WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

MODULE – 5

RADIO WAVE PROPAGATION

 Introduction

❏ Power radiated from a transmitter is usually spread over a large area so power available
at most of the receiving antennas is only a small fraction of radiated power
❏ The received energy may travel over any of the following mode of propagation
❏ Ground wave or surface wave propagation
❏ Occurs when the radio waves follow the curvature of the Earth and travel along the
surface of the Earth
❏ Most efficient at frequencies below 2 MHz
❏ Mainly used for local communications.
❏ Sky wave or ionospheric propagation
❏ Occurs when radio waves are refracted by the ionosphere, a layer of charged particles in
the upper atmosphere.
❏ This type of propagation is used for long-distance communication over hundreds or
thousands of kilometers.
❏ Space wave propagation
 Occurs when the radio waves are able to
penetrate the Earth's surface and travel
through the atmosphere.
 This type of propagation is most effective at
frequencies above 2 MHz
 Used for long-distance communications.

❖ Each type of wave propagation has its own

advantages and limitations, and is used in
different applications depending on the
specific requirements of the
communication system.
Ground Wave Propagation

● Ground wave also called surface wave or Norton’s surface wave

● It is a wave that is guided along the surface of the Earth, similar to how an
EM wave is guided by a waveguide or transmission line
● This mode exists when the transmitting and receiving antennas are close to
surface of earth and is supported at its lower edge by the presence of the
ground
● Ground waves are produced by vertical antennas, so is vertically polarized
● Vertically polarized ; Electric field vectors of e.m. waves are vertical wrt
ground. Any horizontal component of electric field in contact with earth is
short circuited by the earth
● When the surface wave glides over the surface of the earth energy is
abstracted from the surface wave to supply the losses in the earth. Thus
the surface wave looses some of its energy by absorption
● Energy lost so is replenished to a limit by the energy diffracted downward
from the upper portion of the wave front present almost above the
immediate surface of the earth
● Therefore the ground wave suffers varying amount of attenuation while
propagating along the curvature of the earth, depending upon frequency,
surface irregularities, permitivity and conductivity
● Earth’s attenuation increases as frequency increases. So this mode is
suitable for low and medium frequency (upto 2 Mhz only)
● Besides ground attenuation, surface wave is attenuated due to diffraction and tilt in
the wavefront
● As the wave progress over the curvature of the earth, the wave fronts start
gradually tilting more. This increase in the tilt of the wave causes more short
circuit of the electric field component and hence the field strength goes on
reducing.

● Ultimately the surface wave dies because of the losses

Field strength at a distance from the transmitting antenna due to ground wave is
120𝜋ℎ ℎ 𝐼
𝐸=
𝜆𝑑

If however, the distance is very large, the reduction in the field strength due to ground attenuation
and atmospheric absorption increases and thus the actual voltage received at receiving point
decreases. This results in a field strength less than the above equqation
The field strength for ground wave propagation for a flat surface is given by
PLANE WAVE PROPAGATION

● If an EM wave is incident at an angle unto a finite conductivity smooth earth surface, the
magnitude and phase of the reflected wave can be determined considering as the reflection at
the surface of a perfect dielectric.
● In another case, when the earth is rough, the reflected wave tends to be scattered and
reduction in amplitude comparably higher than the reflection from smooth-earth surface.
● The famous Rayleigh criterion gives a measure of earth roughness as follows
R = earth surface roughness

𝞼 = standard deviation of the surface irregularity relative to the

mean surface

ɸ = angle of incidence measured from the grazing angle

𝛌 = operating wavelength
PLANE WAVE PROPAGATION

● If R < 0.1, there is a well defined specular reflection and the corresponding
reflecting surface may be considered as being smooth.
● If R > 10, the surface is definitely rough and the reflected wave has a small
magnitude.
● As the angle of incidence ɸ approaches grazing, a rough surface for high
incidence angle (i.e. large ɸ), may approach a smooth surface.
● When the incident wave is near grazing over a smooth earth the reflection
coefficients approaches –1 for both, horizontal and vertical polarizations.
PLANE WAVE PROPAGATION

● As the earth is not a good conductor, there is another term known as

equivalent complex dielectric constant given as

● Therefore, the characteristics of wave propagation in different mediums (in

terms of propagation constant ɣ) can be determined by replacing the dielectric
constant ( ) with complex dielectric constant.
● For an isotropic radiator above the plane earth, the electric field intensity is

Rh = reflection coefficient

E0 = field strength for free space propagation

 Space Wave Propagation

• Space wave propagation is defined as the radio waves that occur within
the 20km of the atmosphere i.e. troposphere comprising of direct and
reflected waves

• The space wave follows two distinct paths from the transmitting antenna
to the receiving antenna—one through the air directly to the receiving
antenna, the other reflected from the ground to the receiving antenna.
● The receiving antenna must be located within the radio horizon of the
transmitting antenna because space waves are refracted slightly,
even when propagated through the troposphere, the radio horizon is
actually about one-third farther than the line-of-sight or natural
horizon.

