Fundamentals of
Microwave & Satellite
Technologies
Presented By
Engr. Abdul Khaleque
Historical Perspective
Founded during WWII
Used for long-haul
telecommunications
Displaced by fiber optic networks
Still viable for right-of-way bypass
and geographic obstruction
avoidance
Microwave Spectrum
Range is approximately 1
GHz to 40 GHz
Total of all usable frequencies
under 1 GHz gives a reference
on the capacity of in the
microwave range
Microwave Impairments
Equipment, antenna, and
waveguide failures
Fading and distortion from
multipath reflections
Absorption from rain, fog, and
other atmospheric conditions
Interference from other
frequencies
Microwave Engineering
Considerations
Free space & atmospheric
attenuation
Reflections
Diffractions
Rain attenuation
Microwave Engineering
Considerations-cont’d
Skin affect
Line of Sight (LOS)
Fading
Range
Interference
Free Space & Atmospheric
Attenuation
Free space & atmospheric
attenuation is defined by the loss
the signal undergoes traveling
through the atmosphere. Changes
in air density and absorption by
atmospheric particles.
Reflections
Reflections can occur as the
microwave signal traverses a body
of water or fog bank; cause
multipath conditions
Diffraction
Diffraction is the result of
variations in the terrain the signal
crosses
Rain Attenuation
Raindrop absorption or scattering
of the microwave signal can cause
signal loss in transmissions.
Skin Affect
Skin Affect is the concept that high
frequency energy travels only on
the outside skin of a conductor and
does not penetrate into it any
great distance. Skin Affect
determines the properties of
microwave signals.
Line of Sight
Fresnel Zone Clearance
Fresnel Zone Clearance is the
minimum clearance over obstacles
that the signal needs to be sent
over. Reflection or path bending
will occur if the clearance is not
sufficient.
LOS & FZC-cont’d
Fresnel Zone
D2
D1
D1 X D2
72.2
FxD
secret formula
Microwave Fading
Normal Signal
Reflective Path
Caused by multi-path reflections and heavy rains
Range
The distance a signal travels and
its increase in frequency are
inversely proportional
Repeaters extend range
Back-to-back antennas
reflectors
Range-cont’d
High frequencies are
repeated/received at or below one
mile
Lower frequencies can travel up to
100 miles but 25-30 miles is the
typical placement for repeaters
Interference
Adjacent Channel Interference
digital not greatly affected
Overreach
caused by signal feeding past a
repeater to the receiving antenna at
the next station in the route.
Eliminated by zigzag path alignment
or alternate frequency use between
adjacent stations
Components of a
Microwave System
Digital Modem
Radio Frequency (RF) Unit
Antenna
Digital Modem
The digital modem modulates the
information signal (intermediate
frequency or IF).
RF Unit
IF is fed to the RF unit which is
mounted as close physically to the
antenna as possible (direct
connect is optimal).
Antenna
The antenna is a passive device
that radiates the modulated signal.
It is fed by direct connect of the RF
unit, coaxial cable, or waveguides
at higher frequencies.
Waveguides
Waveguides are hollow channels of
low-loss material used to direct the
signal from the RF unit to the
antenna.
Modulation Methods
Primarily modulated today with
digital FM or AM signals
Digital signal remains quiet until
failure threshold bit error rate renders
it unusable
Bit Error Rate (BER)
The BER is a performance measure
of microwave signaling throughput
10 or one error per million
-6transmitted bits of information
Data fail over is at 10 ; voice traffic
can withstand this-3 error rate
Diversity
Space Diversity
Frequency Diversity
Hot Standby
PRI
Space Diversity
Normal Signal
Fad
ed S
i gna
l
Transmitter Receiver
Space Diversity-cont’d
Space Diversity protects against
multi-path fading by automatic
switch over to another antenna
place below the primary antenna.
This is done at the BER failure
point or signal strength
attenuation point to the secondary
antenna that is receiving the
transmitted signal at a stronger
power rating.
Frequency Diversity
RCVR
Active XTMR Frequency #1
Frequency #1
RCVR
Protect XTMR Frequency #2
Frequency #2
Transmitter Receiver
Frequency Diversity-cont’d
Frequency Diversity uses separate
frequencies (dual transmit and
receive systems); it monitors
primary for fail over and switches
to standby. Interference usually
affects only one range of
frequencies. Not allowed in non-
carrier applications because of
spectrum scarcity.
