Oda Bultum University

Institute of Technology
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
5th year second semester
Course: Antennas and Radio Wave Propagation

Prep by: Ahmed A. (Lecturer at OBUiT)

CHAPTER 6: Radio wave propagation
INTRODUCTION : RADIO WAVE PROPAGATION
 Cont……
What is Electromagnetic Wave?

Electromagnetic Waves also called Electromagnetic Radiations are basically

defined as oscillations of an Electric and a Magnetic Field in space with their
direction of propagation perpendicular to both of them.
In simple words, electromagnetic waves are oscillations produced due to
crossing over of an electric and a magnetic field.
 Cont…..

The direction of the propagation of such waves is perpendicular to the direction of

the force of either of these fields as seen in the above figure.
 Cont……
Properties of Electromagnetic(EM) Wave Propagation

EM waves travel at the speed of light.

EM waves do not require any medium for propagation.

EM waves travel in a transverse form.

EM waves are not deflected by electric or magnetic field.

EM waves can be polarized.

EM waves undergo interference and diffraction.

 Cont……
Wavelength & Frequency of the EM waves
The wavelength(λ) and frequency (f) of the EM waves can be related as:
c = f.λ
where c = velocity of the wave.
Classification of Radio Wave Propagation

These layers are used for propagation of EM waves and that EM waves travel
basically in any one of the three methods given below:
Ground Wave

Space Wave


Cont……
 Cont…..
What is Ground Wave /Surface Wave Propagation ?

To radiate signals with high efficiency, the antennas should have a size
comparable to the wavelength λ of the signal (at least ~ λ/4).
At longer wavelengths (i.e., at lower frequencies), the antennas have large
physical size and they are located on or very near to the ground.
In standard AM broadcast, ground based vertical towers are generally used as
transmitting antennas. For such antennas, ground has a strong influence on the
propagation of the signal.
 Cont…..
The mode of propagation is called surface wave propagation and the wave glides
over the surface of the earth.
 Cont……
Properties of Ground Wave Propagation

Used for a low-frequency range transmission, mostly less than 2MHz.

Employs the use of large antennas order of which is equivalent to the

wavelength of the EM waves and uses the ground or Troposphere for its
propagation.
It causes severe attenuation which increases with increased frequency of the
waves. The maximum range of coverage depends on the transmitted power and
frequency (less than a few MHz).
 Cont……
Space Wave Propagation

Another mode of radio wave propagation is by space waves.

The space wave follows two distinct paths from the transmitting antenna to the
receiving antenna :
one through the air directly to the receiving antenna,
the other reflected from the ground to the receiving antenna.
 Cont…..
Direct Wave or Line of Sight Propagation

The primary path of the space wave is directly from the transmitting antenna to
the receiving antenna. So, the receiving antenna must be located within the radio
horizon of the transmitting antenna.
Because space waves are refracted slightly, even when propagated through the
troposphere, the radio horizon is actually about one-third farther than the LOS or
natural horizon.
At frequencies above 40 MHz, communication is essentially limited to LOS
paths.
 Cont…….
At these frequencies, the antennas are relatively smaller and can be placed at
heights of many wavelengths above the ground. Because of LOS nature of
propagation, direct waves get blocked at some point by the curvature of the earth
as illustrated in Fig.
If the signal is to be received beyond the horizon then the receiving antenna must
be high enough to intercept the LOS waves.
 Cont……
If the transmitting antenna is at a height h T , then the distance to the horizon dT is
given as:

Where R is the radius of the Earth (approximately 6400 km). d T is also called the
radio horizon of the transmitting antenna. The maximum LOS distance d M between
the two antennas having heights hT and hR above the earth is given by

where hR is the height of receiving antenna.

 Cont…..
Space satellite communication and very high-frequency waves use this
propagation method.
For very large distances, the height of the tower used for transmission is high
enough to prevent waves from touching the earth curvature thus preventing
attenuation and loss of signal strength.
 Cont…..
Properties of Space Wave Propagation

Space waves are used for LOS communication as well as satellite

communication.
Space satellite communication and very high-frequency waves use this
propagation method.

The Ionospheric propagation

The ionosphere is a region of the earth’s upper atmosphere that is partially
ionised by incident sunlight.
 Cont…..
It occupies altitudes from about 80 km to 400 km, beyond which there is not
sufficient atmospheric density to develop significant levels of ionisation. Below
80 km atmospheric density is so high that recombination reactions dominate over
dissociation, ensuring very little ionisation. This situation is depicted in below
Figure. 1.
Because of variations in atmospheric constituents and the wavelength range of
the incident sunlight, the region of ionisation occurs in a number of layers as
illustrated in the daytime ionosphere of Figure.2a. The lowermost layer is usually
not distinct and so is generally referred to as the D region.
 Cont…..
In the evening solar radiation is, of course, absent. There is still some residual
ionisation because recombination rates are not sufficiently rapid to deplete the
ionisation completely. As a result, a typical night time ionosphere appears as
shown in Figure.2b. While some variation with height is still apparent, only two
layers are generally recognised as forming the ionosphere at night.
In the plots of Figure.2 the degree of ionisation is represented in terms of the
density of free electrons. Ion density could just as easily be used but it is the
electrons that actually affect the propagation of radio waves.
 Cont……
Since the strength of solar radiation varies with season and time of day the layers
show considerable changes with time.