● Although space waves suffer little ground attenuation, they

nevertheless are susceptible to fading. This is because space waves
actually follow two paths of different lengths (direct path and ground
reflected path) to the receiving site and, therefore, may arrive in or out
of phase.

● If these two component waves are received in phase, the result is a

reinforced or stronger signal. Likewise, if they are received out of
phase, they tend to cancel one another, which results in a weak or
fading signal.

● Space waves are also known as tropospheric propagation as they

can travel directly from the earth’s surface to the troposphere surface
of the earth.
➢Space wave propagation depends on three components:
• Direct Wave - The radio waves that are transmitted from the
transmitting antenna reach the receiving antenna directly.
• Ground Reflection Wave - The radio waves that reach the receiving
antenna after reflection from the ground.
• Tropospheric Wave - The radio waves that reach the receiving antenna
after reflection from the troposphere.

➢To prevent attenuation and loss of signal strength, the height of the
antennas and distance between them can be given as:

Where, Dm: distance between the two antennas

R: radius of the earth
Ht: height of transmission antenna
Hr: height of receiver antenna
Applications of space wave propagation:
It is used in various communication systems like
● A line of sight communication and satellite communication
● Radar communication
● Microwave linking

Space wave propagation limitations:

● These waves are affected by the curvature of the earth.

● The propagation of these waves happens along the line of sight distance
which is defined as the distance between the transmitting antenna and the
receiving antenna which is also known as the range of communication.
Expression for the LOS distance in km when the antenna heights above ground
are ht and hr respectively for the transmitter and receiver antennas.

Line of Sight distance is the distance between the transmitter and receiver,in which if a
direct ray passes from the transmitter to the receiver without being intercepted by the
bulge in the earth’s surface ,considering variation of the refractive index( ) of earth’s
atmosphere with height,the transmitting antenna must see at least the top of the
receiving antenna.

Space wave communication is possible only upto or slightly beyond line of sight
distance and this distance is determined mainly by the heights of transmitting and
receiving antennas derived below:
Let d be the distance between transmitter and receiver, and heights of the
transmitting and receiving antennas are ht and hr
respectively above ground.

From the figure line of sight distance

d=d1+d2

If r be the radius of earth (6370 km)

then from ΔABO and ΔCBO,
Where ht,hr are heights of transmitting and receiving antennas in meters and the
maximum line of sight distance covered by space wave propagation d is in kilometers.

Equation.11.105 shows that service area can be increased by increasing the heights
ht and hr,However space wave communication greater than 100 kilometer is hardly
used in commercial communication.

As an example if ht and hr are 100 metres each , the value of d is 71.4 km only.
EFFECTIVE EARTH’S RADIUS
• A radio wave travelling horizontally in the earth’s atmosphere follows a path
which has a slight downward curvature due to the refraction of the wave in
the atmosphere.
• This curvature of path tends to overcome partially the loss of signal due to
the curvature of the earth and permits the direct ray to reach point slightly
beyond the horizon as found by the straight or line of sight path.

