Microwave Communications Part 2

Introduction to Waveguides, Transmission
Lines, Other Devices, and Towers Used in

Microwave Communications Systems
Prepared by: Armando V. Barretto

Waveguide and Transmission Lines
• Waveguides are hollow metallic materials inside which microwave signals are
propagated, typically from the transmitter to the transmit antenna and/or from
the receive antenna to the receiver.
– Electromagnetic signals are reflected at the inner walls of the waveguide
as it propagates along the waveguide.
– Energy is not conducted through the walls of the waveguide but through
the dielectric inside the waveguide, which is usually air.
– Usually, waveguides have higher power handling capability compared to
copper cables with similar dimensions.
– Power losses are lower in waveguides compared to transmission lines
because propagation is through reflection at the walls rather conduction
through them.
• Transmission lines are also used to propagate signals to and from the antennas,
with coaxial cables the most commonly used for microwave communication
systems.
– Coaxial cables have significantly less unwanted radiated energy as signals
propagate along the cable (compared to other cables).
– It is also less affected by noise because of the shielding effect.
• Waveguides and transmission lines contribute to losses in a microwave
system, and these losses must be considered in the design.
• Between 1 and 18 Ghz, waveguides and coaxial cables may be used.
• Below 1 Ghz, waveguide cross sectional dimensions become inconveniently
large, making waveguides practically unusable.
• Above 18 Ghz, coaxial cables are practically unusable because of skin effect.
• Parallel lines are not used for microwave frequencies, because of possible
radiation from the line.
• For frequencies equal to or below 2 Ghz, coaxial cables are usually used.
– Cables are usually ordered with the exact length to avoid discontinuities
when two cable sections are connected to one another.
• Above 2 Ghz, waveguides are generally used.
• For higher frequencies, waveguides are usually used.
• The following are the typical types of waveguide used:
– Rectangular waveguide (can use oxygen-free , high conductivity copper)

• Rigid rectangular waveguides are commonly used.
– Circular waveguide
• Has the lowest loss
• Capable of carrying more than one frequency band in the same
waveguide
• Usually used with horn reflector antennas to provide two polarizations.
• Practical only for straight runs, and requires complicated networks
when connected to rectangular waveguides.
– Elliptical waveguide- typically constructed using corrugated material making it
flexible.
• Has lower attenuation compared to rectangular waveguides.
• It can provide lower VSWR.
• Semi flexible waveguides can be used in a single run, without the need for
intermediate flanges required in connecting rigid rectangular waveguides.
• It is typically used for frequencies of 1.7 Ghz to 23.6 Ghz.
– Ridged waveguide - used because they have smaller dimensions for a given
cutoff wavelength:
• Waveguides and transmission lines have losses which must be considered in the
design of microwave communication systems.
• The losses are typically expressed as db per unit length.
• The number of twists and bends for all types of waveguides must be kept to a
minimum to minimize possible discontinuities and losses.
• The waveguides must be free from moisture/water. This is usually achieved by
pressurization wherein a dehydrator pumps dry air or nitrogen inside the
waveguide.
• A waveguide is a special type of transmission line that consists of a
conducting metallic tube through which electromagnetic energy is
propagated.
Rectangular Waveguide Circular Waveguide
Wave Propagation Inside A Waveguide

Ridged Waveguide
RF Combiners
• RF combiners are used to combine a transmitter and a receiver, or more than
one transmitter and more than one receiver, so that a single microwave
antenna can be used for both the transmitter/s and receiver/s.
• Combiners can use circulators, waveguide switches, hybrids, filters, isolators,,
and phasors.
– These devices have losses which must be considered when computing the
total loss in a microwave system.
Circulators
• A circulator is a device with usually three ports, wherein almost all power which
enters port 1 mostly exits port 2, power which enters port 2 mostly exits port 3,
and power which enters port 3 mostly exits port 1.
• It can be used as a duplexer which is used to connect a transmitter and a
receiver to a single antenna system.
– Power coming from the transmitter mostly goes to the antenna, and power
captured by the antenna mostly goes to the receiver.
• The ports of a circulator can either be of waveguide type, coaxial cable
connector type, or microstrip type.
• Circulators have losses which must be considered in the computation of
microwave system losses.
Circulators
• A circulator could be a device wherein each terminal is connected only to the
next clockwise terminal.
• It is often used to isolate a transmitter and a receiver connected to the same
antenna, and to isolate the input and output of two terminal amplifying
devices.
• It has similarities to a rat race.
• It usually uses ferrite and often has four (4) terminals.
• The diagram below shows a circulator with four terminals using ferrite and
Faraday rotation. 0
Taper with 45 clockwise rotation
Permanent Magnet
Terminal 2
Terminal 3
Taper with no
450 clockwise
Rectangular Waveguide
rotation
Terminal 4
Rectangular
Waveguide
Terminal 1 Ferrite Clockwise rotation of radio waves

Circular Waveguide in either direction
Circulator Using Ferrite and Faraday Rotation
Circulators
• The 45 degrees clockwise rotation in the polarization of radio waves caused by
the ferrite and permanent magnet causes the radio waves to be coupled only
from one specific terminal to another specific terminal.
• The radio waves could not propagate successfully into certain terminals
because of the unmatched dimensions of the rectangular waveguide and
polarization of the radio waves.
• Radio signals from terminal 1 are only coupled to terminal 2, radio signals
from terminal 2 are only coupled to terminal 3, radio signals from terminal 3
are only coupled to terminal 4, and radio signals from terminal 4 are only
coupled to terminal 1.
• In using the circulator, the transmitter could be connected to terminal 1, the
receiver could be connected to terminal 3, and the antenna could be connected
to terminal 2.
– Received signals from the antenna (terminal 2) are only coupled to terminal
3 and the receiver, while signals from the transmitter (terminal 1) are only
coupled to the antenna (terminal 2).
Circulators
• The diagram below shows a Y (wye) -ferrite circulator.
• A permanent magnet is placed below the ferrite (not shown in the diagram).
• The ferrite and the permanent magnet causes the rotation of the radio waves
passing through the ferrite, in such a way that it is coupled only to the next
clockwise terminal.
• The radio waves could not propagate successfully into certain terminals
because of the unmatched dimensions of the rectangular waveguide and
polarization of the radio waves.
• Radio signals from terminal 1 are only coupled to terminal 2, radio signals from
terminal 2 are only coupled to terminal 3, and radio signals from terminal 3 are
only coupled to terminal 1.
• In using the circulator, the
Terminal 1 transmitter could be connected
Ferrite
to terminal 1, the antenna could
Conductor be connected to terminal 2, and
the receiver could be connected
to terminal 3,
Conductor
• A four port circulator can be
Terminal 2
formed by joining two y
Terminal 3
circulators.
Top View Of Y (Wye) -Ferrite Circulator
Other Devices
• Other devices used in waveguide systems are: (To be discussed with other
topics)
– T (Tee) Junctions
– Hybrid T or Magic Tee
– Hybrid T Ring or Rat Race
– Waveguide irises
– Cylindrical posts
– Resistive loads
– Cavity resonators
– Directional couplers
– Isolators
– Mixers
– Waveguide or coaxial switch
– Duplexer
Antenna Tower
• Towers are used to achieve the desired antenna height and to support antennas
and other fixtures.
• The factors which are typically considered in the selection of towers are:
– Cost of tower
– Area requirement and cost of area where the tower will be built
– Tower height limitation as imposed by government and other regulatory
bodies
• The cost of building a tower is typically dependent on the following:
– Height and type of tower
• Cost of tower depends extensively on the height and type of tower.
– Condition of soil or structure where the tower will be built
• Soft soil would require more rigid and costly footings for the tower.
– Allowable wind loading
• Wind can cause the tower to twist and thus affect the signals, and it
could damage the tower.
– Building codes and restrictions
• Tower height restrictions depend on the type of area where the tower
will be built. Towers are restricted near airports.
Antenna Tower
• Towers may be of the self-supported type or guyed type.
• Self-supported type towers need less area compared to guyed towers, thus it is
advisable in downtown areas if needed.
• For tall towers, the cost of self-supported towers increase exponentially as
tower height increases while that of guyed towers increase more or less
linearly.
• For urban areas, guyed towers might not be reasonable to build, because of the
wide area requirement in putting the guy wires, which are used to support the
tower.
• The tower and other devices, such as antennas, must be able to handle the
wind load.
• Wind causes the largest and most constant stress on antenna systems.
• Strong winds could cause the tower and/or antennas to tilt which could result
to outages.
• The tower and other devices, such as antennas, must also be able to handle the
buildup of snow.
Antenna Tower
Guy wire
Insulator
Earth’s Surface Earth’s Surface
Self-supported Type of Tower Guyed Type of Tower

Microwave Communications System
Repeaters

Passive Repeaters
• Passive repeaters (beam redirectors) are sometimes used especially when a
direct microwave path is not feasible.
– Obstructions could be present at the direct path.
• Passive repeaters can either use:
– “billboard type” metal reflectors, which act like a microwave mirror.
This is more commonly used.
– two parabolic antennas connected back to back using a waveguide.
This is seldom used because of high losses in the microwave signal.
• If the included angle between the two paths at the reflector site is less than
about 130 degrees, a single billboard passive reflector can be used.
• The smaller is the included angle between the two paths, the better is the
performance of the single billboard passive reflector.
Passive Repeater (Reflector)
Station 1 Station 2
Earth’s surface
Microwave Communication System Using a Passive Repeater
Passive Repeaters
• The free space, two way gain of a single passive billboard repeater, located
in the far field of both antennas, can be computed as:
AP(db)  22 .2  40 logF(Ghz)  20 logA(sqft)  20log(cos )  two way gain of passive repeater in db
c
where : F(Ghz)  expressed in Ghz  frequency (Gigahertz)

c  speed of light in vacuum  3x108 meter per sec
 approximate speed of microwave signal in earth' s atmosphere
A(sqft)  actual area of passive reflector (repeater) in square feet
  one - half of the included angle between the two paths
Microwave beam
Passive
reflector 
included angle

