Microwave

Introduction to Microwave Communication
Dr. Hoda Boghdady

Transmission Department
National Telecommunication Institute
Microwave course 9-13 May 2010
National Telecomm. Institute
Transmission Dep.
Microwave Comm. Systems
9-13 May 2010
Course Schedule
Day 1: Introduction
Introduction.
Basic Concepts & Definitions.
Basic Microwave Measurements & Digital Transmission Analyzer . (Lab)
Day 2 : System Components
Passive Devices.
Mixers, Amplifiers And Oscillators.
Antennas.
T.L.
Day 3: Digital M.W. Radio System
Digital M.W. Radio System Overview.
Digital Commissioning Tests (Lab)
Day 4: Microwave Network Design
Digital Modulation.
System Power Budget.
Day 5:
Multiplexing+ Access Technique.
Introduction to SDH Frame
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Lecture Outline
Electromagnetic Spectrum
High frequency main characteristics
Guided and unguided transmission
The Microwave band: Advantages and disadvantages
Microwave Transmission Systems
Line of Sight vs. wireless system
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
History of Wireless System
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Commercial Broadcasting
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
IEEE Frequency Band Designation
Microwave
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Microwave Frequency Band Designations
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Spectrum Management
To avoid interference between different communication system, a
management of the spectrum is required.
International organization: ITU (International Telecommunication Union)
ITU-R
Regional Organizations:
CEPT (Conference of European Post and Telecommunications administrations).
FCC (Federal Communications Commission) in the USA
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Terrestrial fixed network communication.
Maritime communication.
Navigational radio
Satellite communication.
Radio astronomy.
Public broadcast radio and television.
Mobile communication
Amateur radio
Bands allocated by ITU-R for:
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Spectral Mask
Spectral mask ensures that transmission in a channel
doesnt disturb or interfere with adjacent channels. It is
usually specified by Standardization organization
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Wave Propagation
Electromagnetic waves travels in straight lines through the
atmosphere
Wave is affected by atmospheric conditions
Temperature inversion (multipath fading)
Rain, fogs, snow
Waves can be received directly or through reflections (path
clearance)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Atmospheric Absorption of Electromagnetic Wave
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Layers of the Atmosphere
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Microwave vs. Low Frequency
Wavelength is the distance a wave travel to have a 2
phase change (comes to the same point assuming
sinusoidal wave)
Phase Difference is very important
F=10Ghz, = 3cm ( /2 antenna = 1.5cm)
F=60hz, =5x10
6
m = 5000Km ( /2 = 2500km)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Sinusoidal Wave
t
2
d
F = 10 GHz = 3 cm
F = 50 Hz = 5000 Km
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Microwave Frequency Main Characteristics
Wave length = speed of light / frequency
The higher the frequency the smaller the wave length (smaller
dimensions, scattering, energy focusing, phase referenceetc.)
Lumped elements cannot be used
Different transmission lines
Frequency dependent components
Phase references
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Microwave Applications
Telecommunication transmission system
Remote sensing
Heating (cooking, industrial application)
Medical applications (although laser is replacing it better
resolution and more power focusing)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission System
Transmission systems can be categorized into two main
category:
Guided system (cable system): a point to point connection must
be made, a physical wire is installed, a frame is transmitted
(baseband transmission)
Unguided system (free space): point to point is not necessary,
only stations and antennas are installed, signal is transmitted by
a carrier in air (carrier transmission)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Wireless System (unguided)
A/D & signal
processing
Multiplexing
Modulation
Transmitter/
Receiver
Antenna
Information
Microwave
IF
B.B.
Microwave
Transceiver
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Microwave Communication - Advantages
Ease of installation (no digging), important over water, mountain,
historical places etc.
Fast deployment of the system
Ease and flexibility of upgrading (capacity and services)
Low in vestment needed for large coverage area (pay as you build)
Mobility
Redeployment of radio hardware
Back-up link can be realized easily and efficiently
Broadcast applications (PMP)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Microwave Communication - Disadvantages
Clearance for L.O.S
Frequency license and B.W. allocation permission
Some area restrictions
Electromagnetic radiation safety and power control
Fading, interference and jamming (security issues)
Standards are imposed by outside agencies
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Radio Communication
Radio communications can be split into 3 types:
Simplex
Full duplex
FDD (FD duplex)
Half duplex
TDD (TD duplex)
TX
RX
TX
RX
RX TX
TX
RX
RX TX
F
F
1
F
2
F
1
F
1
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Microwave Systems
Line of Sight (microwave system)
Satellite system
Cellular system
Fixed (e.g. WLL)
mobile
Home networking (inside buildings)
WIFI, WMAX, Bluetooth
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Main Component of a Microwave system
IF stage
Up- and Down- conversion
Filters (very important)
Amplifiers (power and low noise)
T.L. and feeders
Towers
Antennas
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Microwave Transmitter and Receiver
One way system
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Line of Sight Communication
Clearance
Fresnel Zone
U
p

t
o

1
0
0
m
Up to 60km
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Point to Multi-Point Communication
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
PTP vs PMP
PTP
1 Tx, 1Rx
Low power radiated
Line of site is a must
Path clearance
High tower
Directive antenna
Long distance cover.
PMP
1 Tx, multi-Rx
High power required
Interference
Multiple reflection
Omni antennas
Small coverage area
Access techniques
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Important Issues to Consider
EMI Security, system performance
EMC system immunity to interference
Interference problems Freq. management
Output radiated power control for health and safety
consideration
New wireless networks terms : WIFI, WIMAX, Bluetooth,
home networking, ..
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Standards and Regulations
Standards: Recommendations and mandatory
ITU: ITU-T, ITU-R, ITU-D
Analog microwave system CCIR
Digital Microwave system CCITT
FCC, IEEE in the USA
ETSI (European Telecommunications Standard Institute).
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Concepts and Definitions
and
System Overview
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Definitions
Decibel and Neper
S/N, C/N, E/N
Reflection and SWR
Noise Figure
G/T (high gain directive antennas)
System impairments
Passive vs. active devices
Linear and non-linear characteristics
Microwave system components
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Decibels (dB)
Decibels is a power ratio defined by
dB = 10 log(P
2
/P
1
)
P
2
can the output and P
1
the input, also in many occasions
P
1
is a reference power level, i.e. 1watt, 1mwatt, therefore
dBw, dBm
For antennas dB
i
is usually used to specify power referred to
isotropic radiated power
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Note that :
dB
x
represents an absolute value of power
While dB represents a relative power level
-20dBm
-10dBm
-10dB
dB
x
Abs. level
0dB
m
1mwatt
10dB
m
100mwatt
0dB
w
1watt
-30dB
w
0.001watt
10dB gain means 10 times
20 dB gain means 100 times
60 dB gain means million times
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Neper (Np)
The Neper is the unit for voltage or current ratio
8.686dB 1Np ln
log 20 log 10
matching for
/
/
log 10 log 10
1
2
1
2
2
1
2
2 1
1
2
1
2
2
2
1
2
V
V
Np
V
V
V
V
dB
R R
R V
R V
P
P
dB
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
As the receiving signal is very critical in telecommunication
systems, noise contribution from the receiver is a critical issue.
Noise contribution of the receiver itself should be kept to a
minimum.
Noise figure (NF) is always specified at the receiver only. It is the
ratio of the S/N at the input to the S/N at the output.
Noise Figure
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Noise Figure cont.

