Lecture 6: Friis Transmission Equation and Radar Range Equation

(Friis equation. EIRP. Maximum range of a wireless link. Radar cross section.
Radar equation. Maximum range of a radar.)

1. Friis Transmission Equation

Friis transmission equation is essential in the analysis and design of wireless
communication systems. It relates the power fed to the transmitting antenna and
the power received by the receiving antenna when the two antennas are
separated by a sufficiently large distance ( R >> 2 Dmax 2
/ λ ), i.e., they are in each
other’s far zones. We derive the Friis equation next.
A transmitting antenna produces power density Wt (θt ,ϕt ) in the direction
(θt ,ϕt ) . This power density depends on the transmitting antenna gain in the
given direction G (θt ,ϕt ) , on the power of the transmitter Pt fed to it, and on the
distance R between the antenna and the observation point as
Pt Pt
= Wt = Gt (θ t , ϕ t ) e D (θ ,ϕt ) .
2 t t t
(6.1)
4π R 2
4π R
Here, et denotes the radiation efficiency of the transmitting antenna and Dt is
its directivity. The power Pr at the terminals of the receiving antenna can be
expressed via its effective area Ar and Wt :
Pr = ArWt . (6.2)

(θ t , ϕt )
(θ r , ϕ r )
R

To include polarization and dissipation in the receiving antenna, we add the

radiation efficiency of the receiving antenna er and the PLF:
Pr = er ⋅ PLF ⋅ ArWt =ArWt er | ρˆ ∗t ⋅ ρˆ r |2 , (6.3)
λ2
⇒ Pr Dr (θ r ,ϕr ) ⋅
= ⋅ Wt er | ρˆ ∗t ⋅ ρˆ r |2 . (6.4)
 π
4
Ar

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Here, Dr is the directivity or the receiving antenna. The polarization vectors of
the transmitting and receiving antennas, ρˆ t and ρˆ r , are evaluated in their
respective coordinate systems; this is why, one of them has to be conjugated
when calculating the PLF.
The signal is incident upon the receiving antenna from a direction (θ r ,ϕr ) ,
which is defined in the coordinate system of the receiving antenna:
λ 2 Pt
⇒ Pr Dr (θ r ,ϕr ) ⋅
= ⋅ e D (θ ,ϕt ) ⋅ er | ρˆ ∗t ⋅ ρˆ r |2 .
2 t t t
(6.5)
4π 
4π R
Wt
The ratio of the received to the transmitted power is obtained as
 λ 
2
Pr
= et er | ρˆ ∗t ⋅ ρˆ r |2   Dt (θt ,ϕt ) Dr (θ r ,ϕr ) . (6.6)
Pt  4π R 
If the impedance-mismatch loss factor is included in both the receiving and the
transmitting antenna systems, the above ratio becomes
λ 
2
Pr 
= (1− | Γt | )(1− | Γ r | )et er | ρˆ t ⋅ ρˆ r |   Dt (θt ,ϕt ) Dr (θ r ,ϕr ) .
2 2 ∗ 2
(6.7)
Pt  4π R 
The above equations are variations of Friis’ transmission equation, which is
widely used in the design of wireless systems as well as the estimation of
antenna radiation efficiency (when the antenna directivity is known).
For the case of impedance-matched and polarization-matched transmitting
and receiving antennas, Friis equation reduces to
Pr  λ 
2
=  Gt (θ t ,ϕ t )Gr (θ r ,ϕ r ) . (6.8)
Pt  4π R 
The factor (λ / 4π R) 2 is called the free-space loss factor. It reflects two effects:
(1) the decrease in the power density due to the spherical spread of the wave
through the term 1/ (4π R 2 ) , and (2) the effective aperture dependence on the
wavelength as λ 2 / (4π ) .

2. Effective Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP)

From the Friis equation (6.8), it is seen that to estimate the received power
Pr we need the product of the transmitter power Pt and the transmitting antenna
gain Gt. If the transmission line introduces losses in addition to those of the
antenna system, these need to be accounted for as well. This is why often a

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transmission system is characterized by its effective isotropically radiated
power (EIRP):
EIRP = PG t t eTL , W (6.9)
where eTL is the loss efficiency of the transmission line connecting the
transmitter to the antenna. Usually, the EIRP is given in dB, in which case (6.9)
becomes
EIRPdB =PtdB + GtdBi + eTL,dB . (6.10)
Bearing in mind that Pin ,t = eTL Pt and Gt = 4π U max,t / Pin ,t , the EIRP can also
be written as
EIRP = 4π U max,t , W. (6.11)
It is now clear that the EIRP is a fictitious amount of power that an isotropic
radiator would have to emit in order to produce the peak power density
observed in the direction of the maximum radiation. As such, and as evident
from (6.9), the EIRP is greater than the actual power an antenna needs in order
to achieve a given amount of radiation intensity in its direction of maximum
radiation.

3. Maximum Range of a Wireless Link

Friis’ transmission equation is frequently used to calculate the maximum
range at which a wireless link can operate. For that, we need to know the
nominal power of the transmitter Pt , all the parameters of the transmitting and
receiving antenna systems (such as polarization, gain, losses, impedance
mismatch), and the minimum power at which the receiver can operate reliably
Pr min . Then,
λ   Pt 
2

Rmax = (1−| Γt | )(1−| Γ r | )et er |ρˆ t ⋅ρˆ r |   Dt (θt ,ϕt ) Dr (θ r ,ϕr ) . (6.12)
2 2 2 ∗ 2
 
 4π   Pr min 
The minimum power at which the receiver can operate reliably is dependent on
numerous factors, of which very important is the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
There are different sources of noise but we are mostly concerned with the noise
of the antenna itself. This topic is considered in the next lecture.

