Radio Propagation

CSCI 694
24 September 1999
Lewis Girod
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 2
Outline
Introduction and terminology
Propagation mechanisms
Propagation models
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 3
What is Radio?
Radio Xmitter induces E&M fields
Electrostatic field components 1/d
3
Induction field components 1/d
2

Radiation field components 1/d
Radiation field has E and B component
Field strength at distance d = EB 1/d
2
Surface area of sphere centered at transmitter

17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 4
General Intuition
Two main factors affecting signal at receiver
Distance (or delay) Path attenuation
Multipath Phase differences
Green signal travels 1/2 farther than
Yellow to reach receiver, who sees Red.
For 2.4 GHz, (wavelength) =12.5cm.
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 5
Objective
Invent models to predict what the field
looks like at the receiver.
Attenuation, absorption, reflection, diffraction...
Motion of receiver and environment
Natural and man-made radio interference...
What does the field look like at the receiver?
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 6
Models are Specialized
Different scales
Large scale (averaged over meters)
Small scale (order of wavelength)
Different environmental characteristics
Outdoor, indoor, land, sea, space, etc.
Different application areas
macrocell (2km), microcell(500m), picocell
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 7
Outline
Introduction and some terminology
Propagation Mechanisms
Propagation models
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 8
Radio Propagation Mechanisms
Free Space propagation
Refraction
Conductors & Dielectric materials (refraction)
Diffraction
Fresnel zones
Scattering
Clutter is small relative to wavelength
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 9
Free Space

Assumes far-field (Fraunhofer region)
d >> D and d >> , where
D is the largest linear dimension of antenna
is the carrier wavelength
No interference, no obstructions
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 10
Free Space Propagation Model
Received power at distance d is



where P
t
is the transmitter power in Watts
a constant factor K depends on antenna gain, a
system loss factor, and the carrier wavelength
Watts ) (
2
d
P
K d P
t
r
=
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 11
Refraction
Perfect conductors reflect
with no attenuation
Dielectrics reflect a fraction
of incident energy
Grazing angles reflect max*
Steep angles transmit max*
u
u
r

u
t

Reflection induces 180 phase shift
*The exact fraction depends on the materials and frequencies involved
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 12
Diffraction
Diffraction occurs when waves
hit the edge of an obstacle
Secondary waves propagated
into the shadowed region
Excess path length results in
a phase shift
Fresnel zones relate phase shifts
to the positions of obstacles
T
R
1st Fresnel zone
Obstruction
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 13
Fresnel Zones
Bounded by elliptical loci of constant delay
Alternate zones differ in phase by 180
Line of sight (LOS) corresponds to 1st zone
If LOS is partially blocked, 2nd zone can
destructively interfere (diffraction loss)
Fresnel zones are ellipses with the T&R at the foci; L
1
= L
2
+
Path 1
Path 2
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 14
Power Propagated into Shadow
How much power is propagated this way?
1st FZ: 5 to 25 dB below free space prop.
Obstruction of Fresnel Zones
1st 2nd
0
-10
-20
-30
-40
-50
-60
0
o

90
180
o

dB
Tip of Shadow
Obstruction
LOS
Rappaport, pp. 97
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 15
Scattering
Rough surfaces
critical height for bumps is f(,incident angle)
scattering loss factor modeled with Gaussian
distribution.
Nearby metal objects (street signs, etc.)
Usually modelled statistically
Large distant objects
Analytical model: Radar Cross Section (RCS)
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 16
Outline
Introduction and some terminology
Propagation Mechanisms
Propagation models
Large scale propagation models
Small scale propagation (fading) models
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 17
Propagation Models: Large
Large scale models predict behavior averaged
over distances >>
Function of distance & significant environmental
features, roughly frequency independent
Breaks down as distance decreases
Useful for modeling the range of a radio system
and rough capacity planning
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 18
Propagation Models: Small
Small scale (fading) models describe signal
variability on a scale of
Multipath effects (phase cancellation)
dominate, path attenuation considered constant
Frequency and bandwidth dependent
Focus is on modeling Fading: rapid change in
signal over a short distance or length of time.
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 19
Large Scale Models

Path loss models
Outdoor models
Indoor models
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 20
Free Space Path Loss
Path Loss is a measure of attenuation based
only on the distance to the transmitter
Free space model only valid in far-field;
Path loss models typically define a close-in
point d
0
and reference other points from there:
2
0
0
) ( ) (
|
.
|

