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HF PROPAGATION
The Ionosphere
D Layer E Layer
F Layer Sporadic E
Propagation Near the Polar Regions Modes
Solar Flares Polarization
A Prediction Example A Measured Example
The HF, or shortwave, band is generally considered to spread from 3 to 30MHz. At thesefrequencies it is possible to communicate over the horizon by effectively reflecting radio wavesoff the ionosphere. About 50 years ago, HF was extensively used for long distancecommunication. Large networks of relay stations were constructed to communicate this traffic.The ionosphere is, however, a complex and constantly changing phenomenon. Simpler andmore reliable methods such as satellites and cable replaced these networks. But now digitaltechnologies are giving the HF band a new lease of life. Techniques for automatically selectingand maintaining a suitable transmission frequency have been developed. Equalisation, codingand interleaving enables data to be reliably transmitted over constantly changing HF channels.
The Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a region of the earth's atmosphere wherecharged particles exist. The ionosphere starts at altitudes above80km (50miles). At this height the atmosphere is thin enoughthat free electrons can exist for short periods before they arecaptured by a nearby positive ion. The ionosphere hasproperties of both a gas and a plasma. Solar radiationsdislodges electrons from gas atoms or molecules by UV andhigher frequency solar radiation. Ionization is balanced byrecombination where free electrons are captured by positiveions. The degree of ionization varies with altitude. At the highestlevels the solar radiation is the most intense but the number of atoms is small so there are few charged particles. As the altitudedecreases the number of gas atoms increases, increasing the ionization process and also therecombination process as the chance of a free electron encountering an ion increases. Also thesolar radiation intensity decreases as more photons are absorbed at higher levels.The earth's atmosphere is composed of a number of different gasses. Up to about 100km thegasses are well mixed due to turbulence. Above this height the composition of the gasses variesaccording to their molecular weight. In the lower ionosphere molecular oxygen and nitrogen areabundant. Above 200km atomic oxygen predominates. The differing capability of the sun toionize the different gasses and differences in the recombination processes results in severaldistinct ionization peaks called the D, E, F1 and F2 layers.
D Layer
This is the lowest layer occurring around 50 to 90km. As the lowest layer, the atmosphericdensity is the highest and recombination of ionized particles occurs rapidly. Ionization is createdby short wave X rays and cosmic rays. Longer wavelength radiation (100nm plus) ionizes nitrousoxide. Constant solar energy is needed to sustain ionization. Consequently this layer is onlypresent during daylight hours. Noon electron densities reach 10
8
to 10
9
electrons/m
3
. As thesun sets this layer recombines and disappears. There is also a strong seasonal variation with amaximum in summer.At HF the layer absorbs rather than refracts (VLF and ELF is reflected). As energy from theelectromagnetic wave sets electrons in motion, there is a high probability that the energy will beabsorbed in a collision with a neutral particle. The electromagnetic energy is turned into kineticenergy (heat) and, as far as radio propagation is concerned, lost.
E Layer
This occurs around from 90 to 130km. Radio waves interacting with this layer undergo refractionback towards the earth. This can be visualized as reflection off the ionosphere at some virtualheight. Molecular ions are formed by X and ultra-violet solar radiation. This layer is still lowenough for recombination to rapidly occur. The layer consequently only exists during daylighthours. Maximum density occurs around midday (10
11
electrons/m
3
at the maximum whichoccurs about 110km) and it disappears after sunset. A seasonal maximum also occurs insummer.
F Layer
This occurs in the least dense portion of the atmosphere. During the night it consists of a singlelayer at about 300km. This layer remains ionized throughout the night with the ionization densityfalling to a minimum just before sunrise. The F layer is ionized by solar radiation withwavelengths between about 15 to 80nm.During the day two separate layers occur called F1 and F2 in the regions 130 to 210km and 250to 400km respectively. Why is this? In the F layer the peak of ion production occurs at around160km but the ion loss process decreases even faster resulting in a peak in electron density ataround 250 to 400km (where plasma diffusion limits the density). In the F layer the loss processis ion-atom exchange where an ion interacts with an atom to produce a molecular ion which thencaptures an electron. Below this height dissociative recombination predominates wheremolecular ions exist which capture electrons. If the changeover height for these two lossprocesses is higher than the peak of ion production then the electron density peaks at the peakheight of production, producing the F1 layer. The peak is around 2x10
11
electrons/m
3
. Thedensity then decreases with increasing height until loss through ion-atom exchangepredominates and the density starts to increase again. The F2 layer peaks at about 10
12
electrons/m
3
during the day and 5x10
10
electrons/m
3
during the night. The F1 layer isoccasionally the reflecting layer but usually waves that penetrate the E layer also penetrate theF1 layer, just suffering some additional absorption.The F layer is probably the most useful layer as it exists through the night and is has the highestelectron density. This means that it will 'reflect' signals that pass through the other layers. Eachlayer has its maximum useable frequency (MUF) above which it will not 'reflect' signals back
towards the earth. The F layer, as it has the highest electron density, has the highest MUF. Theoptimum transmission frequency (frequence optimum de travail FOT) is typically 70 to 80% of the F2 layer MUF during the daytime. Below this, even though the signals may pass through theD and E layers, they will suffer increasing absorption.The F layer is strongly influenced by winds, diffusion and other dynamic effects making it hard tomodel. Height and ionization varies over the day, seasonally and with sunspot cycle It does notsimply follow the sun's zenith angle in a simple way since, with such low collision rates, solar energy can be stored for many hours. Near the equator the ionization varies strongly withlatitude. At high latitudes there is a region of strongly depressed electron density.
Sporadic E
This is enhanced ionization that occurs at E region heights resulting in much greater criticalfrequencies. It can cause long distance propagation at frequencies much higher than HF, for example causing TV signals to interfere. As well as enhancing E layer propagation it can disruptF layer propagation by reflecting signals that would normally pass through up to the F layer. Itsoccurrence is latitude dependent. In central Europe, for example, it occurs more often in summer and during the day. In high latitudes it mostly occurs at night. In low latitudes it predominantlyoccurs during the day.
Propagation near the Polar Regions
In the auroral regions the ionosphere may carry a current approaching or exceeding a millionamps. This may effect the propagation conditions in these regions resulting in, for example,large Doppler shifts.
Modes
Given the complex layer structure of the ionosphere, signals may propagate by a number of paths from the transmitter to the receiver. They may 'reflect' directly off the E layer (1E) in asingle hop. They may reflect off the E layer back to earth, back up to the E layer again beforearriving at the receiver i.e. 2 hop (2E). Three or more hops can occur. The signals maypropagate off the F layers in one or more hops. They may arrive at the receiver via both or acombination of the different layers. Multiple hops are less visible during the daytime where theabsorption of the lower layers prevents their propagation.The different propagation modes can result in multiple versions of the signal arriving at thereceiver with a delay spread up to typically 10ms.
Solar Flares
Solar flares may disrupt HF communications either by causing increased D layer absorption or by depressing F2 layer electron densities. They do this by causing increased X-ray and ultraviolet radiation leading to a 'Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance', releasing high energy protonscausing polar cap absorption and streams of charged particles causing ionospheric storms.Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID)
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