Lectures

on

ANTENNE E
COLLEGAMENTI WIRELESS
Lecturer: Prof. Giovanni Riccio

LINK BUDGET
 Fading

In addition to the path loss, it is conventional to consider two other types of fading:

shadowing (or slow fading) is due to the varying nature of the particular obstructions between the
base and the mobile, such as particular tall buildings or dense woods.

fast fading (or multipath fading) involves variations on the scale of a half-wavelength (50 cm at
300 MHz, 6 cm at 2.4 GHz). It results from the constructive and destructive interference between
multiple waves reaching the receiver from the transmitter.

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 Link budget

EIRPT PinT GT GR PT GT GR
L= = =
EIRPR Pout R PR LT LR

L( dB ) = 10 log ( L ) == PT ( dBW ) − LT ( dB ) + GT ( dBi ) + GR( dBi ) − LR( dB ) − PR( dBW )

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The maximum range of the system occurs when the received power drops below the minimum
received signal level, which provides just acceptable communication quality. This level is known
as the receiver sensitivity. The value of L for which this power level is received is the maximum
acceptable path loss:

L( dB ) max = PT ( dBW ) − LT ( dB ) + GT ( dBi ) + GR( dBi ) − LR( dB ) − PR( dBW ) min

where

PR( dBW ) min = SNR( dB ) + NFR( dB ) + 10 log ( kT BW )

SNR( dB ) signal to noise ratio

NFR( dB ) noise figure of the receiver
k = 1.38 ⋅10 −23 ⎡⎣ W ( Hz K ) ⎤⎦ Boltzmann’s constant
T [K ] absolute temperature
BW [ Hz ] bandwidth

Radio Sensitivity for 802.11b Sensitivity for 802.11g

D-Link DWLAG650 -91 dBm -73 dBm
Bewan 54G -80 dBm -65 dBm

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A fade margin FM must be considered for accounting the fading effects in the path loss evaluation.

L( dB ) = L( dB ) max − FM ( dB )
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 Free-Space loss
Friis transmission formula

2 2
⎛ λ ⎞ PinT GT GR ⎛ 4π r ⎞
= PinT GT GR ⎜ ⇒ =⎜
⎝ λ ⎟⎠
Pout R
⎝ 4π r ⎟⎠ Pout R

2 2 2
⎛ 4π r ⎞ ⎛ 4π r f ⎞ ⎛ 40 ⎞
L fs = ⎜ =⎜ = ⎜ π r( km ) f( MHz ) ⎟
⎝ λ ⎟⎠ ⎝ c0 ⎟⎠ ⎝ 3 ⎠

L fs( dB ) = 20 log f( MHz ) + 20 log r( km ) + 32.44

The free-space loss increases by 6 dB for each doubling in either frequency or distance (or 20 dB
per decade of either).

L( dB ) = L fs( dB ) + Lex( dB )

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 Plane Earth loss
r1

h TX
r2 h RX

d
d >> hTX ,hRX

PinT GT GR PinT GT GR PinT GT GR

L pe = = =
Pout R AeffR SRi AeffR i 2
Etot 2ζ 0

2 ⎛ 2β 2
0 hTX hRX ⎞
i 2 i
Etot ≅ Edir ⎜⎝ ⎟⎠ ⇐ Γ ≅ −1
d

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 2
⎛ 4π d ⎞
⎜⎝ ⎟
PinT GT GR L fs λ ⎠
L pe = = ≅
i 2 2 ⎛ 2 β 0 hTX hRX ⎞
2
⎛ 4π hTX hRX ⎞
2
Edir ⎛ 2 β 0 hTX hRX ⎞ ⎜⎝ ⎟⎠ ⎜⎝ ⎟⎠
AeffR ⎜⎝ ⎟⎠ d λd
2ζ 0 d

2
⎛ d2 ⎞
L pe = ⎜ ⎟ ⇒ L pe( dB ) = 40 log d − 20 log hTX − 20 log hRX
⎝ hTX hRX ⎠

Note that the plane earth loss increases far more rapidly than the free space loss and that it is
independent of carrier frequency. The loss now increases by 12 dB per doubling of distance or by
40 dB per decade.

