ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES

Wireless communication is facilitated by electromagnetic waves. An electromagnetic

wave consists of a time varying electric field traveling through space with a time varying
magnetic field. The two fields are perpendicular to each other and the direction of
propagation.
Electromagnetic fields have a property known as polarization. The polarization of an
electromagnetic wave is determined by the orientation of the electric field vector relative
to the surface of the earth. If the electric field vector is perpendicular to the surface, the
wave is vertically polarized. If the electric field vector is parallel to the surface, the wave
is horizontally polarized.
Since electromagnetic waves travel through space, space can be thought of as a kind of
transmission line without any conductors, and like other transmission lines it has a
characteristic impedance. For free space the characteristic impedance is 377 ohms.
The electromagnetic waves that we wish to receive are referred to as signals. The signals
that we dont want are noise. Interference to the desired signal caused by other sources of
RF waves, man-made or natural is known as RFI (Radio Frequency Interference). As the
number of wireless devices increases, mitigating RFI can become a full-time job (and
headache).

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INTERACTIONS BETWEEN
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES AND
THE MEDIUM
When electromagnetic waves travel through a medium they can interact with that
medium in a variety of ways. The first type of interaction is reflection. Radio waves can
be reflected by a solid object much as light waves are. Whenever a radio wave move
across a boundary from one medium to another (assuming that the media have different
refractive indices) there will be a reflection. The incidence and reflection angles are
equal, and the magnitude and phase of the reflected wave depend on the properties of the
reflecting medium.. A perfect reflector that reflects all RF incident on it has a reflection
coefficient of 1.0. Metals and sea water are examples of good RF reflectors.

The reflection of radio waves by a solid object is affected by their polarization. If the
incident wave has its electric field vector parallel to the reflecting surface, the electric
field will be shorted out by the conductivity of the surface. If the electric field vector is
perpendicular to the reflecting surface, it is reflected.
The second type of interaction is refraction. When radio waves pass from one material to
another, they change direction at the interface between the two materials. This is called
refraction. The angles of incidence and refraction are related to the refractive indices of
the two media by Snells law:
n1sin = n2sin2

Variables n1 and are the refractive index and direction of travel in the incident medium
and n2 and 2 are the refractive index and direction of travel in the refracting medium.
Refraction is an important aspect of radio wave propagation. At frequencies between 30
and 30 MHz, the ionosphere refracts RF and redirects the waves back towards the earth's
surface. Above 100 MHz. The refractive index of air is dependent on the temperature and
relative humidity of the air. A temperature inversion can cause RF waves to be bent just
enough to follow the curvature of the earth and travel for hundreds of miles with little
loss.
A third type of interaction is diffraction. When radio waves encounter an obstacle, the
obstacle casts a shadow, just as it would when illuminated with light. However, the

shadow region is not completely void of radio waves, because some radio waves are
scattered around the edge of the object. As one gets farther from the object, one
eventually reaches a point where the scattered waves have completely filled in the
shadow. The amount of scattering depends on the size of the electromagnetic wave
relative to the size of the object. For example, an interstate underpass is dark underneath,
because its size (~10m) is millions of times larger than light waves (~0.5 m). The bridge
casts a sharp shadow and there is little illumination. However, FM radio waves, whose
wavelength is about 3m are diffracted significantly by the bridge and it is possible to
receive FM signals on a car radio while driving under the bridge. There is so much
diffraction that the shadow zone is completely washed out.
The degree of diffraction also depends on the sharpness of the edges of the object. A
gradually sloping hill does not diffract radio waves much and the shadow zone behind it
is quite small. On the other hand, a sharply defined cliff or mountain causes significant
diffraction and a sizeable shadow zone.
There are 3 basic modes of propagation for radio waves in the vicinity of the earth, which
will be discussed in more detail in the next three sections::
Ground wave propagation
Space wave (direct wave) propagation
Sky wave propagation

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GROUND WAVE PROPAGATION

Ground Waves are radio waves that follow the curvature of the earth. Ground waves are
always vertically polarized, because a horizontally polarized ground wave would be
shorted out by the conductivity of the ground. Because ground waves are actually in
contact with the ground, they are greatly affected by the grounds properties. Because
ground is not a perfect electrical conductor, ground waves are attenuated as they follow
the earths surface. This effect is more pronounced at higher frequencies, limiting the
usefulness of ground wave propagation to frequencies below 2 MHz. Ground waves will
propagate long distances over sea water, due to its high conductivity.
Ground waves are used primarily for local AM broadcasting and communications with
submarines. Submarine communications takes place at frequencies well below 10 KHz,
which can penetrate sea water (remember the skin effect?) and which are propagated
globally by ground waves.
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SPACE (DIRECT) WAVE

