Experimental study of wave propagation through a rapidly created plasma

Frequency upconversion and converting a CW source microwave into a frequency upshifted and chirped periodic pulse have been demonstrated by two experiments. In the first one, the CW source microwave propagates through a periodically microwave-discharged plasma. The CW source microwave is converted into a periodic pulse having upshifted carrier frequency. The second one uses a high-voltage (~100-kV) DC discharge to generate a dense plasma suddenly between two parallel plates. A frequency upshifted and chirped pulse (~2 ns) converting from the CW source microwave interacting with the suddenly created plasma is observed. The central frequency (~6.4 GHz) of the pulse is upshifted from the frequency (~4.7 GHz) of the source wave by about 40%. Moreover, frequency components which are upshifted as high as 80% are also observed