Microwave beam
• Since a passive reflector acts as a receive and transmit antenna at the same
time, its gain is applied twice resulting to the two way gain indicated above.
• The equation above cannot be used if the single billboard reflector is
located at the near field of one or both antennas.
Passive Repeaters
• The free space, two way gain of a single passive billboard repeater, located
in the far field of both antennas, can be computed using metric units as:
AP(db)  42.9  40 logF(Ghz)  20 logA(sqm)  20log(cos )  two way gain of passive repeater in db
c
where : F(Ghz)  expressed in Ghz  frequency (Gigahertz)

A(sqm)  actual area of passive reflector (repeater) in square meter
  one - half of the included angle between the two paths
Microwave beam
Passive
reflector 
included angle

Microwave beam
• Since a passive reflector acts as a receive and transmit antenna at the same
time, its gain is applied twice resulting to the two way gain indicated above.
• The equation above cannot be used if the single billboard reflector is
located at the near field of one or both antennas.
Passive Repeaters
• As a rule of thumb, the formula below can be used to determine the
approximate boundary of the near field for the combination of an antenna
and reflector:
2 D2 2 F D2
d   2 F D 2  distance between antenna and reflector in feet
 0.984
where : D  diameter of dish antenna, or widest projected dimension of

billboard reflector, whichever is larger, in feet
  wavelength in feet
F  Frequency in Ghz
c
 expressed in Ghz

Passive Repeaters
• The rectangular reflector half-power beamwidth can be computed using
metric units as follows:
16
φ  half - power beamwidth (degrees)
F(GHZ)W(m)
where : W(m)  (meters)

F(GHZ)  frequency (Gigahertz)
c
 expressed in Ghz

  wavelength (meter)
Active Repeaters
• Active repeaters, which are used to regenerate and retransmit microwave
signals, can also be used instead of passive repeaters.
– Active repeaters use microwave receivers and transmitters at the
repeater site.
– It receives, re-amplify, and retransmit microwave signals.
• The advantage of passive repeater over active repeater is that no
microwave radio transmitter and receiver, and electrical power, are
needed at the repeater site.
• The advantage of active repeater is that signal strength at the ultimate
destination could be made higher compared to a system using a passive
repeater because of the presence of a radio transmitter at the relay site.
Repeater
Station 1 Station 2
Earth’s surface
Microwave Communication System Using an Active Repeater

Free Space Path Loss

Typical Microwave Communication System
2 2
 4R   4D 
Lp       Free space path loss APt  ADtη Prad  (Pin)( )
APt  ADtη  λ   λ 
 Pin  Prad ADt EIRP
Power density (Pden) =  (APt)  
EIRP  Prad ADt  PinADt  PinAPt  4R 2
 4 R 2
4R 2
Transmit Parabolic Receive Parabolic Antenna
Antenna (Has power gain and directive gain)
(Has power gain (APT) and Radiated
directive gain (ADT) ) power Captured Power (Pcap) at
Prad  (Pin)( ) antenna output
Input power of antenna (Pin)  APr 2 
Pcap  (Pden)(Ac)  (Pden )  
Coaxial Cable or waveguide  4 
and other devices  2  Pin APtAPr
 Pin APtAPr  2 2

(with loss) 16 R  Lp
Source Transmitter Receiver Destination

Tower Tower
Direction of maximum radiation. Received power at

Transmitter Power radiated from antenna is input of receiver
output power Coaxial Cable
focused towards this direction, instead of (Pcap - power loss at cable
or
propagating in a sphere. Thus antenna has a or waveguide and
Waveguide
Directive Gain (ADT) and Power Gain (APT) other devices)
and other devices
relative to an isotropic antenna which
(with loss)
radiates energy in a sphere.
Free Space Path Loss (Free Space Path Attenuation)
• The following shows how free space path loss formula was derived:
• The power received or captured by a receive antenna is the product of the power
density in the space immediately surrounding the antenna and the antenna’s effective
capture area:
EIRP Pin APt Prad ADt
Pcap  (Pden)(Ac)  (A C)  (A C)  (AC)
4R 2 4R 2 4R 2
 Pin APt   APr    2 
2
 2    (Pin)(APt)(APr )  2 2
 (Pin)(APt)(APr)(1/Lp)  (EIRP)(APr)(1/Lp)
 4  R  4  16  R 
where : Pcap  captured power at receive antenna  power at output of receive antenna (watts)
Pden  Power density at a distance R from transmit antenna
(watts per meter squared)
Ac  receive antenna effective capture area (meter squared)
EIRP  (Pin)(APt)  Effective isotropic radiated power (watts)
Pin  transmit antenna input power (watts)
APt  transmit antenna power gain (unitless)
APr  Receive antenna power gain (unitless)
Prad  (transmit antenna efficiency)(Pin)  radiated power from transmit antenna (watts)
ADt  transmit antenna directive gain (unitless)
R  D  distance from transmit antenna where power density is being taken (meters)
16π 2 R 2 16π 2 D 2
Lp    free space path loss according to Tomasi
λ2 λ2
where : 4R 2  area of sphere with radius R (meters squared)

 λ2 
 2 2
 1 / pathloss  1/Lp (unitless)
16π R 
• Converted to dbm units,
 (Pin)(APt)(APr)   λ2 
Pcap  10log    10log  2 2
 .001  16π R 
 (Pin)(APt)(APr)  16π 2 R 2 
 10log    10log  λ 2 
 .001   
 captured power at output terminal of receive antenna (dbm)
• Free space path loss (also called free space loss or free space path
attenuation) is a fabricated engineering quantity that evolved from
manipulating communications system link equations.
• Free space path loss is also defined as loss incurred between two isotropic
antennas in free space, wherein there is no air, precipitation, or obstruction.
– Its use assumes ideal atmospheric conditions so no electromagnetic
energy is lost or dissipated as it propagates in the atmosphere, but that the
energy simply spreads out resulting to lower relative power densities as
the wave propagates.
– Its use usually assumes that all transmitted power are propagated in a
sphere regardless of what type of transmit antenna is used. Such
propagation requires an isotropic antenna which is nonexistent.
– This assumption is compensated in the communications system link
equations by the use of directive gain of transmit antenna and receive
antenna gain, both relative to an isotropic antenna.
– An antenna directive gain does not actually increase the amount of
power transmitted from the antenna but it is actually a measure of how
effective an antenna is in focusing transmitted power towards certain
direction/s relative to an isotropic antenna.
– No energy is actually multiplied, dissipated or lost.
• Free space path loss is also defined as the loss incurred by electromagnetic
wave as it propagates in a straight line through a vacuum with no blocking,
absorption or reflection of energy from nearby objects. Others say that:
– This definition is misstated and misleading.
– This is confusing because the EM wave actually is not dissipated but it
simply spreads out if propagated in a sphere.
– A more appropriate term for this is spreading loss.
• The use of free space path loss makes computations relatively easier.
Transmission Transmission
Line and Free space Line and
Transmitter Transmit Path Loss Receive Receiver
other Antenna other loss
Output Antenna =31,622.77
Loss = 2.5118 Power Gain Loss = 2.5118
Power = 2 w Power Gain
=18 =18
Power at input of receiver  Power at output of system (up to input of receiver)

(Input power)(Total Power Gain)

Total Power Loss
(2)(18)(18)

(2.5118)(31,622.7)(2.5118)
 3.248 x 10-3 watt (or computations can be done in db)
• Free space path loss (also free space path loss if isotropic antennas are
used) can be computed as:
2 2
16π 2 R 2 16π 2 D 2  4D   4 f D 
Lp  2
 2
     free space path loss (unitless)
λ λ  λ   c 
 free space path loss if isotropic antennas are used
where : R  Radius of a sphere  D
D  distance from transmit antenna (meters)
c
λ   wavelength (meters)
f
c  3 x 108 m/s  speed of electromagnetic wave or light in free space
f  frequency (hz)
Prad  radiated power from transmit antenna
Pcap  captured power at receive antenna  power at input of receiver
Note: the directive gain of isotropic antenna relative to itself=1

ADT = Isotropic antenna directive gain =1
Apr =Isotropic receive antenna gain = 1
• Free space path loss (also free space path loss if isotropic antennas are
used) in terms of db can be computed as:
2 2
 4D   4 f D 
Lp(dB)  10 log   10 log
 λ   c 
 4 
 20 log    20 log f  20 log D
 c 
where : D  distance from transmit antenna (meters)
c
λ   wavelength (meters)
f
c  3 x 108 m/s  speed of electromagnetic wave or light in free space
f  frequency (hz)
• For frequencies in Mhz and distance in kilometers, free space path loss in
dB can be computed as:
Lp(dB)  32.44  20 log f (Mhz)  20 log D(km)
where : D  distance from transmit antenna (kilometers)
f  frequency (Mhz)
• For frequencies in Ghz and distance in kilometers, free space path loss in
dB can be computed as:
Lp(dB)  92.4  20 log f (Ghz)  20 log D(km)
where : D  distance from transmit antenna (kilometers)
f  frequency (Ghz)
• For frequencies in Ghz and distance in miles, free space path loss in dB
can be computed as:
Lp(dB)  96.6  20 log f (Ghz)  20 log D(miles)
where : D  distance from transmit antenna (miles)
• As the frequency is increased, the free space path loss increases.
• Microwave frequencies above 10 Ghz (11 Ghz and above) are more severely
affected by rain and fog.
• Lower microwave frequencies are typically used for longer paths or link
lengths.
• The table below shows typical frequencies used given a certain path or link
length .
Frequency (GHz) Typical Maximum Link Length (Km)
2.4 to 2.5 100
3.6 to 4.2 70
4.4 to 5.0 60
5.3, 5.4 and 5.8 50
5.925 to 6.425 50
6.425 to 7.125 50
7.1 to 7.75 50
7.75 to 8.5 50
10 to 10.7 20
10.7 to 11.7 20
12.7 to 13.25 20
14.4 to 15.35 20
17.7 to 19.7 20
21.2 to 23.6 20
24.25 to 26.5 20
Source: Microwave Communication Basics by COMMSCOPE

