Antenna & Wave Propagation

[KEC-603]
Unit-5: Wave Propagation
• EM Waves
• Classification of EM Waves
• Ground Wave Propagation
• Plane earth reflection
• Space wave and surface wave

Pankaj Bhardwaj
EM Waves
• The energy generated by a transmitter is fed to a transmitting
antenna which in turn radiates the same into the space.
• This radiated energy travels all through the space and this mode of
travel is termed as electromagnetic (EM) wave.

Fig: variation of E with space parameter x in travelling wave, standing wave and travelling wave with attenuation
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Classification of EM Waves
• Plane Wave: in Phaser form, a plane wave is defined as one for which the
equiphase surface is a plane.
• Uniform Plane Wave: if the equiphase surface is also an equiamplitude
surface, the wave is called a uniform plane wave.
• Slow Wave: when the phase velocity normal to the equiphase surface is
less than the velocity of light, the wave is referred to as a slow wave.
• Forward Wave: the wave travelling in an assigned direction from the point
of origin is called forward wave provided there is no hindrance to cause
reflection.
• Backward Wave: the backward wave is, in general, a reflected wave which
results, when a forward wave strikes a reflecting surface.
• Travelling Wave: when a wave is progressing only in one direction and
there is no reflected wave present, is called a travelling wave.
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• Standing Wave: if both forward and reflected waves are simultaneously
present, they combine to result in a wave called standing wave. Such a wave
does not progress and maximum or minimum for which different time
instants will appear at the same space location but with varying amplitude.
• Surface Wave: if a wave is supported by some kind of surface between 2
media, it is called a surface wave. In other words, a surface wave is one that
propagates parallel to the interface and decays vertically to it. Ground waves
may be composed of surface waves (originating from antennas located near
to the ground) and space waves (originating from elevated antennas).
• Trapped Wave: sometimes a surface wave is also called a trapped wave
because it carries its energy within a small distance from the interface. This
wave does not radiate except at discontinuities, such as the termination
along the line of the structure.
• Leaky Wave: when discontinuities are densely placed along the line making
it up continuous perturbing structure another type of travelling wave results
and is called a leaky wave. There is some leakage of the energy mainly from
the top bounds of the duct.
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Ground Wave Propagation
Introduction:
• The waves, which while travelling, glide over the earth surface are called
ground waves.
• Ground waves are always vertically polarized and induce charges in the
earth.
• The number and polarity of these charges keep on changing with the
intensity and location of the wave field.
• This variation causes the constitution of a current. In carrying this current
the earth behaves like a leaky capacitor.

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• As the wave travels over the surface it gets weakened due to
absorption of some of its energy.
• This absorption, in fact, is the power loss in the earth’s resistance due
to the flow of current.
• This energy loss is partly replenished by the diffraction of energy
downward from the portion of the wave present somewhat above the
immediate surface of the earth.
• The energy propagated over paths near the earth’s surface is
considered to be made possible through ground waves.
• The earth’s surface is normally considered to be a plane provided the
distance between the transmitter and the receiver does not cross a
barrier ‘d’ which is given by:
50
𝑑= 1/3
(𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑠)
𝑓𝑀𝐻𝑧
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• Beyond this distance the effect of the curvature of the earth is to be
accounted.
• Thus the study of propagation can be divided into two parts:
• the wave propagation over the planar earth
• the wave propagation over the spherical earth

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Plane Earth Reflection
• For the elevated transmitting and receiving antenna within the line of
sight of each other, the received resultant signal is a combination of
the signal reaching the receiver through a direct path and that
reaching after being reflected by the ground.
• These two paths are shown in the figure.

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• For a smooth plane and finitely conducting earth, the magnitude and
phase of the reflected wave differ from the incident wave.
• When the earth is rough the reflected wave tends to be scattered and
maybe much reduced in amplitude compared with smooth earth
reflection.
• The roughness is generally estimated by the Raleigh criterion given by the
relation:
4𝜋𝜎𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
𝑅=
𝜆
• Where,
• σ is the standard deviation of the surface irregularities relative to the mean surface
height
• θ is the angle of incidence measured from the normal angle
• λ is wavelength
• if R < 0.1 the reflecting surface is considered as being smooth
• if R > 10 the reflecting surface is considered to be rough
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Space Wave & Surface Wave
• The ground wave can be
divided into two parts:
• A space wave
• A surface wave
• The space wave dominates at
larger distances above earth.
• Whereas surface wave is
stronger nearer to the earth’s
surface.