• In making computations the effect of refraction is accounted for by using an

effective radius of curvature of the earth which is a bit greater than the actual
radius, and then assuming straight line path (that is without refraction) in the
atmosphere.
If the radius of curvature R of ray path is equal to four times the actual earth’s radius ,
then the effective radius of earth is 4/3 times the actual radius of earth.
For the value of d /dh corresponding to ‘standard’ atmosphere is taken as 0.040 x
106 per metre and radius of earth r = 6370 km = 6.37 x 106 m if we substitute in
above equation we get
Hence for a standard atmospheric refraction the effective earth’s radius is 4/3
times the actual earth’s [Link] the equation 11.104(a) is modified by replacing
r by r’ and the line of sight distance
In practice , equation 11.120 is used to calculate the line of sight distance in km
covered by the space wave if the ht and hr are given in metres .
Qn. In order to establish the communication with 35 W transmitter at 100 MHz,
the height of Tx and Rx antennas are selected 50 m and 35 m respectively. Find the LOS up to
which communication can be maintained and also the field strength at the receiver end.
3. A TV transmitter is designed to establish communication at a distance of 50 km from it.
The height of Tx antenna is 100 m and transmits a power of 45 W at 90 MHz. Find the
height of receiver and field intensity at the Rx antenna.
b) Receiving antenna is located at 80km from the transmitting antenna,therefore d =
[Link] of the transmitting antenna = 100m by considering effective earth radius.
[Link] Aircrafts are flying at altitudes of 3000 and 5000 m [Link] is
the maximum possible distance along the surface of the earth over which they
can have effective point to point microwave communication ? Radius of earth =
6.37 x 106 metres.
Answer : After accounting the radius of earth , the maximum possible distance on
the earth surface is given by
3.A television transmitting antenna mounted at a height of 120 metre
radiates
15kW of power equally in all directions in azimuthal at a frequency of
50MHz.
Calculate (i) Maximum Line Of Sight range (ii) The field strength at a
receiving antenna mounted at a height of 16 m at a distance of 12 km and
(iii) The distance at which the field strength reduces to 1 mV/m.
Ground Wave Propagation
• Propagation of EM wave near earth surface (including troposphere) is called ground
wave propagation.
• When the Transmit and Receive antenna are on earth there can be multiple paths for
communication.
• If the Transmit and Receive antenna are in line of sight (LOS) then direct path exist.
• The propagating wave is called direct wave.
• When EM wave encounters an interface between two dissimilar media, a part of
energy will flow along the interface Known as Surface Wave.
• At LF and MF this is predominant mode of energy transfer for vertically polarized
radiation.
• Interaction with the objects on ground will manifest as, Reflection, Refraction,
Diffraction, Scattering.
• Waves are collectively called as Space Wave.
Surface Wave Propagation
• Surface wave propagation is a type of electromagnetic propagation in which waves
propagate over the earth’s surface in low and medium frequencies.

• These waves are usually used for transmission between the surface of the earth
and the ionosphere.

• They are a combination of a number of constituent waves.

• These waves are called surface waves or ground waves because it is the sum of
the waves that are reflected by the earth’s surface or any hills or mountains.

• These waves follow the curvature of earth, which enables them to cover beyond
horizon. Beyond the horizon, they are blocked by the curvature of earth and the
signals are produced by diffracted surface waves.
• A surface wave can follow the contours of the Earth because of the process of
diffraction.

• When a surface wave meets an object and the dimensions of the object do not
exceed its wavelength, the wave tends to curve or bend around the object.

• The smaller the object, the more pronounced the diffractive action will be.
• As a surface wave passes over the ground, the wave induces a voltage in the Earth.
The induced voltage takes energy away from the surface wave, thereby weakening,
or attenuating, the wave as it moves away from the transmitting antenna.

• To reduce the attenuation, the amount of induced voltage must be reduced. This is
done by using vertically polarized waves that minimize the extent to which the electric
field of the wave is in contact with the Earth.
• When a surface wave is horizontally polarized, the electric field of the wave is
parallel with the surface of the Earth and, therefore, is constantly in contact with it.
The wave is then completely attenuated within a short distance from the transmitting
site.

• On the other hand, when the surface wave is vertically polarized, the electric field is
vertical to the Earth and merely dips into and out of the Earth's surface. For this
reason, vertical polarization is vastly superior to horizontal polarization for surface
wave propagation.

• The attenuation that a surface wave undergoes because of induced voltage also
depends on the electrical properties of the terrain over which the wave travels. The
best type of surface is one that has good electrical conductivity. The better the
conductivity, the less the attenuation
• Another major factor in the attenuation of surface waves is frequency.
• The higher the frequency of a radio wave, the shorter its wavelength will be.
• These high frequencies, with their shorter wavelengths, are not normally diffracted
but are absorbed by the Earth at points relatively close to the transmitting site.

• Therefore, as the frequency of a surface wave is increased, the more rapidly the
surface wave will be absorbed, or attenuated, by the Earth.

• Because of this loss by attenuation, the surface wave is impractical for long-
distance transmissions at frequencies above 2 megahertz.
• On the other hand, when the frequency of a surface wave is low enough to have a
very long wavelength, the Earth appears to be very small, and diffraction is sufficient
for propagation well beyond the horizon.

• In fact, by lowering the transmitting frequency into the very low frequency (vlf) range
and using very high-powered transmitters, the surface wave can be propagated great
distances.

• The Navy's extremely high-powered vlf transmitters are actually capable of

transmitting surface wave signals around the Earth and can provide coverage to
naval units operating anywhere at sea.
Advantages of surface wave propagation
Surface waves bends around the corners or obstructions during propagation which
makes them more efficient and also they are not affected by the changes in
atmosphere.

Disadvantages of surface wave propagation

(a) In surface wave propagation, waves with high frequency cannot be transmitted as
their energy losses are higher due to absorption of energy in the earth’s atmosphere.
(b) This type of wave propagation is usually used to cover short ranges and it also
involves attenuation of waves as they interact with the eddy current produced by the
surface of earth.

