Impact of the Standing Wave Ratio of the Antenna & Feeder System on System Performance

Confidentiality Level: for inner use

Impact of the Standing Wave Ratio of the Antenna & Feeder System on System Performance
Rationalization of the Requirement that the Standing Wave Ratio in the Antenna & Feeder System be Less than 1.5
Wireless TSD Fu Honghui

Abstract:
It is impossible that the input impedance of the Antenna & Feeder System(including Antenna, Jumper, Feeder and Connector between themselves) are identical. Therefore, signal reflection exists. The reflected wave and incidence wave overlap on the Antenna & Feeder System and form standing wave. The ratio of the maximum voltage to the minimum voltage is known as the voltage standing wave ratio. The voltage standing wave ratio is a parameter used to indicate the matching degree for the Antenna & Feeder System. The value of the voltage standing wave ratio ranges from 1 to infinite. The value 1 indicates that the antenna perfectly matches the feeder. In this case, all the high-frequency energy is radiated by the antenna, and no energy is lost. When the voltage standing wave ratio is infinite, all the energy is lost. In network construction, a reasonable value should be set for the voltage standing wave ratio. In this way, the network parameters are configured reasonably, the signals are effectively transmitted, and network construction is economical. After practice and verification by various organizations in the industry, a consensus is reached that the voltage standing wave ratio in the entire Antenna & Feeder System should be less than 1.5. The impact of the standing wave ratio on the radiation performance are as follows:

1. Transmit power loss

2009-8-7 Huawei Confidential Page 1 of 4

Impact of the Standing Wave Ratio of the Antenna & Feeder System on System Performance
Confidentiality Level: for inner use

Return loss (RL) is the ratio of the reflected power to the incidence power at the antenna connector. Return loss is measured in the decibel. The loss of the transmit power of the antenna can be calculated through return loss. The formula is as follows:

VSWR + 1 R.L.(dB ) = 20 log VSWR 1

When the voltage standing wave ratio is 1.3, the RL is 17.7 dB, and the reflected power is 1.7%. The radiation decreases by 0.07 dB. When the voltage standing wave ratio is 1.4, the RL is 15.6 dB, and the reflected power is 2.8%. The radiation decreases by 0.12 dB. When the voltage standing wave ratio is 1.5, the RL is 14 dB, and the reflected power is 4%. The radiation decreases by 0.18 dB. The above data shows that when the standing wave ratio increases from 1.3 to 1.5, the energy is lost by 0.11 dB. This is equivalent to the addition of 2.5 m in the length of the feeder.Generally, the loss of the 7/8" Frequency feeder about 0.4dB per 10m at the 900MHz

2.

Coverage
The BTS signals are transmitted to the terminals as electromagnetic waves through the

antenna. The formula for calculating the space loss of electromagnetic waves in free space is as follows:

Pr = Pt Gt Gr 2 4r
Where Pr is the receive power

Pt is the transmit power. Assume that the coverage distance of the antenna in full coverage is R, the following data can be obtained through calculation: When the voltage standing wave ratio is 1.3, the coverage distance of the antenna is 0.991R, down by 0.9%.
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Impact of the Standing Wave Ratio of the Antenna & Feeder System on System Performance
Confidentiality Level: for inner use

When the voltage standing wave ratio is 1.4, the coverage distance of the antenna is 0.986R, down by 1.4%. When the voltage standing wave ratio is 1.5, the coverage distance of the antenna is 0.980R, down by 2.0%. The calculation result shows that when the standing wave ratio is less than 1.5, the decrease in the coverage is insignificant. In actual environments, which are more complicated than free space, electromagnetic are reflected and refracted many times, and therefore there is no impact on system performance.

3.

Inband features of the standing wave

In actual applications, the standing wave of the antenna in the entire frequency spectrum

is a curve. Only the peak value on the curve is used. The standing wave values in most of the working frequency bands of the system are much less than the peak value. See the following figure.
Figure 1 Standing wave of an antenna

Peak value: 1. 43

Bottom value: 1.08

In the figure, the maximum value of the standing wave ratio is 1.43, and the minimum value of the standing wave ratio is 1.08. Most standing wave ratios are under 1.3.
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Impact of the Standing Wave Ratio of the Antenna & Feeder System on System Performance
Confidentiality Level: for inner use

When the standing wave ratio of the Antenna & Feeder System is less than 1.5, the change in the radiation performance of the antenna is so little that subscribers cannot feel the difference.

4.

Conclusion
In terms of network construction and signal coverage, a standing wave ratio value under

1.5 is reasonable for Antenna & Feeder System. When the standing wave ratio is under 1.5, the decrease in the standing wave ratio does not help much in reducing signal loss and improving coverage.

2009-8-7

Huawei Confidential

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