electron density is less than the critical density (under-dense) for the interacting wave and the other in which it is higher (overdense). The under-dense plasma with positive less than unity dielectric constant has sufficient dielectric contrast from the surrounding medium that a slight perturbation of the incident wave and bending of wave path lines through the discharge is realized. The over-dense plasma interacts strongly with the TM polarized wave because of epsilon-zero resonance at the critical density locations and the wave path lines are observed to reverse their direction near the regions of critical plasma density. The transverse electric (TE) polarized wave does not exhibit epsilon-zero resonance and the interactions are weaker than the TM wave.