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4. Radar Cross-section (RCS) or Echo Area
The RCS is a far-field characteristic of a radar target, which creates an echo
by scattering (reflecting) the radar EM wave.

The RCS of a target σ is the equivalent area capturing that amount of power,
which, when scattered isotropically, produces at the receiver an amount of
power density, which is equal to that scattered by the target itself:
 2 Ws   2 | Es | 
2
= σ lim =  4π R  lim  4π R  , m2. (6.13)
R →∞  Wi  R →∞  | Ei | 
2

Here,
R is the distance from the target, m;
Wi is the incident power density, W/m2;
Ws is the scattered power density at the receiver, W/m2.

To understand better the above definition, we can re-write (6.13) in an

equivalent form:
 σ Wi 
lim  = Ws ( R) . (6.14)
R →∞  4π R 2 

The product σ Wi represents the equivalent intercepted power, which is
assumed to be scattered (re-radiated) isotropically to create a fictitious spherical
wave, the power density Ws of which decreases with distance as 1 / R 2 in the far
zone. It is then expected that σ Wi is a quantity independent of distance. Ws
must be equal to the true scattered power density Ws produced by the real
scatterer (the radar target).
We note that in general the RCS has little in common with any of the cross-
sections of the actual scatterer. However, it is representative of the reflection
properties of the target. It depends very much on the angle of incidence, on the
angle of observation, on the shape and size of the scatterer, on the EM
properties of the materials that it is built of, and on the wavelength. The RCS of
targets is similar to the concept of effective aperture of antennas.
Large RCSs result from large metal content in the structure of the object
(e.g., trucks and jumbo jet airliners have large RCS, σ > 100 m2). The RCS
increases also due to sharp metallic or dielectric edges and corners. The
reduction of the RCS is desired for stealth military aircraft meant to be invisible

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to radars. This is achieved by careful shaping and coating (with special
materials) of the outer surface of the airplane. The materials are mostly
designed to absorb EM waves at the radar frequencies (usually S and X bands).
Layered structures can also cancel the backscatter in a particular bandwidth.
Shaping aims mostly at directing the backscattered wave at a direction different
from the direction of incidence. Thus, in the case of a monostatic radar system,
the scattered wave is directed away from the receiver. The stealth aircraft has
RCS smaller than 10−4 m2, which makes it comparable or smaller than the RCS
of a penny.

5. Radar Range Equation

The radar range equation (RRE) gives the ratio of the transmitted power (fed
to the transmitting antenna) to the received power, after it has been scattered
(re-radiated) by a target of cross-section σ .
In the general radar scattering problem, there is a transmitting and a
receiving antenna, and they may be located at different positions as shown in
the figure below. This is called bistatic scattering.
Often, one antenna is used to transmit an EM pulse and to receive the echo
from the target. This case is referred to as monostatic scattering or
backscattering. Bear in mind that the RCS of a target may vary considerably as
the location of the transmitting and receiving antennas change.
Assume the power density of the transmitted wave at the target location is
t t (θ t , ϕt )
PG t t Dt (θ t , ϕt )
Pe
= Wt = , W/m2. (6.15)
4π Rt 2
4π Rt 2

Rt
Rr
(θt ,ϕt )
(θ r ,ϕr )

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The target is represented by its RCS σ , which is used to calculate the captured
power Pc = σ Wt (W), which when scattered isotropically gives the power
density at the receiving antenna that is due to the target. The density of the re-
radiated (scattered) power at the receiving antenna is
Pc σ Wt Pt Dt (θt ,ϕt )
= Wr = = et σ . (6.16)
4π Rr2 4π Rr2 (4π Rt Rr ) 2
The power transferred to the receiver is
 λ2  Pt Dt (θt ,ϕt )
Pr = er ⋅ Ar ⋅ Wr = er ⋅   Dr (θ r , ϕ r ) ⋅ et σ . (6.17)
 4π  (4 π R t R r ) 2

Re-arranging and including impedance mismatch losses as well as polarization

losses, yields the complete radar range equation:
2
Pr  λ  Dt (θt ,ϕt ) Dr (θ r ,ϕr )
= et er (1− | Γt |2 )(1− | Γ r |2 ) | ρˆ ∗t ⋅ ρˆ r |2 σ   . (6.18)
Pt  4π Rt r 
R 4 π
For polarization matched loss-free antennas aligned for maximum directional
radiation and reception,
2
Pr  λ  Dt 0 Dr 0
=σ   4π . (6.19)
Pt  4 π R t r 
R
The radar range equation is used to calculate the maximum range of a
radar system. As in the case of Friis’ transmission equation, we need to know
all parameters of both the transmitting and the receiving antennas, as well as the
minimum received power at which the receiver operates reliably. Then,
max et er (1− | Γ t | )(1− | Γ r | )|ρ t ⋅ρ r | ⋅
2 ˆ∗ ˆ 2
( Rt Rr )=
2 2

 λ  Dt (θt ,ϕt ) Dr (θ r ,ϕr )

2 (6.20)
Pt
σ  .
Pr min  4π  4π
Finally, we note that the above RCS and radar-range calculations are only
basic. The subjects of radar system design and EM scattering are huge research
areas themselves and are not going to be considered in detail in this course.

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