Radio Communication

Link Budget

The link budget consists of the calculations and tabulation of the useful signal power
and the interfering noise power available at the receiver. The link budget is a balance
sheet of gains and losses.

Communication Link System

In a model of communication link shown below, the transmitter supplies power to the
transmitter antenna, which is directive and radiates power within a beamwidth θ
toward the receiver.

At
Pt

Transmitter Receiver

d
Model of Communication
Link
Ar

Effective Isotropic Radiated Power(EIRP)

The EIRP can also be written as,

EIRP=Pt Gt (Watts)

Pt = Antenna transmitted power

Gt = Transmit antenna gain

Lecture 2 : Communication Link Budget 1 EC401 Communication Systems

 Radio Communication

EIRP is the equivalent power that an isotropic antenna would have to radiate to
achieve the same power density in the chosen direction at a given point as another
antenna. For instance, if a given transmit antenna has a power gain of 10, the power
density at a given distance from the antenna is 10 times greater than it would have
been had the antenna been an isotropic radiator. An isotropic antenna would have to
radiate 10 times as much power to achieve the same power density. Therefore, the
given antenna effectively radiates 10 times as much power as an isotropic antenna
with same input power and efficiency. Mathematically, the power density at a given
point distance R from a transmit antenna is

Pt G t
ρisotropic =
4 πR 2

For isotopic antenna

Gt =1

Pt
∴ ρisotropic =
4 πR2

ρisotropic : Isotropic antenna power density

ρt : Antenna transmitted power

If there is a directional antenna which emits the same total power but at an area t
A
2
that is much smaller than 4 πR , then we know that the power density at the area
covered by the directional antenna to be stronger. The power density of the directional
antenna is
P
ρdirectional = t
At

The transmit antenna gain

Gt is

ρdirectional 4 πR2
Gt = =
ρisotropic At

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 Radio Communication

Now

4 πR 2 PG
At= ρdirectional = t t2
G t Then, 4 πR
Ar
The received power is the fraction of At of the transmitter power, since the power
P P
ρdirectional = r = t
density is Ar At
A Ar
Pr =Pt r Pr =Pt G t
At 4 πR2
and
A concept related to that of antenna gain is the effective area of an antenna, the
effective area of an antenna is related to the physical size of the antenna and to its
shape. The receiving antenna gain and its effective area is related as follow.
4 πA
Gr = 2 r
λ
Where λ is the wavelength of the radiation. Finally, the received power is,

( )
2
λ
Pr =Pt G t Gr
4 πR
This is the free space loss equation.

Link Budget for a Radio Communication System

In previous section, we obtain the receiving antenna power to be

( )
2
λ
Pr =Pt G t Gr
4 πR

( )
2
4 πR
Ls =
If we define the free-space path loss to be λ .Other losses, such as
atmospheric losses, that may be encountered in the transmission of the signal are
accounted for by introducing an additional loss factor
La . Therefore, the received
power may be expressed as

P t Gt G r
Pr =
Ls L a
or

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 Radio Communication

Pr|dBw =Pt|dBw +G t |dB +G r |dB −Ls|dB−L a|dB

the effective area for an antenna generally depends on the wavelength λ of the
radiated power and the physical dimension of the antenna. For example, a parabolic
(dish) antenna of diameter D has an effective area

A r =η
4( )
πD 2

2
πD
Where 4 is the physical area and η is the illumination efficiency factor, which is
typically in the range 0 .5≤η≤0 .7 . As we know, the receiving antenna gain and its
effective area is related as below,

4 πA r 4 π πD2
( ) ( )
2
πD
Gr = = η=η
λ2 λ2 4 λ parabolic antenna

As a second example, a horn antenna of physical area A has an efficiency factor of

0.8, an effective area of
A r =0. 8 A , and a gain of

4 πA r 4 π ( 0 . 8 A ) 10 A
Gr = 2
= = 2
λ λ2 λ horn antenna

Another parameter that is related to the gain of an antenna is its beamwidth, denoted
θ
as B . Usually, the beamwidth is measured as the -3dB width of the antenna pattern.
For example, the -3dB beamwidth of a parabolic antenna is approximately

70 λ
θ B≈ deg
D
2
G
so that T is inversely proportional to θ B . Hence, a decrease of the beamwidth by a
factor of two, which is obtained by doubling the diameter, increases the antenna gain
by a factor of four (6dB).