\
|
=
d
d
d P d P
r r
dB
dB r
d
d
d PL d P d PL
(

+ = =
0
0
2 ) ( )] ( [ ) (
What is dB?
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 21
Log-Distance Path Loss Model
Log-distance generalizes path loss to
account for other environmental factors


Choose a d
0
in the far field.
Measure PL(d
0
) or calculate Free Space Path Loss.
Take measurements and derive | empirically.

dB
d
d
d PL d PL
(

+ =
0
0
) ( ) ( |
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 22
Log-Distance 2
Value of | characterizes different environments
Environment
Exponent
|
Free Space 2
Urban area 2.7-3.5
Shadowed urban area 3-5
Indoor LOS 1.6-1.8
Indoor no LOS 4-6
Rappaport, Table 3.2, pp. 104
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 23
Log-Normal Shadowing Model

Shadowing occurs when objects block LOS
between transmitter and receiver
A simple statistical model can account for
unpredictable shadowing
Add a 0-mean Gaussian RV to Log-Distance PL
Markov model can be used for spatial correlation

17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 24
Outdoor Models

2-Ray Ground Reflection model
Diffraction model for hilly terrain
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 25
2-Ray Ground Reflection
For d >> h
r
h
t
,
low angle of incidence allows the earth to act
as a reflector
the reflected signal is 180 out of phase
P
r
1/d
4
(|=4)
R
T
h
t

h
r

Phase shift!
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 26
Ground Reflection 2
Intuition: ground blocks 1st Fresnel zone
Reflection causes an instantaneous 180 phase shift
Additional phase offset due to excess path length
If the resulting phase is still close to 180,

the gound ray
will destructively interfere with the LOS ray.
R
T
h
t

h
r

p
1

p
0

180
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 27
Hilly Terrain
Propagation can be LOS or result of
diffraction over one or more ridges
LOS propagation modelled with
ground reflection: diffraction loss
But if there is no LOS,
diffraction can actually help!

17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 28
Indoor Path Loss Models

Indoor models are less generalized
Environment comparatively more dynamic
Significant features are physically smaller
Shorter distances are closer to near-field
More clutter, scattering, less LOS
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 29
Indoor Modeling Techniques
Modeling techniques and approaches:
Log-Normal, |<2 for LOS down corridor
Log-Normal shadowing model if no LOS
Partition and floor attenuation factors
Computationally intensive ray-tracing based
on 3-D model of building and attenuation
factors for materials

17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 30
Outline
Introduction and some terminology
Propagation Mechanisms
Propagation models
Large scale propagation models
Small scale propagation (fading) models
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 31
Recall: Fading Models
Small scale (fading) models describe signal
variability on a scale of
Multipath effects (phase cancellation)
dominate, path attenuation considered constant
Frequency and bandwidth dependent
Focus is on modeling Fading: rapid change in
signal over a short distance or length of time.
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 32
Factors Influencing Fading
Motion of the receiver: Doppler shift
Transmission bandwidth of signal
Compare to BW of channel
Multipath propagation
Receiver sees multiple instances of signal when
waves follow different paths
Very sensitive to configuration of environment
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 33
Effects of Multipath Signals
Rapid change in signal strength due to
phase cancellation
Frequency modulation due to Doppler shifts
from movement of receiver/environment
Echoes caused by multipath propagation
delay
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 34
The Multipath Channel
One approach to small-scale models is to
model the Multipath Channel
Linear time-varying function h(t,t)
Basic idea: define a filter that encapsulates
the effects of multipath interference
Measure or calculate the channel impulse response
(response to a short pulse at f
c
):
h(t,t)
t
t
t
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 35
Channel Sounding
Channel sounding is a way to measure the
channel response
transmit impulse, and measure the response to find h(t).
h(t) can then be used to model the channel response to
an arbitrary signal: y(t) = x(t)h(t).
Problem: models the channel at single point in time;
cant account for mobility or environmental changes
h(t,t)
t
t
SKIP
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 36
Characterizing Fading
*

From the impulse response we can
characterize the channel:
Characterizing distortion
Delay spread (t
d
): how long does the channel
ring from an impulse?
Coherence bandwidth (B
c
): over what
frequency range is the channel gain flat?
t
d
1/B
c
*Adapted from EE535 Slides, Chugg 99
In time domain, roughly corresponds to the fidelity
of the response; sharper pulse requires wider band
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 37
Effect of Delay Spread
*


