Mobile

communication
(COM5108)
Introduction to Radio Wave
Propagation
Propagation Mechanisms:
◦ Electromagnetic waves propagate through reflection, diffraction, and scattering.
◦ In urban areas, no direct line-of-sight (LOS) often exists between the transmitter and receiver
due to obstacles like high-rise buildings, leading to diffraction loss.

Multipath Propagation:
◦ Multiple reflections from various objects create paths of varying lengths for the waves.
◦ Interaction of waves causes multipath fading, where signal strength fluctuates at a specific
location.
◦ Signal strength decreases with distance between the transmitter and receiver.
Introduction to Radio Wave
Propagation
Propagation Models:
◦ Large-Scale Models: Predict the average received signal strength over large transmitter-receiver (T-R)
distances (hundreds to thousands of meters). These models estimate radio coverage areas.
◦ Small-Scale Models: Characterize rapid fluctuations in signal strength over short distances (a few
wavelengths) or short time durations (seconds). Used to study fading effects.

Small-Scale Fading:
◦ Results from the sum of multiple contributions from different directions with random phases.
◦ Typically follows a Rayleigh fading distribution.
◦ Signal power can vary significantly (by 30–40 dB) even when the receiver moves by a fraction of a
wavelength.
◦ Local average received signal decreases with larger movements, which is modeled by large-scale
models.
Figure 3.1 illustrates small-scale fading and the slower large-scale variations for an indoor radio
communication system
Free Space Propagation
Model
The free space propagation model is used to predict received signal strength when the transmitter and
receiver have a clear, unobstructed line-of-sight path between them.

Applications:
◦ Satellite communication systems.
◦ Microwave line-of-sight radio links.

Predicts that received power decays as a function of the T-R separation distance raised to some
power (i.e. a power law function).
The free space power received by a receiver antenna which is separated from a radiating
transmitter antenna by a distance d, is given by the Friis free space equation,
Free Space Propagation
Model

Where , is the transmitted power, is the received power which is a function of the T-R
separation, , is the transmitter antenna gain, , is the receiver antenna gain, d is the T-R
separation distance in meters, L is the system loss factor not related to propagation (L ≥ 1 ), and λ
is the wavelength in meters.
The gain of an antenna is related to its effective aperture, , by
Free Space Propagation
Model
The effective aperture , is related to the physical size of the antenna, and λ is related to the
carrier frequency by

where f is the carrier frequency in Hertz, , is the carrier frequency in radians per second, and c is
the speed of light given in meters/s.
The miscellaneous losses L (L ≥ 1 ) are usually due to transmission line attenuation, filter losses,
and antenna losses in the communication system.
A value of L = 1 indicates no loss in the system hardware.
An isotropic radiator is an ideal antenna which radiates power with unit gain uniformly in all
directions, and is often used to reference antenna gains in wireless systems. The effective
isotropic radiated power (EIRP) is defined as

and represents the maximum radiated power available from a transmitter in the direction of
maximum antenna gain, as compared to an isotropic radiator.
The path loss, which represents signal attenuation as a positive quantity measured in
dB, is defined as the difference (in dB) between the effective transmitted power and
the received power, and may or may not include the effect of the antenna gains. The
path loss for the free space model when antenna gains are included is given by

When antenna gains are excluded

Friis model is just valid for d value in the far field (Fraunhofer region) , where
the far field region is defined as the region beyond the far field distance

Where D is the dimension of the antenna.

The received power at any distance d, if

In dBm
Relating power to Electric
field
In free space, the power flux density (expressed in ) is given by:

Where is the intrinsic impedance of free space given by

Thus, the power flux density is

Where E is the magnitude of the radiating portion of the electric field in the far field.
The relation of the electric field (with units of V/m) to the received power (with
units of watts)

V is the rms voltage at the input of

a receiver, is the resistance of the
matched receiver.
The three basic propagation
mechanism
Reflection, diffraction, and scattering are the three basic propagation mechanisms which impact
propagation in a mobile communication system.

Reflection:
◦ Occurs when an electromagnetic wave encounters an object with dimensions much larger than the
wavelength.
◦ Common sources: Earth's surface, buildings, and walls.
Diffraction:
◦ Happens when the radio path is obstructed by a surface with sharp edges.
◦ Produces secondary waves that bend around obstacles, enabling propagation even without a line-of-
sight path.
◦ Dependent on object geometry, wave amplitude, phase, and polarization.
Scattering:
◦ Arises when the wave encounters objects smaller than its wavelength and with high obstacle density.
◦ Caused by rough surfaces, small objects, and channel irregularities (e.g., foliage, street signs, lamp
posts).
Reflection
Occurs when a radio wave moving through one medium encounters another medium
with different electrical properties, resulting in partial reflection and transmission.
Perfect Dielectric:
◦ Energy is split between transmission and reflection.
◦ No energy loss due to absorption.
Perfect Conductor:
◦ All energy is reflected back into the first medium without loss.
Reflection
Fresnel Reflection Coefficient ():
◦ Relates the electric field intensities of reflected and transmitted waves to the incident
wave.
◦ Depends on material properties, wave polarization, angle of incidence, and
frequency.
Wave Polarization:
◦ Electromagnetic waves are polarized, with electric field components in orthogonal
directions.
◦ Represented as a combination of vertical, horizontal, or circularly polarized
components.
◦ Superposition principle is used to compute reflected fields for arbitrary polarization.
Reflection
Parameters and represent the permittivity,
permeability and conductance of the two media,
respectively.
For perfect (lossless) dielectric .
is constant
relative permittivity
For lossy dielectric

is the conductivity of the material in Siemens/meter

Reflection
The reflection coefficients for the two cases of parallel and perpendicular
E- field polarization at the boundary of two dielectrics:

When the first medium is free space:

Reflection
This example illustrates that ground may be modeled as
a perfect reflector with coefficient of unit magnitude
Reflection
Brewster angle :
it’s the angle at which no reflection occurs in the medium of origin. Γ=0.
Brewster angle :

For the case when the first medium id free space and the second medium has a relative
permittivity :
Reflection from perfect
conductor
Since electromagnetic energy cannot pass through a perfect conductor a plane wave incident on a
conductor has all of its energy reflected.
Ground Reflection (2-ray)
Model
In a mobile radio channel, a single direct path between the base station and a mobile is seldom
the only physical means for propagation, and hence the free space propagation model is in most
cases inaccurate when used alone.
The 2-ray ground reflection model is a useful propagation model that is based on geometric
optics, and considers both the direct path and a ground reflected propagation path between
transmitter and receiver.
This model has been found to be reasonably accurate for predicting the large-scale signal
strength over distances of several kilometers for mobile radio systems that use tall towers
(heights which exceed 50 m), as well as for line-of-sight microcell channels in urban
environments.
Ground Reflection (2-ray)
Model

Two ray ground reflection model

Ground Reflection (2-ray)
Model
◦ For mobile communication systems, maximum transmitter-receiver (T-R)
separation is typically a few tens of kilometers.
◦ The Earth can be approximated as flat over such distances.
◦ The total received E-field, , is then a result of the direct line-of-sight
component, , and the ground reflected component,
◦ Referring to Figure 3.7, , is the height of the transmitter and , is the height of
the receiver. If , is the free space E-field (in units of V/m) at a reference
distance , from the transmitter, then for , the free space propagating E-field is
given by
Ground Reflection (2-ray)
Model
The received E field at distance d:

The received power at distance d from the transmitter

The path loss for 2 ray model (with antenna gains)can be expressed in dB