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Recall Snell's Laws: Reflected wave θ θ Angle of incidence Transmitted wave

Diffraction allows radio waves to propagate into shadowed regions by bending around obstructions. Huygen's principle states that each point on a wavefront acts as a secondary source, and the resulting wave is the superposition of these secondary waves, enabling diffraction. Knife-edge diffraction models this phenomenon and shows that as long as obstructions stay outside of most of the first Fresnel zone, which represents the optimal constructive region, diffraction losses will be insignificant. The Fresnel zones help explain why all paths within the first zone contribute constructively to the received signal despite individual secondary waves having phases differing from the line-of-sight path.

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28 views4 pages

Recall Snell's Laws: Reflected wave θ θ Angle of incidence Transmitted wave

Diffraction allows radio waves to propagate into shadowed regions by bending around obstructions. Huygen's principle states that each point on a wavefront acts as a secondary source, and the resulting wave is the superposition of these secondary waves, enabling diffraction. Knife-edge diffraction models this phenomenon and shows that as long as obstructions stay outside of most of the first Fresnel zone, which represents the optimal constructive region, diffraction losses will be insignificant. The Fresnel zones help explain why all paths within the first zone contribute constructively to the received signal despite individual secondary waves having phases differing from the line-of-sight path.

Uploaded by

singhmaninder
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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1

Diffraction
ECE 4823
Instructor: M.A. Ingram
Recall Snells Laws
Snells Laws account for reflection,
refraction and transmission at an
infinite interface
Incident wave
Reflected wave

r
t
Angle of
incidence
Transmitted wave
Note: Geometrical Optics
The geometrical optics approach allows
finite, curved interfaces to be modeled
as infinite, planar interfaces
This approach represents a simple way
to approximate the field at a receiver
The Shortcoming of
Geometrical Optics
Geometrical optics predicts no field in
the shadow of an obstruction
transmitter
Shadowed
Region
Huygens Principle
Huygens principle predicts the
diffraction of a wave around
obstructions
Each element of a wavefront at a point in
time may be regarded as the center of a
secondary disturbance, creating spherical
wavelets
The wave at any later time is the
superposition of all such wavelets
Knife-Edge Diffraction
Absorbing screen
[Saunders 99]
Shadowed Region
Incident wave
Wavefronts
2
Diffraction of Water Waves
[Saunders 99]
Use of Knife-Edge Diffraction
Gives insight into the order of
diffraction loss over buildings or hills
Knife-Edge Diffraction Loss
The reduction in field strength in dB relative to free-
space is
) ( log 20 log 20
10 10
v F
E
E
L
fs
d
ke
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
where F(v) is the Fresnel Integral and v is
a normalized parameter
1
d
2
d
h
Transmitter
Receiver
knife-edge
obstruction
( )
2 1
2 1
2
d d
d d
h v

+
=
h Can Be Negative
When the knife edge is below the LOS,
h is negative
1
d
2
d
0 < h
Transmitter
Receiver
knife-edge
obstruction
Diffraction Gain=-Loss
[Saunders 99]
Contours of Constant Path
Length
Consider the lengths of paths of propagation
that have exactly one bounce or bend
The bounce/bend points for paths of the
same length form an ellipsoid with the
transmitter and receiver as foci
3
Fresnel Zones
The ellipsoid that corresponds to path
lengths n/2 longer than the LOS path
encloses the nth Fresnel Zone
2

First Fresnel
Zone
Second Fresnel
Zone
Fresnel Zone Radii
The radius of the nth Fresnel zone is
half the length of its minor axis
1
r
2 1
2 1
d d
d d n
r
n
+
=

First Fresnel zone
radius
Fresnel Zones & Obstructions
All paths within the first Fresnel Zone
combine constructively
An object that does not obstruct the first
Fresnel Zone causes insignificant diffraction
loss
2

OK
A Seeming Paradox
Paths within the first Fresnel zone that are more than
/4 longer than the LOS path have phases that differ
by more than 90 degrees from the LOS path phase
Then why is it claimed that all paths in the first
Fresnel zone add constructively?
Phasor
of LOS
Phasor
of secondary
disturbance
Resultant has less
magnitude than LOS
The Answer
The overall contribution of all paths within the
Fresnel zone is based on an integral over a
continuous domain
( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
|
.
|

\
|
|
.
|

\
| +
=
(

|
.
|

\
|
|
.
|

\
|
|
.
|

\
| +
=
(

|
.
|

\
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
|
.
|

\
|
= |
.
|

\
|

2
2
sin
2
2
exp
2
2
exp
2
2
exp
2
2
exp
2
2
exp
2
exp
2
2
exp
2
2
exp
a b a b
i
a b
i
a b
i
a b
i
i
a i b i
i
s i
i
ds s i
b
a
b
a

[Born & Wolf, Principles of Optics, 6


th
ed, 1989]
The Answer, Concluded
Sine is maximized when
or when b-a=/2
Therefore, the integral limits 0 and /2
are optimum even if selected values of
the integrand do not add constructively
( )
2 2
2

=
a b
ds s i

|
.
|

\
|
2
0
2
exp

4
Knife-Edge Diffraction Again
Can express the Fresnel diffraction
parameter in terms of the first Fresnel
radius
( )
1 2 1
2 1
2 2
r
h
d d
d d
h v =
+
=

Forbidden Zone
When , , and the
1
6 . 0 r h = 8 . 0 = v
knife-edge diffraction loss is 0dB
OK
1
r
First Fresnel
Zone
Forbidden
Zone
[Saunders 99]
1
6 . 0 r
Summary
Diffraction enables radio reception behind
obstructions
Huygens Principle explains diffraction
Knife-edge diffraction loss gives insight into
diffraction from buildings and hills
As long as obstructions stay outside of most
of the first Fresnel zone, losses are
insignificant
knife edge can cut to -0.6r
1
without significant
loss

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