Applications of surface wave propagation

They are used in one-way communication from the military to submerged submarines
as they penetrate to significant depth into sea water. But their main purpose is
broadcasting AM,FM and television.
Spherical Earth Propagation

• The spherical shape of the Earth plays an important role in radio wave
propagation. As radio waves travel through space, they tend to spread
out and weaken due to diffraction, scattering, and other phenomena.

• However, the curvature of the Earth can help to reflect and refract radio
waves, allowing them to travel further than they would in a straight line.

• In long-distance communications, the Earth's curvature can cause radio

waves to be refracted back towards the surface, allowing signals to be
received beyond the horizon. This is known as "bending" or "ducting" and
can occur in certain atmospheric conditions.
• On the other hand, the curvature of the Earth can also cause radio waves to be
blocked by obstacles such as mountains or tall buildings. This can lead to areas of
poor radio reception, known as "shadow zones", where radio waves cannot
penetrate.

• The curvature of the Earth means that if the transmitter and receiver are far apart,
the radio waves will encounter the Earth's surface before reaching the receiver.

• This limits the range of line of sight communications to the radio horizon, which is
the distance at which the Earth's curvature obstructs the direct path between the
transmitter and receiver.

• To overcome this limitation, radio communication systems can use various

techniques to take advantage of the Earth's curvature. For example, they can use
antennas with high elevation angles to transmit and receive signals at higher
angles, allowing them to "bend" or "duct" around the curvature of the Earth and
travel further distances.
This diagram shows how radio waves can bend or duct around the curvature of the
Earth, allowing signals to be received beyond the radio horizon. This effect is caused by
atmospheric conditions such as temperature inversions or atmospheric ducting.
 IONOSPHERIC PROPAGATION
● In this mode of propagation electromagnetic waves reach the
receiving after reflection from the ionized region in the upper
atmosphere called ionosphere situated between 50 km to 400 km
above earth surface-under favourable conditions.

● The ionosphere acts like a reflecting surface and is able to reflect

back the electromagnetic waves of frequency between 2 to 30 MHz.
-
● Electromagnetic waves of frequency more than 30 MHz are not
reflected back from the ionosphere rather they penetrate it.
40
 IONOSPHERIC PROPAGATION
● Mostly sky wave propagation is suitable for frequencies between 30
MHz, so this mode of propagation is also called as 'Short wave
propagation’.

● Sky wave propagation takes place after reflection from the ionosphere,
so it is also called as ionospheric propagation.

● Long distance point to point communication is possible with sky wave

propagation, so it is also called as point to point propagation or
communication . 41
 IONOSPHERIC PROPAGATION
● Extremely long distance ie. round the globe communication is also
possible with the multiple reflections of sky waves.

● In a single reflection from the ionosphere the radio waves cover a

distance not more than 4000 km.

● The signals received due to sky wave propagation are, however,

subjected so fading in which signal strength varies with time. It is
because at the receiving point a large number of waves follow a
different number of paths. Hence provision has to be made to
overcome the fading. 42
 IONOSPHERIC PROPAGATION

● There are various parameters that characterize the ionospheric

propagation: the critical frequency, MUF, skip-distance as well as virtual
height.

● Ionospheric propagation is also affected by the earth’s magnetic fields.

● Fading is the main factor that degrades the propagation and severe
fading reduces the field strength of radio waves from 10 dB to 20 dB.

43
 STRUCTURE OF IONOSPHERE
● As per ionization density variation, ionosphere composed of several layers in
which ionization density reaches a maximum or remains roughly constant.
These layers consist of electrically charged gas atoms known as ions.

● Ionization occurs when high energy ultraviolet light waves from the sun enter
the ionospheric region of the atmosphere, strike a gas atom, and literally
knock an electron free from its parent atom.

● A normal atom is electrically neutral since it contains both a positive proton

in its nucleus and a negative orbiting electron.

● When the negative electron is knocked free from the atom, the atom
becomes positively charged (called a positive ion) and remains in space
along with the free electron, which is negatively charged. This process of
upsetting electrical neutrality is known as IONIZATION. 44
 STRUCTURE OF IONOSPHERE

● Since sky waves of different frequencies are found to return to earth

from the different heights, it means ionosphere is not having one but
several layers.
● The different layers in the ionosphere are due to the fact that different
gases in the earth's atmosphere ionized at different pressures (ie.
different heights) and there are different ionizing agents to do the
ionization.
● Thus due to different ionizing agents and different physical properties of
the atmosphere at different heights, the ionization in the ionosphere
stratified and the levels at which the electron density reaches a
maximum are called as layers.
45
● The ionosphere is divided into several layers based on the density and ionization
level of the particles present. The layers are named after their respective heights:
the D layer, the E layer, the F1 layer, and the F2 layer.

