by Ya Bao

http://eent3.sbu.ac.uk/staff/baoy
b/acs 1
Antennas and Propagation
(William Stallings, Wireless Communications and Networks 2nd Ed, Prentice-
Hall, 2005, Chapter 5)
2
Introduction
An antenna is an electrical conductor or
system of conductors
Transmission - radiates electromagnetic energy
into space
Reception - collects electromagnetic energy
from space
In two-way communication, the same
antenna can be used for transmission and
reception
3
Types of Antennas
Isotropic antenna (idealized)
Radiates power equally in all directions
Dipole antennas
Half-wave dipole antenna (or Hertz
antenna)
Quarter-wave vertical antenna (or Marconi
antenna)
Parabolic Reflective Antenna
4
Radiation Patterns
Radiation pattern
Graphical representation of
radiation properties of an antenna
Depicted as two-dimensional
cross section
Beam width (or half-power
beam width)
Measure of directivity of antenna
5
Radiation patterns
isotropic
l directiona
P
P
G =
6
Three-dimensional
antenna radiation
patterns. The top shows
the directive pattern of a
horn antenna, the bottom
shows the omnidirectional
pattern of a dipole
antenna.
7
or as separate graphs in the vertical plane (E or V plane) and
horizontal plane (H plane). This is often known as a polar
diagram
8
9
10
outdoor enclosure featuring a wide band
2.5GHz panel antenna
Gain (max) 16 dBi (+-0.5 dB)
Frequency 2300 - 2700 MHz
3 dB beamwidth 30 ( 5)
Front to back (F/B ratio) 20 dB ( 3 dB)
11
Helical Antenna
Other antennas
Patch (microstrip) antenna
Multiband antenna: for GSM 900+GSM
1800+GSM 1900+Bluetooth; or GSM and 3G
12
Antenna Gain
Antenna gain
Power output, in a particular direction,
compared to that produced in any direction by a
perfect omnidirectional antenna (isotropic
antenna)
Effective area
Related to physical size and shape of antenna
13
Antenna Gain
Relationship between antenna gain and effective
area



G = antenna gain
A
e
= effective area
f = carrier frequency
c = speed of light ( 3 10
8
m/s)
= carrier wavelength
2
2
2
4 4
c
A f A
G
e e
t

t
= =
14
15
Propagation Models
Ground Wave (GW) Propagation: < 3MHz
Sky Wave (SW) Propagation: 3MHz to 30MHz
Effective Line-of-Sight (LOS) Propagation: >
30MHz
16
Ground Wave Propagation
Follows contour of the earth.
Can propagate considerable distances.
Frequency bands: ELF, VF, VLF, LF, MF.
Spectrum range: 30Hz ~ 3MHz, e.g. AM radio.
17
Sky Wave Propagation
Signal reflected from ionized layer of upper atmosphere back down to earth, which
can travel a number of hops, back and forth between ionosphere and earths
surface.
HF band with intermediate frequency range: 3MHz ~ 30MHz.
e.g: International broadcast.
18
Line-of-Sight Propagation
Tx. and Rx. antennas are in the effective line of sight range.
Includes both LOS and non-LOS (NLOS) case
For satellite communication, signal above 30 MHz not reflected by
ionosphere.
For ground communication, antennas within effective LOS due to
refraction.
Frequency bands: VHF, UHF, SHF, EHF, Infrared, optical light
Spectrum range : 30MHz ~ 900THz.
19
LOS calculations
earth
optical horizon
radio horizon
d
r
d
o
What is the relationship between h and d ?
For optical LOS:
h d
o
3.57 =
For effective or radio LOS:
h d
r
K 3.57 =
where
h = antenna height (m)
d = distance between
antenna and horizon (km)
K = adjustment factor for
refraction, K = 4/3
20
Line-of-Sight Equations
Effective, or radio, line of sight

d = distance between antenna and horizon (km)
h = antenna height (m)
K = adjustment factor to account for refraction, rule of
thumb K = 4/3
h d K = 57 . 3
Maximum distance between two antennas for LOS
propagation:
( )
2 1
57 . 3 h h d K + K =
21
LOS Wireless Transmission Impairments
Attenuation and attenuation distortion
Free space loss
Noise
Atmospheric absorption
Multipath
Refraction
Thermal noise
22
Attenuation
Strength of signal falls off with distance over
transmission medium
Attenuation factors for unguided media:
Received signal must have sufficient strength so that
circuitry in the receiver can interpret the signal
Signal must maintain a level sufficiently higher than
noise to be received without error
Attenuation is greater at higher frequencies, causing
distortion
23
Free Space Loss
Free space loss, ideal isotropic antenna



P
t
= signal power at transmitting antenna
P
r
= 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)
( ) ( )
2
2
2
2
4 4
c
fd d
P
P
r
t
t

t
= =
24
Free Space Loss
Free space loss equation can be recast:




|
.
|

\
|
= =

td
P
P
L
r
t
dB
4
log 20 log 10
( ) ( ) dB 98 . 21 log 20 log 20 + + = d
( ) ( ) dB 56 . 147 log 20 log 20
4
log 20 + =
|
.
|