Figure.1 Formation of the ionosphere

through photochemical ionisation of
atmospheric constituents by incident
sunlight
 Cont……
Ionisation in the Ionospheric
Layers

Figure.2a Typical day-time

ionosphere, showing the
separation into layers; darker
shading represents higher
electron densities
 Cont…..

Figure.2b Typical night time

ionosphere. Darker shading
represents higher electron densities
 Cont…..
Will become clearer later as will the property of critical frequency, which is
directly related to the electron density maximum of a layer.
Solar strength also varies with latitude so that there will be geographical
variations in the degree and height of ionisation.
Sometimes there is also a drifting cloud of electrons both day and night between
90 km and 130 km that is unpredictable, called a sporadic E layer.
Cont…..
 Cont…..
Electron density as a function of altitude

Layers of high electrons densities : D, E, and F layers, as shown in below Figure.

During the day the F layer splits into two layers called the F1 and F2 layers.

The D layer vanishes completely at night.

 Cont…..
Structure of Ionosphere

In radio communication, skywave or skip refers to the propagation of radio

waves reflected or refracted back toward Earth from the ionosphere, an
electrically charged layer of the upper atmosphere.
The ionosphere is a region of the upper atmosphere, from about 80 km to 1000
km in altitude, where neutral air is ionized by solar photons and cosmic rays.
Ionization occurs due to the absorption of the ultraviolet and other high-energy
radiation coming from the sun by air molecules.
Cont……
 Cont…..
Ionospheric Effects on Radio Wave Propagation

Each ionized layer has a central region of relatively dense ionization, which
tapers off in intensity both above and below the maximum region.

Figure of The relationship between radio

waves and ionization density.
 Cont……
Refraction by the Ionosphere

When a radio wave is transmitted into an ionized layer, refraction, or bending of

the wave, occurs.
Refraction is caused by an abrupt change in the velocity of the upper part of a
radio wave as it strikes or enters a new medium.
The amount of refraction that occurs depends on three main factors:
The density of ionization of the layer,
The frequency of the radio wave, and

 Cont…..
Reflection by the Ionosphere
 Cont……
Properties of Ionization

The degree of ionization varies with the height.

The density of atmosphere decreases with height.

At great heights the solar radiation is intense but there are few molecules to be ionised.

The ionospheric layer acts as a reflector for a certain range of frequencies (3 to 30

MHz). EM waves of frequencies higher than 30 MHz penetrate the ionosphere and
escape.
The phenomenon of bending of EM waves so that they are diverted towards the earth is
similar to total internal reflection in optics.
 Key factors within ionospheric High Frequency (HF) radio
communication link
Ray path

Critical frequency

Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF)

Lowest Usable Frequency (LUF )

Optimum Frequency (OF)

Virtual Height and

Skip distance
 Cont……
Noise
The level of noise in a communications system that determines the power density
and field strength needed at the receiver and, consequently, the power levels that
have to be transmitted. In other words, in order to put the propagation material
into practice it is necessary to understand noise as the property that relates circuit
quantities (transmitted and received power, operating frequency, antenna
characteristics) to propagation quantities (free space path loss and path
characteristics such as atmospheric constituents and rainfall, obstacles in the path,
and multi-path behaviour).
 Cont……
What is Noise?
Noise can come from several sources and often is random in nature; that is the
type of noise of most interest to us in this introductory treatment. Whenever
temperature is above absolute zero, noise will be present in any physical system.
In general we talk of noise as any “signal” or disturbance that is unwanted.
Sometimes that includes cross-talk – a signal intended for another receiver that we
happen to receive in full or part, and which interferes with the reception of the
signal in which we are interested.
 Cont……
Usually noise adds to the transmitted signal and we receive both together. In this
combination it is the signal to noise ratio in which we are interested and which determines
the performance of a telecommunications system.

Signal to noise ratio (SNR) is usually defined by the ratio of the root mean square power of
the signal and the root mean square power of the noise. Most frequently it is expressed in dB.

Sources of Noise

Both active and passive devices generate noise. In the case of a piece of conductor, or a
circuit component such as a resistor, electron motion through the crystal lattice gives rise to
what is called thermal or Johnson noise.
 Cont……
For active devices such as transistors, carrier collisions with crystal lattice sites
generate shot noise which, as the name suggests, is more impulsive in nature than
the random time variation of thermal noise.
A particularly important source is environmental noise, which is the radiation
given off by a black body at non-zero temperature; it is described by Planck’s law
of radiation. Both the sun and the earth are strong emitters of radiation.
 Cont…..
The Concept of Noise Temperature

To a very good approximation the available noise power from a thermal source,
such as a conductor or resistor, at temperature To over a bandwidth BHz is given
by

Where k is Boltzmann’s constant If we could measure the noise

power coming from the source Na then we could infer its temperature from
. Although this result relates strictly only to thermal sources it is
applied more generally to all sources of noise as though they were thermal in
nature. The temperature then inferred may not be the strict physical temperature To,
END OF CHAPTER 6

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