46
D-LAYER
● This is the lowest layer of the ionosphere.
● The process of ionization in this layer is slow, because all
forms of solar energy that are responsible for ionization are
severely attenuated by the higher layers.
● The reason behind that D-layer is much denser than the E
and F layers, and also density of air molecules allow ions to
recombine and form neutral atoms very quickly.
● The D-layer has the ability to refract signals of low
frequencies, however higher frequency signals pass
normally and hence attenuated.
● The amount of ionization in the layer is proportional to the
elevation angle of the sun, so ionization density reaches
maximum at midday.
● In general the D-layer appears in sunlight and disappears at
night. 47
E-LAYER
● This is one of the important regions of ionosphere for
radio communication.
● The E-layer also known as Kennelly–Heaviside layer,
because the existence of this layer was first studied by
these two scientists.
● In general, during the year, the E-layer is absorptive and
does not reflect signals, however in the summer months,
it does support propagation. The E-layer exists as an
effective radio wave reflector only during the day.
● The critical frequencies for the E-layer can be calculated
by using

48
SPORADIC E-LAYER
● The ionospheric layer associated with E-layer is sporadic layer.
● Since the presence of sporadic E-region is very much irregular; it
is termed sporadic E-layer and denoted by Es.
● It is believed that the reason behind its formation is the
bombardment of solar particles.
● The occurrence of Es-layer may be observed in day and night
hours as well as in any season of the year.
● This layer is often observed in the lower region of VHF and
sometimes in higher frequency regions. The Es-layer is very
helpful for long-distance scatter propagation of VHF waves and
sometimes produces M-type of reflections between lower layers of
E and F.
● The electron density of Es-layer is 10 times higher than that of E-
layer whereas critical frequency approximately doubles the critical
frequency of the normal ionospheric layer.
49
F-LAYER

● Also called Appleton layer and its height ranges from 140 to
400 km from the earth.
● Only layer which always remains ionized irrespective of hours
of the day as well as season of the year.
● As F layer is closest to the sun, ionization density is maximum
at midday and recombination occurs slowly after sunset.
However, a fairly constant ionized layer is always present in
this layer even in the night.

50
● Characteristics of F layer depend upon hours of the day and
the elevation of the sun.
● Propagation in the F-layer is capable of skip distances up to
2500 miles on a single hop, hence suitable for long-distance
short-wave communications
● As soon as the sun rises in the morning, the temperature of
atmosphere begins increasing and F-region split up into two
layers: F1 layer and F2 layer.

51
 F1 & F2 LAYERS

● The F1 layer is approximately extended from 140 km to 250 km

● F1 layer is basically formed by ionization of oxygen atoms and density is higher in summer
than winter. Most of HF waves penetrate F1 layer, but reflected from the F2 [Link] critical
frequency for F1 layer varies from 5 MHz to 7 MHz
● The F2 layer ranges from 250 km to 400 km in day hours having highest electron density,
however at night height of F2 layer falls to 300 km where it combines with F1 layer and
merges into a single layer.
● F2 layer is formed by the ionization of UV, X rays and corpuscular radiations. The ionization
density of F2-layer is affected largely by earth’s magnetic field, ionosphere tides, winds and
storms.
● The ionization density of this layer heavily varies with solar activity and changes from sun
spot minimum to sun spot maximum.
● The height and degree of ionization of F2 layer varies over the course of the day, with the
season of the year as well as 27 days sunspot cycles.
52
Comparison between different Layers

53
G and C REGIONS
● A region further away from the 400 km from the earth is G region
whereas the C region ranges from 50 km to 70 km inside D-layer.
● Since the density of electrons in the D-layer are not sufficient to effect
appreciable bending of radio-waves
● Hence waves highly attenuated while passing through the layer.
● In C-layer the diurnal variation of absorption is maximum at noon and
seasonal variation is maximum in summer.

54
Ionospheric Propagation
● The bending of radio waves by the ionosphere is governed by the
ordinary optical laws. By Snell’s law, the angle of incidence (i) and
refraction (r) at any point is given by

[Equation 1]

● Since μ <1 for the ionosphere wave, so sin i < sin r i.e. angle of
refraction will go on deriving from the normal as the wave will encounter
rarer medium as illustrated in the dig given below.
● If successive layers of ionosphere are of higher electron density i.e. N6
> N5 > N4> N3> N2 >N1 it means that μ will go on decreasing and
decreasing i.e. μ1>μ2>μ3>μ4>μ5>μ6.

55
Refraction of radio waves in ionosphere

56
● Thus a wave enters at say point P will be deviating more and more and a
point will reach where it travels parallel to earth(at Pm).

