MICROWAVE

SYSTEMS
MICROWAVE SYSTEMS

Learning Objectives
On completion of the unit, you should be able
to:
 Explain the different types of microwave

systems
 State the major advantages of microwave

systems
 Design a simple microwave system
Introduction
 Telecommunication networks can be divided into two
◦ core network (backbone)
◦ access network.
 The backbone transports huge amounts of telecom
traffic over longer distances
 The access network is primarily for the distribution of
the telecom service.
 We will deal with three main backbone systems in
telecommunication engineering
◦ microwave systems
◦ satellite systems
◦ fibre optic systems.
MICROWAVE SYSTEMS
 Fixed microwave (MW) systems typically use
microwave frequencies above1 GHz

 Point-to-Point microwave systems (often simply

called microwave systems) provide wideband
communications over line-of-sight (LOS) paths

 Tropospheric scatter systems provide point-to-

point service over paths up to 200 km, using highly
directional antennas and high-power transmitters

 Point-to-multipoint microwave systems are used

over LOS paths, often with an omnidirectional
master antenna and directional node antennas
Layers of the Earth’s Atmosphere
Electromagnetic Spectrum

 The range of
◦ electromagnetic radiation is called the spectrum
 Parts of the spectrum are known as band
Microwave frequencies
 1GHz to 100GHz
 at these frequencies, highly directional beams are possible, and
microwave is suitable for point-to-point transmission
Point-to-Point Microwave System
Microwave Point-to-Point and Point-
to Multipoint systems
Microwave Systems Continued
 The main purpose of microwave radio links is to
transport data and voice traffic from one place
to another

 The radio link uses the air as the transport

medium to send encoded electromagnetic
waves

 A typical link consists of two radios and two

antennas separated by a distance from a couple
of hundred meters up to tens of kilometres
Microwave Systems Continued
 The data and voice traffic are fed into the radio
using either an electrical or optical line

 Microwaves are used because they are able to

propagate high bit rates safely through the air.
The microwaves are sent using a highly directive
parabolic-shaped antenna

 At the other end the signals are received and

restored to the digital format. In order to establish
a radio link, it is important to have LOS between
the two radio position sites
 Terrestrial MW point-to-point systems use
frequencies from approximately 1 to 60 GHz
with maximum hop lengths of around 200
km. Long hops over the water or flat surfaces
(deserts, wheat fields, planes) are usually
more difficult and more expensive to build. A
typical microwave hop consists of a parabolic
dish antenna, waveguide or coaxial cable, and
terminal (radio) equipment on both ends of
the hop. LOS is the main prerequisite
(although not the only one) for achieving
satisfactory communication performance over
the microwave point-to-point link.
Factors affecting propagation of
radio waves
 Frequency Effects
◦ Atmospheric absorption
◦ Rain attenuation substantial above 10 GHz

 Terrain Effects

 Tropospheric Effects
◦ Variation in refractive index can cause refraction,
reflection or scatering

 Multipath Effects
Microwave Long Hop systems
Typical Microwave System
 Advantages of Microwave radio
systems
1. MW systems are economical compared with fiber or
leased lines over a period of at least 2 to 3 years

2. An owned transmission network remains under the

control and ownership of the end user, which removes
sometimes sensitive dependency upon the incumbent
telephone company (often a competitor and provides
operational benefits)

3. Modern MW radio architecture has been designed to

provide a high degree of flexibility in terms of distance
and traffic capacity, enabling links to be designed to fit
operator requirements and local conditions precisely.
Link capacities can also be field upgraded to cater for a
network’s growing traffic requirements as subscriber
numbers increase.
4. Owned MW networks can be planned to provide a higher
QoS than often guaranteed by the leased T1/E1 lines

5. A MW link can, in the majority of circumstances, be

installed and commissioned in a much shorter period of
time than cable-based alternatives, because a
microwave link does not require the same degree of civil
works associated with laying cables

6. MW radio links can be removed and redeployed to

another geographical area, without leaving valuable
assets in the ground

7. MW radio is commercially available, and it can usually

be supplied with short lead times.
MICROWAVE POINT-TO-MULTIPOINT
SYSTEMS
 MICROWAVE POINT-TO -POINT
SYSTEMS DESIGN
 This start with the link budget analysis

 The link budget is a calculation involving the

gain and losses associated with the antennas,
transmitters, receivers, transmission lines,
and propagation environment, used to
determine the maximum distance at which a
transmitter and a receiver can successfully
operate
 Free-space loss is defined as the loss between two
isotropic antennas in free space in the absence of
ground or atmospheric influences or obstructions
(G=1)

 In other words, where fades due to refraction,

reflection, and diffraction activity and atmospheric
absorption do not occur.

