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Effect of Solar Radiation on Radio Signal Using Plasma Antenna
Praveen Kumar Pragasam
Supervisor: Dr. Ahmad Nazri bin Dagang
Bachelor of Applied Science (Electronics and Instrumentation Physics)
School of Ocean Engineering
Plasma antenna utilizes ionized neutral gas plasma to transmit and receive radio signal
in a similar fashion as metal antenna. The aim of this project is to study the effects of
solar radiation using plasma antenna. Since plasma antenna is a good receiver of radio
signal, it is used to test the signal strength of received radio signal at ground level.
First, electrical properties measurement is done to obtain values of discharge current
and voltage gained in order to obtain plasma parameters. Computer Simulation
Technology (CST) was used to design and simulate the antenna which is assessed
based on parameters generated such as radiation pattern, directivity, gain and return
loss. Finally, signal strength experiment was carried out to measure solar radiation
effect on radio signal using plasma antenna. Frequency of 4.114 GHz, gain of 1.023
dB and directivity of 2.648 dBi was obtained based on simulation result.
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