Free Space Radio Wave Propagation

Free Space Radio Wave
Propagation
RKTiwary
propagation effects
Reflection : EM waves impinge on
objects
which are much greater than the
wavelength of the traveling wave
diffraction: surface having sharp
irregularities.
scattering: occurs when the medium
through
which the wave is traveling
contains objects which are much smaller
than the wavelength of the EM wave.
All are due to the presence of buildings,
Friis free space equation is given by

Pr(d) = PtGtGr2/(4)2d2L
transmitted power
: Pt
transmitter antenna gain: Gt
Reciever antenna gain
: Gr
Wavelength
:
Tx-Rx separation
:d
system loss factor
:L
The gain of the antenna is related to the effective

aperture of the antenna which in turn is
dependent upon the physical size of the antenna
as given below
The path loss, representing the attenuation
The fields of an antenna can broadly be
classified in two regions,
I. the far field and
II. the near field.
The far eld region is also termed as Fraunhofer

region and the Friis equation holds in this region.
Hence, the Friis equation is used only beyond the
far field distance, df , which is dependent upon
the largest dimension of the antenna as
Also we can see that the Friis equation is not
dened for d=0. For this reason, we use a close in
distance, do, as a reference point. The power
received, Pr(d), is then given by:
Free space propagation model, showing the near

and far elds.
Eg: Find the far field distance for a circular

antenna with maximum dimension of 1 m and
operating frequency of 900 MHz.
Solution: Since the operating frequency f =
900 Mhz, the wavelength= c/f2
Thus, with the largest dimension of the

antenna, D=1m, the far eld distance is
Eg2:A unit gain antenna with a maximum

dimension of 1 m produces 50 W power at 900
MHz. Find (i) the transmit power in dBm and dB,
(ii) the received power at a free space distance of
5 m and 100 m.
Solution:
(i) Tx power = 10log(50) = 17 dB = (17+30) dBm
= 47 dBm
(ii) df = 2XD2/ = 2X12/(1/3) = 6m
Thus the received power at 5 m can not be
calculated using free space distance formula.
At 100 m
=
3.5x10-3mW
Basic Methods of Propagation

Reflection, diffraction and scattering are the three
fundamental phenomena that causes signal
propagation in a mobile communication system,
apart from LOS communication.
Reflection:
Reflection occurs when an electromagnetic wave
falls on an object, which has very large
dimensions as compared to the wavelength of the
propagating wave.
Example: the earth, buildings and walls
Properties of EM wave incident:

dielectric, some energy is reflected back and
some energy is transmitted.
perfect conductor, all energy is reflected back
to the first medium
Amount of energy reflected depends on the
polarization of the e.m. wave
Brewster's angle:
Angle arises in parallel polarization, when no
reflection occurs in the medium of origin
Reflection coeficient is equal to zero.
Variations of the channel strength

over time and over frequency
Large-scale fading, due to path
loss of signal as a function of distance
and shadowing by large objects such
as buildings and hills. This occurs as
the mobile moves through a distance
of the order of the cell size, and is
typically frequency independent.
Small-scale fading, due to the
constructive and destructive
interference of the multiple signal
paths between the transmitter and
receiver. This occurs at the spatial
Channel quality varies over multiple time-scales.

At a slow scale, channel varies due to largescale fading effects. At a
fast scale, channel varies due to multipath
effects.
Free space, fixed transmit and

receive antennas
In response to a transmitted sinusoid cos
2ft, we can express the electric far field at
time t as
(r, , ) represents the point u in space

r is the distance from the transmit antenna to
u &
(, ) represents the vertical and horizontal
angles from the antenna to u respectively.
s (, ,) is the radiation pattern of the
As the distance r increases,

the electric field decreases as r1
and thus the power per square meter in
the free space wave decreases as r2.
In concentric spheres of increasing
radius r around the antenna, the total
power radiated through the sphere
remains constant, but the surface area
increases as r2. Thus, the power per unit
area must decrease as r2.
Not true always when obstruction
For fixed receive antenna at the location u

= (r, , )
Where (, ,) is the product of the

antenna patterns of transmit and receive
antennas in the given direction.
Now suppose, for the given u, that we
define
We then have
H(f) is the system function for an LTI (linear
Free space, moving antenna

Let receive antenna is at a moving location
described as
describe the free space electric field at the
moving point u(t) (for the moment with no
receive antenna), we have
we can rewrite
Thus, the sinusoid at frequency f has been
converted to a sinusoid of frequency
Intuitively, each successive crest in the

transmitted
sinusoid has to travel a little further before
it gets observed at the moving observation
point.
If the antenna is now placed at u(t),
This channel cannot be represented as an
LTI channel
Reflecting wall, fixed

antenna
Illustration of a direct path and a reflected

path
We assume that in the absence of the receive

antenna, the electromagnetic field at the point
where the receive antenna will be placed is the
sum of the free space field coming from the
transmit antenna plus a reflected wave coming
from the wall.
Approximate the solution of Maxwells equations
by a
method called ray tracing.
Sum of the free space wave from the transmitter
and
the reflected free space waves from each of the
reflecting obstacles
For both the direct and the reflected wave,

and assuming the same antenna gain for
both waves, we get
The received signal is a superposition of
two waves, both of frequency f.
The phase difference between the two
waves is
When
: = n2 The two waves
add constructively,and the received
signal is strong
& When : = (2n+1) Two waves
add destructively, and the received signal
is weak
As a function of r, this translates into a
spatial pattern of constructive and
destructive interference of the waves
The distance from a peak to a valley is
called the coherence distance:
Where
For distance much smaller than

the received signal at a particular time
does not change appreciably
The quantity
is called the
delay spread of the channel:
Illustration of a direct path and a

reflected path.
Reflecting wall, moving

antenna
Doppler shift
second is a sinusoid at frequency
a Doppler shift
Doppler spread
This is the product of two sinusoids,

one at the input frequency f, which is
typically of the order of GHz, and the
other one at
The received waveform oscillating at

frequency f with a slowly varying envelope at
frequency Ds/2.
multipath propagation
At the MS, plane waves arrive from many different
directions and with different delays, as shown in Fig.
and this property is called multipath propagation
Reflection from smooth

surface

Free Space Radio Wave Propagation

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Free Space Radio Wave

Friis free space equation is given by

The gain of the antenna is related to the effective

The far eld region is also termed as Fraunhofer

Free space propagation model, showing the near

Eg: Find the far field distance for a circular

Thus, with the largest dimension of the

Eg2:A unit gain antenna with a maximum

Basic Methods of Propagation

Properties of EM wave incident:

Variations of the channel strength

Channel quality varies over multiple time-scales.

Free space, fixed transmit and

(r, , ) represents the point u in space

As the distance r increases,

For fixed receive antenna at the location u

Where (, ,) is the product of the

Free space, moving antenna

Intuitively, each successive crest in the

Reflecting wall, fixed

Illustration of a direct path and a reflected

We assume that in the absence of the receive

For both the direct and the reflected wave,

For distance much smaller than

Illustration of a direct path and a

Reflecting wall, moving

This is the product of two sinusoids,

The received waveform oscillating at

Reflection from smooth

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