Wideband Reconfigurable Parasitic Plasma Antenna in VHF Band

A wideband reconfigurable plasma antenna with parasitic elements is proposed in VHF band. The monopole and its parasitic element, engineered as vertical polarized antenna, operates at the frequency from 40 MHz to 300 MHz. Plasma cylinder as radiated element is introduced to perform metallic property. With advantages of reconfigurable property of plasma, the operating band is divided into two modes, 40-100 MHz and 100-300 MHz. The VSWR ≤ 2:1 bandwidth of the first band does not exceed 86%, whereas the second band is 100%. Scaled model of parasitic plasma antenna is built and impedance and pattern measurements are conducted. Obtained results confirm that the proposed antenna is a variable candidate for communications with ships and low altitude flight.