Research on plasma physics

This annual progress describes work done under AFOSR Contract 81-0093 during the period from March 15, 1984 to March 14, 1985. The experimental program accomplished extensive measurements of RF emissions from the classical Penning discharge which is operated in the UTK Plasma Science Laboratory. RF emissions were observed over a wide frequency range, megahertz to more than 1 gigahertz. These emissions appear to be incoherent; the emitted radiation intensity is approximately proportional to the electron number density. An important accomplishment underlying these RF emission measurements was the development a calibrated, broadband antenna with an approximately 100 megahertz to 1.2 gigahertz.