● Here the angle of refraction is 900 and the point Pm is the highest point in
the ionosphere reached by the radio wave. If μm be refractive index and Nm
be the maximum electron density at the point Pm then, equation 1 will
become

● The point Pm is usually called as point of reflection although it is actually a

point of refraction. At this point total internal reflection takes place and the
wave gets bent earthward and ultimately returns to earth.

● Hence the radio waves once enter at point P, leave ionosphere at point Q
after slight penetration in to the ionosphere and thus radio waves are
reflected back to earth after successive refraction in the ionosphere.

57
CRITICAL FREQUENCY

● The critical frequency of an ionized layer of the ionosphere is defined as

the highest frequency which can be reflected by a particular layer at
vertical incidence.
● The highest frequency is called critical frequency for the particular layer
and is different for different layers.
● Denoted as fo or fc
● Critical frequency for the particular regular layer is proportional to the
square root of the maximum electron density in the layer.

58
 [Equation 2]

● The highest frequency is when refractive index μ becomes

zero.
● Equating equation 2 to zero, we get

59
 Problems
1. What is the critical frequency for reflection at vertical incidence
if the maximum value of electron density is 1.24✕10^6 e/cm^3
?
Nmax=1.24✕10^6 cm^-3
Fc=?
We know , Fc=9√Nmax
=9√1.24✕10^6 KHz
=9√1.24✕10^3 Khz
=9✕1.11✕ ^ Hz
=10.02 MHz
Maximum Usable Frequency(MUF)
● The maximum possible value of frequency for which reflection
takes place for a given distance of propagation, is called as the
maximum usable frequency (MUF) for that distance, and for the
given ionospheric layer.
● If the wave frequency is higher than this then the wave penetrates
the ionized layer and does not reflect back to the earth.
● MUF is the highest frequency which can be used for sky wave
communication between two given points on the earth.
● This implies that maximum usable frequency is the highest
frequency which can be used for sky wave Communication
between two given points on the earth.
● Normal value of MUF vary from 8 MHz to 35 MHz.
Maximum Usable Frequency(MUF)
● The higher the frequency of a radio wave, the lower the rate
of refraction by an ionized layer.
● Therefore, for a given angle of incidence, there is a
maximum frequency that can be used for communications
between two given locations.
● This frequency is known as the Maximum Usable
Frequency(muf).
● Waves at frequencies above the muf are normally refracted
so slowly that they return to Earth beyond the desired
location, or pass on through the ionosphere and are lost.
● Variations in the ionosphere may occur at any time and
consequently raise or lower the predetermined muf.
➢ For a sky wave to return to earth, angle of refraction i.e. r =90°,
which implies N=Nmax and f = fmax i.e. the maximum frequency,
Applying the condition of MUF

This shows that muf for a layer is

greater than fc by a factor sec i.
 PROBLEM
Q: Find the maximum usable frequency(MUF) in F-region layer if
the critical frequency is 60 MHz and the angle of incidence is
70 ?
Solution:
Given Critical frequency = 60 MHz and angle of incidence = 70
Substituting the values in the equation:
x = 60*106 *sec 70⁰
sec 70⁰ ≈ 2.92
Therefore, x = 175.43 MHz ≈ 175 MHz

Thus, the maximum usable frequency in the F-region is 175MHz

● For flat earth, if D is the propagation distance and h is the height of the
reflecting layer above the earth’s surface:
 PROBLEM
Q: An HF radio communication is to be established between two
points on the earth’s surface. The points are at a distance of 2600km.
The height of the ionosphere layer is 200km and critical frequency is
5MHz. Find maximum usable frequency.
 SKIP DISTANCE
• The distance at which surface waves becomes negligible or the
distance at which the first wave returns to earth from the
ionosphere layer ,there is a zone that is not covered by any wave.
This is called skip zone and the distance across it is skip distance.
It can also be defined as:

• Minimum distance from the transmitter in which sky wave of given

frequency is returned to earth by ionosphere.

• Minimum distance within which a sky wave of given frequency

fails to be reflected back.

• Minimum distance from the transmitter to a point where sky wave

of a given frequency is first received.
• Higher the frequency, higher is the skip distance and for a frequency less
than critical frequency of a layer, skip distance equals zero.

• As the angle of incidence at ionosphere decreases, the distance from the

transmitter at which the ray returns to ground decreases.
• Skip distance is the distance skipped over by the sky wave .

• This happens because angle of incidence is large the eqn is

satisfied with electron density

• This means is slightly less than unity hence we return after

slight penetration into the layer .
• As angle of incidence is further decreased decrease still more and also
the , as N becomes comparatively more. Hence the wave propagates still
more before it reaches to earth.

