Interaction of Intense rf Fields with Heated Air

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Abstract
A model is formulated which predicts the characteristics of a short duration, intense microwave pulse propagating in initially heated, high‐temperature air. The temporal and spatial evolution of the electron temperature and density throughout the plasma are specified upon incorporating certain kinetic processes involving N2, NO, and O for 4000°–5000°K air. In conjunction with measurements, field‐induced ionization rates of initially heated 4500°K air are presented and found to be substantially greater than room temperature‐to‐4000°K ionization rates. The post breakdown recombination rate has also been found. The usual constant collision frequency assumption used in predicting rf breakdown levels is shown to be a good approximation.