Transmission characteristics of terahertz waves propagation in magnetized plasma using the WKB method

The communication between a ground station and an aircraft is seriously affected by the plasma sheath when the aircraft re-enters the Earth. The transmission characteristics of terahertz waves in a plasma sheath with magnetized plasma are studied in this paper. The well-developed Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) method is used to calculate the transmittance and attenuation of electromagnetic waves in plasma. Numerical simulation results demonstrate that the plasma density, plasma slab thickness, and collision frequency significantly influence the attenuation and transmittance of terahertz waves. Furthermore, for terahertz waves through the plasma, the peak value of the attenuation and transmittance occur at different external magnetic field strengths. Moreover, the effects of the plasma density models on the transmission characteristics are compared. These results are of great significance for improving the communication quality between the ground station and the aircraft, and will provide a potential theoretical basis for solving the 'blackout' problem.