Fresnel Zones

Fresnel Zones
• Fresnel zones are series of concentric ellipsoids surrounding the center of the
radio beam path.
• The first Fresnel zone is the surface containing points wherein the sum of the
distance from that point to the two ends of the radio beam path (transmit and
receive antennas) is exactly one-half wavelength longer than the distance of the
direct end-to-end path (direct transmitter to receiver path) of the radio beam.
• The nth Fresnel zone is the surface containing points wherein the sum of the
distance from that point to the two ends of the radio beam path (transmit and
receive antennas) is exactly n half wavelength longer than the distance of the
direct end-to-end path (direct transmitter to receiver path) of the radio beam.
• The cross-section of the Fresnel zones is a series of concentric circles
surrounding the center of the radio beam path.
• The radio beam clearance requirements expressed in Fresnel zones apply to all
sides of the radio beam path (below, above, and sides of the center of radio
beam).
• To ensure that a microwave beam is relatively clear of obstruction, the beam
centerline must be cleared from obstruction by at least 60 % of the radius of the
1st Fresnel zone at the point of obstruction (0.6 F1), and preferably by one radius
of the first Fresnel zone.
Fresnel Zones
• To ensure that a microwave beam is relatively clear of obstruction, the
beam centerline must be cleared from obstruction by at least 60 % of the
radius of the 1st Fresnel zone at the point of obstruction (0.6 F1), and
preferably by one radius of the first Fresnel zone.
First Fresnel
zone (=7 m)
First Fresnel
Direct (Line of sight) zone (=3 m)
space wave Reflected space wave
T R
d
R
O
Ht Hr Cross section of a
Fresnel zone
(circle)
Earth’s surface with effective radius

Fresnel Zones
• The radius of a Fresnel zone at a certain distance can be computed as:
 d1d2   d1d2 
Rn  nλ    nλ  d   radius of n th
Fresnel zone (all must have the same units)
 d 1  d2   
Where : d1  distance from transmit antenna to point being considered
d2  distance from receive antenna to point being considered
d  d1  d2  distance of direct path between transmit and receive antennas
n  number of Fresnel zone (unitless)
λ  wavelength
• The radius of the first Fresnel zone at a certain distance can be computed as:
 d1d2   d1 d2 
R1  λ    λ    radius of first Fresnel zone (all must have the same units)
 d1  d2   d 
Where : d1  distance from transmit antenna to point being considered
d2  distance from receive antenna to point being considered
n  number of Fresnel zone  1 (unitless)
λ  wavelength
Fresnel Zones
• Expressing distance in miles and frequency (f) in Ghz, the nth number
Fresnel zone radius (in feet) can be computed as:
n  d1d2 
Rn  72.1    radius of n th
Fresnel zone (feet)
f  d1  d2 
Where : d1  distance from transmit antenna to point being considered (miles)
d2  distance from receive antenna to point being considered (miles)
d  d1  d2  distance of direct path between transmit and receive antennas (miles)
• Expressing distance in miles and frequency (f) in Ghz, the first Fresnel zone
radius (in feet) can be computed as:
1  d1d2 
R1  72.1  radius of first Fresnel zone (feet)
f  d1  d2 
n  number of Fresnel zone  1 (unitless)
Fresnel Zones
• If the radius of the first Fresnel zone is known, the radius of the nth
Fresnel zone can be computed as:
Rn  R1 n  radius of n th Fresnel zone (feet)
Where : R1  radius of first fresnel zone (feet)

Fresnel Zones
• Expressing distance in miles and frequency (F) in Mhz, the Fresnel zone radius
(in feet) can be computed as:
 n d1d2 
Rn  2280    radius of n th
Fresnel zone (feet)
 d F 
F  frequency (Mhz)
• The maximum radius occurs when d1=d2 and the maximum radius of a Fresnel
zone can be can be computed as:
 d1d1   d1 
Rn  nλ    nλ    maximum radius of n th Fresnel zone (all must have the same units)
 d1  d1  2
Where : d1  d2  distance from transmit antenna to point being considered
d2  d1  distance from receive antenna to point being considered
n  number of Fresnel zone
λ  wavelength
Fresnel Zones
• Expressing distance in kilometer and frequency (F) in Ghz, the Fresnel zone
radius (in meter) can be computed as:
 n d1d2 
Rn  17.3    radius of n th Fresnel zone (meter)
 dF 
Where : d1  distance from transmit antenna to point being considered (kilometer)
d2  distance from receive antenna to point being considered (kilometer)
d  d1  d2  distance of direct path between transmit and receive antennas (kilometer)
F  frequency (Ghz)
• Expressing distance in kilometers and frequency (f) in Ghz, the first Fresnel
zone radius (in meters) can be computed as:
 d1d2 
Rn  17.3    radius of first Fresnel zone (meter)
 d F 
Where : d1  distance from transmit antenna to point being considered (kilometer)
d2  distance from receive antenna to point being considered (kilometer)
d  d1  d2  distance of direct path between transmit and receive antennas (kilometer)
F  frequency (Ghz)
Effects of Earth’s Atmosphere and
Terrain on Microwave Signals

Characteristics of Microwave Beam
• A microwave beam is composed of a wave front even though it is usually
represented by a straight or curved line.
• A microwave signal, just like other radio frequency signals, could be:
– Refracted
– Reflected
– Diffracted
– Absorbed (Attenuated)
Refraction of Electromagnetic Waves
Direct space wave

(Not refracted, not reflected, Refracted space wave
typically does not happen)
Reflected space wave
Transmit antenna
Receive antenna
d
O
Ht Hr

• The atmosphere could refract (bending of microwave beam) electromagnetic
waves such as microwave signals.
– Refraction is affected by atmospheric condition such as temperature, pressure
and relative humidity (water vapor), which affect the dielectric constant and
index of refraction of the atmosphere.
– Radio waves are refracted (bent) in the earth’s atmosphere because of the
differences in the index of refraction in the earth’s atmosphere.
– Refraction of radio waves affect the radio horizon.
– Radio horizon is typically beyond the line of sight because waves are refracted
vertically. The dielectric constant and index of refraction of the atmosphere
changes with height.
– Under normal atmospheric condition, the index of refraction of the atmosphere
becomes lower as the height increases, resulting to faster velocity of the higher
portion of a wavefront, which causes the top portion of a wave to be tilted
forward. The radio wave is refracted downward which makes the radio horizon
farther than the line of sight horizon.
– Under certain atmospheric conditions, radio waves can be bent upward which
could result to weakening or loss of signals at the receiver.
• Refractive index (also called index of refraction) is the ratio of the
velocity of propagation of light in free space to the velocity of propagation
of light in a given material.
• Refractive index can be expressed as:
c
n (unitless)
Vp
n  r  r  refractive index of material or index of refraction (unitless)
but since most materials involved (such as air) have μr  1, then practically
n   r  refractive index of material or index of refraction (unitless)
where : c  velocity of propagation of light in a vacuum (3 x 108 m/s)

Vp  velocity of propagation of light in a given material (m/s)

r   dielectric constant (relative permittivity) of material
o
relative to free space / vacuum (unitless)
 permittivity of material (Farad per meter)
 o  permittivity of free space  8.85 x10-12 Farad per meter
μr  relative permeability of material
• The diagram below is an example of how an EM wave is refracted as it
passes from one medium to another medium with different refractive
index.
Normal
Incident
wavefront 1 (greater than 2)
Vp1 (greater than Vp2)
Incident rays

Medium 1 (less dense)
i
 ’
Intersection of two media
Refracted
wavefront Medium 2 (more dense)
’
Refracted rays r 2 (less than 1)
Vp2 (less than Vp1)
Refraction Of EM Waves
• Rays closer to point A enter medium 2 earlier than rays closer to Point B.
Rays closer to Point A have traveled a certain distance at medium 2 before
rays closer to point B enters medium 2. As a result, the wavefront at medium
2 is tilted or bent in a downward direction.
• Whenever an EM wave passes from a less dense to a more dense medium
(higher propagation velocity to lower propagation velocity) , it is bent
towards the normal (imaginary line perpendicular to the surface at the point
of incidence).
• Whenever an EM wave passes from a more dense to a less dense medium
(lower propagation velocity to higher propagation velocity) , it is bent away
from the normal.
• The angle of incidence (i) is the angle formed between the incident wave
and the normal.
• The angle of refraction (r) is the angle formed between the refracted wave
and the normal.
• Refraction also occurs when a wavefront propagates in a medium with a
density gradient that is perpendicular to the direction of propagation (i.e.
parallel to the wavefront) Less dense
More dense
Refraction Of EM Waves In Medium With Density Gradient