in
dev
dB
in
dev
in
dev in
in
out
out
in
out
in
GN
N
NF
GN
N
N
N GN
G
NF
N
N
S
S
N S
N S
NF
1 log 10
1
1
) /
) /
0
dev
N
Best case
NF = 0 dB
Worst case
NF = 3 dB
in dev
GN N
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Noise Figure cont.
For cascaded elements
1
3 2 1
2 1
3
1
2
1
1 .... If
......
1 1
NF NF
G G G
G G
NF
G
NF
NF NF

NF
1
, G
1
NF
2
, G
2
NF
3
, G
3
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
S/N, C/N and E
b
/N
At the receiver what matter is the ratio of the signal to the noise not the
signal level
S/N is the amount by which the signal exceeds the noise level (analog
signal)
C/N is the carrier level to the noise level
E
b
/N is equivalent to S/N for digital signals, Eb is the energy contained in
one bit, N is the noise power per 1Hz cycle, BER is specified at a given
receiver threshold
All above ratios are measured in dB
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Reflection Coefficient
At any impedance mismatch there will be a reflected wave, therefore
all terminations should be matched, it varies from 0 to 1 in magnitude
1 2
1 2
Z Z
Z Z

Reflection should be measure at the point of
concern
Reflection coefficient is used to measure
impedances at microwave frequencies
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Standing Wave Ratio (SWR)
SWR is standing wave ratio on a RF transmission lines, it is independent
on position for lossless system, it varies from 1 up to (3.5)
It is used to measure reflection between the feeder and the antenna
It can be measure at any point in the T.L.

1
1
min
max
V
V
SWR
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
G/T Receiver Figure of Merit
The higher this ratio the better the sensitivity of the system
to weak signals
G is the gain of the antenna in dB
i
, it depends on the
antenna size, wavelength and type (directive or omni-
directional)
T is the total system noise temperature in degree Kelvin (T
a
and T
r
)
G/T varies from ve values up to 10 dB/K for omni-
directional, can reach 35dB/K for directive antenna
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Passive vs. Active Devices
Passive: means devices that doesnt add power to the
system (T.L., circulator, filters, antennas, etc
Passive devices are usually cheaper, easier to design, can have
broadband c/cs
Active: means devices that adds power to the system
(amplifiers)
Active devices need more critical designs, B.W. limited, power
limited, more expensive and need special operation conditions
(Temp.)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Linear and Non-linear Characteristics
For microwave devices input-output characteristics and
frequency response are very important
Most used devices are linear except:
Mixers and power amplifiers
Non linear devices can cause signal distortion (AM to PM,
and intermodulation noise)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
System Performance
System performance can be affected by many factors:
external and/or internal (station)
Noise level is a major problem in telecom systems, it can
be internal or external
Interference (can be overcame by good system design and
use of appropriate filters, it is usually external
Atmospheric effects can be optimized by good design
and diversity systems
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Noise & Interference
Internal noise can be caused by equipment and devices in
the station itself it is usually a thermal noise coming from
the electrons motions
External noise is any unwanted signal coming from the
outside it usually has a white Gaussian distribution
Noise level should always be kept lower than the threshold
level
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Noise & Interference cont.
Interference is any unwanted signal in the operating band
Interference can be internally, antenna side lobes, antenna
back radiation, bad branching unit, bad filters, bad design,
or intentionally transmitted signal for jamming
Interference can be overcame by pre-frequency survey, and
antenna adjustment
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
System Performance Cont.
System performance can also be affected by operational
factors as well
Power supply back-up
Continuous system monitoring (local and remote)
Continuous system maintenance is a must (towers, antennas,
feeders, local oscillators, power amplifier, etc..)
Wiring system (MDF) for ease of maintenance
Fire alarm
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Equipment Block Diagram
BB Unit
RF Unit
(IFU + Up-
Converter)
Information
In the base band unit signal is digitized,
coded, framed and scrambled
In the RF unit IF signal is modulated by the
BB signal then up-converted to the carrier
Telemetry & OW
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Microwave Transmitter and Receiver One Way
One way system
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
RFU Mod. Demod.
A fixed IF intermediate frequency is modulated rather than
the Carrier frequency
IF carrier is obtained from a crystal controlled oscillator
operating typically at 70MHz.
The Modulated IF carrier is then up-converted to the final
microwave frequency by a mixer
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
RFU - Transceiver
The mixer (or up-converter) has two input and one output
(Inp: IF, F
LO
and Out: F
c
)
The mixer produces sum and difference products of the
input frequencies
IF = 70MHz, F
LO
is chosen such that the final transmitted
frequency is produced
Finally a filter is used to select one of the two produced side
bands
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
RFU - Transceiver
At the receiver side, same procedure is implemented
The mixer (or down-converter) converts input frequencies
into IF signal
The input frequencies are the F
C
and the F
LO
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
RFU Frequency Synthesis
The local oscillator input to the up-converter (down-
converter) is obtained from a frequency synthesiser
A crystal reference oscillator is chosen to operate at
between 5 and 10 MHz (best stability)
A frequency multiplier (typically X 4) provides the required
output frequency
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
RFU - Amplifier
There are two types of amplifiers in microwave systems:
Power amplifier placed at the last stage of the transmitter, it generates
the high power necessary for transmission, it has high gain
Low noise amplifier (LNA) placed at the front end of the receiver, it is
characterized by moderate gain but very low noise figure
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
RFU - Branching Unit
In duplex system the transmitter and
receiver station are both connected to
the same antenna
A branching unit (circulator + filters) is
used to direct microwave power in the
transmit and receive side
Filter
Filter
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
System Components for
Wireless Communications
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Wireless System
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Passive Components
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Filters
Low pass High pass
Band Pass
Band stop
F Filt ers are charact erized by it s power loss or insert ion loss behavior versus
frequency.
F Power Loss Rat io and I nsert ion Loss (somet imes called rej ect ion)
P
L R
=
Power available from source
Power delivered t o load
=
P
i nc
P
l oad
:
I L = 10logP
L R
(dB)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Filter Types
Maximally Flat (binomial or Butterworth response)
Equal ripple (Chebyshev filter)
Linear phase.
Elliptic filters.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Filter Design
In low frequencies, the circuit can
be realized using lumped L and C
elements.
In microwave frequencies,
different types of stubs and/or
cavities are used.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Microstrip filters
Low Pass Filters
Filters with bandpass characteristic,
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Coupler Hybrids and Power dividers
Couplers and hybrids are components used to combine and
divide signals.
Directional coupler
Coupling Factor (in dB)
Directivity (in dB)
Isolation (in dB)
It is usually required to have the directivity and isolation as large as
possible (P
4
=0).
3
1
log 10
P
P
C
4
3
log 10
P
P
D
4
1
log 10
P
P
I
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Hybrids (Hybrid Couplers)
They are 3-dB couplers. They can be divided as two types:
90 Hybrid
180 Hybrid
For both Hybrids the signal power is divided equally between the two output
ports, but the phase shift is different.
Both Hybrids can be implemented as a lossless circuit.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
90 Hybrid
Microstrip implementation
Port 4 is isolated from Port 1
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
180 Hybrid
(Microstrip Ring Implementation)
Port 1 and 4 are isolated.
Path difference between ports 2
and 3 is
g
/2 gives the 180.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
180 Hybrid
(Waveguide Implementation)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
In phase 3 dB divider
Wilkinson power divider
Port 2 & 3 are isolated from each other.
When port 2 and 3 are matched no power loss occurs in the resistance 2Z
0
.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Switches, Phase shifters
These devices provides control over phase/amplitude of the RF signal.
They could be built using either:
solid state devices (p-i-n diodes or FET)
Ferrites
Advantages of p-i-n diodes over ferrites:
Fast speed.
Low cost.
Light weight and small size
Simple driver
Advantages of ferrites over p-i-n diodes:
Lower losses
Large power handling capability
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Switches
Switches are used in:
Time multiplexing (TDMA),
With the antenna to separate the receiver and the transmitter.
To build a digitally controlled phase shifter.
Types
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Mixers, Amplifiers and Oscillators
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Mixers
An ideal mixer produce the
product of two signals.
The main objective is to change
the modulated frequency to
another one.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Mixers
Mixers are usually implemented using nonlinear elements
such as diodes.
The diode nonlinear I-V characteristic can be approximated
by: i= a
1
v(t)+ a
2
v(t)
2
+a
3
v(t)
3
The input voltage to the diode is given by:
v(t)=Asin(
RF
t)+ Asin(
LO
t)
Different frequencies harmonics appear in the current:
a
1
v(t):
RF
,
LO
a
2
v(t)
2
: 2
RF
, 2
LO
,
RF
LO
, DC
a
3
v(t)
3
: 3
RF
, 3
LO
, 2
RF
LO
,
RF
2
LO
,
RF
,
LO
Using Filter the desired frequency is obtained
.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Mixers
The conversion loss is:
A good mixer requires low conversion loss, low VSWR at the three
ports and good isolation between any two of them.
LO and RF must be isolated to prevent leakage as radiation of LO
through the receiving antenna.