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Antenna & Wave Propagation
[KEC-603]
Unit-5: Wave Propagation
• Space Wave Propagation
• Introduction
• Field Strength Relation
• Effects of Imperfect Earth
• Effects of Curvature of Earth

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Space Wave Propagation
Introduction
• In figure it can be seen that the energy
contents of space wave travel from
transmitter to receiver partly through
direct wave (DW) or direct ray and partly
through the reflected wave (RW) or
reflected ray.
• In this figure the earths curvature is
neglected for simplifying the illustration
and the analysis.
• The net field strength at the receiving
antenna will be the vector sum of direct
wave and reflected wave. Pankaj Bhardwaj
• Up to a certain range of frequencies, the wave travelling through the
space shall have negligible attenuation other than that caused by
spreading phenomena.
• Also, direct wave and reflected wave are almost 180° out of phase for
both vertically and horizontally polarized waves.
• Beyond these frequencies, wave will be subjected to attenuation by
rain, fog, snow, clouds and due to absorption by gases present in the
atmosphere.
• Field strength of a wave, in general, follows the inverse relation with
the distance.

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Field Strength Relation
• When the distance d is large in
comparison to heights of antennas, the
incidence angle Ψ of the ray on earth is
small.
• Thus it can be assumed to have no
change in magnitude but the reversal of
the phase.
• Assuming E0 to be the amplitude of DW
and RW and a unit distance at a distance
d, the amplitude of both DW and RW
reduce to E’=E0/d.
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Effects of Imperfect Earth
• To understand the effects of imperfection of earth, the following
aspects are to be noted:
• E0/d is the field strength which actually corresponds to direct
wave. It will also corresponds to reflected wave for perfectly
conducting earth.
• |Rh| and |Rv| both are less than 1 for σ ≠ ꝏ, the condition which
normally prevails. Thus, the field strength at a distance d is always
be less than E0/d.
• Besides, φ=180°, i.e., there is no total phase reversal of RW. Thus
RW < DW and the total field is less than that at σ = ꝏ.
• The effect is less on HPW that in case of VPW. For VPW, |Rv|<<
|Rh| at small angles.
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• When σ = ꝏ, horizontal components of incident electric field Ei and
reflected component Er get cancelled at reflected surface and vertical
components add together.
• For σ < ꝏ, |Rv|< 1, neither there is complete cancellation nor
complete addition.
• In figure, d’ is the distance at which
free space field and oscillating field
for a perfectly conducting earth
becomes equal.
• It can be observed that the field
strength oscillates about the value
E0/d, which corresponds to the
strength of the direct ray or free
space wave.

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Effects of Curvature of Earth
• Due to curvature of earth:
• The effective and actual
antenna heights differ as shown
in figure.
• The quantum of difference will
depend on separation between
transmitter and receiver.
• There is change in the number
and location of maximas and
minimas.
• There is reduction in d’ beyond
which two waves tend to be out
of phase. Pankaj Bhardwaj
• The wave reflected by the ground diverges. Thus, RW at receiving
antenna is weak. This effect is less when the incident angle is
moderate or large and more when this angle is small.
• Near grazing angle, the field strength of RW reduces significantly at
the receiver by the divergence effect.
• At large distances, for small incidence angles and DW and RW is
phase opposition. The resultant E at receiver is appreciably greater
than that if earth were flat.
• The last two effects of curvature try to neutralize each other.

Pankaj Bhardwaj
Antenna & Wave Propagation
[KEC-603]
Unit-5: Wave Propagation
• Sky wave propagation:
• Introduction
• Structural Details of the Ionosphere
• Refraction and Reflection of Sky Waves by Ionosphere

Pankaj Bhardwaj
Introduction
• This mode of wave propagation is confined to the high frequency
range and its application to the broadcast services with the exception
of OT radars.
• The propagation of sky waves also called ionospheric waves revolves
around the refraction mechanism in the ionosphere.
• The electromagnetic waves are launched towards the ionosphere
where from, under suitable conditions, they return to the earth due
to the refraction mechanism.
• Their satisfactory return depends on a number of factors including
frequency of operation, angle of take off and ionospheric conditions.