• How an EM wave reacts when it travels from one material to another material
can be described using Snell’s Law which can be expressed as:
n1sinθ1  n2 sinθ2
sinθ1 n2  r2
 
sinθ2 n1  r1
where : n1  refractive index of material 1 (unitless)

n2  refractive index of material 2 (unitless)
θ1  angle of incidence (degrees)
θ2  angle of refraction (degrees)
 r1  dielectric constant (relative permittivity) of material 1
 r2  dielectric constant (relative permittivity) of material 2
• Under extreme cases, when the angle of incidence is large and the wave
travels into a material with considerably lower dielectric constant than the
first, the angle of refraction can be greater than 900, and the wave comes out
of the second material back to the first material.
– Refraction becomes a form of reflection called total internal reflection.
Normal
Material 1 Material 1
c=critical angle
Refracted wave
Incident wave

Material 2 Material 2
(lower dielectric constant (lower dielectric constant
and refractive index) and refractive index)
Total Internal Reflection

(In this case, refracted wave travels at the boundary between two materials).
• The angle of incidence that results in an angle of refraction = 90 degrees is
called critical angle, which can be computed as:
n2
c  Sin 1  critical angle (degrees)
n1
where : n1  refractive index of material 1 (unitless)
n2  refractive index of material 2 (unitless)
• Because of refraction, radio waves can pass over an obstruction in some

cases.
• Under special atmospheric conditions (superrefraction), duct propagation could
occur in which:
– Electromagnetic waves are trapped between a certain height of the
atmosphere and the earth’s surface, or between two layers of the atmosphere
(called a duct).
– Waves can propagate over farther distances.
– Superrefraction occurs when there is an increase in temperature with height,
increase in humidity with height, or both.
Super-refractive layer of
Troposphere (lower refractive index)
Earth’s surface Electromagnetic waves trapped

in a duct
Duct Propagation (Between Troposphere And Earth’s Surface)
troposphere (lower refractive index)
Electromagnetic waves trapped

Earth’s surface in a duct (high refractive index)
troposphere (lower refractive index)
Duct Propagation (Between Layers of Troposphere)
Reflection of Electromagnetic Waves
• Reflection of EM wave occurs when an incident wave strikes a boundary
between two materials, and some or all of the incident power bounce to
another direction within the first material, instead of entering the second
material.
Normal
Incident
wavefront r
Refracted
wavefront
Incident rays i
Medium 1
Vp1
Refracted rays
Intersection of two media
 
Medium 2
Vp2
Reflection Of EM Waves
• The angle of incidence is the angle formed between the incident ray and the
normal.
• The angle of reflection is the angle formed between the reflected ray and the
normal.
• The angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence (i = r).
• The reflected voltage field intensity is usually less than the incident voltage
field intensity unless the reflector is a perfect conductor.
• The ratio of the reflected voltage field intensity to the incident voltage field
intensity is called the reflection coefficient (.
• For a perfect conductor, reflection coefficient ( = 1, which means to say
that all incident power are reflected.
• Reflection coefficient can be expressed as:
Er e j r
  reflection coefficient (unitless)
Ei e j i
where : Er  magnitude of reflected voltage intensity (volts)
Ei  magnitude of incident voltage intensity (volts)
 r  phase of reflected voltage intensity (degrees or radians)
 i  phase of incident voltage intensity (degrees or radians)
• The portion of the total incident power that is not reflected is called power
transmission coefficient (T) or simply transmission coefficient.
• For a perfect conductor, transmission coefficient = 0.
• Transmission coefficient is the ratio of the incident power not reflected to the
total incident power and it can be expressed as:
T = 1 – ransmission coefficient (unitless, less than 1)
where: = magnitude of reflection coefficient (unitless)
• When the reflecting surface is not a plane (such as curved), the curvature of
the reflected wave is different from that of the incident wave.
• When the wavefront of the incident wave is curved and the reflective surface
is a plane, the curvature of the reflected wavefront is the same as that of the
incident wavefront.
• Reflection can also occur when the reflective surface is irregular or rough,
but the wavefront of the reflected wave could be different from that of the
incident wave, and most likely, the waves will be scattered towards different
directions. Such a reflection is called diffuse reflection.
• Reflection from a perfectly smooth surface is called specular (mirrorlike)
reflection.
• Semirough surfaces cause a combination of diffuse and specular reflection.
• The Rayleigh criterion states that a semirough surface will reflect as if it
were a smooth surface whenever the cosine of the angle of incidence is
greater than /8d, where d = depth of the surface irregularity and is the
wavelength of the incident wave.

cos  i 
8d
• Because of reflections, radio waves can go behind, beside or above an
obstruction such as mountains.
• Reflections could also constructively or destructively affect radio signals.
– If direct wave and reflected waves add in phase, it is constructive.
– If direct wave and reflected waves are out of phase, it is destructive
because they will subtract.
– Receiving reflected waves with considerable delay from the direct wave
causes multipath distortion, such as “ghosts” on TV receivers.
• Radio waves could be reflected by reflective surfaces and obstacles along the
radio path.
• Radio waves could also be reflected by the atmosphere itself when there are
stratified layers with different indices of refraction in the atmosphere.
• The directly received wave and reflected wave could add up or subtract
depending on their phase relationship at the receiver. The two will add up if
they are in phase and will subtract if they are 180 degrees out of phase.
• Radio waves can be reflected from relatively smooth surfaces such as
smooth terrain and bodies of water.
• The criteria for smoothness of reflective surfaces depend on angle of
incidence and the physical characteristics of the surface.
– Relatively rough surface looks smoother when seen from very small
angle from the surface.
Diffraction of Electromagnetic Waves
• Diffraction is the modulation or redistribution of energy within a wavefront
when it passes near the edge of an opaque object.
• Diffraction is the spreading out or scattering of waves when waves pass
around corners of objects.
• Diffraction allows electromagnetic waves such as light and radio waves to
propagate (peek) around corners.
• Huygen’s principle can be used to explain diffraction. It states that every
point on a given spherical wavefront can be considered as secondary point
source (isotropic source) of electromagnetic waves from which other
secondary waves (wavelets) are radiated outward.
Secondary wavelets
no cancellation due to diffraction
cancellation
Shadow zone
no cancellation no cancellation
Opaque material
Secondary wavelets
Electromagnetic Waves Without Diffraction Electromagnetic Waves With Diffraction

• Based on Huygen’s principle,
– Each secondary point source in a wave radiates energy outward in all
directions.
– The wavefront continues in its original direction rather than spread out
because the cancellation of the secondary wavelets occurs in all directions
except straight forward.
– When a point source enters a corner or a hole in an object, cancellation in
random directions is incomplete, thus resulting to spreading out of the
wavelets (diffraction).
• Because of diffraction, radio waves can pass behind, beside or above an
obstruction such as mountains, but the signal strength behind, beside, or
above the obstruction will be lower than if the obstruction is not present.
• Radio waves are diffracted when it grazes over obstacles.
– There is significant loss of energy in radio waves when the center of the
radio beam grazes over an obstacle. The loss could be from six to twenty
decibels.
– Smooth surfaces such as a flat terrain or water produce maximum loss at
grazing.
– Trees and other objects could also obstruct and/or diffract radio waves.
Absorption Loss of Electromagnetic Waves
• Absorption loss is the reduction in power density of an EM wave as it propagates
through the earth’s atmosphere, because some energy are absorbed by particles in
the atmosphere.
• Absorption loss is due to the collision of ions with other particles in the atmosphere.
• Some particles which contribute to absorption loss are water vapor, rain, and
oxygen.
• The greater is the particle density, the greater is the absorption loss.
• Absorption loss does not occur in a vacuum.
• Wave absorption by the atmosphere is analogous to an I2R power loss; once
absorbed, the energy is lost forever.
• Wave absorption causes a reduction in electric and magnetic field intensities, and
power density.
• Higher frequencies have greater atmospheric absorption.
• Absorption loss depends on frequency and is relatively insignificant below
approximately 10 Ghz.
• Absorption loss is not dependent on the distance from the radiating source, but
rather on the total distance that the wave propagates through the atmosphere or
along the earth’s surface.
• The longer is the path length, the greater is the absorption
Absorption Loss of Electromagnetic Waves
• Note that some books call absorption loss as attenuation also.
• Assuming that the atmosphere through which the wave propagates is
homogeneous, absorption loss can be computed as:
η  γc (R2  R1)  absorption loss

where : γc  absorption loss coefficient
R2  distance 2 from the source
R1  distance 1 from the source
Attenuation Of Microwave Due To Rain And Fog
• Rain and fog could also attenuate microwave signals.
– The attenuation increases when there is an increase in instantaneous rate
of the rainfall, rain drop size, and length traveled by the radio wave.
– Microwave frequencies above 10 Ghz (11 Ghz and above) are more
severely affected by rain and fog.
– 6 Ghz to 8 Ghz microwave signals traveling a distance of 30 miles could
have a few db attenuation because of heavy rain conditions.
– Fog could result to temperature inversion and stratification.
• This could cause unwanted radio signal refraction or reflection, and
could affect radio path clearances.
– It is recommended that radio paths in areas with severe rain and fog
conditions should have more adequate clearances and shorter distances.
Equivalent Earth Radius Factor (K)
• Because radio beams are refracted in the earth’s atmosphere, the beams
typically do not travel in a straight line.
• Radio horizon is typically beyond the line of sight because waves are
refracted vertically.
• The amount of refraction or bending is dependent on the prevailing
atmospheric condition.
• To take into account the amount of bending of the radio beam, an equivalent
earth radius factor, designated as K, is usually used.
• Different atmospheric conditions could result to different amounts of bending
of the radio wave, and thus different values of K.
• Under usual (normal) atmospheric condition:
– Radio beams are bent downward and could travel beyond the line of sight.
– Earth’s radius seems to be longer than the actual earth radius.
– Because of this, the earth’s surface would seem to be flatter. (The longer
is the radius, the flatter is the surface of a sphere).
• The diagrams below show the effect of Equivalent earth radius.
Radio wave
Antenna tower Antenna tower

