Topic 2—RF Defn

Wired v/s Wireless Communications

Wired communications travel across a bounded

medium. Bounded medium contains or confines the
signal (small amounts of signal leakage can occur).

Wireless communications travel across what is known

as unbounded medium. Unbounded medium does not
contain the signal, which is free to radiate into the
atmosphere in all directions (unless restricted or
redirected by some outside influence).

RF (Radio Frequency) Signal

Polarity (E-field and the H-field)
Polarization is the vertical or horizontal positioning of
an antenna. The orientation of the antenna affects the
polarity of the signal.

The electric field always resides parallel in the same

orientation (plane) of the antenna element.
- the parallel plane is called the E-plane and the plane
that is perpendicular to the antenna element is known
as the H-plane.

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Topic 2—RF Defn

RF Behaviors
RF propagation behaviors include absorption, reflection,
scattering, refraction, diffraction, loss, free space path
loss, multipath, attenuation, and gain.

Absorption
The most common RF behavior is absorption.
If the signal does not bounce off an object, move
around an object, or pass through an object, then 100
% absorption has occurred.

- most materials will absorb some amount of an RF

signal to varying degrees.

Brick and concrete walls will absorb a signal

significantly, whereas drywall will absorb a signal to a
lesser degree.

Absorption can be a leading cause of attenuation.

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Topic 2—RF Defn

Reflection
Bouncing of the wave in another direction is
categorized as reflection.

Scattering

Scattering -- multiple reflections.

- These multiple reflections occur when the
electromagnetic signal’s wavelength is larger than
pieces of whatever medium the signal is passing
through.

Scattering can happen in two different ways.

(1)- on a smaller level and has a lesser effect on the

signal quality and strength.

This type of scatter may manifest itself when the RF

signal moves through a substance and the individual
electromagnetic waves are reflected off the minute
particles within the medium.
Smog in our atmosphere and sandstorms in the desert
can cause this type of scattering.

(2) - occurs when an RF signal encounters some type

of uneven surface and is reflected into multiple
directions.

Chain link fences, tree foliage, and rocky terrain

commonly cause this type of scattering.

When striking the uneven surface, the main signal

dissipates into multiple reflected signals, which can

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Topic 2—RF Defn

cause substantial signal downgrade and may even

cause a loss of the received signal.

Refraction
- refraction is the bending of an RF signal as it passes
through a medium with a different density, thus
causing the direction of the wave to change.

RF refraction most commonly occurs as a result of

atmospheric conditions.

The three most common causes of refraction are water

vapor, changes in air temperature, and changes
in air pressure.

In an outdoor environment, RF signals typically refract

slightly back down toward the earth’s surface.
However, changes in the atmosphere may cause the
signal to bend away from the earth.

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Topic 2—RF Defn

Diffraction

Diffraction is the bending of an RF signal around an

object (whereas refraction, is the bending of a signal as
it passes through a medium).

Diffraction is the bending and the spreading of an

RF signal when it encounters an obstruction.

Typically, diffraction is caused by some sort of partial

blockage of the RF signal, such as a small hill or a
building that sits between a transmitting radio and a
receiver.
The waves that encounter the obstruction slow down in
speed, which causes them to bend around the object.

Loss (Attenuation)

Loss, also known as attenuation, is described as the

decrease of amplitude or signal strength.

A signal may lose strength while on a wire or in the air.

Once the RF signal is radiated into the air via the

antenna, the signal will attenuate due to absorption,
distance, and the negative effects of multipath.

Different materials typically yield different attenuation

results.

Free Space Path Loss

An electromagnetic signal will attenuate as it travels

despite the lack of attenuation caused by obstructions,
absorption, reflections, diffractions, and so on.

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Topic 2—RF Defn

Free space path loss is the loss of signal strength

caused by the natural broadening of the waves,
often referred to beam divergence. RF signal energy
spreads over larger areas as the signal travels farther
away from an antenna, and as a result, the strength of
the signal attenuates.

Multipath
Multipath is a propagation phenomenon that results in
two or more paths of a signal arriving at a
receiving antenna at the same time or within
nanoseconds of each other.

Due to the natural broadening of the waves, the

propagation behaviors of reflection, scattering,
diffraction, and refraction will occur. A signal may
reflect off an object or scatter, refract, or diffract.

In an indoor environment, reflected signals and echoes

can be caused by walls, desks, floors, file cabinets, and
numerous other obstructions.

In an outdoor environment, it could be a flat road,

large body of water, building, or atmospheric
conditions.

Therefore we have signals bouncing and bending in

many different directions. The principal signal will still
travel to the receiving antenna, but many of the
bouncing and bent signals may also find their way to
the receiving antenna.

In other words, “multiple paths” of the RF signal arrive

at the receiver, as seen in Figure below.

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Topic 2—RF Defn

Gain (Amplification)

Gain, also known as amplification , is described as the

increase of amplitude or signal strength.
The two types of gain are known as active gain and
passive gain. A signal’s amplitude can be boosted by
the use of external devices.

Active gain is usually caused by the use of an amplifier

on the wire that connects the transceiver to the
antenna. The amplifier is usually bidirectional,
meaning that it increases the AC voltage both inbound
and outbound. Active gain devices require the use of an
external power source.

Passive gain is accomplished by focusing the RF signal

with the use of an antenna. Antennas are passive
devices that do not require an external power source.
Instead, the internal workings of an antenna focus the
signal more powerfully in one direction than another.

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Topic 2—RF Defn

Basic Principles of Antennas

key points

� Antennas convert electrical energy into RF waves in

the case of a transmitting antenna, or RF waves into
electrical energy in the case of a receiving antenna.
� The physical dimensions of an antenna, such as its
length, are directly related to the frequency at which
the antenna can propagate waves or receive
propagated waves.

Line of Sight (LOS)

With visible light, visual LOS (also called simply ‘LOS’)

is defined as the apparently straight line from the
object in sight (the transmitter) to the observer's eye
(the receiver).

The LOS is an apparently straight line because light

waves are subject to changes in direction due to
refraction, diffraction, and reflection in the same way
as RF frequencies.

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Topic 2—RF Defn

RF works very much the same way as visible light

within wireless LAN frequencies with one major
exception: RF LOS can also be affected by blockage of
the Fresnel Zone.

Fresnel Zone

The Fresnel Zone occupies a series of concentric

ellipsoidshaped areas around the LOS path.

The Fresnel Zone is important to the integrity of the

RF link because it defines an area around the LOS that
can introduce RF signal interference if blocked.

Objects in the Fresnel Zone such as trees, hilltops, and

buildings can diffract or reflect the main signal away
from the receiver, changing the RF LOS.

These same objects can absorb or scatter the main RF

signal, causing degradation or complete signal loss.

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Topic 2—RF Defn

Obstructions

Typically, 20% - 40% Fresnel Zone blockage introduces

little to no interference into the link.

If the Fresnel Zone of a proposed RF link is more than

20% blocked, or if an active link becomes blocked by
new construction or tree growth, raising the height of
the antennas will usually alleviate the problem.

What about the Fresnel Zone when using indoor

wireless LAN equipment such as PC cards and
access points??

In most indoor installations, RF signals pass through,

reflect off, and refract around walls, furniture, and
other obstructions.

The Fresnel Zone is not encroached upon unless the

signal is partially or fully blocked.

In a mobile environment, the Fresnel Zone is

constantly changing.

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