Friis Transmission Equation

Group Meeting 10/10/13

Friis Equation Origins

Derived in 1945 by Bell Labs worker Harald T.

Friss
Gives the amount of power an antenna received
under ideal conditions from another antenna

Antennas must be in far field

Antennas are in unobstructed free space

Bandwidth is narrow enough that a single wavelength

can be assumed

Antennas are correctly aligned and polarized

Simple Form of Friis Equation

2
Pr

=G t G r (
)
Pt
4 R

Pr : Power at the receiving antenna

Pt : output power of transmitting antenna

Gt, Gr: gain of the transmitting and receiving

antenna, respectively

: wavelength

R: distance between the antenna

Derivation of equation

Power from isotropic

antenna falls off as r2
Power density (p)
would be:

p=

Pt
4 R

Derivation of equation

Multiplying by gain of
the transmitting
antenna gives a real
antenna pattern

p=

Pt
4 R

G
t
2

If receiving antenna has an effective aperture

of Aeff the power received by this antenna (P r) is

P r = p Aeff
thus:

Pr=

Pt
4 R

G
A
t eff
2

The effective aperture of an antenna can be

written as
2

Ae =
G
4

plugging in:

P r = P t Gt G r (
)
4R

Modifications to Friis equation

(Complicated Form)
2
Pr
2
2
* 2 R

=G t ( t , t )G r ( r , r )(
) (1 t )(1 r )a tar e
Pt
4R

Gt , Gr : modifications to gain of antennas in

which the antennas see each other.
t and t are the reflection coefficients of the
antennas
at and ar are the polarization vectors of the
antennas
is the absorption coefficient of the medium