Earth’s surface
Earth’s radius ( R )
Radio wave
Earth’s surface
Effective Earth radius (greater

than actual earth radius under
normal atmospheric condition)
= 4R/3
• The diagram below shows the derivation of equations related to equivalent
earth radius factor (K).
K R  h12  d12  K R 2 d1 d2
K R 2  2 h1 K R  h12  d1  K R 2
2
Site 1 h1 Re=KR
h2
Site 2
d1  2 h1 K R  h1 2
2
h1(ft)  h1(ft)  Re=KR Re=KR
 2 K (3,960 mi)    (miles)
5,280 ft/mi  5,280 ft/mi 
 h1(ft)  h1(ft) 
   2 K (3,960 mi)   (miles)
 5,280 ft/mi  5,280 ft/mi 
 h1(ft)  h1(ft)
   2 K (3,960 mi)  (miles) (since 2 K (3,960 mi)  )
 5,280 ft/mi  5,280 ft/mi
3
d1   K h1(ft) (miles) where : K  Equivalent earth radius factor
2
R  Actual earth radius  3960 miles
d1 d2 d1 d2 Re  K R  equivalent earth radius
h1(ft)  h2(ft)   d1  d2  distance from site 1 to middle of the path
3
K 1.5 K d2  d1  distance from site 2 to middle of the path
2
• To determine if a microwave radio beam has sufficient clearance from
obstructions along the radio path, the relative distance of the radio beam to the
earth’s surface and possible obstructions is plotted on a chart.
• The relative distance of the radio beam to the earth’s surface could be plotted
using different ways.
– One way is to plot the earth’s surface curvature using the equivalent
earth radius by using the factor K, and then plot the radio beam using a
straight line. The equivalent earth radius can be computed as:
Effective Earth' s Radius  K R
where : K  Equivalent earth radius factor

R  actual earth radius
– Another way is to plot a flat earth’s surface, and then plot the radio beam
having a curvature of KR.
– The second method is preferred for graphical approach because it is more
convenient to use for varying values of k. The relative height of obstacles
is only plotted once.
• Under normal (typical) atmospheric condition, K = 4/3 and the effective
radius of the earth is greater than its actual radius.
• In analyzing microwave communication systems, it is sometimes necessary to
analyze the effects of different earth radius factors on the microwave beam.
• Path profiles using different values of K are prepared and analyzed.
• The values of K which are usually analyzed are:
– K = 4/3 (normal or typical atmospheric condition)
– K = infinity (curvature of microwave beam identical to that of the earth)
– K = 2/3
– K=1
Effects Of Terrain On Microwave Radio Signals
• The terrain between the transmitter and receiver stations could block, reflect,
diffract and/or disperse radio signals, or cause cancellation of received signals.
• The effect of objects along the terrain depends on the height, position, shape,
composition or nature of objects, and relative distance of reflective objects, among
others.
• As an example, trees could totally block radio signals or cause dispersion of energy;
containers such as water or gas tanks could totally block, reflect, diffract or disperse
radio signals.
• When the centerline of the radio beam grazes an obstacle, blocking and dispersion
occurs, and significant amount of energy is lost.
• Loss could be six to twenty decibels depending on the obstacle.
• Trees could produce a loss of up to 6 decibels.
Direct path of Centerline of radio wave grazing an obstacle
radio wave (resulting to blocking and dispersion of radio signal)
Transmitter antenna Receiver antenna

• Some objects, even those not on direct path of radio beam, are good radio
wave reflectors, such as metallic objects (water tanks, billboards..) and
seawater.
• Reflective areas or objects could be flat or smooth areas, water surfaces, hills
without trees and brush, flat prairies, and others.
• The smoothness is relative to the angle at which the radio beam reaches the
point of reflection.
• Rough surfaces seem to be smooth when viewed from a far distance.
• When a reflected signal which reaches the receiving antenna is out of phase
with the signal received directly from the transmitting antenna, the reflected
signal could weaken or cancel out the directly received signal.
Direct path of Reflected signal
radio wave
Reflected signal O

• When the angle of incidence of reflected wave is very low, which is usually the
case for microwave radio signals, there is a 180 degrees (one half wavelength or
/2) phase delay or reversal at the point of reflection).
• There are cases wherein the direct and reflected waves are in phase (causes
addition of the two waves), and cases wherein the direct and reflected waves are
180 degrees out of phase (causes subtraction or cancellation of the two waves).
• The scenario at which the direct and reflected waves will add up, is when the
reflection path is longer by odd multiples of one half wavelength (2, 3/2, …)
compared to the direct path. This is the desired scenario.
• The scenario at which the direct and reflected waves will subtract, is when the
reflection path is longer by even multiples of one half wavelength (2/2, 4/2, …)
compared to the direct path. This is the undesired scenario.
Direct path of Reflection path of radio wave
Transmitter antenna radio wave Receiver antenna
Addition of direct and
reflected waves at receive
antenna if reflection path is
O
longer by multiples of half
180 degrees phase Ht Hr wavelength compared to
delay or change direct path, cancellation
at reflection point of two waves if reflection
Earth’s surface with effective radius path is longer by multiples
of one wavelength.
• The height of the transmit and receive antennas must be sufficient to obtain
an acceptable clearance from obstacles along the radio wave path.
• To achieve a path loss approximately equal to the free space path loss, a
certain path clearance from obstacles along the transmission path, must be
achieved.
• The amount of clearance is generally described in terms of Fresnel zones.
• All points from which a wave could be reflected with an additional path
length of one-half wavelength form an ellipse that define the first Fresnel
zone.
• The boundary of the nth Fresnel zone consists of all points in which the
propagation delay is n/2 wavelengths.
• Measurements have shown that to achieve a normal transmission loss
approximately equal to the free space path loss (free space propagation, no
obstacles), the centerline of the radio beam should pass over all obstacles with
a clearance of at least 0.6 times the radius of the first Fresnel zone, and
preferably by a distance of at least one (1) radius of the first Fresnel zone.
(applicable to all sides of the main radio beam)
• The clearance from reflective obstructions, preferably must not be in such a
way that reflected signals could cancel direct waves, such as when clearance
is equal to the radius of the 2nd Fresnel zone (reflected radio wave has
additional distance traveled of one wavelength).
• When determining the height of a microwave tower, a profile plot is made of
the terrain between the proposed antenna sites, and the worst obstacle in the
path, such as mountain peak, is identified. The worst obstacle is used for
leverage to determine the minimum path clearance between two locations
from which the most suitable antenna heights are determined.
Direct path of
radio wave
Clearance of transmission path

must be at least 0.6 times the
O radius of first Fresnel zone,
and preferably by one radius of
the first Fresnel zone.

–The path profile takes into account the effect of earth’s effective radius.
–Some path profiles assume the earth’s surface to be flat and transmission
path as curved.
First Fresnel
zone (=7 m)
First Fresnel
Direct (Line of sight) zone (=3 m)
space wave Reflected space wave
T R
d
R
O
Ht Hr Cross section of a
Fresnel zone
(circle)

Obstacle Clearance Requirements For Microwave Route
• The clearance from obstacles along the microwave radio path should be
enough to achieve free space propagation (no obstacles) even during
extreme conditions.
• This could be achieved by making sure that transmit and receive antenna
heights are high enough even during subnormal refractive index scenarios.
• However, making the antenna height higher than what is needed could have
adverse effects, because the higher is the antenna height, the more it is prone
to receive unwanted reflected signals which could adversely affect the
directly received signal at the receive antenna.
• The cost of tower and fixtures would also be higher for higher antenna
towers.
• To ensure that a microwave beam is relatively clear of obstruction, the beam
centerline must be cleared from obstruction by at least 60 % of the radius of
the 1st Fresnel zone at the point of obstruction (0.6 F1), and preferably by
one radius of the 1st Fresnel zone.
• The recommended clearances for systems which need the highest reliability
(heavy route) are based on the following:
– 1.0 F1 (1.0 times the radius of first Fresnel zone) at K=4/3 or at least
0.3 F1 (0.3 times the radius of first Fresnel zone) at K=2/3, whichever
is higher.
– When propagation is very difficult, a minimum grazing clearance at
K=1/2.
– For 2 Ghz frequency with paths longer than 36 miles, clearance of 0.6
F1 at K=1.0.
• The recommended clearances for systems with less reliability requirements
(light route) are based on the following:
– Clearance of at least 0.6 F1 plus 10 feet at K=1.0 (from all sides of the
radio beam)
• For obstacles near the transmit and receive antennas, the Fresnel zone
radius and earth bulge become small, and the computed clearance based on
the preceding recommendations could become small.
– For such scenarios, it is still recommended to have a considerable
clearance of at least 15 feet to 20 feet from the obstacles.
• Despite the preceding recommendations, it is still possible to have service

deterioration or outage in some cases depending on the severity of the
atmospheric conditions and terrain along the radio path.
• For non-reflective paths, it is usually sufficient to study the path to provide
clearances based on the preceding recommendations.
• For reflective paths, it is recommended to study the path for supernormal
scenarios wherein K=infinity.
Effects of Atmospheric Condition on Equivalent Earth Radius
• The determination of transmit and receive antenna height to provide minimum

fading involves the determination of the equivalent earth radius, which is
dependent on the actual atmospheric condition along the radio path.
• The atmospheric condition varies as the time of the day and the season of the
year varies, resulting to the variation of the equivalent earth radius and the
factor K.
• The variations in atmospheric conditions (and K) result to variations in the
clearance of the radio beam over obstacles along the radio path, which also
could result to change in the magnitude of the received signal.
• The value of K to be used must be based on past history and experience in the
field, together with applicable meteorological data.
Effects of Atmospheric Condition on Equivalent Earth Radius
• The K values which are typically considered in the design are:
– Minimum possible value of K , which determines the maximum extent of
the “earth bulging”, and therefore is used to determine the minimum
clearance over obstacles, and possibly the minimum transmit and receive
antenna height.
– Maximum possible value of K, which determines the maximum clearance
over obstacles, which must also be used in the analysis of reflected signals. It
is possible to have a clearance in which the reflected signal from the obstacle
could cancel the directly received signal at the received antenna.
– Median or “normal” value of K, which determines the usual clearance over
obstacles. Clearance/s under the normal value of K must give free space
propagation, that is clearance of at least 0.6 times the radius of the first
Fresnel zone, and preferably by a clearance of one (1) radius of the first
Fresnel zone. (applicable to all sides of center of radio beam). Clearance
under this condition must also not fall or become near the radius of even
Fresnel zones, because reflected signals from the obstacle could subtract
from the directly received signal in this scenario.
Effects Of Atmospheric Condition On Microwave Signals
Effects of Rain on Microwave Signals:
• Rain could attenuate microwave radio signals.

