Mobile Radio Propagation:

Large-Scale Path Loss

(S. Rappaport, wireless communications)

Introduction to Radio Wave Propagation

Reflection
Large buildings, earth surface
Diffraction
Obstacles with dimensions in order of wavelength

Scattering
Foliage, lamp posts, street signs, walking pedestrian, etc.

transmitted
signal

max

received
signal

Ts

Large-scale propagation models

large-scale

propagation models
characterize signal strength over large
T-R separation distances
small-scale or fading models:
characterize the rapid fluctuations of the
received signal strength over very short
travel distances or short time durations

Multipath Fading
1

First Path

0
-1
1

20

40

60

80

100

120

Echo path
(case 1)

0
-1
1

20

40

60

80

100

120

Echo path
(case 2)

0
-1
2

20

40

60

80

100

120

Constructive
addition
(case 1)

0
-2

20

40

60

80

100

120

Destructive
addition
(case 2)

Large-Scale & Small-Scall Fading

Large-Scale & Small-Scall Fading (Contd.)

The distance between small scale fades is on the

order of /2

Path Loss

Propagation Models

Free Space Propagation Model - LOS path exists

between T-R
May applicable for satellite communication or
microwave LOS links
Friis free space equation:

Pt Gt Gr 2
Pr ( d )
( 4 ) 2 d 2 L

Pt : Transmitted power
Pr : Received power
Gt : Transmitter gain
Gr: Receiver gain
d: Distance of T-R separation
L: System loss factor L1
: Wavelength in meter

Antenna Gain

Relationship between antenna gain and effective

2
area
4A 4f A

c2

G = antenna gain
Ae = effective area
f = carrier frequency
c = speed of light (3 * 108 m/s)
= carrier wavelength

Propagation Models (Contd.)

Path Loss difference (in dB) between the effective

transmitted power and the received power, and may
or may not include the effect of the antenna gains

Path loss for the free space model when antenna

gains included
PL(dB) = 10 log(Pt/Pr)
= -10 log(Gt Gr 2 / (4)2 d2 L)

Path loss for the free space model when antenna

gains excluded
PL(dB) = 10 log(Pt/Pr)
= -10 log(2 / (4)2 d2 L)

10

Fraunhofer distance

2D
df

Where D is the largest physical linear dimension

of the antenna. Additionally, to be in the far-field
region, d, must satisfy

d f D and d f
11

Propagation Models (Contd.)

Modified free space equation

Pr(d) = Pr(d0)(d0/d)2
d d0 df
Modified free space equation in dB form
Pr(d) dBm = 10 log[Pr(d0)/0.001W] + 20 log(d0/d)
where Pr(d0) is in units of watts.

df is Fraunhofer distance which complies:

df =2D2/
where D is the largest physical linear dimension of the
antenna

In practice, reference distance is chosen to be 1m

(indoor) and 100m or 1km(outdoor) for low-gain
antenna system in 1-2 GHz region.

12

Example (link budget)

RF Link Budget Calculator
Free Space Loss Path
Frequency
ERP
ERP in dBm
Transmission Line Loss
Tx Antenna Gain
Path Length
Free Space Path Loss
Rx Antenna Gain
Rx Transmission Line Loss
Rx Signal Strength
Rx Threshold (sensitivity)
Fade Margin

0.9000
50.0000
46.9897
0.0000
0.0000
0.1500
75.0484
0.0000
0.0000
-28.0587
-85.0000
56.9413

GHz
Watts
dBm
dB
dBi
Km
dB
dBi
dB
dBm
dBm
dB

13

Relating Power to Electric Field

In

free space, the power flux density Pd (in W/m2) is given by

Pd = EIRP / 4d2 = Pt Gt / 4d2

Or

in another form

Pd = E2 / Rfs = E2 / W/m2
where Rfs is the intrinsic impedance of free
space given by =120 = 377 , then
Pd = E2 / 120

W/m2

14

Relating Power to Electric Field (Contd.)

At

the end of receiving antenna

Pr(d) = Pd Ae = Ae (E2 / 120 )

where Ae is the effective aperture of the receiving antenna
Or

when L=1, which means no hardware losses are taken into

consideration

Pr(d) = Pt Gt Gr 2 / (4)2 d2

15

Large-scale Path Loss (Part 2)

The three basic Propagation Mechanisms
Reflection
Diffraction
Scattering

16

Reflection, Diffraction and Scattering

Reflection occurs when a propagating

electromagnetic wave impinges upon an object
which has very large dimensions when compared
to the wavelength of the propagating wave.
Diffraction occurs when the radio path between
the transmitter and receiver is obstructed by a
surface that has sharp irregularities (edges).
Scattering occurs when the medium through
which the wave travels consists of objects with
dimensions that are small compared to the
wavelength, and where the number of obstacles
per unit volume is large.
17

Reflection
Fresnel Reflection Coefficient ()
It gives the relationship between the electric field
intensity of the reflected and transmitted waves to
the incident wave in the medium of origin.
The Reflection Coefficient is a function of the material
properties
It depends on
Wave Polarization
Angle of Incidence
Frequency of the propagating wave

18

Reflection from Dielectrics

19

 The behavior for arbitrary directions of polarization is illustrated through

the two distinct cases in the figure
Case 1

The E - field polarization is parallel with the plane of incidence

i.e. the E - field has a vertical polarization, or normal component

with respect to the reflecting surface
Case 2

The E - field polarization is perpendicular to the plane of incidence

i.e. the E - field is parallel to the reflecting surface ( normal to the

page and pointing out of it towards the reader)

