Simulation and Fabrication of a Pyramidal Horn Antenna Loaded by Plasma Elements in Order to Electrically Shift the Resonance Frequency

Plasma has been under investigation for decades and has recently attracted the attention of electrical engineers due to its outstanding advantages such as stealthiness and reconfigurability. Moreover, it has successfully replaced metallic antennas, attenuators and phase shifters in many applications. In this paper, a plasma element has been placed in the middle of the aperture of a conventional pyramidal horn antenna. We have shown by simulation and experimental verification that once this element is turned on, the antenna's effective aperture decreases and the radiation parameters of the antenna such as its resonance frequency change. We conclude that by using plasma, antenna’s radiation parameters such as its resonance frequency can alter electrically without any mechanical changes in antenna’s structure or feed.