• For a given frequency propagation f, the skip distance can be calculated as:
 VIRTUAL HEIGHTS
● The concept of virtual height is related to the propagation of
electromagnetic waves, particularly in the field of radio wave
transmission and reception.
● It is a concept used to describe the behavior of radio waves as
they travel through the Earth's atmosphere and interact with the
ionosphere.
● When radio waves are transmitted towards the ionosphere, they
can be refracted or bent due to changes in the ionization density of
the ionosphere.
● This bending allows the radio waves to travel beyond the line of
sight, enabling long-distance communication.
● The virtual height refers to the effective altitude at which the radio
waves appear to be traveling after they have been refracted by the
ionosphere.

● It is called "virtual" because the waves do not actually travel at that

altitude but rather follow a curved path due to the bending of the
waves.

● The virtual height is an important parameter in determining the

range and coverage of radio transmissions.

● The virtual height is inversely proportional to the critical frequency,

meaning that as the frequency increases, the virtual height
decreases.
● Overall, the concept of virtual height helps in understanding the
behavior of radio waves in the ionosphere and plays a crucial role in
long-distance communication via radio transmissions.

● The measurement of virtual height is normally carried out by means of

an instrument known as ionosonde.

H = cT/2 , c – velocity of light, T – Round trip time.

VIRTUAL HEIGHT
TROPOSPHERIC WAVES

● The lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere is called the troposphere.

● The troposphere extends from the surface of the Earth to an altitude of
approximately 9 km at the poles and 17 km at the equator.
● Within the troposphere, the temperature decreases with altitude at a
rate of approximately 7 degree per km.
● The fluctuations in weather parameters within the troposphere cause
the refractive index of the air to vary, which affects the propagation of
radio waves.
76
TROPOSPHERIC PROPAGATION
● UHF and microwaves signals were found to be propagated much
beyond the line of sight propagation through the forward scattering in
the tropospheric irregularities. It uses certain properties of troposphere
and is also known as Troposcatter.
● This has also lead to the dis- covery of ionosphere scatter propagation
for signal frequencies in the lower end of VHF band.
● Therefore, in the recent years, it has been established that it is
possible to achieve a very reliable communication over communication
range of 160 km to 1600 km by using high power transmitter and high
gain antennas ie reliable scatter propagation is possible in the VHF
and UHF bans.
● The name scatter propagation (beyond the horizon propagation) is
given to it due to mechanism involved in the phenomenon.
77
● The troposphere plays a vital role in the propagation of radio waves at
VHF (30-300 MHz) and UHF (300-3000 MHz) frequencies.
● Meteorological conditions influence the way radio wave propagation
occurs in the troposphere on a spatial and temporal scale.
● The effects of the troposphere on radio wave propagation include
phenomena such as tropospheric ducting, ionospheric refraction, and
atmospheric attenuation.
● It's important for communication systems, radio astronomy, and
satellite communication to understand how the troposphere affects
radio wave propagation.

78
 TROPOSPHERIC PROPAGATION
● There are two different theories involved in forward scatter
propagation.
● The first mode is ionospheric and is believed to be resulted from the
scattering of radio waves from the Lower E layer of the ionosphere.
● The second mode is Tropospheric and is thought to be result of
scattering from either blobs or fine layers in the troposphere.
● Ionospheric scatter might be due to blobs or fine layers at the lower
edge of the E layer or it could be from the ionized trails of myriads of
small meteors which bombard the earth from the outer space.
● Ionospheric scatter permits communication in the communication
range of about 1000 km to 2000 km at about 25 MHz to 60 MHz.

79
TROPOSPHERIC PROPAGATION
● The importance of ionospheric scatter propagation decreases
beyond 60 MHz, but at the same time tropospheric scatter
propagation appears to be effective starting from 100 MHz to
atleast 10 GHz ie. 10,000 MHz.
● Due to the greater attenuation of signals along the path,
forward scatter propagation is mainly useful for point to point
communication, radio or television relay links where it is
possible to use extremely high gain antennas and high power
transmitters.

80
 Structure of Troposphere
Tr

● Troposphere is that portion of the earth atmosphere which from the

earth's surface extends upto a height of 8 to 10 km at polar latitude,
10 to 12 km at moderate latitude and upto 16 to 18 km at the
equator.
● It is said that troposphere is extending upto a height of 15 km from
the earth surface.
● Thus actual height is atleast at the poles and maximum at the
equators and the composition of Troposphere remains
approximately the same as at the surface of the earth.
● The entire belt is called as troposphere or region of change.
● The percentage of the gas components remains almost constant
with increase of height.
● The water vapour components sharply decrease with height.
● Temperature decrease with increase in height. 81
Refractive index of troposphere
● Refractive index of the troposphere at the surface
of the earth just 0.0001% greater than unity.

● The gradient of N within the troposphere is

constant

82
 ● The gradient of the N for the standard atmosphere is given
by

● The above equation indicates that gradient of N for

troposphere and standard atmosphere are nearly same.