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Structural Details of the Ionosphere

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• D Layer:
• It exists between 50 to 90 kilometres above the earth surface.
• It is a day time phenomena and is largely absent in the night.
• Ionization in the D layer is low because less ultraviolet light
penetrates to this level.
• At very low frequency the space between the D layer and the
ground acts as a huge waveguide making communication possible
but only with large antennas and high power transmitters.
• At low frequency and medium frequency range this layer is highly
absorptive and limits daytime communication to about 300
kilometre.
• It is responsible for much of the daytime attenuation of high
frequency waves.
• This layer is starts losing its absorptive nature in the megahertz
range and at 30 MHz waves cross the D layer un-attenuated.
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• E Layer:
• It exists between 90 to 140 kilometres above the earth surface
With maximum density at about 110 kilometer.
• It is almost constant with little diurnal or seasonal variations.
• It is closely governed by the amount of ultraviolet light from the
sun and uniformly decays with the time at night.
• This layer permits medium distance communication in low
frequency and high frequency bands.
• At night the D layer slightly rises and the E layer slightly lowers to
form one layer which is again called the E layer.
• F1 Layer:
• It exists between 150 to 250 kilometres above the earth surface in
summer and one fifty to three hundred kilometres in winter.
• This layer is almost constant with little diurnal or seasonal
variations.
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• F2 Layer:
• It exists between 250 to 400 kilometres at night the F1 layer
slightly rises and the F2 layer slightly lowers to form one layer
which is again called F2 layer.
• It is sometimes also referred as the F layer.
• It is more variable in nature.
• The F2 layer is responsible for most of the high frequency long
distance communication.

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Refraction and Reflection of Sky Waves by Ionosphere

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• n>1: This condition requires the term 81𝑁/𝑓 2 to be negative which is
not possible in the view of nature of involved parameter. Thus this
condition does not exist.
• n<1: This condition requires that 81𝑁/𝑓 2 < 1. This condition always
exists and in this condition vp is always greater than c.
• n=1: This condition means the term 81𝑁/𝑓^2 = 0. In this case vp equal
to c and φ= φ0.
• n=0: this condition requires that the term 81𝑁/𝑓 2 equal to 1 or
81𝑁 = 𝑓 2 . At this point f equal to fc (where fc is termed as critical
frequency) and inductive current il equals the capacitor current ic also
in this case vp=ꝏ and φ0=0.
• For 81𝑁/𝑓 2 > 1 or 𝑓 2 < 81𝑁, n is an imaginary quantity. In this case
the ionosphere shall not be able to transmit a wave. At such a
frequency, instead, the wave will get attenuated.

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Antenna & Wave Propagation
[KEC-603]
Unit-5: Wave Propagation
• Ray Path, Critical Frequency
• MUF, LUF, OF, Virtual Height and Skip Distance
• Relation between MUF and the Skip Distance
• Multi-Hop Propagation, Wave Characteristics

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Ray Path

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Critical Frequency
• The highest frequency that returns from an ionospheric layer at a
vertical incidence is called the critical frequency for that particular
layer.
• For a regular layer it is proportional to the square root of maximum
electron density in the layer.
• The critical frequencies change for different ionospheric layers at
different instant of time in winter and in summer seasons.

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Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF)
• Previously it was mentioned that the critical frequency is the highest
frequency that returns from an ionospheric layer at vertical incidence.
• When the frequency exceeds the critical frequency the return will
depend upon the angle of incidence at a particular ionospheric layer.
• Thus, for a specified angle of incidence there will be a maximum
frequency which will be reflected back.
• The maximum possible value of frequency for which reflection takes
place for a given distance of propagation is termed as maximum
usable frequency for that distance (MUF) and for the given
ionospheric layer.
• Beyond MUF the wave will not return.
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Lowest Usable Frequency (LUF)
• The frequency below which entire power gets absorbed is referred to
as lowest usable frequency (LUF).