Hot Standby*
Active RCVR
System XTMR #1
Primary #1
Standby RCVR
System XTMR #2
Standby #2
failure switch
Transmitter Receiver
*Hot standby is designed for equipment failure only
PRI
System System
Transmission Receiver
Facilities Facilities
Connect to Connect to
PRI interface PRI interface
& PSTN & PSTN
Transmitter Receiver
To PSTN To PSTN
Availability Formula
Percent Availability equals:
1 – (outage hours/8760 hours per year)
Private microwaves have 99.99% availability
Microwave Path Analysis
Transmitter output power
Antenna gain
proportional to the physical
characteristics of the antenna
(diameter)
Free space gain
Antenna alignment factor
Unfaded received signal level
Microwave Radio
Applications
Satellite Communications
Satellite-Related Terms
Earth Stations – antenna systems on or near earth
Uplink – transmission from an earth station to a
satellite
Downlink – transmission from a satellite to an
earth station
Transponder – electronics in the satellite that
convert uplink signals to downlink signals
Ways to Categorize
Communications Satellites
Coverage area
Global, regional, national
Service type
Fixed service satellite (FSS)
Broadcast service satellite (BSS)
Mobile service satellite (MSS)
General usage
Commercial, military, amateur, experimental
Classification of Satellite Orbits
Circular or elliptical orbit
Circular with center at earth’s center
Elliptical with one foci at earth’s center
Orbit around earth in different planes
Equatorial orbit above earth’s equator
Polar orbit passes over both poles
Other orbits referred to as inclined orbits
Altitude of satellites
Geostationary orbit (GEO)
Medium earth orbit (MEO)
Low earth orbit (LEO)
Geometry Terms
Elevation angle - the angle from the
horizontal to the point on the center of the
main beam of the antenna when the antenna
is pointed directly at the satellite
Minimum elevation angle
Coverage angle - the measure of the portion
of the earth's surface visible to the satellite
Minimum Elevation Angle
Reasons affecting minimum elevation angle
of earth station’s antenna (>0o)
Buildings, trees, and other terrestrial objects
block the line of sight
Atmospheric attenuation is greater at low
elevation angles
Electrical noise generated by the earth's heat
near its surface adversely affects reception
GEO Orbit
Advantages of the the GEO orbit
No problem with frequency changes
Tracking of the satellite is simplified
High coverage area
Disadvantages of the GEO orbit
Weak signal after traveling over 35,000 km
Polar regions are poorly served
Signal sending delay is substantial
LEO Satellite Characteristics
Circular/slightly elliptical orbit under 2000 km
Orbit period ranges from 1.5 to 2 hours
Diameter of coverage is about 8000 km
Round-trip signal propagation delay less than 20
ms
Maximum satellite visible time up to 20 min
System must cope with large Doppler shifts
Atmospheric drag results in orbital deterioration
LEO Categories
Little LEOs
Frequencies below 1 GHz
5MHz of bandwidth
Data rates up to 10 kbps
Aimed at paging, tracking, and low-rate messaging
Big LEOs
Frequencies above 1 GHz
Support data rates up to a few megabits per sec
Offer same services as little LEOs in addition to voice
and positioning services
MEO Satellite Characteristics
Circular orbit at an altitude in the range of 5000 to
12,000 km
Orbit period of 6 hours
Diameter of coverage is 10,000 to 15,000 km
Round trip signal propagation delay less than 50
ms
Maximum satellite visible time is a few hours
Frequency Bands Available for
Satellite Communications
Satellite Link Performance Factors
Distance between earth station antenna and
satellite antenna
For downlink, terrestrial distance between earth
station antenna and “aim point” of satellite
Displayed as a satellite footprint (Figure 9.6)
Atmospheric attenuation
Affected by oxygen, water, angle of elevation, and
higher frequencies
Satellite Footprint
Satellite Network Configurations
Capacity Allocation Strategies
Frequency division multiple access
(FDMA)
Time division multiple access (TDMA)
Code division multiple access (CDMA)
Frequency-Division Multiplexing
Alternative uses of channels in point-to-point
configuration
1200 voice-frequency (VF) voice channels
One 50-Mbps data stream
16 channels of 1.544 Mbps each
400 channels of 64 kbps each
600 channels of 40 kbps each
One analog video signal
Six to nine digital video signals
Frequency-Division Multiple
Access
Factors which limit the number of
subchannels provided within a satellite
channel via FDMA
Thermal noise
Intermodulation noise
Crosstalk
Forms of FDMA
Fixed-assignment multiple access (FAMA)
The assignment of capacity is distributed in a fixed
manner among multiple stations
Demand may fluctuate
Results in the significant underuse of capacity
Demand-assignment multiple access (DAMA)
Capacity assignment is changed as needed to respond
optimally to demand changes among the multiple
stations
FAMA-FDMA
FAMA – logical links between stations are
preassigned
FAMA – multiple stations access the
satellite by using different frequency bands
Uses considerable bandwidth
DAMA-FDMA
Single channel per carrier (SCPC) – bandwidth
divided into individual VF channels
Attractive for remote areas with few user stations near
each site
Suffers from inefficiency of fixed assignment
DAMA – set of subchannels in a channel is treated
as a pool of available links
For full-duplex between two earth stations, a pair of
subchannels is dynamically assigned on demand
Demand assignment performed in a distributed fashion
by earth station using CSC
Reasons for Increasing Use of TDM
Techniques
Cost of digital components continues to
drop
Advantages of digital components
Use of error correction
Increased efficiency of TDM
Lack of intermodulation noise
FAMA-TDMA Operation
Transmission in the form of repetitive sequence of
frames
Each frame is divided into a number of time slots
Each slot is dedicated to a particular transmitter
Earth stations take turns using uplink channel
Sends data in assigned time slot
Satellite repeats incoming transmissions
Broadcast to all stations
Stations must know which slot to use for
transmission and which to use for reception
FAMA-TDMA Uplink
FAMA-TDMA Downlink