• Attenuation due to rain increases rapidly as the frequency increases, and the
attenuation due to rain at frequencies above 10 Ghz is very significant except
if the precipitation is very light.
• The attenuation increases when there is an increase in instantaneous rate of
the rainfall, rain drop size, and length traveled by the radio wave.
• Charts are available indicating theoretical attenuation due to rain at certain
frequencies, which could be used in the design of microwave radio systems.
• Multipath fading does not occur during periods of heavy rainfall.
• Space diversity or in-band frequency diversity (both in 6 Ghz band or both
in 11 Ghz band) does not provide improvement to counter the attenuation due
to rain.
Effects of Rain on Microwave Signals:
• The attenuation due to rain should also be considered in determining the

minimum required signal level which should be received by the receiver
equipment when there is rain.
• Effects of rain attenuation can be minimized by:
– increasing the fade margin
– shortening the radio path
– Cross-band frequency diversity (one channel in 6 Ghz band and the other
in 11 or 12 Ghz band)
Effects of Fog on Microwave Radio Signals:
• Fog contains minute droplets of water.

• Fog could cause temperature inversion wherein warm air flow over cool ground.
– Because of this, sub-standard surface layer exists, and there is usually a
reduction in the clearance of radio beam over obstacles along the radio path.
– In extreme cases, there could be service outage because of severe blocking of
microwave radio signals.
• Fog could cause still air, accompanied by stratification.
– This could cause extreme refractive or reflective conditions, thereby affecting
microwave radio signals.
• Fog which is very close to the ground and below the main portion of the radio
beam could reflect radio signals.
• Effects of fog can be minimized by providing adequate radio beam clearance
from obstacles and/or shortening the radio path.
Effects of Atmospheric Gases on Microwave Radio Signals:
• Atmospheric gases absorbs microwave energy and thus attenuates radio signals.
• Most of the atmospheric absorption is due to oxygen and water vapor.
• The attenuation due to oxygen absorption in the 2 Ghz to 14 Ghz frequency range
is around 0.01 db/mile, with the attenuation increasing slightly as frequency
increases.
• The attenuation due to water vapor absorption is around:
– 0.0002 db/mile for 2 Ghz frequency
• The attenuation of microwave signals due to absorption by atmospheric gases must
be considered if it becomes substantial.
– Usually, attenuation should be considered for paths longer than 50 miles for 2
Ghz to 8 Ghz frequency range, and for paths longer than 20 miles for 10 Ghz
to 14 Ghz frequency range.
Effects of Atmospheric Gases on Microwave Radio Signals:
Path Attenuation (db)

Length
(Miles) 2-4-6 8 Ghz 10 Ghz 12 Ghz 14 Ghz
Ghz
20 0.2 0.26 0.32 0.38 0.48
40 0.4 0.52 0.64 0.76 0.96
60 0.6 0.78 0.96 1.14 1.44
80 0.8 1.04 1.28 1.52 1.92
100 1 1.3 1.6 1.9 2.4
Sample Atmospheric Absorption Loss

Source: Engineering Considerations for Microwave Communications Systems by GTE Lenkurt Inc.
Distortion, Interference and Fading of
Microwave Signals

Distortion Due To Delay In Some Of The Received Signals
(Delay Distortion)
• Delay distortion could be caused by:
– Radio equipment
– Echoes at waveguides. Echoes are reflected signals typically caused by
impedance mismatch. Excessive waveguide lengths, impedance mismatch
and flexible waveguide sections could cause echoes within a waveguide.
– Reflected signals along the propagation path which are received by the receive
antenna.
• Delay distortion adversely affects received signals and must be avoided.
Interference in Microwave Communication Systems
• Interference can be classified as self interference and external interference.
• Self interference (intra-system) is due to interference coming from the
system itself while external interference is due to interference coming from
sources outside the system.
• External interference could come from other terrestrial microwave system,
satellite communication system, and radars.
• External interference could be controlled in part by proper coordination
with regulatory agencies to determine the appropriate frequencies to be
used, radio path, and location of antennas, transmitters / receivers and
repeater sites.
Intra-System Interference in Microwave Communication
Systems
• Interference coming from the system (Self interference or intra-system
interference) could be classified as overreach, adjacent section, and spur
interference.
• Overreach interference is caused by signals coming from a transmit antenna
which unintentionally reaches a receive antenna in a multi-hop microwave
system.
• Overreach interference can be mitigated by:
– Longer path for the overreach interfering signal
– Presence of obstacles along the overreach path
– Discrimination of the receiver against the overreach interfering signal
Parabolic Antenna Unintentionally received signal causing
overreach interference
F1 F2
F1 F1
Systems
• The diagram below shows typical adjacent section interference and spur or
junction interference.
Parabolic Antenna Adjacent section interference
F1 F1
F1
Spur or junction
F1
interference
Systems
• Interference to and from the system can be introduced through the
following:
– Antennas
– Waveguides and cables
– Transmitter and/or receiver equipment
• Interference can be caused by radiation from waveguide, filter flanges, or
cables which are not correctly mated, poorly tightened, or damaged.
• Interference introduced through cabling and/or waveguide can be prevented
by proper installation such as proper cable separation, grounding, shielding,
and equipment assembly.
– Waveguides and filter flanges must be properly tightened.
Fading Of Received Signal
• Fading is the loss or very severe reduction of received signal at the input of
a radio receiver.
• Fading could also be a random decrease in receive signal level (RSL)
usually because of abnormal propagation conditions.
• Fading could be caused by the change in path loss between a transmitter at
one station and an intended receiver at another station.
• Path loss could change because of change in atmospheric conditions and
geometry of the radio path.
• Fading or change in path loss could be caused by refraction, diffraction,
and reflection of radio signals, which could result to change in direction,
blocking, and/or cancellation of received radio signals.
• Fading must be considered in the design and selection of equipment and
fixtures to be used.
• Fading on radio signals is much severe compared to effects of attenuation on
wired communications.
• Fading can be caused by:

– Changes in the atmospheric condition which causes the radio beam to be bent
away from the receive antenna. Bending could be towards the transmitter or
away from the transmitter.
– Reflected signals reaching the receive antenna, which are out of phase with the
directly received signal (Multipath fading). In this case, the vector sum of the
directly received signal and the reflected signal/s will be lower than the value
of the directly received signal. There could be cases wherein the resulting
signal will be very low that it will be unusable at the receiver.
• Reflections could occur at some points along the terrain or it could
happen in the atmosphere itself when there are stratified layers in the
atmosphere.
• Multipath fading is generally greater on long radio paths.
– Increase in atmospheric absorption of energy of radio signals
– Very heavy precipitation such as rain.
• Rayleigh criterion could be used in predicting the worse values of multipath

fading on line of sight systems having adequate clearance.
– The slope of this distribution is 10 db per decade.
– Based on the distribution, a path would have 20 db fades for 1% of the time,
80 db fades for 0.1% of the time, and 40 db fades for 0.01% of the time.
– By having adequate radio beam path clearance and a fade margin of 40 db or
more, per path propagation reliability of 99.99% can be achieved.
– Not all systems follow the Rayleigh distribution nor systems follow the
distribution all the time.
Fade Margin
• Fade margin is the difference between the normal receive signal level (RSL)
at the input of the receiver (expressed in dbm) and the receiver threshold level
or sensitivity (expressed in dbm).
• The higher is the fade margin, the better is the protection of the system
against unwanted weakening of received signal. It can also improve protection
against noise in the system.
Reliability and Diversity Techniques of
Microwave Communication Systems

Reliability Of Microwave Communication System
• Reliability is a measure of how much a system is available for use during a given
period of time. It is the opposite of outage time.
• Reliability of a microwave system is dependent on many factors, such as:
– Propagation reliability (because of fading of received signal)
– Equipment reliability (because of equipment failure and time needed for repair)
– Reliability of fixtures or devices such as waveguides, circulators, antennas
– Presence of diversity and diversity technique/s
– Availability of backup equipment, devices and fixtures
– Proper installation of equipment, devices and fixtures
– Proper care and maintenance of equipment
Propagation Reliability Of Microwave Communication System
• One of the significant factors affecting the reliability of a microwave
communication system is the propagation reliability.
• Received signal level (RSL) at the receiver could decrease significantly
because of variations in the propagation of the signal.
• There are tools which could be used to predict the propagation reliability of a
microwave system or the fade margin required to establish a certain
propagation reliability. Some of the tools are:
– Rayleigh Criterion
– Barnett-Vigants equation – used widely in the United States
– ITU-R P.530
• The tools used in predicting the propagation reliability are guides only, and
not all systems follow the exact numbers determined from the tools all the
time.
• The table below shows the Rayleigh fading criteria.
Single Hop Propagation Reliability (%) Required Fade Margin (db)