PROPAGATION
Space Waves, also known as direct waves, are radio waves that travel directly from the
transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna. In order for this to occur, the two antennas
must be able to see each other; that is there must be a line of sight path between them.
The diagram on the next page shows a typical line of sight. The maximum line of sight
distance between two antennas depends on the height of each antenna. If the heights are
measured in feet, the maximum line of sight, in miles, is given by:

Because a typical transmission path is filled with buildings, hills and other obstacles, it is
possible for radio waves to be reflected by these obstacles, resulting in radio waves that
arrive at the receive antenna from several different directions. Because the length of each
path is different, the waves will not arrive in phase. They may reinforce each other or
cancel each other, depending on the phase differences. This situation is known as

multipath propagation. It can cause major distortion to certain types of signals. Ghost
images seen on broadcast TV signals are the result of multipath one picture arrives
slightly later than the other and is shifted in position on the screen. Multipath is very
troublesome for mobile communications. When the transmitter and/or receiver are in
motion, the path lengths are continuously changing and the signal fluctuates wildly in
amplitude. For this reason, NBFM is used almost exclusively for mobile
communications. Amplitude variations caused by multipath that make AM unreadable are
eliminated by the limiter stage in an NBFM receiver.
An interesting example of direct communications is satellite communications. If a
satellite is placed in an orbit 22,000 miles above the equator, it appears to stand still in the
sky, as viewed from the ground. A high gain antenna can be pointed at the satellite to
transmit signals to it. The satellite is used as a relay station, from which approximately
of the earths surface is visible. The satellite receives signals from the ground at one
frequency, known as the uplink frequency, translates this frequency to a different
frequency, known as the downlink frequency, and retransmits the signal. Because two
frequencies are used, the reception and transmission can happen simultaneously. A
satellite operating in this way is known as a transponder. The satellite has a tremendous
line of sight from its vantage point in space and many ground stations can communicate
through a single satellite.
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SKY WAVES
Propagation beyond the line of sight is possible through sky waves. Sky waves are radio
waves that propagate into the atmosphere and then are returned to earth at some distance
from the transmitter. We will consider two cases:
ionospheric refraction
tropospheric scatter
IONOSPHERIC REFRACTION
This propagation mode occurs when radio waves travel into the ionosphere, a region of
charged particles 50 300 miles above the earths surface. The ionosphere is created
when the sun ionizes the upper regions of the earths atmosphere. These charged regions
are electrically active. The ionosphere bends and attenuates radio waves at frequencies
below 30 MHz. Above 200 MHz the ionosphere becomes completely transparent. The
ionosphere is responsible for most propagation phenomena observed at HF, MF, LF and
VLF. The ionosphere consists of 4 highly ionized regions
The D layer at a height of 38 55 mi
The E layer at a height of 62 75 mi
The F1 layer at a height of 125 150 mi (winter) and 160 180 mi (summer)
The F2 layer at a height of 150 180 mi (winter) and 240 260 mi (summer)

The density of ionization is greatest in the F layers and least in the D layer Though
created by solar radiation, the ionosphere does not completely disappear shortly after
sunset. The D and E layers disappear almost immediately, but the F1 and F2 layers do not
disappear; rather they merge into a single F layer located at a distance of 150 250 mi
above the earth. Recombination or charged particles is quite slow at that altitude, so the F
layer lasts until dawn.
The diagram below shows the geometry of ionospheric refraction. The maximum
frequency that can be returned by the ionosphere when the radio waves are vertically
incident on the ionosphere (transmitted straight up) is called the critical frequency.
Ground Wave
Region
Skip Zone

The critical frequency varies from place to place, and it is possible to view this variation
by looking at a real-time critical frequency map
The critical frequency varies from 1 to 15 MHz under normal conditions. Most
communications is done using radio waves transmitted at the horizon, to get the
maximum possible distance per hop. The highest frequency that can be returned when the
takeoff angle is zero degrees is called the MUF, maximum usable frequency. The MUF
and critical frequency are related by the following formula:

The MUF can range from 3 to 50 MHz. You can click here to see a near real-time map of
the MUF of the ionosphere.

