Wireless Communication Engineering

(Fall 2004)

Lecture 7
Professor Mingbo Xiao
Nov. 11, 2004

Radio Wave Propagation

Reflection

Diffraction

Large buildings, earth surface

Obstacles with dimensions in order of lambda

Scattering

Obstacles with size in the order of the

wavelength of the signal or less
Foliage, lamp posts, street signs, walking pedestrian,
etc.

Propagation Illustration

transmitted
signal

Ts

max

received
signal

Large-Scale & Small-Scall

Fading

Large-Scale & Small-Scall

Fading (Contd.)

The distance between small scale fades

is on the order of /2

Path Loss

Propagation Models

Usually, Maxwell's equations are Too complex

to model the propagation.
Propagation Models are normally used to
predict the average signal strength at a given
distance from the transmitter.

Propagation models the predict the mean signal

strength for an arbitrary T-R separation distance are
useful in estimating the radio coverage area. This is
called the Large Scale or Path Loss propagation
model (several hundreds or thousands of meters);

Propagation models that characterize the rapid

fluctuations of the received signal strengths over
very shot distance (few wavelengths) or short
duration (few seconds) are called Small Scale or
Fading models.

Propagation Models
(Contd.)

Free Space Propagation Model - LOS path exists

between T-R
May applicable for satellite communication or
microwave LOS links
Friis free space equation:
Pr(d) = Pt Gt Gr 2 / (4)2 d2 L
Pt : Transmitted power
Pr : Received power
Gt : Transmitter gain
Gr: Receiver gain
d: Distance of T-R separation
L: System loss factor

: Wavelength in meter

Path Loss difference (in dB) between the

effective transmitted power and the received

Propagation Models
(Contd.)
Modified free space equation
Pr(d) = Pr(d0)(d0/d)2

Modified free space equation in dB form

Pr(d) dBm = 10 log[Pr(d0)/0.001W] + 20
log(d0/d)
where d>= d0 >= df

df is Fraunhofer distance which complies:

df =2D2/
where D is the largest physical linear dimension
of the antenna

EIRP
Effective Isotropic Radiated
Power
0.8

EIRP = Pt Gt

0.6
0.4
0.2

which represents the

maximum radiated power
available from a
transmitter
in the direction of
maximum antenna gain,
as compared
to an isotropic radiator.

0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
-0.8
-1

0.5
0.5

0
-0.5

0
-0.5

ERP

0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4

0.5
0.5

0
-0.5

0
-0.5

In practice, effective radiated power (ERP) is used to

denote the maximum radiated power as compared to a
half-wave dipole antenna.

Link Budget
RF Link Budget Calculator
Free Space Loss Path
Frequency
ERP
ERP in dBm
Transmission Line Loss
Tx Antenna Gain
Path Length
Free Space Path Loss
Rx Antenna Gain
Rx Transmission Line Loss
Rx Signal Strength
Rx Threshhold
Fade Margin

0.9000
50.0000
46.9897
0.0000
0.0000
0.1500
75.0484
0.0000
0.0000
-28.0587
-85.0000
56.9413

GHz
Watts
dBm
dB
dBi
Km
dB
dBi
dB
dBm
dBm
dB

Propagation Mechanisms
We next discuss propagation
mechanisms (Reflection, Diffraction, and
Scattering) because:

They have an impact on the wave

propagation in a mobile communication
system
The most important parameter, Received
power is predicted by large scale
propagation models based on the physics of
reflection, diffraction and scattering

Reflection

When a radio wave propagating in one medium

impinges upon another medium having
different electrical properties, the wave is
partially reflected and partially transmitted
Fresnel Reflection Coefficient () gives the
relationship between the electric field ntensity
of the
reflected and transmitted waves to the
incident wave in the
medium of origin
The Reflection Coefficient is a function of the
material properties, depending on

Wave Polarization
Angle of Incidence
Frequency of the propagating wave

Ground Reflection (2- ray)

Model

In a mobile radio channel, a single direct path between the

base station and mobile is rarely the only physical path for
propagation
Hence the free space propagation model in most cases is
inaccurate when used alone
The 2- ray GRM is based on geometric optics
It considers both- direct path and ground reflected
propagation path between transmitter and receiver
This was found reasonably accurate for predicting large
scale signal strength over distances of several kilometers
for mobile radio systems using tall towers ( heights above
50 m ), and also for L-O-S micro cell channels in urban
environments

Diffraction

Phenomena: Radio signal can propagate

around the curved surface of the earth,
beyond the horizon and behind obstructions.
Although the received field strength decreases
rapidly as a receiver moves deeper into the
obstructed ( shadowed ) region, the diffraction
field still exists and often has sufficient
strength to produce a useful signal.
The field strength of a diffracted wave in the
shadowed region is the vector sum of the
electric field components of all the secondary
wavelets in the space around the obstacles.