⎛ 4π hTX hRX ⎞
L pe( dB ) = L fs( dB ) + Lex( dB ) = L fs( dB ) − 20 log ⎜ ⎟⎠
⎝ λd

⎛ 4π hTX hRX ⎞
Lex( dB ) = −20 log ⎜ ⎟⎠
⎝ λd

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Obstruction loss

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The usual approach to calculation of obstruction loss is to represent peaks in the terrain by a series
of equivalent absorbing knife-edges.

r1

h
d1
r2

d2
h TX

d TX d RX
h RX

L( dB ) = L fs( dB ) + Lke( dB )
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The final result can be expressed as a propagation loss, which expresses the reduction in the field
strength due to the knife-edge diffraction process in decibels, in terms of a diffraction parameter.

Lke( dB ) = −20 log F (ν )

+∞

∫
1+ j
F (ν ) = e − jπ x 2 2
dx Fresnel integral
2
ν

2 ( d1 + d2 ) 2d
ν=h ≅h Fresnel diffraction parameter
λ d1d2 λ dTX d RX

⎛ 1 ⎞ ⎛ 0.225 ⎞
Lke( dB ) ≅ −20 log ⎜ = −20 log ⎜⎝ ⎟ if ν >1
⎝ πν 2 ⎟⎠ ν ⎠

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Another useful way to consider knife-edge diffraction is in terms of the obstruction of Fresnel
zones around the direct ray as illustrated in figure. The nth Fresnel zone is the region inside an
ellipsoid defined by the locus of points where the distance a+b is larger than the direct path d1+d2
between transmitter and receiver by n half-wavelengths.

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The Fresnel zones can be thought of as containing the main propagating energy in the wave.
Contributions within the first zone are all in phase, so any absorbing obstructions not entering this
zone will have little effect on the received signal.
When the obstruction occupies 0.6 times the first Fresnel zone, the v parameter is then
approximately -0.8 and the obstruction loss is then 0 dB. This clearance is often used as a criterion
to decide whether an object is to be treated as a significant obstruction. Thus, the shaded region in
Figure can be considered as a ‘forbidden’ region; if this region is kept clear then the total path
attenuation will be practically the same as in the unobstructed case.

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If more than one terrain obstruction exists within the Fresnel’s ellipsoid, a multiple diffraction
problem must be solved. It is not correct to simply add the obstruction losses from each edge
individually, since each edge disturbs the field, producing wave fronts incident on the next edge
which are not plane, contravening the assumptions in the single-edge theory. The most widely
used approach to predict multiple knife-edge diffraction is to use an approximate method using
simple geometrical constructions to calculate a total diffraction loss in terms of combinations of
single-edge diffractions between adjacent edges.

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 Empirical propagation models
To create such a model, an extensive set of actual path loss measurements is made, and an
appropriate function is fitted to the measurements, with parameters derived for the particular
environment, frequency and antennas height so as to minimize the error between the model and the
measurements. Each measurement represents an average of a set of samples, the local mean, taken
over a small area (around 10–50 m), in order to remove the effects of fast fading. The model can
then be used to design systems operated in similar environments to the original measurements.

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 Physical propagation models
Although empirical models have been extensively applied with good results, they suffer from a
number of disadvantages:
§ They can only be used over parameter ranges included in the original measurement set.
§ Environments must be classified subjectively according to categories such as ‘urban’, which
have different meanings in different countries.
§ They provide no physical insight into the mechanisms by which propagation occurs.
The last point is particularly significant, as
empirical models are unable to account for
factors such as an unusually large building or
hill which may greatly modify propagation in
particular locations. Although the plane earth
model has a path loss exponent close to that
observed in actual measurements (i.e. 4), the
simple physical situation it describes is rarely
applicable in practice. The mobile is almost
always operated (at least in macrocells) in
situations where it does not have a line-of-sight (LOS) path to either the base station or to the
ground reflection point, so the two-ray situation is hardly ever applicable.
Physical models try to overcome the disadvantages of empirical models by introducing
deterministic calculation of wave propagation mechanisms for obtaining greater accuracy.
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