IF
RF
c
P
P
dB L log 10
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Oscillators
An oscillator is an active element, usually consisting of a device with
negative resistance connected to a load with positive resistance.
The device impedance is generally a function of frequency, bias current,
RF current and temperature
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Frequency Tuning
Electronics frequency tuning:
Bias tuning by changing the bias current I
0
.
Varactor tuning, changing C(V), thus changing Z
C
.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Oscillator Noise and Stability
Oscillator noise: AM and FM noise.
Single sideband phase noise is measured as:
Its unit is dBc/Hz (decibels below carrier per Hertz).
Oscillator temperature stability specifies how much deviation in
frequency occurs with temperature change, its unit is kHz/
C or ppm/
C.

power signal carrier
carrier from offset f at bandwidth Hz in power Noise
f L
m
m
1

Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Reference Oscillators
Crystal oscillators have low noise and good stability of their frequency.
Other frequencies can be obtained from the reference crystal oscillator, using frequency
multipliers and dividers.
Frequency multipliers and dividers are implemented using nonlinear elements (i.e. diodes)
and PLL (Phase Locked Loop).
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Oscillators parameters
Output power.
DC-to-RF efficiency.
Noise.
stability.
Spurious signals (i.e. harmonics 2f, 3f ).
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Amplifier
An amplifier is a component that provides power gain to the
input signal.
Types of Amplifiers:
Power Amplifier PA: Amplify the RF signal before the transmitting
antenna.
Low Noise Amplifier LNA: Amplify the received signal fed by the
receiving antenna.
G =
P
out
P
i n
; G(in dB) = 10log
P
out
P
i n
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Performance of An Amplifier
Gain and bandwidth.
Stability and matching of the input and output.
Noise, specially for LNA
Efficiency, for PA.
1-dB compression point, specially for PA
Third-order intercept point.
Dynamic range.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Amplifier Gain
Power gain: G=P
L
/P
in
(depends on Z
L
)
Available gain G
A
=P
AVN
/P
AVS
(depends on Z
S
)
Transducer gain G
T
=P
L
/P
AVS
(depends on both Z
L
and Z
S
)
The behavior of the amplifier can be described by its S
matrix parameters.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Stability and Matching
Unconditional stability : no possible oscillations at all
frequency band for all source and load impedance.
Conditional stability: it is occurred at certain range of
source and load impedance.
Stability parameter K>1 for unconditional stability.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Noise
A measure of noise added by an amplifier (or any device) to the input
noise, is the so called noise figure F
o
o
i
i
N
S
N
S
output at SNR
input at SNR
F
The output noise N
o
=GN
i
+N
n
i
n
i
o
o
o
i
i
GN
N
GN
N
N
S
N
S
F 1
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Noise Figure for a cascaded circuit
The noise figure is mostly affected by the first stages. So a major design
consideration to reduce the noise figure for the first stage amplifier
which is called LNA
......... ..........
1 1
2 1
3
1
2
1

G G
F
G
F
F F
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Amplifier Efficiency
Amplifier efficiency is major importance for PA and battery
operating systems.
This can be measured in terms of Power Added Efficiency
PAE
Where P
DC
is the DC bias power, it is around 50%
DC
i o
P
P P
PAE


Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Amplifier nonlinearity
1-dB compression.
Dynamic range DR.
Linear region:
P
out
(dBm)=G(dB)+P
in
(dBm)
1-dB compression
P
out
(dBm)=G(dB)+P
in
(dBm)-1
Minimum Detectable Signal MDS
is given in terms of the minimum
SNR acceptable for demodulation.
Dynamic Range DR
DR=1-dB compression-MDS
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Amplifier nonlinearity (IM)
When two or more signals at frequencies f
1
and f
2
are
applied to a nonlinear device, they generate IM products at
mf
1
+nf
2
.
2
nd
order IM products have frequencies f
1
f
2
, are out of
band.
3
rd
order IM products have in band frequencies 2f
1
-f
2
and
2f
2
-f
1
, which make it of primary interest.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Amplifier nonlinearity (IM)
Third order intercept point IP3.
Spurious Free Dynamic Range
SFDR.