Does the channel distort the signal?
if W << B
c
: Flat Fading
Amplitude and phase distortion only
if W > B
c
: Frequency Selective Fading
If T < t
d
, inter-symbol interference (ISI) occurs
For narrowband systems (W ~ 1/T), FSF ISI.
Not so for wideband systems (W >> 1/T)
For a system with bw W and symbol time T...
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 38
Qualitative Delay Spread


RMS Delay spread (o)
Mean excess delay
Noise threshold
Delay
P
o
w
e
r
(
d
B
)

Typical values for o :
Indoor: 10-100 ns
Outdoor: 0.1-10 s
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 39
Characterizing Fading 2
*

Characterizing Time-variation: How does
the impulse response change with time?
Coherence time (t
c
): for what value of A are
responses at t and t+A uncorrelated? (How
quickly is the channel changing)
Doppler Spread (f
d
): How much will the
spectrum of the input be spread in frequency?
f
d
1/t
c

17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 40
Effect of Coherence Time
*


Is the channel constant over many uses?
if T << t
c
: Slow fading
Slow adaptation required
if T > t
c
: Fast fading
Frequent adaptation required
For typical systems, symbol rate is high compared to
channel evolution
For a system with bw W and symbol time T...
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 41
Statistical Fading Models

Fading models model the probability of a
fade occurring at a particular location
Used to generate an impulse response
In fixed receivers, channel is slowly time-varying; the
fading model is reevaluated at a rate related to motion
Simplest models are based on the WSSUS
principle
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 42
WSSUS
*

Wide Sense Stationary (WSS)
Statistics are independent of small perturbations in time
and position
I.e. fixed statistical parameters for stationary nodes
Uncorrelated Scatter (US)
Separate paths are not correlated in phase or attenuation
I.e. multipath components can be independent RVs
Statistics modeled as Gaussian RVs
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 43
Common Distributions
Rayleigh fading distribution
Models a flat fading signal
Used for individual multipath components
Ricean fading distribution
Used when there is a dominant signal
component, e.g. LOS + weaker multipaths
parameter K (dB) defines strength of dominant
component; for K=-, equivalent to Rayleigh
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 44
Application of WSSUS
Multi-ray Rayleigh fading:
The Rayleigh distribution does not model
multipath time delay (frequency selective)
Multi-ray model is the sum of two or more
independent time-delayed Rayleigh variables
s(t)
R
1

R
2

E
r(t)
t
Rappaport, Fig. 4.24, pp. 185.
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 45
Saleh & Valenzuela (1987)
Measured same-floor indoor characteristics
Found that, with a fixed receiver, indoor
channel is very slowly time-varying
RMS delay spread: mean 25ns, max 50ns
With no LOS, path loss varied over 60dB range
and obeyed log distance power law, 3 > n > 4
Model assumes a structure and models
correlated multipath components.
Rappaport, pp. 188
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 46
Saleh & Valenzuela 2
Multipath model
Multipath components arrive in clusters, follow Poisson
distribution. Clusters relate to building structures.
Within cluster, individual components also follow
Poisson distribution. Cluster components relate to
reflecting objects near the TX or RX.
Amplitudes of components are independent Rayleigh
variables, decay exponentially with cluster delay and
with intra-cluster delay
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 47
References
Wireless Communications: Principles and Practice, Chapters 3 and 4,
T. Rappaport, Prentice Hall, 1996.
Principles of Mobile Communication, Chapter 2, G. Stber, Kluwer
Academic Publishers, 1996.
Slides for EE535, K. Chugg, 1999.
Spread Spectrum Systems, Chapter 7, R. Dixon, Wiley, 1985 (there is a
newer edition).
Wideband CDMA for Third Generation Mobile Communications,
Chapter 4, T. Ojanpera, R. Prasad, Artech, House 1998.
Propagation Measurements and Models for Wireless Communications
Channels, Andersen, Rappaport, Yoshida, IEEE Communications,
January 1995.
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 48
The End


17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 49
Scattering 2
h
c
is the critical height of a protrusion to
result in scattering.

RCS: ratio of power density scattered to receiver
to power density incident on the scattering object
Wave radiated through free space to scatterer and reradiated:

) sin( 8

i
=
c
h
) log( 20 ) log( 20 ) 4 log( 30
] dB [ ) log( 20 ) dBi ( ) dBm ( ) dBm (
2
R T
T T R
d d
m RCS G P P

+ + + =
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 50
Free Space 2a
Free space power flux density (W/m
2
)
power radiated over surface area of sphere



where G
t
is transmitter antenna gain
By covering some of this area, receivers
antenna catches some of this flux

2
4 d
G P
P
t t
d
=
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 51
Free Space 2b
Fraunhofer distance: d > 2D
2
/
Antenna gain and antenna aperture
A
e
is the antenna aperture, intuitively the area
of the antenna perpendicular to the flux
G
r
is the antenna gain for a receiver. It is related to A
e
.