90 8
99 18
99.9 28
99.99 38
99.999 48
• Not all systems follow the Rayleigh distribution nor systems follow the
distribution all the time.
• The Rayleigh fading criteria indicates worst case fading, and it does not take
into account factors which affect propagation reliability, such as:
– Hop length (distance between transceiver sites)
– Frequency
– Climate
– Terrain conditions
• The tool used to predict propagation reliability developed by W.T. Barnett and
A. Vigants of Bell Telephone Laboratories considers the hop length (distance
between transceiver sites), frequency , climate, and terrain conditions in
predicting propagation reliability and the fade margin required to establish a
certain propagation reliability.
• Below is an equation derived from the tool developed by Barnett and Vigants. It
is called Barnett-Vigants equation. It is used to determine the required fade
margin (FM) so that a certain reliability (R) can be achieved.
• Not all systems follow the Barnett-Vigants equation all the time. (This equation
is based on the next Barnett- Vigants equation shown in the succeeding slides.)
FM  30 log DKM  10 log (6A B FGHZ) – 10 log (1 – R) – 70  Fade Margin (db)
Where:
FM = Receive Signal Level (RSLdbm) – Receiver Threshold Power in dbm (sensitivity)
DKM = Hop or path length = Distance (km)
FGHZ = Frequency (GHz)
R = Propagation reliability (decimal, i.e., 99.99% = 0.9999)
(1 – R) = Un dp = annual propagation unavailability (takes into account the reliability
objective)
A = roughness factor (takes into account the type of terrain)
B = factor to convert a worst month probability to an annual probability
(takes into account the climate through the year)
• The value of A in the Barnett-Vigants equation is the roughness factor which
takes into account the type of terrain along the radio path.
• The values of A are as follows:
Value of A Type of Terrain Along Radio Path

4 Very smooth terrain including over water
1 Average terrain, with some roughness
0.25 Mountainous terrain, very rough, or very dry
• The values of A indicate that:

– Microwave radio signals tend to fade more in very smooth terrain including
over water, thus requiring a higher fade margin given a certain propagation
reliability requirement.
– Microwave radio signals tend to fade less in mountainous terrain, very
rough, or very dry terrain.
• The value of B in the Barnett-Vigants equation is the factor to convert a worst
month probability to an annual probability, and it takes into account the
climate through the year.
• The values of B are as follows:
Value of B Condition
0.5 Hot, humid areas, such as hot, humid coastal areas
0.25 Normal, interior temperate or subarctic/northern areas
0.125 Mountainous or very dry but non-reflective areas
• The values of B indicate that:

– Microwave radio signals tend to fade more in hot, humid areas, thus
requiring a higher fade margin given a certain propagation reliability
requirement.
– Microwave radio signals tend to fade less in mountainous or very dry but
non-reflective areas.
• Using the tool developed by Barnett and Vigants, the unavailability due to
propagation when distance (D) is in kilometer can be computed as (This
equation is the basis for the Barnett-Vigants equation on the preceding
slides.):
1 - R  Undp  6 x10-7 A B FGHz DKM 3 (10- FM/10 )  annual unavailability

 annual outage probability
where : FM  Fade Margin in db
 Receive Signal Level in dbm (RSLdbm) – Receiver Threshold Power in dbm
DKM  Hop or path length  Distance (kilometer)
FGHZ  Frequency (GHz)
R  Annual propagation reliability (decimal , i.e., 99.99%  0.9999)
(1 – R)  propagation unavailability (takes into account the reliability objective)
A  roughness factor (takes into account the type of terrain)
B  factor to convert a worst month probability to an annual probability
• Some designers add a miscellaneous loss to the required fade margin
(required fade margin is increased) to take into account minor antenna
misalignment and system degradation such as waveguide corrosion, imperfect
connections, and equipment aging.
• Using the tool developed by Barnett and Vigants, the unavailability due to
propagation when distance D is in miles can be computed as (This equation is
also the basis for the Barnett-Vigants equation on the preceding slides):
Undp  2.5 x10-6 A B FGHz DMI 3 (10-FM/10 )  annual unavailability

 outage probability
Undp  1 - R

DMI  Hop or path length  Distance (miles)
• Some designers add a miscellaneous loss to the required fade margin (required
fade margin is increased) to take into account minor antenna misalignment and
system degradation such as waveguide corrosion, imperfect connections, and
equipment aging.
• Note that in other reference materials, the Barnett and Vigants formula for the
unavailability due to propagation when distance D is in miles is expressed
differently as: (This equation is the one earlier proposed by Barnett and Vigants.
The value of Undp obtained from this formula could be different from the value
obtained from the previous formulas.)
1 - R  Undp  1.25 x10- 6 A B FGHz1. 5 DMI 3 (10- FM/10 )  annual unavailability

 outage probability
DMI  Hop or path length  Distance (miles)
• Some designers add a miscellaneous loss to the required fade margin (required
fade margin is increased) to take into account minor antenna misalignment and
system degradation such as waveguide corrosion, imperfect connections, and
equipment aging.
• Some ways of improving propagation reliability are:
– Using diversity techniques such as space diversity, frequency diversity,
polarization diversity, and hybrid diversity (combination of both space and
frequency diversity)
– Providing adequate path clearance to eliminate earth blocking
– Providing adequate or more than adequate fade margins
– Using high low technique (Shielding of reflection points)
– Reducing instances of significant surface reflections
– Use of vertical polarization which is less affected by rain drops and over water
propagation
– Use of antenna discrimination
Frequency Diversity
• With frequency diversity, information signals can be transmitted using two carrier
signals having different frequencies. The information signal can be combined or
selected after detection.
• The amount of fading due to variations in atmospheric condition varies with
frequency, such that there is lower probability that both carrier signals will not be
received at the same time.
• Frequency diversity can also use one RF carrier frequency, with the information
signal being transmitted using two or more channels using the same carrier (In-
band).
• Frequency diversity provides full redundancy and can be tested end to end
without interrupting the service.
• It is less expensive in terms of equipment and fixtures compared to space diversity
which uses two receive antennas.
• The disadvantage of frequency diversity is that the frequency spectrum required is
doubled, and it is sometimes not allowed by regulatory agencies.
Space Diversity
• With space diversity, information signals typically are transmitted using one carrier
signal using one transmit antenna, but two receive antennas are used at the
receiver site.
• The receive antennas are separated by a certain distance at the receiver site tower.
• Full equipment redundancy can also be used with space diversity.
• The amount of fading of the received signal at the two receive antennas could most
likely be different, such that when the received signal in one receive antenna
becomes weaker, the received signal at the other receive antenna could be stronger.
• It is effective against fading due to reflective surfaces and atmospheric multipath
fading.
Direct path of
radio wave Reflection path of radio wave
Transmitter antenna Receiver antennas
O
180 degrees phase ht hr
delay or change
at reflection point
Space Diversity
• It can provide better diversity protection compared to frequency diversity and it
saves frequency spectrum.
• It is more expensive in terms of equipment and fixtures because it uses two receive
antennas.
• The spacing of antennas depend on whether the fading is due to atmospheric
conditions or ground reflected signals.
• For fading due to atmospheric conditions, the following antenna spacing have been
found to be effective in countering fading of signals on overland paths:
Frequency Minimum Vertical

Spacing Interval
2 Ghz 60 feet
4 Ghz 45 feet
6 Ghz 30 feet
12 Ghz 15 feet to 20 feet
Space Diversity
• For fading due to reflective path, the antenna spacing can be chosen such that when
the received signal at one antenna is near a null point, the received signal on the
other antenna will be near or at the adjacent maximum points.
– As an example, the upper antenna can have a 5th Fresnel zone clearance while
the lower antenna can have a 4th Fresnel zone clearance over the reflection
point, under normal atmospheric conditions.
– This will result to strong received signal at the upper antenna while the lower
antenna will have a faded signal under normal atmospheric condition. When
atmospheric conditions change, the received signal on the upper antenna would
be lower while the received signal on the lower antenna would be higher.
– In practice, antenna spacing is made less than what would be the spacing in the
above scenario, so that as K increases towards infinity and the spacing between
Fresnel zones becomes less, the Fresnel zone clearance of the upper and lower
antennas will not be both for even Fresnel zones, which will result to
simultaneous low received signals for both antennas.
Space Diversity
• The following procedures can be used to determine receive antenna vertical
spacing when fading is due to reflective surfaces.
– Determine the required antenna heights needed to obtain required path
clearance using the procedures discussed previously,
– Compute for the difference in elevation (h1) of the transmit antenna and the
reflective object,
– Compute for the difference in elevation (h2) of the receive antenna and the
reflective object,
– Compute for the vertical spacing of the receive antennas (h2) when K =
infinity using the following formula:
2.2 x103 D
Δh2   vertical spacing of receive antennas when K  infinity (feet)
FGHZ ht
Where : D  path length from transmit antenna to receive antenna (miles)

FGHZ  Frequency in Ghz
ht  height of transmit antenna above a plane tangent to the reflecting object
(feet). For K  infinity, ht  h1
Space Diversity
– Compute for the vertical spacing of the receive antennas (h2) when K = 4/3 using
the following formula:
1.3 x 103 D
Δh2   vertical spacing of receive antennas when K  4 / 3 (feet)
FGHZ ht
Where : D  path length from transmit antenna to receive antenna (miles)

