WAVE PROPAGATION - 1

Higher & Lower Frequencies

Higher Frequencies:

More bandwidth

Less crowded spectrum

Greater attenuation through walls

Lower Frequencies:

Bandwidth limited

Requires longer antennas

Requires greater antenna separation

Several sources of man-made noise

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 1

The Earth-Ionosphere waveguide refers to the phenomenon in which certain radio waves can
propagate in the space between the ground and the boundary of the ionosphere.

Because the ionosphere contains charged particles, it can behave as a conductor.

The earth operates as a ground plane, and the resulting cavity behaves as a large waveguide.

Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) and Very Low Frequency (VLF) signals can propagate efficiently in
this waveguide.

Electromagnetic Wave (Radio Waves) travel with a velocity of light.

These waves comprises of both Electric and Magnetic Field.

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 2

The two fields are at right-angles to each other and the direction of propagation is at rightangles to both fields.

The Plane of the Electric Field defines the Polarisation of the wave.

Light waves (waves we see) and radio waves (waves we hear) are both EM waves, differing
only in frequency and wavelength.

POLARIZATION

The polarization of an antenna is the orientation of the electric field with respect to the
Earth's surface.

Polarization of EM Wave is determined by the physical structure of the antenna and by its
orientation.

Radio waves from a vertical antenna will usually be vertically polarized.

Radio waves from a horizontal antenna are usually horizontally polarized.

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 3

Reflection
When an RF signal bounces off of a smooth, non absorptive surface, changing the direction of the
signal, it is said to reflect and the process is known as reflection

Refraction
Refraction occurs when an RF signal changes speed and is bent while moving between media of
different densities.
A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 4

Diffraction

Diffraction is a change in the direction of a wave as it passes by the edge of an obstacle.

The wave bends around the object.

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 5

Scattering

Scattering happens when an RF signal strikes an uneven surface causing the signal to be
scattered. The resulting signals are less significant than the original signal.

Can occur when a wave strikes an uneven surface and is reflected in many directions
simultaneously.

Yields many small amplitude reflections and destroys the main signal

Scattering = Multiple Reflections

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 6

Absorption

Absorption is the conversion of the RF signal energy into heat.

Many materials absorb RF signals in the 2.4 GHz ISM spectrum.

These include water, drywall, wood, and even humans.

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 7

Basics Propagation

Radio waves are

Easy to generate

Can travel long distances

Can penetrate buildings

They are both used for indoor and outdoor communication

They are Omni-directional: can travel in all directions

They can be narrowly focused at high frequencies (greater than 100MHz) using
parabolic antennas (like satellite dishes)

Properties of radio waves are frequency dependent

At low frequencies, they pass through obstacles well, but the power falls
off sharply with distance from source
At high frequencies, they tend to travel in straight lines and bounce of
obstacles (they can also be absorbed by rain)
They are subject to interference from other radio wave sources

At VLF, LF and MF bands, radio waves

follow the ground. AM radio broadcasting uses MF
band.

At HF bands, the ground waves tend to be

absorbed by the earth. The waves that reach
ionosphere are refracted and sent back to earth.

VHF Transmission

A.S.Rao

Directional antennas are used

Waves follow more direct paths

LOS: Line-of-Sight Communication

Reflected wave interfere with the original

signal

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 8

Wave Propagation

The way RF waves move through an environment is known as wave propagation.

Attenuation occurs as RF signals propagate through an environment.

The signal cannot be detected after a certain distance, and this becomes the usable range
of the signal.

Some of the signal strength is lost through absorption by materials encountered by the RF
signal. This is due to a phenomenon known as free space path loss.

Principle Propagation Effects

Basic Energy Spreading

Effects of obstructions (indoor, outdoor)

Effects of the ground

Tropospheric effects (outdoor)

Ionospheric effects (outdoor)

Clear air

Non-clear air

Generally, dependence on

Wavelength (Frequency) & Polarization

Environment/Climate/Weather

Time

The type of medium changes the way a wave moves.