Table below lists beam widths for antenna of various sizes at a frequency of 12GHz.
Note that the larger the diameter of the antenna, the more tightly directional is the
beam.

Antenna Diameter (m) Beam Width (degrees)

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 Radio Communication

0.5 3.5
0.75 2.33
1.0 1.75
1.5 1.166
2.0 0.875
2.5 0.7
5.0 0.35

Antenna Beamwidths for Various Diameters

Parabolic Reflective Antennas at f = 12GHz

Eb
If we try to relate the energy of bit-to-noise density ratio, N 0 required to achieve a
specified level of performance to
Pr , we get

E b T b P r 1 Pr
N0
=
N0
=
Rb N 0 ( )
it follows that

Pr
N0
E
=Rb b
N0 ( )
Rewriting the equation to become

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 Radio Communication

Pr
N0
=Rb
Eb
N0( ) req

where
( )Eb
N0 req
is the required SNR per bit to achieve the desired performance. The
bit rate in dB is

10 log R b =10 log

( )
Pr
N0 ( )
−10 log
Eb
N0 req

Example

A satellite in geosynchronous orbit (36 000 km above the earth’s surface) radiates 100
Watts of power (20 dBW). The transmitting antenna has a gain of 18 dB, so that the
EIRP = 38 dBW. The earth station employs a 3 m parabolic antenna and the downlink
is transmitting at a frequency of 4 GHz. Determine the received power.

Solution

The wavelength

c 3×108
λ= = =0 . 075 m
f 4×10 9

Hence, the free space path loss is

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 Radio Communication

Ls (dB ) =20 log ( 4 πRλ )=195 .6 dB

Assuming that η=0.5 . For parabolic antenna,

Gr =η ( )
πD 2
λ
=39 dB

Since no other losses are assumed, the received power is

Pr|dBW =Pt |dBW +Gt |dB +G r|dB−L s|dB −La|dB

=20+18+39−195 . 6=−118 . 6 dBW

−12
Pr =1 .38×10 Watts

Example

If
( )
Eb
N0 req
=10 dB
, determine the bit rate for the satellite communication system in
the previous example. Assume that the receiver front end has a noise temperature of
300 ° K, which is typical for a receiver in the 4 GHz range.

Solution
−23 −21
N 0 =kT =(1. 38×10 )×300=4 . 1×10

=−203.9 dBW/Hz

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 Radio Communication

Pr
=−118 . 6+203 . 9
N0

=85 .3 dBHz

Since

10 log R b =10 log

( )
Pr
N0
−10 log
( )
Eb
N0 req

10 log R b =85 .3−10=75. 3 dBbps

Rb =33 . 9×10 6 bps

We conclude that this satellite channel can support a bit rate of 33.9 megabits per
second.

Two primary resources in a communication system are transmitted power and channel
bandwidth. The telephone circuit is a typical bandlimited channel and the space
communication is a typical power limited system.

We usually trade system complexity for improved use of communication resources.

12
Pluto, which is located at a distance from the earth of 7.5×10 m. Assume that an
unmanned spacecraft with a 2 GHz, 10 W transponder is in the vicinity of Pluto. A
receiving Earth station with a 64 m antenna is available that has a system noise
temperature of 16 K at 2 GHz. Calculate the size of a spacecraft antenna that is
E /N
required for a 300 bps BPSK data link to earth that has a b 0 of 9.88 dB. Allow 3
dB for additional losses. Assume that the antenna efficiency is 0.55.

c
λ= =0. 15
(b) f 12
R=7 . 5×10 m
(1)
Ls =20 log
4 πR
λ ( )
=296
dB

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 Radio Communication

(2)

( πDλ ) =60
2
Gr =η
dB
(1)

Pr Eb
= +Rb =9 . 88+24 . 77=34 . 65
N0 N0 dBW/Hz
(2)

Pr =Pt +G t + Gr −Ls −Lincidental

(2)
Pr
Gt = −G r −P t + L s + Lincidental +10 log kT system
N0

Gt =47 . 1 dB
(1)
D=14. 6 m
(1)

Lecture 2 : Communication Link Budget 9 EC401 Communication Systems