\
|
= d f
c
fd t
25
( ) ( ) ( )
dB d f
d f
d f
c d f
c
f d
c
f d d
P
P
L
r
t
dB
56 . 147 ) log( 20 ) log( 20
8 20 54 . 9 94 . 9 04 . 12 ) log( 20 ) log( 20
) 10 3 log( 20 94 . 9 04 . 12 ) log( 20 ) log( 20
log 20 log 20 4 log 20 ) log( 20 ) log( 20
4
log 20
4
log 10
4
log 10
8
2
2
2
2
+ =
+ + + =
+ + + =
+ + + =
= = = =
t
t t

t
26
Free Space Loss
Free space loss accounting for gain of other
antennas can be recast as
( ) ( ) ( )
r t dB
A A d L log 10 log 20 log 20 + =
( ) ( ) ( ) dB 54 . 169 log 10 log 20 log 20 + + =
r t
A A d f
27
Categories of Noise
Thermal Noise
Intermodulation noise
Crosstalk
Impulse Noise
28
Noise (1)
Thermal noise due to thermal agitation of electrons.
Present in all electronic devices and transmission media.
As a function of temperature.
Uniformly distributed across the frequency spectrum,
hence often referred as white noise.
Cannot be eliminated places an upper bound on the
communication system performance.
Can cause erroneous to the transmitted digital data bits.
29
Noise (2): Noise on digital data
Error in bits
30
Thermal Noise
The noise power density (amount of thermal
noise to be found in a bandwidth of 1Hz in
any device or conductor) is:


( ) W/Hz k
0
T N =
N
0
= noise power density in watts per 1 Hz of
bandwidth
k = Boltzmann's constant = 1.3803 10
-23
J/K
T = temperature, in kelvins (absolute
temperature)
0
o
C = 273 Kelvin
31
Thermal Noise
Noise is assumed to be independent of frequency
Thermal noise present in a bandwidth of B Hertz
(in watts):


or, in decibel-watts (dBW),
B T N log 10 log 10 k log 10 + + =
B T log 10 log 10 dBW 6 . 228 + + =
TB N k =
32
Noise Terminology
Intermodulation noise occurs if signals with
different frequencies share the same medium
Interference caused by a signal produced at a frequency
that is the sum or difference of original frequencies
Crosstalk unwanted coupling between signal
paths
Impulse noise irregular pulses or noise spikes
Short duration and of relatively high amplitude
Caused by external electromagnetic disturbances, or
faults and flaws in the communications system
33
Signal to Noise Ratio SNR (1)
Ratio of the power in a signal to the power contained in
the noise present at a particular point in the transmission.
Normally measured at the receiver with the attempt to
eliminate/suppressed the unwanted noise.
In decibel unit,


where P
S
= Signal Power, P
N
= Noise Power

Higher SNR means better quality of signal.
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
N
S
dB
P
P
10
10log SNR
34
Signal to Noise Ratio SNR (2)
SNR is vital in digital transmission because it can be
used to sets the upper bound on the achievable data rate.
Shannons formula states the maximum channel capacity
(error-free capacity) as:

Given the knowledge of the receivers SNR and the signal
bandwidth, B. C is expressed in bits/sec.
In practice, however, lower data rate are achieved.
For a fixed level of noise, data rate can be increased by
increasing the signal strength or bandwidth.
( ) SNR 1 log
2
+ = B C
35
Expression of E
b
/N
0
(1)
Another parameter that related to SNR for determine data rates
and error rates is the ratio of signal energy per bit, E
b
to noise
power density per Hertz, N
0
; E
b
/N
0
.

The energy per bit in a signal is given by:
P
S
= signal power & T
b
= time required to send one bit which can be
related to the transmission bit rate, R, as T
b
= 1/ R.

Thus,


In decibels:
b S b
T P E =
TR
P
N
R P
N
E
S S b
k
/
0 0
= =
dB
b
N
E
|
|
.
|

\
|
0
T R P
dB S 10 10 10 ) (
10log k 10log 10log =
228.6 dBW
36
Expression of E
b
/N
0
(2)
As the bit rate R increases, the
signal power P
S
relative to the
noise must also be increased to
maintain the required E
b
/N
0
.

The bit error rate (BER) for the
data sent is a function of E
b
/N
0

(see the BER versus E
b
/N
0
plot).

E
b
/N
0
is related to SNR as:
R
B
SNR
R
B
P
P
N
E
N
S b
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
0
BER versus E
b
/N
0
plot
where B = Bandwidth, R = Bit rate
Higher E
b
/N
0
,
lower BER
37
Wireless Propagation Mechanisms
Basic types of propagation mechanisms
Free space propagation
LOS wave travels large
distance with obstacle-free
Reflection
Wave impinges on an object
which is large compared to
the wave-length

Diffraction
Occurs when wave hits the sharp edge of the
obstacles and bent around to propagate further
in the shadowed regions Fresnel zones.
Scattering
Wave hits the objects smaller than itself. e.g.
street signs and lamp posts.
Lamp
post
reflection
diffraction
scattering