Received power (P
r
) = Power flux density (P
d
) * A
e

2

4
e
A
G =
4

2
G
A
e
=
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 52
Free Space 2c



where L is a system loss factor
P
t
is the transmitter power
G
t
and G
r
are antenna gains
is the carrier wavelength
Watts
) (4
1
) (
2
2
2
L
G G P
d
d P
r t t
r
=
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 53
LNSM 2
PL(d)[dB] = PL(d
0
) +10nlog(d/d
0
)+ X
o
where X
o
is a zero-mean Gaussian RV (dB)
o and n computed from measured data,
based on linear regression
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 54
Ground Reflection 1.5
The power at the receiver in this model is
derivation calculates E field;
P
r
= |E|
2
A
e
; A
e
is ant. aperture

The breakpoint at which the model
changes from 1/d
2
to 1/d
4
is ~ 2th
t
h
r
/
where h
r
and h
t
are the receiver and transmitter
antenna heights

4
2 2
d
h h
G G P P
r t
r t t r
=
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 55
Convolution Integral
Convolution is defined by this integral:
}
+

=
=
) ( ) ( ) (
) ( ) ( ) (
d t h x t y
t h t x t y
Indexes relevant portion
of impulse response
Scales past input signal
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 56
Partition Losses
Partition losses: same floor
Walls, furniture, equipment
Highly dependent on type of material, frequency
Hard partitions vs soft partitions
hard partitions are structural
soft partitions do not reach ceiling
open plan buildings
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 57
Partition Losses 2
Partition losses: between floors
Depends on building construction, frequency
Floor attenuation factor diminishes with
successive floors
typical values:
15 dB for 1st floor
6-10 dB per floor for floors 2-5
1-2 dB per floor beyond 5 floors
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 58
Materials
Attenuation values for different materials
Material Loss (dB) Frequency
Concrete block 13-20 1.3 GHz
Plywood (3/4) 2 9.6 GHz
Plywood (2 sheets) 4 9.6 GHz
Plywood (2 sheets) 6 28.8 GHz
Aluminum siding 20.4 815 MHz
Sheetrock (3/4) 2 9.6 GHz
Sheetrock (3/4) 5 57.6 GHz
Turn corner in corridor 10-15 1.3 GHz
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 59
What does dB mean?
dB stands for deciBel or 1/10 of a Bel
The Bel is a dimensionless unit for
expressing ratios and gains on a log scale



Gains add rather than multiply
Easier to handle large dynamic ranges
)) log( ) (log( 10 log 10
P
P
1 2
1
2
10
dB
1
2
P P
P
P
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
(

17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 60

dB 2
Ex: Attenuation from transmitter to receiver.
P
T
=100, P
R
=10
attenuation is ratio of P
T
to P
R

[P
T
/P
R
]
dB
= 10 log(P
T
/P
R
) = 10 log(10) = 10 dB
Useful numbers:
[1/2]
dB
~ -3 dB
[1/1000]
dB
= -30 dB
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 61
dB 3
dB can express ratios, but what about
absolute quantities?
Similar units reference an absolute quantity
against a defined reference.
[n mW]
dBm
= [n/mW]
dB

[n W]
dBW
= [n/W]
dB

Ex: [1 mW]
dBW
= -30 dBW
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 62
Channel Sounding 2

Several Channel Sounding techniques can
measure the channel response directly:
Direct RF pulse (we hinted at this approach)
Sliding correlator
Frequency domain sounding
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 63
Channel Sounding 3
Direct RF Pulse
Xmit pulse, scope displays response at receiver
Can be done with off-the-shelf hardware
Problems: hard to reject noise in the channel
If no LOS
must trigger scope on weaker multipath component
may fail to trigger
lose delay and phase information
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 64
Channel Sounding 4
Sliding correlator
Xmit PseudoNoise sequence
Rcvr correlates signal with its PN generator
Rcvr clock slightly slower; PN sequences slide
Delayed components cause delayed correlations
Good resolution, good noise rejection


