Propagation of phase modulation signals in time-varying plasma

The effects of time-varying plasma to the propagation of phase modulation signals are investigated in this paper. Through theoretical analysis, the mechanism of the interaction between the time-varying plasma and the phase modulation signal is given. A time-varying plasma generator which could produce arbitrary time-varying plasma is built by adjusting the discharge power. A comparison of results from experiment and simulation prove that the time-varying plasma could cause the special rotation of QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) constellation, and the mechanism of constellation point’s rotation is analyzed. Additionally, the experimental results of the QPSK signals’ EVM (Error Vector Magnitude) after time-varying and time-invariant plasma with different ωp/ω are given. This research could be used to improve the TT&C (Tracking Telemeter and Command) system of re-entry vehicles.