The troposphere accounts for 4/3th of the entire air mass, though it is
of relatively low height. The average pressure at earth surface is 10
millibars .It is almost half at a height of 5 km, 2.5 millibars at the
height of 11 km and 90 millibars at the height of 17 km. Thus, the
troposphere is an inhomogeneous dielectric medium whose
refractive index varies with height and so also the velocity of
propagation. 83
Refractivity
● In general, the refractive index, n, of the troposphere decreases with
altitude.
● Refractivity, N, is defined as follows:
N = (n–1)*10^8 ; when n=1.000350, N =350.
A well-known approximation for refractivity N is given below:

Where P=total atmospheric pressure (in mb);

T = atmospheric temperature (inK);
e=water vapour pressure (in mb).
84
Modified Refractivity
● Depending on the existing conditions in the troposphere, a radio wave
will undergo any of the types of refraction: sub refraction, standard
refraction, super refraction or trapping.

A more classical form of representing n is that of modified refractivity, M.

Where N=refractivity (in N-units),
h= height above sea level(ins),
a=radius of the earth (in s).
85
Formation of Evaporation Ducts
● The air that is in immediate contact with these a surface is saturated with water
vapor. As the height increases, the water vapor pressure in the atmosphere
rapidly decreases until it reaches an ambient value at which it remains more or
less static for a further increase in height.
● Therefore, for the first few above the surface of the sea, it is the water vapour
pressure, e, in the expression for N that dominates. This rapid decrease in e
causes a steep fall in N. This is reflected in the modified refractivity , M,

86
● The evaporation duct height is the point where the M gradient
changes from negative to [Link] height is a practical and
realistic measure of the strength of the evaporation duct.

● The M gradient changes due to a sharp fall in water vapor pressure

(e), despite an increase in height (h).Once e reaches its ambient
value, a further rise in altitude does not cause a substantial change in
the humidity of the troposphere.

● As height increases further, air pressure and temperature decrease,

causing a small decrease in N. Despite the decreasing N term, the h
term starts to dominate at e in the expression for M.

● Consequently, M gradually increases with height, creating a portion of

the curve with a positive M gradient. 87
Evaporation Ducts and the Troposphere

● Evaporation ducts are atmospheric layers formed over the sea due to warm and moist
air over cooler water. Their height varies based on geographical location, humidity, air
pressure, and temperature.

● They are nearly permanent features, but their height can fluctuate significantly due to
changing atmospheric parameters.

● Evaporation ducts can cause unreliable wireless communications, and their height can
only be deduced from bulk meteorological parameters.

● Changes in weather conditions can result in alterations in radio wave propagation due
to the dependence of evaporation ducts on the physical structure of the troposphere.

88
EFFECT OF EARTH’S MAGNETIC FIELD ON
IONOSPHERIC RADIO WAVE PROPAGATION

• A radio wave propagating in an atmosphere, which is not ionized, is not affected

by earths magnetic field.

• In ionosphere the electrons are set into motion by earth’s magnetic field and
electric field of radio wave, then exert a force on vibrating electrons producing
twisting effect on their path.

• This reacts on incident radio waves and earth’s magnetic field split incident
wave into ordinary and extra ordinary waves .

• Properties of ordinary waves is same as that of waves without superimposed

magnetic field.
• Extra ordinary waves is distinguishable from ordinary wave only in upper
region of F layer.

• The two waves have elliptical polarization and rotate in opposite direction.

• The phenomenon of splitting waves into different components by earth’s

magnetic field is called Magneto Ionic Splitting.
• Earth’s magnetic field is also affected by polarization of incident radio wave.

• The average strength of terrestrial magnetic field is 40 A/m, substantially

effect the radio wave propagation and make ionosphere to behave like
isotropic medium.
• The earth’s magnetic field causes electrons and ions in ionosphere to trace a
complicated trajectory.

• For electrons earth’s magnetic flux density

• The frequency whose period is equal to period of revolution of electron in its

circular orbit under the influence of earth’s magnetic field magnetic field of flux B
is called gyro-frequency.

) or )

Sub the values, is around 1.417MHz

• If f > fg: In this case the electrons follow an elliptical path
and this path gets narrower as frequency increases further.
That is a high frequency plane polarized wave.

• If f < fg: In this case the electrons vibrate in small loops and
the polarization of propagating wave does not affect much .

• (iii) If f = fg: This is the case of resonance phenomenon

and oscillating electron receive more and more energy from
the incident waves. Due to which, the velocity of these
vibrating electrons increases and they describe larger and
larger orbits.

• There is a high possibility of inelastic collision and hence

large amount of energy is dissipated from the incident radio
waves. Hence attenuation is maximum near gyro frequency.