Mediums with close molecules travel quickly.

This is why waves travel better in liquids and solids than in gases.

EM waves travel in straight lines, unless acted upon by some outside force. They travel
faster through a vacuum than through any other medium.

As EM waves spread out from the point of origin, they decrease in strength in what is
described as an "inverse square relationship".

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 9

 For example: A signal 2 km from its starting point will be only 1/4 as strong as that 1 km
from the source. A signal 3 km from the source will be only 1/9 that at the 1 km point.
HOWEVER..

Modern receivers are very sensitive and extremely small power provides usable signals.
Waves can be received many thousands of kilometers from the transmitting station.

For Example: Voyager 2 transmitted signals over many billions of kilometers from outer
space with only 25W of power!

Free-space Propagation

The received signal power at distance r:

Pr

AeGtPt
4 r 2

where Pt is transmitting power, Ae is effective area, and Gt is the transmitting antenna gain.
Assuming that the radiated power is uniformly distributed over the surface of the sphere.

Path Loss (Free-space)

Definition of path loss LP :

LP

Pt
,
Pr

LPF (dB) 20 log10 ( f c ) 20 log10 (d ) 147.55,

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 10

Path Loss in Free-space:

LPF (dB) 32.45 20log10 fc ( MHz) 20log10 d (km),

LPF (dB) 87.55 20log10 fc ( KHz) 20log10 d (m),

LPF (dB) 27.55 20log10 fc (MHz) 20log10 d (m),
Where fc is the carrier frequency.
This shows greater the fc , more is the loss.

Free space

A simplest case of wave propagation is in free space.

A free space is one which does not have magnetic fields, gravitational fields and there are
no solid bodies of ionized particles to interfere with normal propagation of radio waves.

In practice these conditions are not met since the transmitters are usually located near the
earths surface and the space surrounding the transmitting antenna is never a free space.

However, this free space concept is useful as a reference with which the actual fields can
be compared.

Electrical Nature of Earth

Earth behaves like a leaky capacitance.

The equivalent diagram for earth is a resistance R shunted by Capacitance C, as frequency

increases; the capacitive reactance reduces and is the lowest for higher frequencies.

EM waves of higher frequency are practically short circuited to earth through the
capacitance.

We may therefore expect only a limited range of frequencies to pass over the surface of
earth, without being absorbed by earth.

Classification of Radio Wave Propagation

Although space is the medium through which EM wave propagated, but depending upon
the wavelength of the EM waves, there are three distinct methods by which wave propagation
can take place

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 11

GROUND Wave, SPACE Wave & SKY Wave Propagation

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 12

GROUND WAVE PROPAGATION

The first requirement for propagation of ground wave is that the ground wave should be
vertically polarized electrical vector should be normal to earths surface because horizontal
component will be absorbed by earth i.e., horizontally polarized wave do not propagate. The
ground wave induces charge in the earth, which travel along the earths surface. Therefore, there
will be loss in this movement. Induced current will flow through earths surface resistance and this
will be dissipation loss.
In ground wave propagation, a vertically polarized electromagnetic wave is radiated at
zero or small angle with the surface of the earth. These waves are guided by the conducting
surface of the earth, along which they are propagated. Such waves are called ground wave or
surface wave. The attenuation of grounded wave, as they travel along the surface of the earth is
proportional to frequency of the waves. All medium wave broadcast, long wave telegraph and
telephone communication is carried out by ground wave or surface wave propagation.
The maximum range of surface wave propagation depends not only on the frequency
but also on power. Therefore, the range of transmission can be increased by increasing the power
of the transmitter in the VLF band but this method cannot be effective at the medium frequency
band (higher side) where the tilting due to diffraction is more effective.
Features of Ground Wave Propagation

Frequencies up to 2 MHz

Follows the curvature of the earth (no need of LOS) and can travel at distances beyond the
horizon (up to some km)

must have vertically polarized antennas

strongest at the low- and medium-frequency ranges

Signal under goes reflection, refraction and scattering by object on the ground.