in in
MDS IP SFDR 3
3
2
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Summary
Mixers: implemented using nonlinear device.
Parameters: conversion loss, isolation between ports, VSWR, noise figure,
IM.
Oscillators
Phase noise
Reference Crystal Oscillator
Amplifier
Stability and matching
Gain and BW
Noise figure
Efficiency
Nonlinearity: DR, SFDR
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Microwave Antennas
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
What is an antenna?
It is a device used to transform electrical signal into
traveling electromagnetic wave
It is required to transmit power over long distance with
adequate gain and appropriate directivity
On the receiver side it should be able to recover very weak
signal coming from the transmitter
The antenna size is related to the operating frequency
(wavelength)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Antenna main specifications
The antenna performance is affected by several
parameters:
Antenna type (PTP or PMP)
Gain
Radiation pattern (3-dB beamwidth)
Band width (dual band)
Polarization (vertical, horizontal, dual)
Side and back lobes relative levels
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Field Regions
The region surrounding the antenna is usually divided into 3
regions:
Reactive near field: R < 0.62(D
3
/)
Radiative near field: 0.62(D
3
/)< R< 2D
2
/
Far field: this is the region where the angular distribution is dependent
on the distance from the antenna R > 2D
2
/
D is the largest dimension of the antenna
R is the distance from the antenna
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Plane Wave Approximation
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Radiation Pattern
It is the distribution of signal power in space measured at
the far field region
There exist an E-plane (elevation) and H-plane (azimuth)
The more the patterns are symmetrical the better the
performance of the antenna
The pattern designate the antenna types: directive or non-
directive
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Radiation Pattern cont.
Antenna pattern can be
classified as:
Isotropic: equal radiation
in all direction (theoretical)
Directional: radiation is in
some directions more than
others
Omnidirectional:
directional in the elevation
but isotropic in the azimuth
plane
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Radiation Pattern cont.
The pattern can be
drawn in polar or
cartisian (pencil beam
antenna) form
The pattern features:
Main lobe
Minor lobes (Side, back)
3 dB beamwidth
Gain
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Antenna Parameters
The side lobes level should be kept to a minimum relative to
the main lobe to reduce interference (> 35 dB)
The Back lobe level should be <-50dB for back to back
transmission
3-dB beamwidth is the angle between points on the pattern
where the response is 3dB below the maximum
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Antenna Parameters cont.
Gain: the gain measure the antenna efficiency and its
directional capabilities, always expressed in dB, (effective
aperture)
Antenna efficiency: it accounts for the
losses at the antenna inputs due to
mismatch or conduction and dielectric
loss I
2
R
2
/ 4
e
A G
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Bandwidth: it is the range of frequency within which the
antenna characteristics are acceptable
Narrow band: the B.W. is a percent of the center frequency, i.e. 5%f
c
Broad band: the B.W. is defined as the ratio of the max. to the min.
frequency, i.e. 10:1
Dual band antenna also exist, e.g. 4/6 GHz, 900/1800 MHz
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Polarization: it is the polarization of the radiated wave when
the antenna is excited. Polarization may differ from the
center to the edges of the antenna. Polarization may be
linear, circular or elliptical Cross Polar discrimination
Input impedance: it is the impedance at the terminal of the
antenna, it indicates the reflection at that terminal
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Antenna Type
Wire antenna: exhibit wide band wide pattern, they can
made more directive by combining them into arrays
Aperture antenna: are used for higher frequencies (patch
antenna)
Reflector antenna: parabola fed by a horn, very directive,
the gain can be increased by increasing the dish size
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Dipole Antenna
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Parabolic Antenna
It consists of a parabolic dish and a feed at the focal point to
illuminate the dish
Dish diameter are: 1m, 1.2m, 1.5m, 2m, 2.4m, 3m, 3.4m
The simplest is with single polarized feed, some can have
dual polarized feed
VSWR feeds are of the order 1.05
Front to back ratio > 50dB for back to back transmission
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Side Lobe Control
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Grid Antenna
Used where light weight is a must
To account for wind loading
Lower performance than solid antenna
The surface is made of tubular members
High gain but bad front-to-back ratio
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Antenna Specs Summary
Gain more than 30dB for directive
Size the larger the higher the gain
Band (can be dual) - the higher the better the gain
Side lobes level higher than 30dB
Front to back ratio F/B higher than 50 dB
Cross polar discrimination around 6 dB
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Friis Formula
2
2
4
4
(
=
=
R
G G P
A G
R
P
P
r t t
e t
t
r
t
t
s
r
t t
r
T
G
R
G P
N
P
2
4
(
=
t

Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Launch Unit (Horn)
Sectoral Horn: WG is
flared in one direction
Narrow E-beam but wide
H-beam
Pyramidal Horn: WG is
flared in both direction
Equal E and H plane but
unequal phase, greater
side lobes
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Launch Unit (Horn) cont.
Corrugated Horn
Symmetrical E and
H plane better side
lobes
Dual polarised feed
Made of a circular WG
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Feeders (Coaxial)
Coaxial: the impedance depends on the ratio of the
outer to the inner diameter b/a, as freq increases
attenuation increase
Attenuation can be minimized by increasing the cable size
but keeping the same ratio b/a to keep same impedance
Cut off depends on dimensions as well, so the size should
be kept to an upper level
Ex: coaxial used in the 2GHz band, b/a = 3.6,
b=41mm, a=11.4mm, the cut off is 3.6GHz
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Feeders (Waveguide)
Rectangular: Group velocity is related to the
frequency and dimension (larger), with wide band
distortion can be significant between the upper and
lower side bands
Ex: A system operating at 1.7 GHz with bandwidth
20MHz using EW17 waveguide, cut off=1.363GHz
and the length of WG is 100m
100 m at 1.71GHz is 552.8ns
100 m at 1.69 GHz is 564.9ns
12ns difference corresponding to 40% of the bit at E3
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
WG disadvantages
Group velocity causes dispersion
In installation over long runs curved needs joints
Reflections from joints and bends, (about -30dB at each
joint)
Regular spaced joints cause echo (reflections will be in
phase over a given band spacing between joints)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Feeders (Waveguide) - cont.
Circular: dominant mode is TE11, better dispersion and
attenuation, difficult to make bends without introducing
higher order modes (unwanted), larger B.W. than
rectangular and elliptical
Elliptical: can be designed in continuous lengths so no
joints, usually corrugated
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Antenna Mounting Structure
Antenna are placed on support structures
Requirement for supporting structure
Weight loading of the antennas and feeders
The wind loading, structure tends to twist
Tilt and twist of the antenna affect the beam width of the
antenna
Grid antenna can be used to reduce wind and antenna
loading
Standards for wind loading definitions and
calculations are EIA standards RS222A for
towers and RS-195S for antennas
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Factors to consider
Earthing and lightning: structure must be earthed to provide
path to earth for any lightning strikes
Aircraft warning lights which depends on location
There exist different type of mounting structures: Guy and
self supported structure (3 or 4 legs)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Supporting Structure (Tower)
Guyed masts:
cheap but
requires large
area
Self supporting
towers less ground
space, very high
cost
Self supporting: less
area but the most
expensive, used in
cities
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Area for Self Supporting
P R height
21.8 15.4 50
28.9 20.5 100
H W R Height
23.4 26.6 13.8 50
29.3 33.5 17.3 100
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Area for Guyed Structure
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Microwave Transmission Line
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Lecture Outline
Types
T.L. parameters
Comparison of T.L.
Connectors and adaptors
Matching between T.L. and components
Antenna feeders
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Low vs. High Frequency
At low frequency V and I affect the entire circuit at the same
instant of time
At high frequency at a given instant voltage and current
waves have different values at different locations on the
circuit
When voltage or current waves enter a transmission line at
high frequencies it takes time to travel down the line
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Voltage and Current Wave
Voltage (current) on microwave T.L. are the sum of a two
voltage (current) wave components: incident and reflected
Z j ref Z j inc
e V e V V

Load
V
inc
V
ref
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Line Parameters
) (
Z j ref Z j inc
e V e V
Z
I

0
1
Z j ref Z j inc
e V e V V

Total voltage and
current along the line
Z
0
is the line
characteristic impedance
is the propagation
constant of the line
C
L
Z
0

Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Terminated Line
If the load terminating the line is not matched (Z
load
Z
0
)
then a reflection will exist on the line
0
0
Z Z
Z Z
load
load

The reflection coefficient has an amplitude and
phase depending on the load impedance, Z
o
is
always real, it is used to calculate unknown
impedance
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Reflection Coefficient
Short Circuit, Z
L
= 0, =-1 (=1, =180)
Open circuit, Z
L
= , =1, ( =1, =0 or 2n)
Matched load, Z
L
= Z
0
, = 0, (No reflection) perfect
case
j
e
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Standing Wave Ratio
Short circuit, = 1, SWR =
Open circuit, = 1, SWR =
Matched load, = 0, SWR = 1 (best value)
What is infinity means? In worst case half the power will be reflected,
= = 0.707, SWR= 5.8
SWR should vary from 1 up to 3 max. The higher the SWR the higher
the reflection on the line

1
1
min
max
V
V
SWR
Note: SWR is a real value it has no phase
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Impedance Measurement
To measure an unknown impedance, connect it to a line with
characteristic impedance Z
0
, then measure the reflection coefficient
is measured by measuring max and min. voltage on the line
The phase by measuring the position of the first minima from the
load ( = - z
min
)