 Radio energy is lost in free space because of the

triangular spreading of energy in the wave-front as it
travels through space in accordance with the inverse-
square law
Radio wave propagation
Optical and Radio line of sight
Free Space Loss
 Free space loss, ideal isotropic antenna

Pt 4d  4fd 
2 2
 2
 2
Pr  c
 Pt = signal power at transmitting antenna
 Pr = signal power at receiving antenna
  = carrier wavelength
 d = propagation distance between antennas
 c = speed of light (» 3 ´ 10 8 m/s)
where d and  are in the same units (e.g., meters)
Free Space Loss
 Free space loss equation can be recast:

Pt  4d 
LdB  10 log  20 log 
Pr   

 20 log    20 log d   21.98 dB

 4fd 
 20 log   20 log  f   20 log d   147.56 dB
 c 
where
L= free-space attenuation between antennas (dB);
f =frequency (GHz);
D = path length (miles);
Or

 
where
L = free-space attenuation between antennas (dB);
f = frequency (GHz);
D= path length (km).
 
 -NPL

where
RSL = unfaded Received Signal Level (dBm);
Pt = transmit power (dBm);
Gt = transmit antenna gain (dB);
Lfs= free-space loss (dB);
Lal = absorption loss (dB);
Gr = receive-antenna gain (dB);
Lf = coax or waveguide feeder loss (dB);
Lmis = network and miscellaneous losses (dB)
 NPL = Net path loss
 Example
Determine the free space loss at 4GHz for the
shortest path to a satellite from earth(35,863
km)
Solution
At 4 GHz, the wavelength, λ, is c/f=
Using = -20log(λ) + 20log(d) + 21.98 dB

= -20log(.075) + 20log(35,863,000 ) +
21.98dB = 195.6 dB
Microwave link design- other factors
 Fading and fade margin calculations
 Frequency planning and interference

calculations
 Quality and availability calculations
Microwave Diversity
Diversity are ways to reduce the number of and
duration of short-term outages

 Space Diversity (SD)

◦ Two antennas(main and diversity) are installed at
one end of the link
 Frequency Diversity (FD)
◦ There are redundant transmitter-receiver paths
Microwave Protection System
 Protection improves long-term traffic
interruptions (10 consecutives severely
errored seconds (CSES))

 MHSB (1+1) protects against equipment

failures only, not path propagation
problems
Microwave Repeaters
 They are used to connect two sites which
cannot be link through a single hop
 There are two types
◦ Active MW repeaters
◦ Passive MW repeaters
Reliability and Availability
 There are basically two type of outages;
◦ Short-term and
◦ Long-term
 Short-term
this is mainly due to multipath fading and are
usually short in duration averaging one second or
less (SES)
 Long-term
These are mainly due to rain attenuation and are
of long duration averaging 10 to 15 minutes each
 Microwave links can have several reliability
objectives. Examples are;
 99.9999% for high reliability links
 99.999% for medium reliability links
 99.99% for low reliability links (about 1hour

of outage per link)

Network Topology
 Tandem/Chain

 Star

 Ring

 Mesh
Tandem/ Chain Topology
Star Topology
Star topology with Hubs
Ring Topology
Mesh Topology
Microwave Design Tools
 It is important to have appropriate and widely
accepted propagation prediction models,
methods and data for proper planning of
microwave systems
 There are several microwave design software

tools
◦ Vendor dependent
◦ Vendor independent

 Pathloss is a vendor independent

 Asset is from Aircom
Typical Microwave Tower Site
 ..\Sample_MW_Implementation_Chart.xls