Attenuation directly related to surface impedances

More conductive the more attenuated

Better over water

Very long distances

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 13

But signal dies off rapidly, so need much power

AM broadcast signals are propagated primarily by ground waves during the day and by sky
waves at night.

Attenuation related to frequency

Loses increase with increase in frequency

Not very effective at frequencies above 2Mhz

Very reliable communication link

Reception is not affected by daily or seasonal weather changes

Used to communicate with submarines

ELF (30 to 300 Hz) propagation is utilized

The Ground wave depends on the:

Frequency

Change in terrain

Antenna height in the transmitter and receiver

Distance between the transmitter and receiver

Attenuation factor

The field strength at a distance from the transmitting antenna due to ground wave has
been calculated from the Maxwell equation is
E

120ht hr I s
d

v/m

where ht = height of the transmitting antenna

hr = height of the receiving antenna
= wave length
d = distance
IS = antenna current

According to Sommerfield, for a flat earth, the field strength for a ground wave
propagation is given by
EG

E0 A
d

where
E0 = ground wave field strength at the earths surface at unit
distance (from the transmitting antenna) without
considering earth losses.
EG = ground wave field strength
A = attenuation factor accounting for earth losses
d = distance from the transmitting antenna

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 14

Ground wave attenuation factor

Ground wave attenuation factor (A) is described in terms of numerical distance (p) and
phase constant (b).
The general expression for attenuation factor (A) for b 50,
A

and p

2 0.3 p
2 p 0.6 p 2

0.582df 2

d in km, f inMHz and in mS / m

5

2 0.3 p
p 8 p
For all values of b, attenuation factor (A) is A

sin
b
e
2
2
2 p 0.6 p

The earth offers a resistive impedance to the flow of the r.f currents when, b=0 0, for
vertical polarization and b=1800 for horizontal polarization.

While the earth offers a capacitive impedance to the flow of r.f currents when, b=90 0 for
vertical as well as horizontal polarizations.

From above fig. we can have the following conclusions:

(1) For p<1: the ground attenuation factor A almost remains constant at unity and slowly
reduces with increasing p. Then the ground losses are not significant for p<1.
(2) For p>1: as the numerical distance p becomes greater than unity, the attenuation factor
decreases rapidly.
(3) For p>10: for large p, the ground attenuation factor is almost inversely proportional to the
square of the distance.

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 15

Wave Tilt

Wave tilt is defined as the change of orientation of the vertically polarized ground wave at
the surface of the earth.
Wave tilt occurs at the surface of the earth. The tilt depends on conductivity and
permittivity of the earth. It causes power dissipation. Due to tilt, there exist both horizontal and
vertical components of the electric field. These two components are not in phase. The wave tilt
changes the original vertically polarized wave into elliptically polarized wave.
The horizontal component of the electric field, Eh is: Eh J s Z s , where Zs is the surface
impedance of the earth. Vertical component of electric field, Ev is : Ev H0

Zs

tan 1

2 2 2 2
where conductivity
permitivity

permeability of earth
J s surface current density

0 Intrinsic impedance of free space

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 16

Advantages & Disadvantages of Ground wave propagation

Advantages

Given enough power they can be used to communicate between any two points in the
world

They are relatively unaffected by changing atmospheric conditions like sky waves.

Disadvantages

Requires relatively high transmission power

They are limited to very low, low and medium frequencies which require large antennas

Losses on the ground vary considerably with surface material

Ground Wave get attenuated

A.S.Rao

Due to earth imperfection, absorption and reflection by earth surface and

attenuation increases with frequency.

By the tilt in the wave as it progresses along curvature of earth. Due to this
horizontal component of electric field get shorted, which reduces strength of
electric field.

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 17

SPACE WAVE PROPAGATION

The meaning of Space wave is that the radio waves, which travels from the transmitting
antenna to receiving antenna through space, i.e., the earths troposphere. The height of the
troposphere is about 12-15 km.

