Time domain analysis of transient propagation in inhomogeneous magnetized plasma using Z-transforms

The electromagnetic propagation through an inhomogeneous magnetized plasma slab is studied using the Z-transform formulation of the Finite-Difference Time-Domain(FDTD) method. The direction of electromagnetic propagation is parallel to the biasing magnetic filed. To validate the Z-transform algorithm, the reflection and transmission coefficients for the right-hand circularly polarized wave of the homogeneous magnetized plasma slab are computed by means of discrete Fourier transform. The comparison between the reflection and transmission coefficients of the homogeneous plasma slab and analytical values indicates that Z-transform algorithm is very accurate. When the plasma frequency varies according to the square root and parabolic relations, the reflection and transmission coefficients of the inhomogeneous magnetized plasma slab are computed.