1
1
load
Z
1
1
0
0

load
load
load
load
Z
Z
Z Z
Z Z
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Measure Reflection From Antenna
An SWR meter is placed in the feed line
The max. and min voltages are recorded
SWR is calculated as the ratio of the max. to the min.
If SWR is close to 1 the reflection is low, if the SWR is
higher than 2.5 too much power is reflected
Note: the measurement can be carried anywhere on the feed
line
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Input Impedance
The concept of input impedance is very important as what
we see at each port is different and at any point on the line
as well
The input impedance depends on the line termination and
the operating wavelength and the distance between
observation point and the load
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Input Impedance cont.
tan 1
tan
L
L
in
Z j
j Z
Z
tan j Z
in

Short circuit
termination
Open circuit
termination
Matched load
termination
cot j Z
in

1
in
Z
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Lumped Element in Microwave
OC =
capacitor
SC =
inductor
tan j Z
in

cot j Z
in

4 / True for
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
T.L. Types
A transmission line should be able to transmit power with
minimum loss and radiation
2- wire for low frequency, can carry up to 2Mb/sec over 200m
Coaxial DC up to 1GHz maximum
Waveguide
Microstrip lines, not for transmission system but for circuits
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Coaxial
The dominant mode is the TEM,
This allows wide band operation starting at DC
The cut off of the coaxial cable gives the upper frequency limit,
dimensions will be chosen such that higher order mode are prohibited
TE11 mode is the lowest higher order mode
) ( b a
c

Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Coaxial cont.
Coaxial cables are used at frequencies below microwave
It can be used at high frequency with smaller diameter
The larger the diameter the lower the attenuation and the
greater its power handling capability
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Coaxial - Power Handling
The power handling capability is limited since the it is easily
dissipated in the inner conductor
The power is conducted through the dielectric between
inner and outer conductor, good for radiation loss
At lower frequency power loss is lower and cable can
handle more power
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Waveguide
Waveguide TL are hollow conducting pipes that can take different
shapes
Rectangular, easier to manufacture and to excite, but has edge
discontinuities, larger BW than circular
Circular, easier to manufacture good for circular polarization or dual
polarizer, difficult power coupling
elliptical, difficult to manufacture, E and H plane not symmetrical
Waveguide are used for transmission over few hundreds of meters,
because of unflexibility
circular and elliptical can be designed rigid or flexible
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Waveguide
Wave propagates in modes
As modes increase group delay increases causing signal
distortion
Only one mode is usually excited, the dominant mode (TE
01
for rectangular)
The dimensions of the guide designate the dominant mode
cut off
Cut off is the lowest frequency that a guide can handle
(High pass filter)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Modes in Rectangular WG
2 2
,
) ( ) (
b
m
a
n C
f
nm c

a
C
f
c
2
01 ,

a is the smallest side of the rectangle
b is the largest side of the rectangle
n,m are the order of the mode
The dominant mode frequency
Dimensions are standard b=2a
a
C
f
c

10 , < Band <
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Rectangular Waveguide
Waveguide can handle more power than cables
They have narrow bandwidth, the cut off up to the next higher order
mode
The physical size of the waveguide determines its operating
characteristics, the larger the WG the lower the cut off freq., the lower
the attenuation and the greater the power handling
BW depends on a as a decreases BW increases
Waveguide components also exist
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Feeders
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Feeder for Parabolic Antenna
The parabolic antenna is just a reflector
The antenna is the horn placed at the focal point of the
reflector
The horn is also called the feeder
The feeder may be dual polarized or single polarized
Dual band feeder also can be designed (e.g. 6 and 11 GHz)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Feed Unit
Wave propagating down the waveguide will spill out of the open end
and radiate
To avoid sudden discontinuity the waveguide end is gradually flared out
into a horn (rectangular or circular)
Sectorial horn: flared in one plane only narrow beam in the plane of the flare
and wide on the other plane
Pyramidal horn: flared to a square aperture, has approximately equal E and H
plane beamwidth
Corrugated horn: circular guide, improve side lobes and symmetry between E
and H planes
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Feeder Type
A dipole or dipole array can be used with a coaxial feed line
Swan neck feed with a flared horn is the simplest form of
feed
A circular waveguide can be used to enable dual
polarization
Vertical Horizontal
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Coaxial Feeders
For air filled conductor,
impedance = 76 ohm for
b/a=3.6
a radius of the inner conductor
b is the inner radius of the outer conductor
The impedance of a
coaxial line is
) / log( 138 a b Z
r
r

Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Coaxial Feeder cont.
The attenuation increases rapidly with frequency
The attenuation is minimized by increasing dimensions and
keeping same ratio b/a
The lowest cut off mode is set by the dimensions
|
.
|
\
|
+
=
2
2
0
b a
t
Upper freq. limit
Therefore for higher frequencies a waveguide is used
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Rectangular Waveguide Feeder
Pyramidal shape
Better side lobes
Limited in BW
Circular
Good for dual polarizer applications
Circular corrugated
Improve side lobes
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Feeder Pressurization
Water within a feeder causes excessive losses and lead to corrosion of
the copper, water can be condensed with day/night temperatures
changes
Water is excluded from air spaced T.L. by pressurizing the feeder with a
dry gas
Static system: use of hand foot/pump equipped with desiccator
Gas bottles: Safe bottles are used for better monitoring (gas used is Nitrogen,
oxygen free)
Mechanical pressurizers: electrically driven pump, desiccant is contained in
transparent container for better monitoring
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Presented by
Eng / Yahia Ahmed
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Microwave Course 9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
AGENDA
Introduction to Microwave Network Design
Types of Microwave Transmissions.
Microwave Transmission Frequency Bands.
Performance and availability objectives
Design aspects and main concepts
Design Parameters
Antenna Theory
Digital Modulation
Microwave Link Budget
Assumptions in design
Design Steps
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Introduction to Microwave Network Design
The main objective for system planning is to ensure that
the radio relay system will meet the given performance and
availability requirements.
Quality and availability of communications line-of-sight
(LOS) radio are closely related to propagation conditions.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Types
Two methods of classifications
1. Point to point and point to multi point.
2. Line of sight and non line of sight.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Types (1): Point to point and point to multi point
Point to point:
1 transmitter and 1 receiver.
Directive antennas used.
Low radiated power.
Point to multi point:
1 Base station connected to many stations.
Omni directional antenna used for base station.
High radiated power.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Line of sight
Line of Sight (LOS):
Simple design.
Full or partial clearance of fresnel zone.
Suitable for long links.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Frequency Bands
The following bands are available:
Long Haul:
2 , 6 , 7 and 8 GHz
Short Haul:
11 , 13 , 15 , 18 , 23 , 25 , 28 and 32 GHz
Micro Links:
38 GHz.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Frequency Plans
Frequency
Lower band Upper band
Channel bandwidth
Channel spacing
According to ITU recommendation for each band.
The recommendation specifies the channel bandwidth, spacing and total number of
available channels.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Link Availability
A microwave link is available if communication is established
in the two directions with an acceptable bit error rate (BER).
If the BER of the communication in at least one direction
exceeds the BER specified, the link is considered unavailable.
%Availability=100-%Unavailability.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Error performance parameters are derived from the
following events
Errored second (ES):
It is a one second period in which one or more bits are in
error or during which loss of signal or alarm indication is
detected..
Severely errored second (SES):
It is a one second period which has a bit error ratio10
-3
.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Parameters are:
Errored second ratio (ESR):
the ratio of ES to total seconds in available time during a
fixed measurement interval.
Severely errored second ratio (SESR):
the ratio of SES to total seconds in available time during a
fixed measurement interval.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Availability performance parameters and objectives
Period of unavailable time
begins at the onset of 10 consecutive SES events. These
10 s are part of unavailable time.
Period of available time
begins at the onset of 10 consecutive non SES events.
These 10 s are part of available time.
A path is available if, and only if, both directions are
available.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Availability performance parameters and objectives
Quality (SES) and Availability objectives are chosen
according to different ITU recommendations.
Different ITU recommendations depend on the capacities
and hop lengths.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Design Aspects and Main Concepts
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Design Parameters
1. Propagation related issues
Free space loss
Surface reflection
The Line of Sight Concept
Atmospheric multipath
Rain Scattering property
Polarization
Gaseous attenuation
2. Equipment related aspects
Modulation
Radio protection switching
Antennas
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Design Parameters Propagation related issues
Free space loss:
The free space loss (FSL) value is given in the equation
below:
FSL= 92.44 + 20 log (f) + 20 log (d)
Where:
FSL: free space loss (dB)
f: frequency of radio (GHz)
d: distance between transmitter and receiver (km)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Surface reflection
The influence of the reflected signal from the surface of the
Earth on the performance of the Microwave link is important
when it is sufficiently strong to interfere significantly with the
direct signal, either constructively or destructively.
The strength of the reflected signal at the receiving antenna
terminals will depend upon:
the directivity of the antennas,
the height of the terminals above the Earths surface,
the nature of the surface
and the length of the path.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
The Line of Sight Concept
An optical line of sight exists if an imaginary straight line
can be drawn connecting the antennas on either side of the
link.
A clear line of sight exists when no physical objects
obstruct viewing one antenna from the location of the other
antenna.
A radio wave clear line of sight exists if a defined area
around the optical line of sight (Fresnel Zone) is clear of
obstacles.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
LOS Propagation
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Fresnel Ellipsoid
The free space loss formula can only be applied if the direct line-of-sight
(LOS) between transmitter and receiver is not obstructed
This is the case, if a specific region around the LOS is cleared from any
obstacles
The region is called Fresnel ellipsoid
Transmitter
Receiver
LOS
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Fresnel Ellipsoid
2 1
2 1
d d
d d
r