This type of radio waves include radiated energy that travels in the lower few miles of the
earths atmosphere. They include both direct and ground reflected waves.

Direct waves travel in essentially a straight line between the transmitting and receiving
antennas. The most common name is line of sight propagation.

A high gain and horizontally polarized antenna is thus highly recommended.

The field intensity at the receiving antenna depends on the distance between the two
antennas and whether the direct and ground reflected waves are in phase.

Direct Waves (LOS)

Occurs when both antennas are within line of sight of each another, distance is longer that
line of sight because most space waves bend near the ground and follow practically a
curved path.

A direct wave, or space wave, travels in a straight line directly from the transmitting
antenna to the receiving antenna. Direct-wave radio signaling is often referred to as line-ofsight communication.

Direct or space waves are not refracted, nor do they follow the curvature of the earth.
These waves are deviated (reflected) by obstructions and cannot travel over the horizon or
behind obstacles.

At higher frequencies and in lower levels of the atmosphere, any obstruction between the
transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna will block the signal.

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 18

Line-of-Sight Equations
Optical line of sight

d 3.57 h

Effective, or radio, line of sight

d 3.57 h

d = distance between antenna and horizon (km)

h = antenna height (m)
K = adjustment factor to account for refraction

Maximum distance between two antennas for LOS propagation:

3.57

h1 h2

h1 = height of antenna one, h2 = height of antenna two

LOS Transmission Impairments

Attenuation and attenuation distortion
Free space loss
Noise
Atmospheric absorption
Multipath
Refraction
Thermal noise

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 19

Repeater stations extend the communication distance at VHF, UHF, and microwave
frequencies.

A repeater is a combination of a receiver and a transmitter operating on separate

frequencies.

The receiver picks up a signal from a remote transmitter, amplifies it, and retransmits it (on
another frequency) to a remote receiver.

Repeaters are widely used to increase the communication range for mobile and handheld
radio units.

In a trunked repeater system, multiple repeaters are under the control of a computer
system that can transfer a user from an assigned but busy repeater to another, available
repeater, thus spreading the communication load.

Communication satellites act as fixed repeater stations.

The receiver-transmitter combination within the satellite is known as a transponder.

Reflected

Part of the signal from the transmitter is bounced off the ground and reflected back to the
receiving antenna

Can cause problems if the phase between the direct wave and the reflected wave are not
in phase

Detuning the antenna so that the reflected wave is too weak to receive

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 20

Considerations in Space Wave Propagation:

Curvature of the earth.
Earths imperfections and roughness.
Hills, tall buildings and other obstacles.
Height above the earth.
Transition between ground and space waves.
Polarization of the waves.

Effect of the curvature of the earth

The main effects of earths curvature are:

The field strength at the receiver becomes small as the direct wave may not be able to
reach the receiving antenna. The earth reflected waves diverge after their incidence on the
earth.

The curvature of the earth creates shadow zones. These are the regions where no signal
reaches. Shadow zones are also called diffraction zones.

It reduces the possible distance of transmissions.

The field strength that is available at the receiver becomes small.

When earths curvature is considered, the field strength at the receiver becomes
ER

2 E0
2 ht' hr'
sin
d
d

Where ht' and hr' are the effective heights of transmitting and receiving antennas. Here, effective
height is the height of the antenna from the supposed flat earth.

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 21

Effect of the earths Imperfections and Roughness

Earth is basically imperfect and electrically rough.

For perfect earth, reflection coefficient is unity. But actual earth makes it different from
unity.

When a wave is reflected from perfect earth, its phase change is 1800. But actual earth
makes the phase change different from 1800.

The amplitude of ground reflected wave is smaller than that of the direct way.

The expression for the field is usually derived on the assumption of no change in amplitude
and with a phase reversal after reflection.
Finally, the field at the receiving point due to space is reduced by earths imperfection and
roughness.

