1

Path Loss
Instructor: M. A. Ingram
ECE 4823
Definition of Path Loss
Path loss includes all of the lossy effects
associated with distance and the interaction
of the propagating wave with the objects in
the environment between the antennas
Transmitter
Transmit
Power, P
t
Feeder Loss
L
t
Receiver
Received
Power, P
r
Feeder Loss
L
r
Antenna Gain
G
t
Antenna Gain
G
r
Path Loss
L
P
ti
P
ri
[Saunders,`99]
Motivation
Need path loss to determine range of
operation (using a link budget)
This module considers two cases,
Free space
Flat earth
Received Power
The power appearing at the receiver input terminals
is
All gains G and losses L are expressed as power
ratios and the powers are in Watts
r t
r t t
r
LL L
G G P
P =
dBm and dBW
Powers may also be expressed in
dBm, the number of dB the power exceeds
1 milliwatt
dBW, the number of dB the power exceeds
1 Watt.
Watts
P
P
r
r 3 10
10
(in Watts)
log 10 dBm) (in

=
EIRP
The effective isotropic radiated power
(EIRP) is
The effective isotropic received power is
t
t t
ti
L
G P
P =
r
r r
ri
G
L P
P =
2
Antenna Gains
Antenna gain may be expressed in dBi
or dBd
dBi: maximum radiated power relative to
an isotropic antenna
dBd: maximum radiated power relative to a
half-wave dipole antenna
A half-wave dipole has a peak gain of 2.15 dBi
Path Loss
The path loss is the ratio of the EIRP to the
effective isotropic received power
Path loss is independent of system
parameters except for the antenna radiation
pattern
The pattern determines which parts of the
environment are illuminated
ri
ti
P
P
L =
Free-Space Path Loss
In the far-field of the transmit antenna, the free-
space path loss is given by
The far-field is any distance d from the antenna, such
that
2
2 2
) 4 (

d
L =

>> >> >> d D d

D
d and , ,
2
2
where D is the largest dimension of the antenna.
Power and Electric Field
The peak power flux density in free space:
This holds in the neighborhood (but far field) of
transmitters on towers

=
= = =
377 120
4 4
2 2
2
2 2
E E
E
d L
G P
d
EIRP
P
t
t t
d

where |E| = envelope of the electric field in V/m
Effective Aperture
Antenna gain may be expressed in
terms of effective aperture, A
e
The aperture intercepts the power flux
density
2
4

e
A
G =
e d ri
A P P =
Flat Earth (2-Ray) Model
If there is a line-of-sight (LOS) path,
then the second strongest path is the
ground bounce
LOS
Ground
Bounce
Transmitter
Receiver
3
Typical Relative Dimensions
d>>h
t
, d>>h
r
for a typical mobile
communications geometry
LOS
Ground
Bounce
Transmitter
Receiver
h
t
h
r
d
Field Near Transmitter
Let the field at a distance d
o
in the neighborhood of,
but also in the far field of, the transmit antenna be
E(d
o
,t) , and its envelope be E
o
Assuming the transmitter is high enough,
The field at some other distance d>d
o
is
120 4
2
2
o
o t
t t
E
d L
G P
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
(

=
c
d
t
d
d E
t d E
c
o o
cos ) , (
Low Grazing Angle
At such a low (grazing) angle of incidence
(=a few degrees), the reflection coefficient
is -1 for horizontal polarization
Transmitter
Receiver

= 1
Field at Receiver
The direct and bounce paths add
coherently
d
h
t
h
r
d
d
1

d
2

2 1
) , ( ) , ( ) , (
d d d
t d E t d E t d E
TOT
+ =
=
= 1
Long Baseline Effects
Since d is so large,

|
|
.
|

\
|
=

=
(

1 Re
Re
Re Re ) , (
c
d d
j
c
d
t j
o o
c
d
t j
c
d
t j
o o
c
d
t j
o o c
d
t j
o o
c c
c c
c c
e e
d
d E
e e
d
d E
e
d
d E
e
d
d E
t d E



d d d
1 1 1

A Trick
Pull an exponential with half the phase
out to make a sine

|
|
.
|

\
|
(

|
|
|
.
|

\
|

c
d d
j e e
d
d E
j
e e
j e e
d
d E
c
c
d d
j
c
d
t j
o o
c
d d
j
c
d d
j
c
d d
j
c
d
t j
o o
c c
c c
c c
2
sin Re
2
2
2 Re
2
2 2
2

4
Field Envelope at Receiver
Recall d>d
The envelope of the field is then
Can show that , and
|
|
.
|

\
|
(

=
c
d d
d
d E
E
c
o o
TOT
2
sin
2

d
h h
d d
r t
2

(

|
|
.
|

\
|
(

c
d d
c
d d
c c
2 2
sin
Power Received
Making the substitutions yields
The power received is
d
h h
d
d E
E
r t o o
TOT

2 2
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
= =

4 120
2
2
r TOT
e d ri
G E
A P P
Flat Earth Path Loss
Recalling gives
The flat earth path loss is therefore
120 4
2
2
o
o t
t t
E
d L
G P
=
4
2 2
d L
h h G G P
P
t
r t r t t
ri
=
2 2
4
r t
h h
d
L =
Summary
Free space path loss depends only on distance and
wavelength, and falls off as 1/d
2
Flat earth path loss
depends also on the antenna heights, and falls off as 1/d
4
Has a pretty good fit to urban and suburban environments,
even though it is an idealization, derived only for horizontal
polarization
The power of d is called the path loss exponent
For mobile comm, this exponent is typically between
3.5 and 4
References
[Saunders,`99] Simon R. Saunders, Antennas
and Propagation for Wireless Communication
Systems, John Wiley and Sons, LTD, 1999.
[Rapp, 96] T.S. Rappaport, Wireless
Communications, Prentice Hall, 1996
[Lee, 98] W.C.Y. Lee, Mobile
Communications Engineering, McGraw-Hill,
1998