10/25/2016

AntennaTheoryTypesofPropagation

AntennaTheoryTypesofPropagation
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Inthischapter,letusgothroughdifferentinterestingtopicssuchasthepropertiesofradiowaves,thepropagationofradiowavesand
theirtypes.

RadioWaves
Radio waves are easy to generate and are widely used for both indoor and outdoor communications because of their ability to pass
throughbuildingsandtravellongdistances.
Thekeyfeaturesare
SinceradiotransmissionisOmnidirectionalinnature,theneedtophysicallyalignthetransmitterandreceiverdoesnotarise.
Thefrequencyoftheradiowavedeterminesmanyofthecharacteristicsofthetransmission.
Atlowfrequencies,thewavescanpassthroughobstacleseasily.However,theirpowerfallswithaninversesquaredrelationwith
respecttothedistance.
Thehigherfrequencywavesaremorepronetoabsorptionbyraindropsandtheygetreflectedbyobstacles.
Due to the long transmission range of the radio waves, interference between transmissions is a problem that needs to be
addressed.
IntheVLF,LFandMFbandsthepropagationofwaves,alsocalledasgroundwavesfollowthecurvatureoftheearth.Themaximum
transmissionrangesofthesewavesareoftheorderofafewhundredkilometers.Theyareusedforlowbandwidthtransmissionssuchas
AmplitudeModulation(AM)radiobroadcasting.
TheHFandVHFbandtransmissionsareabsorbedbytheatmosphere,neartheEarth'ssurface.However,aportionoftheradiation,called
thesky wave, is radiated outward and upward to the ionosphere in the upper atmosphere. The ionosphere contains ionized particles
formedduetotheSun'sradiation.TheseionizedparticlesreflecttheskywavesbacktotheEarth.Apowerfulskywavemaybereflected
several times between the Earth and the ionosphere. Sky waves are used by amateur ham radio operators and for military
communication.

RadioWavePropagation
InRadiocommunicationsystems,weusewirelesselectromagneticwavesasthechannel.Theantennasofdifferentspecificationscan
beusedforthesepurposes.Thesizesoftheseantennasdependuponthebandwidthandfrequencyofthesignaltobetransmitted.
The mode of propagation of electromagnetic waves in the atmosphere and in free space may be divided in to the following three
categories
Lineofsight(LOS)propagation
Groundwavepropagation
Skywavepropagation

InELF(Extremelylowfrequency)andVLF(Verylowfrequency)frequencybands,theEarth,andtheionosphereactasawaveguidefor
electromagneticwavepropagation.
Inthesefrequencyranges,communicationsignalspracticallypropagatearoundtheworld.Thechannelbandwidthsaresmall.Therefore,
theinformationistransmittedthroughthesechannelshasslowspeedandconfinedtodigitaltransmission.

LineofSight(LOS)Propagation
Among the modes of propagation, this lineofsight propagation is the one, which we commonly notice. In the lineofsight
communication, as the name implies, the wave travels a minimum distance of sight. Which means it travels to the distance up to
whichanakedeyecansee.Nowwhathappensafterthat?Weneedtoemployanamplifiercumtransmitterheretoamplifythesignal
andtransmitagain.
Thisisbetterunderstoodwiththehelpofthefollowingdiagram.

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AntennaTheoryTypesofPropagation

Thefiguredepictsthismodeofpropagationveryclearly.Thelineofsightpropagationwillnotbesmoothifthereoccursanyobstaclein
itstransmissionpath.Asthesignalcantravelonlytolesserdistancesinthismode,thistransmissionisusedforinfraredormicrowave
transmissions.

GroundWavePropagation
Groundwavepropagationofthewavefollowsthecontourofearth.Suchawaveiscalledasdirectwave.Thewavesometimesbends
duetotheEarthsmagneticfieldandgetsreflectedtothereceiver.Suchawavecanbetermedasreflectedwave.

The above figure depicts ground wave propagation. The wave when propagates through the Earths atmosphere is known as ground
wave. The direct wave and reflected wave together contribute the signal at the receiver station. When the wave finally reaches the
receiver,thelagsarecancelledout.Inaddition,thesignalisfilteredtoavoiddistortionandamplifiedforclearoutput.

SkyWavePropagation
Skywavepropagationispreferredwhenthewavehastotravelalongerdistance.Herethewaveisprojectedontotheskyanditisagain
reflectedbackontotheearth.

The sky wave propagation is well depicted in the above picture. Here the waves are shown to be transmitted from one place and
whereitisreceivedbymanyreceivers.Hence,itisanexampleofbroadcasting.
The waves, which are transmitted from the transmitter antenna, are reflected from the ionosphere. It consists of several layers of
chargedparticlesranginginaltitudefrom30250milesabovethesurfaceoftheearth.Suchatravelofthewavefromtransmittertothe
ionosphere and from there to the receiver on Earth is known as SkyWavePropagation. Ionosphere is the ionized layer around the
Earthsatmosphere,whichissuitableforskywavepropagation.

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