FGHZ  Frequency in Ghz
ht  height of transmit antenna above a plane tangent to the reflecting object
when K  4 / 3 (feet) . ht is not equal to h1 in this case.
d12
 h1 - (feet)
2
d1  distance from transmit antenna to the point of reflection (miles)
– Choose the value of h2 which is lower. This will ensure that the vertical spacing
will not result to more than one half wavelength in path difference of the direct and
reflected signals.
– For the vertical spacing of receive antennas at the other end, use the same
procedures listed above.
– In cases wherein the computed vertical spacing of receive antennas is impractical
(too large or too small), arbitrary spacing can be chosen.
Space Diversity
– The procedures discussed in the preceding slides can be repeated for the
transmission and reception of signals in the reverse direction.
– The transmit frequency at one end is usually different from the transmit
frequency at the other end, which could result to different receive antenna
spacing at both ends.
Polarization Diversity
• One RF carrier having two different polarization (typically one vertical and
another horizontal) is transmitted.
• Radio waves having different polarization could have different
transmission and/or reception degradation.
• Polarization diversity is usually used with space diversity.
• Some systems use space, frequency, and polarization diversity
simultaneously.
Hybrid (Quadrupled) Diversity
• With hybrid diversity (also called quadrupled diversity), frequency diversity
and space diversity are used at the same time to optimize reliability.
Direct path of
radio wave
Transmitter antennas Receiver antennas
ht hr

High Low Technique
• Sometimes, the high-low technique is used to minimize the risk of multipath
fading, which is the fading of received signal because of the cancellation of the
directly received signal when it combines with reflected signal/s.
• An obstruction along the path is used to block signals coming from highly
reflective surfaces.
• If the radio clearances are too high, multipath fading could occur if the receiver
has no capability to counteract the drastic effects of reflected signals.
Deliberate blocking of
reflected radio signal to
Direct path of
prevent multipath
radio wave
fading
Reflected signal
ht hr

Equipment Reliability
• Equipment (and fixtures) reliability (reliability of transceivers, waveguides,
antennas, others) also play an important part in the total availability of the whole
microwave system.
• While propagation reliability deals with the part of communications system reliability
pertaining to decrease in receive signal level due to fading or loss of received signal
even though a signal is being transmitted from the transmitter, equipment reliability
deals with the part of communications system reliability pertaining to availability of
all equipment and fixtures used by the communications system.
• To improve equipment reliability, the following could be done:
– Provide standby backup equipment and fixtures preferably with automatic transfer
facilities
– Provide monitor and alarm system
– Conduct proper and adequate maintenance
– Handle and secure equipment properly (including proper shelter and cooling if
needed)
– Provide clean and stable power supply (backup electric generators with automatic
transfer facilities and/or uninterruptible power supplies could also be provided)
– Provide competent and qualified personnel to secure, monitor, and maintain the
equipment
• The unavailability of an equipment per year, which is the probability of
outage of the equipment per year can be computed as:
Down time Down - time

U   Unavailability of equipment or fixture per year
Total time Down - time  Uptime
Where : Down - time  time that equipment or fixture is not available for use within a year
(Same unit as total time or uptime)
Uptime  time that equipment or fixture is available for use within a year
(Same unit as total time or downtime)
• The reliability of an equipment can be computed as:
R  1 - U  Reliability of equipment or fixture

• The unavailability of an equipment per year can also be computed as:
Down time in hours
U  Unavailability per year
8760 hours
Where : Down time  time that equipment is not available for use in a year (hours)
• In case data for the mean time to repair (MTTR) and the mean time between
failures (MTBF) of an equipment are available, the unavailability of the
equipment can be computed as:
MTTR
U  Unavailability or outage ratio per year
MTTR  MTBF
If the MTBF  MTTR, the unavailability can be approximated as :
MTTR
U  Unavailability per year
MTBF
• The reliability of an equipment can be computed as:
R  1 - U  Reliability of equipment or fixture

Newer Technologies Used in Microwave Communications Systems
The following are technologies which could be used to improve the reliability of a
microwave communication system:
• Multi-level QAM (Some systems use 16 QAM up to 256 QAM)

• XPIC (Cross Polarization Interference Canceller) – used to cancel interference
caused by two polarizations of the same signal.
• Equalizer – used to counteract distortions due to different fading of different
frequencies.
• Forward Error Correction – used to automatically correct errors at the receiver
using digital techniques.
• Automatic Transmit Power Control – used to automatically increase or decrease
the power of the transmit signal.
– The receiver sends information regarding the conditions of the received signal
(receive signal level, bit error rate, etc.) to the transmitter.
– The transmitter automatically adjusts the transmit power depending on the
requirements.
– Lower power could cause less interference to other signals and lower power
consumption.
– Higher power could make the fade margin higher for better system availability.
• Adaptive Code and Modulation – used to automatically change the type of
modulation and the coding rates according to the needs of the system.
Adaptive Modulation
• Adaptive modulation varies the amount of modulation depending on the
conditions of the system.
– The modulation is decreased when there are poor propagation conditions
(too many errors in received signal) and increased when there are good
propagation conditions (very few or no errors in received signal)
• Adaptive modulation could help counteract attenuation and fading of signals,
and thus improve availability.
• Newer microwave communication transceivers are capable of adaptive
modulation.
Transmitter and Receiver Equipment
• Considering the various gains and losses in the microwave system, the
transmitter output power must be high enough such that the input power at
the receiver is sufficiently higher than the receiver threshold, so that the
receiver would be able to reproduce the information from the source at the
transmitter site.
• The receiver threshold must be sufficiently lower than the expected power at
the input of the receiver so that the receiver will be able to reproduce the
information signal from the source at the transmitter.
• The fade margin must be sufficient to allow acceptable availability of the
system.
• To improve system reliability, standby backup equipment could be used.
Basic Radio Configurations in Microwave Communications
Systems
The three basic radio configurations in microwave communications systems are:
1. All Indoor – All the active components such as radio transmitters, receivers,
or transceivers are located inside a building.
– This allows easy maintenance and system upgrade for equipment inside the
building.
– This has higher transmission line or waveguide losses because of longer
transmission lines and waveguides.
2. All Outdoor – All equipment are mounted outside, typically on the tower,
which eliminates the need for a building to house the equipment.
– This makes access to the equipment more difficult, thus making maintenance
and system upgrade more difficult also.
– This eliminates or significantly reduces transmission line or waveguide losses.
3. Split Mount – Some equipment are located outside a building (outdoor unit or
ODU) and some equipment are located inside a building (indoor unit or IDU).
– This eliminates or significantly reduces transmission line or waveguide losses.
– It provides easier access to the indoor equipment but more difficult access to
outdoor equipment.
Power Supply Availability
• Power supply is also critical for a microwave communications system.
• The following could be used to improve the availability of power supply:
– Uninterruptible power supply
– Backup generator
– Automatic switching of power supply when there is a power interruption

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Introduction to Waveguides, Transmission

Lines, Other Devices, and Towers Used in

Prepared by: Armando V. Barretto

– Rectangular waveguide (can use oxygen-free , high conductivity copper)

Rectangular Waveguide Circular Waveguide

Wave Propagation Inside A Waveguide

Terminal 1 Ferrite Clockwise rotation of radio waves

Earth’s Surface Earth’s Surface

Self-supported Type of Tower Guyed Type of Tower

Prepared by: Armando V. Barretto

where : D  diameter of dish antenna, or widest projected dimension of

where : W(m)  (meters)

Microwave Communication System Using an Active Repeater

Prepared by: Armando V. Barretto

Source Transmitter Receiver Destination

Direction of maximum radiation. Received power at

where : 4R 2  area of sphere with radius R (meters squared)

Power at input of receiver  Power at output of system (up to input of receiver)

Note: the directive gain of isotropic antenna relative to itself=1

Source: Microwave Communication Basics by COMMSCOPE

Prepared by: Armando V. Barretto

Microwave Communications System

Rn  R1 n  radius of n th Fresnel zone (feet)

Where : R1  radius of first fresnel zone (feet)

Prepared by: Armando V. Barretto

Direct space wave

Earth’s surface with effective radius

Microwave Communications System

where : c  velocity of propagation of light in a vacuum (3 x 108 m/s)

Refraction Of EM Waves In Medium With Density Gradient

where : n1  refractive index of material 1 (unitless)

Total Internal Reflection

• Because of refraction, radio waves can pass over an obstruction in some

Earth’s surface Electromagnetic waves trapped

Electromagnetic waves trapped

T = 1 – ransmission coefficient (unitless, less than 1)

where: = magnitude of reflection coefficient (unitless)

Electromagnetic Waves Without Diffraction Electromagnetic Waves With Diffraction

η  γc (R2  R1)  absorption loss

Antenna tower Antenna tower

Antenna tower Antenna tower

Effective Earth radius (greater

where : K  Equivalent earth radius factor

Antenna tower Antenna tower

Earth’s surface with effective radius

Transmitter antenna Receiver antenna

Antenna tower Antenna tower

Earth’s surface with effective radius

Clearance of transmission path

Earth’s surface with effective radius

Microwave Communications System

• Despite the preceding recommendations, it is still possible to have service

• The determination of transmit and receive antenna height to provide minimum

• Rain could attenuate microwave radio signals.

• The attenuation due to rain should also be considered in determining the

• Fog contains minute droplets of water.

Path Attenuation (db)

40 0.4 0.52 0.64 0.76 0.96

60 0.6 0.78 0.96 1.14 1.44

80 0.8 1.04 1.28 1.52 1.92

100 1 1.3 1.6 1.9 2.4

Sample Atmospheric Absorption Loss

Prepared by: Armando V. Barretto