20

The dielectric constant of a perfect (lossless)

dielectric is given by
= 0 r
where r is the relative permittivity
-12
and 0 = 8.85 * 10 F/ m
The dielectric constant for a power
absorbing, lossy dielectric is
= 0 r - j
where = / 2 f
21

22

In the case when the first medium is free space and 1 =

2
the Reflection coefficients for the two cases of vertical and
horizontal polarization can be simplified to
||

rsin i r cos2 i

rsin i r cos2 i

sin i r cos2 i
sin i r cos2 i
23

Brewster Angle

It is the angle at which no reflection occurs in the medium of

origin
It occurs when the incident angle B is such that the
Reflection Coefficient | | = 0

1
sin( B )
1 2

For the case when the first medium is free space and the
second medium has a relative permittivity r , the above
equation can be expressed as

r 1
sin( B )
2
r 1

24

Ground Reflection (Two- Ray) Model

25

Whenever

20h1h2 20ht hr 3

The received E-field can be approximated

2 E0d 0 2ht hr
k
ETOT ( d )
2V /m
d
d
d

The power received at distance d is given by

2 2
t r
4

hh
Pr Pt Gt Gr
d

For large T- R distances d ht hr so received

power falls off to the 4th power of d, or at 40 db/
decade

26

This power loss is much more than that in free

space
At large values of d, the received power and path
loss become independent of frequency.

The path loss for the 2- ray model in db

PL (db) = 40 log d ( 10 log Gt + 10 log Gr +
20 log ht + 20 log hr )

27

Diffraction
Phenomena:

Radio signal can propagate

around the curved surface of the earth,
beyond the horizon and behind obstructions.
Huygens principle: All points on a wavefront
can be considered as point sources for the
production of secondary wavelets and these
wavelets combine to produce a new wavefront
in the direction of propagation.
The field strength of a diffracted wave in the
shadowed region is the vector sum of the
electric field components of all the secondary
wavelets in the space around the obstacles.
28

Fresnel Zone Geometry

The wave propagating from the transmitter to the receiver via

the top of the screen travels a longer distance than if a direct
line-of-sight path exists.

29

Fresnel Zone Geometry(Contd)

When tan( x ) x, then

Angle ,
d1 d 2
h
d1d 2

Fresnel-Kirchoff diffraction parameter

vh

2( d1 d 2 )

d1d 2

Normalizing

2d1d 2
( d1 d 2 )

When tan( x ) x, then

v2

30

Fresnel Zone Geometry(Contd)

The concentric circles on the plane are

Fresnel Zones.

31

 The

radius of the nth Fresnel zone circle

rn

nd1d 2

d1 d 2

The

excess total path length traversed by a ray

passing through each circle is
n

32

Consider a receiver at point R, located in the

shadowed region.

The electric field strength Ed,

Ed
1 j
jt 2
F (v )
exp(
)dt

v
E0
2
2

where E0 is the free space field strength

33

The diffraction gain: Gd ( dB ) 20 log | F ( v ) |

Graphical representation of

Gd (dB )

34

 Lees

approximate solution:

35

Multiple Knife-edge Diffraction

36

Large-scale Path Loss (part 4)

Scattering:

When does Scattering occur?

When the medium through which the wave travels consists

of objects with dimensions that are small compared to
wavelength
The number of obstacles per unit volume is large

How are these waves produced:

By rough surfaces, small objects or by other irregularities
in the channel
Normally street signs, lamp posts, trees induce scattering
in mobile communication system

37

Rayleigh Criterion:

Surface roughness is tested using the Rayleigh criterion,its

given by

hc= /8sini

where,
i is the angle of incidence
hc is the critical height of surface protuberance
for a given i
The surface is considered smooth if the minimum to
maximum protuberance h <= hc and rough if h> hc
38

Radar cross section model:

The

radar cross section (RCS) of a scattering

object is defined as the ratio of the power
density of the signal scattered in the direction
of the receiver to the power density of the
radio wave incident upon the scattering object,
and has units of square meters.

Bistatic radar equation

PR (dBm) PT (dBm) G T (dBi) 20log( ) RCS[dBm2 ]
- 30log(4 ) - 20logdT - 20logd R
39

Practical link budget design using path loss models

Log distance Path Loss Model

d

PL( d )
d0

or
d

PL( dB ) PL( d 0 ) 10n log

d0

n is the path loss exponent which indicates the rate at

which the path loss increases with distance,
40

41

Log-normal Shadowing:
d
X
PL( d )[dB ] PL( d ) X PL( d 0 ) 10n log
d0

X is the Zero mean Gaussian distributed random

variable with standard deviation (also in dB)

PL(d) is a random variable with a normal distribution.Define

Q(z)

1
2

dx 1 1 erf
exp

z 2
2

z

2

The probability that the received signal level will exceed a

certain value can be calculated from the cumulative density
function as

Pr (d )

Pr Pr (d ) Q

42

Determination of Percentage of Coverage Area

1
U ( )
R 2

1
Pr Pr (r ) dA R 2

2 R

Pr P (r ) rdrd
r

0 0

1
1
1

U ( ) 1 exp
1 erf

2
2
b
b

43

44