Effect of Hills, Buildings and other Obstacles

Hills, buildings and other obstacles create shadow zones. As a result, the possible distance
of transmission is reduced.

Hills and tall building absorb RF energy and ground reflected wave reduces in strength. The
extent of absorption depends on nature of the obstacle and path difference. Some hills are tall
and narrow, some are stulted but sprawling and wide. The tall knife-edge type hill will put the
receiver into shadow zone as shown in fig.

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 22

The direct wave will not reach the receiver. The reflected wave strength will depend on
absorption by the hill. It may be absorbed, if the hill material is rocky, in which case, the receiver
will not get any reception. Chances of scattering due to atmospheric refraction of the direct wave
will be very low. Generally we will not obtain any reception on the lee side of the hill.
If the hill is stulted and sprawling as shown in fig (b), the hill would absorb the reflected
wave and even weaken it to the point of reducing the field strength to a negligible value.
This is for the good for the receiver because, the direct wave will receive and there will not
be out of phase component from the reflected wave. This is called obstacle gain due to the hill.
There are instances where the reception on the ice side of hill is very good. This must be due to
the ineffective reflecting wave, in phase opposition.

Effect of the Height above the earth

The field varies with the height above the earth.

The field variation is characterized by the presence of maximas, minimas and nulls.

The maximas and minimas depend on frequency, height of the transmitting antenna, ground
characteristics and polarization of the wave.

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 23

Effect of transition between Ground wave and Space wave

When the transmitting antenna is close to the earth, ground waves exists and the field
strength is independent of the height of the antenna.

The antenna height has an effect on the field strength and direct and ground reflected waves
predominate over the ground wave. Its effect depends on frequency, polarization and
constants of the earth.

For vertically polarized wave, the ground wave does not dominate at heights of the order of
or 2. That is, at higher heights of antennas, space wave dominates.

At heights < /10, transition between the ground wave and space wave takes place for
horizontally polarized waves.

Effect of Polarization

For any angle of incidence other than =00 or 900, the magnitude of the reflected wave will be
less with vertical polarization than with horizontal polarization. This reduces the amplitude of
the ground reflected wave.

The height below which ground wave action is to be taken into account is much less with
horizontal polarization than with vertical polarization. It is important at broadcast and lower
frequencies.

The EM interference created by ignition systems, domestic and consumer electrical, electronic
and communication equipment and sn on is, in general, vertically polarized. Horizontal
polarization is useful for discrimination against these disturbances occurring in TV and FM
broadcasting.

Atmospheric Effect in Space wave Propagation

The space wave propagation is significantly influenced by the atmosphere through which radio
waves travel.

The presence of gas molecules, especially that of water vapor which has a high dielectric
constant, causes the air of the troposphere (about 16Km above from the earths surface) to
have a dielectric constant (r) slightly > 1.

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 24

As the air density and distribution of water vapor vary with height, the refractive index and
dielectric constant of air also vary with height- decreasing with increasing height.

The variation of refractive index with height, causes a number of phenomena like reflection,
refraction, scattering, duct transmission and fading of signals to occur.

Refractive Index of air (M-curves)

The variation of the refractive index with height causes a wave travelling in the atmosphere to
bend away from regions of low dielectric constant towards regions of high dielectric constants.

M-curves is known as modified index curves. These curves show the variations of refractive
index with height.

The behavior of a wave travelling through the atmosphere is determined by the refractive
index n of the air (n=).
h

6
Normally it is modified as M and is given by M n 1 10
r

Where, n refractive index

h height above ground

r radius of earth
M modified refractive index

In radio propagation, the variation of M with h i.e., dM/dh is significant. When n and are
independent of height, M increases 0.048 units per feet.

Near the surface of the earth, over land usually decreases linearly with increasing height and
hence the value of M near the earths surface increases linearly at a constant rate < 0.048
typically 0.036 units/feet condition of standard atmosphere (fig a).

When air masses differing in temperature and moisture content overlay each other, the M
curve no longer varies linearly with height (fig b).

