Nonlinear gain of a millimetre wave antenna array mounted on a re-entry vehicle

A millimetre wave antenna array, mounted on a space vehicle re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, encounters a high density plasma around it. At high antenna power, the millimetre wave field heats the electrons nonuniformly. The electron temperature, Te, follows the antenna pattern, being maximum along the direction of the principal maximum (z-axis) and falling off rapidly across it. The ambipolar plasma diffusion under the pressure gradient force creates a refractive index profile with maximum on the z-axis, leading to self-convergence of the millimetre wave and enhancement in the effective gain of the antenna