Optimum Frequency (OF)

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Virtual Height
• It may be defined as the height to
which a short pulse of energy sent
vertically upward and travelling
with the speed of light would
reach taking the same two way
travel time as does the actual
pulse reflected from the
atmospheric layer.

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Skip Distance
• The minimum distance at
which the wave returns to the
ground at a critical angle is
termed as skip distance.
• As mentioned earlier the skip
distance and the maximum
usable frequency corresponds
to each other.

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Relationship between MUF and Skip Distance

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Multi-Hop Propagation

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Wave Characteristics
• Some of the characteristics exhibited by the waves in different modes
of propagation and different frequency ranges are summarized below:
1. VLF Wave Propagation:
• 3-30 kHz
• Low carrier frequency limits the bandwidth and hence the information
contents and thus cannot be used for conventional communication.
• These waves can penetrate deeper into the sea as well as earth, and
therefore can be used for submarine and mine communication.
• Waves can travel thousands of kilometers along the earth’s surface and have a
very steady phase. Therefore, a VLF wave can be used for navigation and for
time and frequency standards.

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• 20-100 kHz:
• In this range, ground waves have relatively low attenuation.
• Received ground wave signals show little diurnal, seasonal and yearly variation.
• Ground wave mode is mostly used up to 1000 km.
• Sky waves are reflected back to the earth only after little absorption and slight
penetration in the ionosphere.
• Received signals show diurnal and seasonal variation.
• Signals are stronger at night and in winter than in day or in summer.
• 100-535 kHz:
• Ground wave attenuates more rapidly as the frequencies are raised above 100 kHz.
• Range of ground wave reduces as the frequency increases.
• Sky wave become the obvious choice for moderate distances.
• Ionospheric losses tend to be high in daytime due to relatively high ionospheric
absorption but remain low at night. So day time communication is not dependable.

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• 535-1600 kHz:
• Day time broadcast depends entirely on ground wave propagation.
• Day time signal strength decreases more rapidly with distance for ground waves.
• Lower the earth’s conductivity, the higher is the frequency of the signal.
• Sky waves in this range are completely absorbed in day.
• 1600 kHz-30 MHz:
• Ground wave attenuates very rapidly. Thus this mode of propagation is of no use
except for very short distances.
• Almost all long distance communications use ionospheric reflections.
• The lower frequency limit depends on the ionospheric absorption over the path,
the radiated power and noise level at the receiver.
• The MUF depends on distance, height and electron density at the location of
reflection in the ionosphere.
• The frequency which gives the best signal is the optimum frequency (OF).
Normally taken 15% below the MUF. High in day for long paths. Low at night for
short path. Greater in summer than winter.
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2. Frequency above 30 MHz:
• Rarely reflected back to earth by ionosphere.
• Usefulness above 30 MHz depends mainly upon space wave propagation.
• Communication even with reasonable transmitted power is normally not
appreciable beyond the line of sight distance.
• Heights of transmitting and receiving antennas determine the distance.
3. VHF (metric) wave:
• All modes of propagation possible, i.e., as ground and tropospheric waves
along the earth surface and also between 4 m to 10 m wavelength as
ionospheric wave.
• Capable of passing through ionospheric as direct wave .

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4. UHF and SHF waves:
• Can propagate as ground wave over short (line of sight) distance.
• Communication for long distances through tropospheric waves (mainly due to
scattering from irregularities and less due to ducting).
• Diffraction in this range is negligible.
• Practically, no molecular absorption or absorption in precipitation particles.
• Absorption due to rain, hail, snow and due to water vapours at 1.35 cm
wavelength are significant.
5. EHF waves:
• No effect of ionosphere, troposphere causes bending due to atmospheric
refraction.
• Rain, fog, hail, snow and precipitation particles responsible for marked
absorption.
• Heavy rain and dense fog will completely stop propagation.
• Strong molecular absorption by tropospheric gases, especially water vapor
and oxygen.
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6. Sub millimetric and Optic waves:
• Can propagate only as ground and direct wave.
• Atmospheric refraction causes bending of path.
• Heavy rain and dense fog will completely stop propagation.
• Well suited for space communication outside the troposphere.

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