The situations that arise for simple surface duct and elevated duct are shown in figs (c) & (d).

At much greater heights, the M curves settles down to a steady increase of 0.048 units/ft for
all (including (a) ) cases.

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 25

Due to the change in the index of refraction, the straight waves are converted into curved
waves above flat earth.

M-curves are used to predict the type of transmission path for propagation of EM wave.

Characteristics of M-curves

Standard propagation occurs when the modified index of refraction linearly varies with height.
M-curve is a straight line having positive slope.

The slope of M-curve decreases near the surface of earth which results in standard
propagation.

In order to achieve greater coverage, the slope of M-curves increases near the surface of the
earth.

Duct propagation occurs when the rays are curved downward over the flat earth and the wave
tends to be guided along the duct.

Absorption and Attenuation by Atmosphere

Different atmospheric phenomena like rain, snow, clouds etc. have considerable effect on the
propagation of EM waves.

A single droplet of rain scatters a wave passing through it in all directions. Thus the wave
suffers attenuation which is a function of the wavelength, the diameter of the drop and the
dielectric constant.

The total attenuation is dependent on the number of drops per unit volume.

The clouds, fog, snow also effect the propagation especially when the wavelengths are in
millimeter range.

Along with the attenuations suffered by atmospheric phenomena, the wave is subjected to
absorption by the atmosphere itself. This absorption of energy from the wave takes place at
certain wavelengths.

Tropospheric Ducting/ Temperature Inversion (Duct Propagation)

In the day time, both land and air become warm. After sunset the sky remains clear, the land
radiates its heat and its temperature falls rapidly. Thus the earth cools the lower layers of the
atmosphere but the temperature of the upper atmosphere remains almost unchanged,
leading to temperature inversion which consequently causes super refraction.

The atmosphere above sea shows no marked variation in temperature but change in humidity
is seen. In fine weather the air close to the sea tends to be cool, while the upper air is dry and
warm. Thus the conditions are appropriate for wide spread and continuous super refraction.

The direct consequence of super refraction is to increase the range of communication

especially at short wavelengths.

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 26

Certain weather conditions produce a layer of air in the Troposphere that will be at a higher
temperature than the layers of air above and below it. Such a layer will provide a "duct"
creating a path through the warmer layer of air which has less signal loss than cooler layers
above and below.

These ducts occur over relatively long distances and at varying heights from almost ground
level to several hundred meters above the earth's surface.

This propagation takes place when hot days are followed by rapid cooling at night and affects
propagation in the 50 MHz - 450 MHz range.

Signals can propagate hundreds of kilometers up to about 2,000 kilometers (1,300 mi).

When duct propagation takes place, line of sight concept no longer applies and the energy
will travel greater distances around the curvature of the earth with relatively low attenuation.

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 27

SCATTER:

A propagation type which occurs on a frequency very close to the maximum usable
frequency. It produces a weak, and distorted signal when heard with in a skip zone since only
parts of the signal is being recovered.

Ionospheric scatter takes place as a result of anomalies in the propagating layer of the
ionosphere that is being used for a particular path.

Patches of intense ionization, or local variations in height, can cause abnormal refraction
to take place. Differences in the angles of incidence and refraction occur allowing over-thehorizon communication between stations as far as 500 miles (800 km) apart

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 28

Tropospheric scatter (or troposcatter) : Signals via the troposphere travel farther
than the line of sight. This is because of the height at which scattering takes place.

The magnitude of the received signal depends on the number of turbulences causing scatter
in the desired direction and the gain of the receiving antenna.

The signal take-off angle (transmitting antenna's angle of radiation) determines the height of
the scatter volume and the size of the scatter angle.

The Tropospheric region that contributes most strongly to Tropospheric scatter propagation
lies near the midpoint between the transmitting and receiving antennas and just above the
radio horizon of the antennas. This effect sometimes allows reception of stations up to a
hundred miles away

A.S.Rao

Dept. of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Page 29