17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 65
Channel Sounding 5
Frequency domain sounding
Sweep frequency range
Compute inverse Fourier transform of response
Problems
not instantaneous measurement
Tradeoff between resolution (number of frequency
steps) and real-time measurement (i.e. duration as
short as possible)
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 66
Digression: Convolutions
The impulse response box notation
implies the convolution operator,
Convolution operates on a signal and an
impulse response to produce a new signal.
The new signal is the superposition of the
response to past values of the signal.
Commutative, associative
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 67
y(t)
y(t)
Convolutions 2
y(t) is the sum of scaled, time-delayed responses
x(t) h(t)
=
+
h(t)
Each component of the sum is scaled
by the x(t)dt at that point; in this
example, the response is scaled to 0
where x(t) = 0.
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 68
Flip & Slide: h(t-t)
h(t-t)
Flip & Slide: h(t-t)
h(t-t)
Flip & Slide: h(t-t)
h(t-t)
Convolutions 3
Graphical method: Flip & Slide
x(t)
x(t)
h(t)
=
Pairwise multiply x*h
and integrate over t
and Store y(t)
y(t)
y(t)
Flip & Slide: h(t-t)
h(t-t) Flip & Slide: h(t-t)
h(t-t)
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 69
Frequency and Time Domains
The channel impulse response is f(time)
It describes the channel in the time domain
Functions of frequency are often very useful;
Space of such functions is frequency domain
Often a particular characteristic is easier to
handle in one domain or the other.
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 70
Frequency Domain
Functions of frequency
usually capitalized and take the parameter f
where f is the frequency in radians/sec
and the value of the function is the amplitude of
the component of frequency f.
Convolution in time domain translates into
multiplication in the frequency domain:
y(t) = x(t)h(t) Y(f) = X(f)H(f)

17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 71
Frequency Domain 2
Based on Fourier theorem:
any periodic signal can be decomposed into a
sum of (possibly infinite number of) cosines
The Fourier Transform and inverse FT
Convert between time and frequency domains.
The frequency and time representations of the
same signal are duals

17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 72
Flat Fading
T >> t
d
and W

<< B
C
minimal ISI
0 T
s
0 t 0
T
s
+t
f
c
f
c
f
c

t
t t
f f
f
s(t)
r(t)
h(t,t)
Time domain
(convolve)
Freq domain
(filter)
=
=
Delay spread
Coherence BW
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 73
Frequency Selective Fading
T << t
d
and W

>> B
C
ISI
0 T
s
0 t 0
T
s
+t
f
c
f
c
f
c

t
t
f f
f
s(t)
r(t)
h(t,t)
Time domain
(convolve)
Freq domain
(filter)
=
=
Delay spread
Coherence BW
T
s

17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 74
Review
Object of radio propagation models:
predict signal quality at receiver
Radio propagation mechanisms
Free space (1/d
2
)
Diffraction
Refraction
Scattering
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 75
Review 2
Factors influencing received signal
Path loss: distance, obstructions
Multipath interference: phase cancellation due
to excess path length and other sources of phase
distortion
Doppler shift
Other radio interference
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 76
Review 3
Approaches to Modelling
Models valid for far-field, apply to a range of
distances
large scale models: concerned with gross
behavior as a function of distance
small scale (fading) models: concerned with
behavior during perturbations around a
particular distance
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 77
Relevance to Micronets
Micronets may require different models
than most of the work featured here
Smaller transmit range
Likely to be near reflectors: on desk or floor.
On the other hand, at smaller scales things are less
smooth: ground reflection may turn into scattering
Outdoors, throwing sensors on ground may not
work. Deployable tripods?
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 78
Relevance 2
Consequences of Fading
You can be in a place that has no signal, but
where a signal can be picked up a short distance
away in any direction
Ability to move? Switch frequencies/antennas? Call
for help moving or for more nodes to be added?
If stuck, may not be worth transmitting at all
Reachability topology may be completely
irrelevant to location relationships
17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 79
Relevance 3
Relevant modelling tools:
Statistical models (Rice/Rayleigh/Log Normal)
Statistical fading assumes particular dynamics, this
depends on mobility of receivers and environment
CAD modelling of physical environment and
ray tracing approaches.
For nodes in fixed positions this is only done once.

17 March 1999 Radio Propagation 80
Relevance 4
An approach to modelling?
Characterize wireless system interactions with
different materials, compare to published data
Assess the effect of mobility in environment on fixed
topologies, relate to statistical models
Try to determine what environmental structures and
parameters are most important:
Scattering vs. ground reflection?
can a simple CAD model help?