The Fresnel ellipsoid is the set of
all points around the LOS where
the total length of the connecting
lines to the transmitter and the
receiver is longer than the LOS
length by exactly half a
wavelength
It can be shown that this region is
carrying the main power flow from
transmitter to receiver
Transmitter Receiver
LOS
LOS + /2
Fresnel zone
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Atmospheric multipath
Under normal propagation conditions a radio wave follows a single path
from the transmitter to the receiver.
Anomalous propagation conditions however make two or more paths
possible. This phenomenon is known as multipath.
In the presence of multipath several rays arrive at the receiving antenna
at slightly different angles in the vertical plane. The resulting signal is
then the sum of various components whose mutual interference
produces more or less deep fades, according to the relative amplitudes
and phases of the components.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Rain Scattering property
Rain precipitation scattering of microwaves is very important at
frequencies above about 10 GHz.
At these frequencies the rain droplet sizes become comparable to the
wave length of the radio waves and cause scattering of microwave
energy.
The main effect of scattering is a heavy attenuation in the path.
Due to the asymmetrical approximately oblate spheroidal shape of the
rain drops which has a vertical rotation axis, it cause larger attenuation
for horizontally polarized waves than that for vertically polarized ones.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Polarization
The plane of polarization is not affected by normal passage
of the wave through the atmosphere except in case of rain
or during multipath formation.
The wave is received by the receiver antenna as either H
or V polarized.
Polarization is a very convenient and simple method
available by which it is possible to increase the isolation
between two signals and hence to increase the spectrum
usage.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Gaseous attenuation
Gases in the atmosphere such as water vapour and
oxygen create additional attenuation over and above that
produced during propagation in free space.
13 GHz 18 GHz 23 GHz 38 GHz
0.03 dB/km 0.08 dB/km 0.19 dB/km 0.12 dB/km
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Design Parameters Equipment related aspects
Modulation
Lower modulation schemes use larger Bandwidth but provide higher system
gain (higher TX power and lower Rx threshold), while higher modulation
schemes use smaller bandwidth but provide lower system gain.
As a result, lower modulation schemes are used for long links to provide
optimum performance.
Higher modulation schemes are used in congested city areas to provide
maximum use of the frequency bands.
For example:
4 QAM 16 QAM
Higher BW (m) Lower BW (m/2)
High system gain [TX power Rx threshold] spectrum efficiency
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Fading
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Fade margins Parameters affecting the Link
Quality
Thermal Fade Margin:
Is the difference between the free space received signal and the receiver
threshold level.
Interference Fade Margin:
Is the additional attenuation to the free space received signal required to
produce an outage due to interference (independent of thermal noise).
Flat Fade Margin:
Is the combination of the thermal and the interference fade margins.
Dispersive Fade Margin:
This is an equipment parameter which depends on the equipment design and
is defined as the average depth of multi-path fade which causes an outage
independent of thermal noise and interference.
Effective Fade Margin:
Is the combination of the flat and dispersive fade margin components.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Diversity Systems
Failure time due to multipath can be limited by using
diversity techniques:
Space diversity: two orthogonal paths are used
Frequency diversity: two orthogonal frequencies are used
Polarization diversity: Information can be transmitted using two
different polarization
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Frequency Diversity
A single antenna can be used having broadband
characteristics
Two transceivers are used at two different frequencies
Disadvantage is the used of wide spectrum for same
channel transmission
Only used for very difficult conditions and vital applications
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Space Diversity
Two antennas are used and spaced vertically with distance
half of the fringing space
In some applications antennas can be placed horizontally
(mobile system)
Only one transceiver can be used
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Antenna Theory
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Antenna Theory
50 is the impedance of the cable
377 is the impedance of the air
Antennas adapt the different impedances
They convert guided waves, into free-space waves
(Hertzian waves) and/or vice versa
Z =377
Z =50
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Antenna Characteristics
Isotropic Antenna
A hypothetical, lossless antenna having equal radiation intensity
in all directions. Used as a zero dB gain reference in directivity
calculation (gain).
Gain
Antenna gain is a measure of directivity. It is defined as the ratio
of the radiation intensity in a given direction to the radiation
intensity that would be obtained if the power accepted by the
antenna was radiated equally in all directions (isotropically).
Antenna gain is expressed in dBi.
Radiation Pattern
The radiation pattern is a graphical representation in either polar
or rectangular coordinates of the spatial energy distribution of an
antenna.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Antenna Characteristics (Cont.)
Antenna Beamwidth
The directiveness of a directional antenna. Defined as the angle
between two half-power (-3 dB) points on either side of the main
lobe of radiation.
EIRP (Effective Isotropic Radiated Power)
The antenna transmitted power. Equal to the transmitted output
power minus cable loss plus the transmitting antenna gain.
) ( ) ( ) ( dB G dB C dBm P EIRP
t t out

Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Antenna Pattern and HPBW
0 dB
-3 dB
-10 dB
0 dB
-3 dB
-10 dB
vertical
horizontal
sidelobe
null direction
main beam
H
P
B
W
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Microwave antennas, feeders and accessories
Microwave point to point systems use highly directional antennas
Gain
with G = gain over isotropic, in dBi
A = area of antenna aperture
e = antenna efficiency
Used antenna types
parabolic antenna
high performance antenna
horn lens antenna
horn antenna
G
A e
10
4
2
lg


Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Antenna Data
Polarization
Specification due to certain wave polarization (linear/elliptic,
cross-polarization)
Half power beam width (HPBW)
Related to polarization of electrical field
Vertical and Horizontal HPBW
Antenna pattern
Yields the spatial radiation characteristics of the antenna
Front-to-back ratio
Important for interference considerations
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Panel Antenna with Dipole Array
Many dipoles are arranged in a grid layout
Nearly arbitrary antenna patterns may be
designed
Feeding of the dipoles with weighted and phase-
shifted signals
Coupling of all dipole elements
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Dipole Arrangement
t Dipole
arrangement
Typical flat panel
antenna
Dipole
element
Weighted
and
phase
shifted
signals
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
X 65 T6 900MHz 2.5m
Rural road coverage with mechanical uptilt
Antenna
RFS Panel Dual Polarized Antenna 872-
960 MHz
APX906516-T6 Series
Electrical specification
Gain in dBi: 17.1
Polarization: +/-45
HBW: 65
VBW: 6.5
Electrical downtilt: 6
Mechanical specification
Dimensions HxWxD in mm: 2475 x 306
x 120
Weight in kg: 16.6
Horizontal
Pattern
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Parabolic antenna
Parabolic dish, illuminated by a feed horn at its
focus
Available sizes: 1 (0.3 m) up to 16 (4.8 m)
Sizes over 4 seldom used due to installation
restrictions
Single plane polarized feed vertical (V) or
horizontal (H)
Also: dual polarized feeder (DP), with separate
V and H connections (lower gain)
Front-to-back ratios of 45 dB not high enough
for back-to-back configuration on the same
frequency
Antenna patterns are absolutely necessary for
interference calculations
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
High performance antenna
Similar to common parabolic antenna, except
for attached cylindrical shield
Improvement of front-to-back ratio and wide
angle radiation discrimination
Available in same sizes as parabolic, single or
dual polarized
Substantially bigger, heavier, and more
expensive than parabolic antennas
Allow back-to-back transmission at the same
frequency in both directions (refer to
interference calculation)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Specific Microwave Antenna Parameters (1)
Cross polarization discrimination (XPD)
highest level of cross polarisation radiation relative to the
main beam; should be > 30 dB for parabolic antennas
Inter-port isolation
isolation between the two ports of dual polarised antennas;
typical value: better than 35 dB
Return loss (VSWR)
Quality value for the adaption of antenna impedance to the
impedance of the connection cable
Return loss is the ratio of the reflected power to the power
fed at the antenna input (typical> 20 dB)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Radiation pattern envelope (RPE)
Tolerance specification for antenna pattern (specification of
antenna pattern itself not suitable due to manufacturing
problems)
Usually available from manufacturer in vertical and horizontal
polarisation (worst values of several measurements)
Weight
Wind load
Specific Microwave Antenna Parameters (2)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Digital Modulation
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Digital modulation
Can be considered as
varying certain
characteristics of the
carrier signal;
according to the
modulating signal
which is the signal to
be transmitted
x(t)=Acos(w
c
t+)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Demodulation and Detection
Demodulation
Process of removing carrier signal
Detection
Process of symbol decision
Coherent detection:
Receiver uses the carrier phase to detect signal
match within threshold to make decision
Non-coherent detection:
Doesnt explode phase to detect signal
less complex receiver, but worse performance
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Metrics for Modulation
Power Efficiency:
is a measure of how much signal power should be increased
to achieve a particular BER for a given modulation scheme
Bandwidth Efficiency:
Trade off between data rate and bandwidth
Ability to accommodate data within a limited Bandwidth
Error Performance.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Considerations in choice of modulation technique
High spectral efficiency
High power efficiency
Robust to multipath effects
Low cost and ease of implementation
Low out of band radiation due to the lobed
nature of modulation
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Handling Data
Binary Modulation
The stream of bits
modulated as it comes so
we have two signals one for
each of the two cases (0,1)
as
ASK, PSK, FSK
M-ary Modulation
the stream of bits is divided
into symbols of m bits per
symbol To form a set of M
symbol where
m=log
2
(M) then modulating
the data
We have M signals one for
each symbol
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Amplitude Shift Keying
The amplitude of the
carrier is varied
according with the
binary source it can be
told OOK
s(t)=A(1+m(t))cos(w
c
t)
Since the carrier
conveys no information
we can eliminate it:
DSB-SC
s(t)=A(m(t))cos(w
c
t)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Amplitude Shift Keying
Band width the ASK bandwidth is B
T
=2B Where B is the base
band bandwidth
Advantages :
ease of implementation
Disadvantage:
signal is transmitted at different amplitudes so it
is power inefficient
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Frequency Shift Keying
The two binary
characters 0/1 are
represented by two
different frequencies
slightly offset from
the carrier frequency
s
1
(t)=Acos((w
c
+w)t)
s
0
(t)=Acos((w
c
-w)t)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Frequency shift keying
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Frequency Shift Keying
Modulation index m=f/B Where B is the base band
bandwidth while the FSK bandwidth is B
T
=2B(1+m)
Advantages :
1- signal is transmitted at constant amplitude so it is power
efficient scheme.
2- more immune to noise than ASK
Disadvantage:
requires more analog bandwidth than ASK
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
ASK & FSK
ASK in frequency domain
FSK in frequency domain
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Phase Shift Keying
The two binary
characters 0/1 are
represented by two
different phases
namely 180 and 0
respectively
s
j
(t)=Acos(w
c
t+
j
)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Phase shift keying
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Phase Shift Keying
Advantages :
1. Simple to implement
2. signal is transmitted at constant amplitude so it is power efficient
scheme
3. Very robust, used in sat. communications
Disadvantage:
inefficient use of bandwidth
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
A binary signal
Frequency
modulation
Amplitude
modulation
Phase
modulation
Binary Modulation Techniques
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Comparison of binary modulation
techniques
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Band width Power BER
ASK
2R BAD BAD
FSK
2R + f GOOD GOOD
PSK
2R GOOD Better
R: Bit Rate
Comparison of binary modulation
techniques
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Binary modulation techniques
Good error performance due to simple implementation
Bandwidth inefficient specially at high bit rates
Power inefficient
So we have to introduce some complexity to the system to
enhance its characteristics
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Quadrature Phase Shift Keying
It is clear that the bandwidth depends on the bit rate, so if
we could reduce the bit rate to one half for example, we will
obtain half the bandwidth.
The stream of bits is divided into two streams:
1. Odd (Q) : takes the odd bits, every even bit takes the same as the
previous odd bit, so we have R
o
=R
b
/2
2. Even (I): takes the even bits, every odd bit takes the same as the
next even bit, so we have R
e
=R
b
/2
Then applying PSK to both I and Q streams with cosine
and sine carriers respectively
The orthogonality between sine and cosine results in no
interference and the overall bandwidth will be half that of
binary PSK
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
QPSK
Constellation diagram for QPSK Quadratic coefficients for 4-PSK
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
M-ary Modulation
When we group stream of bits in 2 bits at a time we have
reduced the bandwidth to one half.
If we could classify the stream into M symbols each of
m=log
2
M we could save more bandwidth.
We have M-ary(ASK, PSK and FSK)
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
M-ary PSK
M symbols are expressed as the set of equally spaced
phase angles
s
n
(t)=Acos(w
c
t+
n
) , 0<t<T , n=1,2,,M
Where
n
=2(n-1)/M
This can be rewritten in the quadrature form as :
s
n
(t)=A[p
n
cos(w
c
t)+Q
n
sin(w
c
t)]
Where p
n
=cos
n
, Q
n
=sin
n
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
There are four different angles:
45 degrees
135 degrees
225 degrees
315 degrees
QPSK Modulation
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
15 -10-2008
M-ary Modulation Techniques
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
M-ary Modulation Techniques
01 11
00 10
Q
I
-1 +1
+1
-1
0010 0110 1110 1010
0011 0111 1111 1011
0011 0101 1101 1001
0000 0100 1100 1000
Q
I
-1 -3 +3 +1
+3
+1
-1
-3
000101 001101 011101 010101 110101 111101 101101 100101
000111 001111 011111 010111 110111 111111 101111 100111
000110 001110 011110 010110 110110 111110 101110 100110
000010 001010 011010 010010 110010 111010 101010 100010
000011 001011 011011 010011 110011 111011 101011 100011
000001 001001 011001 010001 110001 111001 101001 100001
000000 001000 011000 010000 110000 111000 101000 100000
000100 001100 011100 010100 110100 111100 101100 100100
Q
I
-1 -3 -5 -7 +7 +5 +3 +1
+3
+5
+7
+1
-1
-3
-5
-7
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Microwave Link Budget
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Radio Link Design
Unlike terrestrial cellular networks, in a mobile-satellite network, transmissions are
constrained by available power.
Efficient coding and modulation techniques need to be employed in order to
achieve a system margin above the minimum needed to guarantee a particular
Quality of Service (QoS).
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Link Budget Analysis
Link budgets are performed in order to analyze the critical factors in
the transmission chain and to optimize the performance
characteristics.
The strength of the received signal power is a function of the
transmitted power, the distance between transmitter and receiver, the
transmission frequency, and the gain characteristics of the transmitter
and receiver antennas.
If we have an isotropic antenna as transmitter and receiver then the
loss in dB is given by:
Where:
d is the path length in kilometers and f is the frequency in MHz.
f d Loss log 20 log 20 4 . 32
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
The aperture antenna
The antenna forms the interface between the guided wave
(for example in a coaxial cable) and the electromagnetic
wave propagating in free space.
Antennas act in a similar manner irrespective of whether
they are functioning as transmitters or receivers, and it is
possible for an antenna to transmit and receive
simultaneously.
Parabolic dishes used for microwave communications or
satellite Earth stations are good examples of aperture
antennas.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
The aperture antenna (Cont.)
The gain of a circular parabolic dish type of aperture antenna is given
by the approximation:
where D is the diameter of the dish in meters and f is the frequency of
operation in GHz.
The beamwidth is usually measured in degrees. A useful
approximation is:
where D is the diameter of the dish in metres and f is the frequency of
operation in GHz
f D dBi gain log 20 log 20 18 ) (
rees
Df
Beamwidth deg
22

Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Power Density
Assuming that the transmitting antenna is perfect, the power entering
the antenna from its feed, Pt, is measured in watts. Once it has left
the antenna, it creates a power density, Pd, in space that is measured
in watts per square meter:
This equation reveals a very valuable generalization in radio wave
propagation: the inverse square law. It can be seen that the power
density produced by an antenna reduces with the square of the
distance.
2
4 r
P
P
t
d

Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Power at the Receiver
The power entering the aperture (the received power, Pr) depends on
the size of the aperture, Ae square meters (the suffix e taken to stand
for effective when referring to a receiving antenna), and the power
density of the radio wave:
This gives us the power received at distance r meters by an antenna
with effective aperture Ae square meters when an isotropic antenna
transmits power Pt watts.
e d r
A P P
2
4 r
A P
P
e t
r

Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Power at the Receiver (Cont.)
The power density is given more generally by:
where Gt is the gain of the transmitting antenna in any direction.
we can modify the equation for the received power:
where the effective aperture of the receiving antenna is now called Aer
to make it clear that it is the receiving antenna that is being referred to.
2
4 r
G P
P
t t
d
2
4 r
A G P
P
er t t
d

Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
The effective aperture
The effective aperture of an isotropic antenna, Aei,
depends on the wavelength, , and is given by:
Practical antennas have a smaller aperture than that
calculated from the diameter of the dish.
Where is the aperture efficiency, which lies between 0 and 1 and D is the
diameter of the parabolic dish.
4
2
ei
A
4
2
D
A
e

Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
General rules
If you double the frequency, the gain of an antenna
will quadruple.
If you double the frequency, the beamwidth of an
antenna will halve.
If you double the antenna diameter (keeping the
frequency the same), the gain of the antenna will
quadruple.
If you double the antenna diameter (keeping the
frequency the same),the beamwidth of an antenna will
halve.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Point-to-point transmission
With knowledge about the gain of antennas and the free-space loss
between two points it is possible to predict the received signal
power for a particular situation and, thence, to design a link to a
deliver a particular power to the receiver.
The power required by any radio receiver depends on a number of
things:
the quality of the receiver.
the noise and interference being received.
the required bit error ratio.
the modulation scheme used and.
the bit rate being transmitted.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Point-to-point transmission (cont.)
For Digital communication we almost use the term Eb / No to
present the signal to noise ration.
The actual value of N0 depends on the quality of the particular
receiver ,N0 can be written as generally:
Where: K is Boltzman constant, T is the temperature in Kelvin.
) 10 38 . 1 (
23
0

k kT N
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Determining the power required
The power required by any radio receiver depends on a
number of things:
The quality of the receiver.
The noise and interference being received.
The required bit error ratio.
The modulation scheme used.
The bit rate being transmitted.
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
EXAMPLE1
A point-to-point system operates over a distance of 20 kilometers at a
frequency of 26 GHz. The antennas are each of diameter 90 cm.
Estimate the beamwidths of the antennas deployed and the power
received if the transmit power is 20 dBm.
SOLUTION ?
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
EXAMPLE2
A geostationary satellite is 39 000 km from an Earth station.
It is transmitting a digital signal at a bit rate of 36 Mbit/s using a 40-
dBm transmitter at a frequency of 11.2GHz. The transmitting antenna
has a diameter of 80 cm. Determine the required size of a receiving
antenna if the required Eb/N0 ratio is 12 dB and the noise temperature
of the receiving system is 160 kelvin.
SOLUTION ?
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
EXAMPLE 3
a particular transmitter delivers a power of 20 dBm into the feeder of the
transmitting antenna. We are operating at a frequency of 30 GHz over a
distance of 12 km. The transmitting and receiving antennas are of 0.9
meters diameter. Estimate the gain of the two antennas
SOLUTION ?
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
More available information Less assumptions
Network design cannot begin without the following:
Sites coordinates
Estimation of transmitted capacity for equipment specification
Frequency band used
Assumptions:
Configuration 1+0 / 1+1
Terrain Database
Antenna heights ensuring LOS and following assumed clearance criteria.
Quality and availability objectives
Frequency channels Co-polar / dual polar / XPIC
Network topology
Traffic
Protection
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Design Steps
Dimensioning:
1. Sites coordinates and network topology entering
2. Path profiles generation and achieving LOS criteria Antenna Heights
3. Climatic parameters setting
4. Equipment specification Antenna and radio models
5. Performance evaluation
------ End of dimensioning ------
6. Frequency plan
7. Interference analysis
------ Design complete ------
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Synchronization between Tendering and Designer
Information needed for Network Design:
Sites Coordinates
Configuration
Path profile and survey
Radio and capacity
Protection
Network Topology
Spectrum and frequency band
Quality and availability objectives
Traffic
Necessary
Coordinates
Path profile and survey
Radio, configuration, and
capacity
Protection
Topology
Spectrum and frequency band
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Synchronization between Tendering and Designer
More Information available
Fewer assumptions & faster
design
Network Design needs time
Output of Network Design: Design + report
Better output needs time
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010
Transmission Dep.
9-13 May 2010

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Introduction to Microwave Communication

Dr. Hoda Boghdady

Microwave course 9-13 May 2010

Microwave course 9-13 May 2010

Microwave course 9-13 May 2010

Microwave course 9-13 May 2010

Microwave course 9-13 May 2010

National Telecomm. Institute

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