IONOSPHERE

The ionosphere also attenuates radio waves. The amount of attenuation is roughly
inversely proportional to the square of the frequency of the wave. Thus attenuation is a
severe problem at lower frequencies, making daytime global communications via sky
wave impossible at frequencies much below 5 MHz.
The properties of the ionosphere are variable. There are 3 periodic cycles of variation:
diurnal (daily) cycle
seasonal cycle
sunspot cycle
The daily cycle is driven by the intensity of the solar radiation ionizing the upper
atmosphere. The D and E layers form immediately after sunrise, and the F layer splits
into two layers, the F1 and F2. The density of the layers increases until noon and then
decreases slowly throughout the afternoon. After sunset, the D and E layers disappear
and the F1 and F2 merge to form the F layer. Take another look at the real-time MUF
map and notice the difference between the MUF numbers in the day and night regions. If
you aren't sure which region is the daytime region, it has a small yellow sun icon in its
center. The thick gray lines indicate the location of the terminator - the division between
day and night.
Seasonal variation is linked to the tilt of the earths axis and the distance between the
earth and sun. The effects are complex, but the result is that ionospheric propagation
improves dramatically during the for the northern hemisphere during their winter, while
seasonal variation in the southern hemisphere is much smaller.
The 11 year sunspot cycle exerts a tremendous effect on the atmosphere. Near the peak of
the cycle (the last peak occurred in December 2001) the suns surface is very active,
emitting copious amounts of UV radiation and charged particles, which increase the
density of the ionosphere. This leads to a general increase in MUFs and attenuation at
lower frequencies. When the sun becomes extremely active, or a major solar flare occurs,
the ionosphere can become so dense that global ionospheric communications are
disrupted.
The maximum distance that can be covered by a single hop using ionospheric
propagation is about 2500 miles. Greater distances can be covered using multi-hop
propagation, in which radio waves are reflected by the ground back up to the ionosphere.
The ionosphere is not uniform and different regions refract RF differently. Multipath
propagation is the result. This leads to rapid variations in the received signal amplitude
known as fading.

Multipath Fading Sample

One of the consequences of ionospheric propagation is that reception of signals on the

AM broadcast band varies greatly from day to night. Click on the wave files below to
hear how the disappearance of the D-layer after dark changes what is heard.

AM Reception, MidAfternoon

AM Reception, Mid-Evening

SPORADIC-E PROPAGATION
For reasons that are not clearly understood, clouds of densely ionized gases appear in the
E -layer of the ionosphere. The clouds are generally relatively small and can happen at
any time of day. These clouds are formed throughout the year, but are most common in
the summer months. Because these clouds are so densely ionized, they can support
ionospheric propagation at frequencies well above the normal MUF. Sporadic E
propagation has been observed at frequencies as high as 144 MHz, and is relatively
common at 50 MHz.
The E-layer is lower than the F-layer and as a result, the distance covered by a sporadic-E
hop is approximately 1000-1300 miles, depending on the cloud's height. The sporadic-E
clouds drift through the E-layer, adding to the unpredictability of sporadic-E
propagation.
Sporadic-E propagation is not generally useful because of its unpredictability. Its main
impact is negative, causing VHF-TV and FM broadcasters in different markets to
interfere with each other.
TROPOSPHERIC SCATTER

Regional over the horizon communications are possible through a sky wave technique
called tropospheric scatter (troposcatter or just tropo). As shown in the diagram below,
the troposphere, which is the layer of the atmosphere closest to the ground, has pockets or
cells of air within it that have a different water vapor content and therefore a different
refractive index for radio waves. As a result, radio waves are scattered by the cells over
the horizon. This scatter occurs at frequencies of 0.3 10 GHz. Operation above 10 GHz

is not possible because water vapor in the air strongly absorbs the signals This scattering
process is not efficient and very little of the transmitted signal is scattered in the direction
of the receiver. High power transmitters and sensitive receivers are required.
The troposphere contains almost all of the earths weather patterns, which makes the
tropospheres properties quite variable. This makes troposcatter communications subject

to weather induced fading and communications blackouts. To improve the reliability of

troposcatter links, a technique called diversity operation is used. There are three types of
diversity:
Frequency Diversity two frequencies simultaneously transmit the same signal
Polarization Diversity radio waves of both polarizations are transmitted simultaneously
Space Diversity pairs of widely separated antennas are used for transmitting and
receiving
Diversity operation greatly increases the reliability of troposcatter links, but it comes at a
significant cost, because at least double the amount of equipment is needed at each
installation.

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