Knife-edge Diffraction
Model

It is essential to estimate the signal

attenuation caused by diffraction of radio
waves over hills and buildings in predicting
the field strength in the given service area.
In practice, prediction for diffraction loss is a
process of theoretical approximation
modified by necessary empirical corrections.
The simplest case: shadowing is caused by a
single object such as a hill or mountain.

Diffraction Geometry

Parameters

Fresnel-Kirchof diffraction parameter

vh

2(d1 d 2 )
2d1d 2

d1d 2
(d1 d 2 )

The electric field strength Ed,

Ed
1 j
jt 2
F (v )
exp(
)dt

v
E0
2
2

where E0 is the free space field strength

The diffraction gain:
Gd (dB ) 20 log | F (v) |

Graphical representation

Lees Approximate

Multiple Knife-edge
Diffraction

In the practical situations, especially in

hilly terrain, the propagation path may
consist of more than on obstruction.
Optimistic solution (by Bullington): The
series of obstacles are replaced by a
single equivalent obstacle so that the
path loss can be obtained using single
knife-edge diffraction models.

Note

The actual received signal in a mobile radio

environment is often stronger than what is
predicted by reflection and diffraction
Reason:
When a radio wave impinges on a rough
surface,the reflected energy is spread in all
directions due to scattering

Scattering Loss Factor

s = exp[-8(hsini)2]I0[8(hcosi)2]

where ,
I0 is the Bessel function of the first kind and
zero order
h is the standard deviation of the surface
height, h about the mean surface height
i is the angle of incidence

Radar cross section model:

The radar cross section of a scattering object is

defined as the ratio of the power density of the signal
scattered in the direction of the receiver to the power
density of the radio wave incident upon the scattering
object, and has units of square meters.

Why do we require this?

In radio channels where large, distant objects induce
scattering, the physical location of such objects can be
used to accurately predict scattered signal strengths.

Continues

For urban mobile radio systems ,models based on the

bistatic radar equation is used to compute the received
power due to scattering in the far field.

The bistatic radar equation describes the propagation of a

wave traveling in free space which impinges on a distant
scattering object, and is the reradiated in the direction of
the receiver, given by
PR (dBm) PT (dBm) G T (dBi) 20log( ) RCS[dBm 2 ] - 30log(4 ) - 20logd T - 20logd R

Continues

Where dT and dR are the distance from the scattering

object to the transmitter and receiver respectively.

In the above equation the scattering object is assumed

to be in the(far field) Fraunhofer region of both the
transmitter and receiver and is useful for predicting
receiver power which scatters off large objects such
as buildings, which are for both the transmitter and
receiver.

Path Loss Models

Radio Propagation models are derived using a

combination of empirical and analytical methods.
These methods implicitly take into account all the
propagation factors both known and unknown
through the actual measurements.
Path loss models are used to estimate the received
signal level as a function of distance.
With the help of this model we can predict SNR
for a mobile communication system.

Path Loss Models (Contd)

Two such models

Log - Distance Path Loss Model

Log - Normal Shadowing

The path loss at a particular location for any value

of d is random and distributed log-normally about
the mean distance- dependent value is given by
PL(d)[dB] = PL(d)+X = PL(d0)+10nlog(d/ d0)+X
where, X is the Zero mean Gaussian distributed random variable with
standard deviation (also in dB)

Path Loss Exponents

Log-Normal Distribution:

It describes the random shadowing effects which

occur over a large number of measurement
locations which have the same T-R separation,but
have different levels of clutter on the propagation
path.
The random effects of shadowing are accounted
for using the Gaussian distribution

In practice, the values of n and are often

computed from measured data, using linear
regression

Applications
The probability that the received signal level will
exceed a certain value can be calculated from the
cumulative density function as
Pr (d )

Pr Pr (d ) Q

Can be used to determine the percentage of

coverage area in cellular systems.

Outdoor Propagation
Models

There are a number of mobile radio

propagation models to predict path loss over
irregular terrain.
These methods generally aim to predict the
signal strength at a particular sector. But
they vary widely in complexity and accuracy.
These models are based on systematic
interpretation of measurement data obtained
in the service area.

Examples of Outdoor
Models

Longley-Rice Model
Durkins Model
Okumuras Model
Hata Model
PCS extension to Hata Model
Walfisch and Bertoni

Indoor Propagation Models

Indoor radio channel differs from

traditional mobile radio channel in:

distances covered are much smaller

variability of the environment is greater for a
much smaller range of T-R separation distances

It is strongly influenced by specific

features, such as

layout of the building

construction materials
building type

Log-distance Path Loss

Model:
Both theoretical and measurement-based
propagation models indicate that average
received signal power decreases
logarithmically with distance, whether in
outdoor or indoor radio channels.
The average large-scale path loss for an
arbitrary T-R separation is expressed as a
function of distance by using a path loss
exponent, n.