Temporal Evolution Characteristics of Artificial Ionospheric Scatter Channels

To investigate the impact of the ionosphere’s inherent temporal variability and the height-dependent sensitivity of field-aligned scattering on the dynamic characteristics of artificial ionospheric scatter channel, this study incorporates lower-ionospheric absorption effects into a coupled model combining ionospheric heating and field-aligned scattering. Numerical simulations of scattered signal intensity along a typical VHF propagation link at various times reveal a pronounced diurnal variation: signal intensity is significantly higher at night than during the day, exhibiting a maximum attenuation of 26.7 dB. Further analysis indicates that under the combined influence of lower-ionospheric absorption and background electron density gradients, the electron density perturbation within the artificial ionospheric scatterer emerges as the dominant factor governing the channel’s time-variant behavior. The temporal evolution of this perturbation aligns closely with the observed variations in scattered signal intensity. These findings enhance the understanding of the time-variant characteristics of artificial ionospheric scatter channels and provide a theoretical foundation for optimizing channel control strategies and improving resource utilization efficiency.