Electromagnetic Waves

 Electromagnetic wave consists of oscillating electric

and magnetic fields in certain directions with
propagate .
 Propagate through free space at the velocity of light
Electromagnetic Radiation
 Includes radio waves, light, X-rays, gamma rays

Radio waves of our interest

VLF 3 – 30 kHz
LF 30 – 300 kHz
MF 300 – 3000 kHz
HF 3 – 30 MHz
VHF 30 – 300 MHz
UHF 300 – 3000 MHz
TEM Propagation
 Radio waves in space are transverse
electromagnetic waves (TEM)
 Electric field, magnetic field and direction
of travel of the wave are mutually
perpendicular
 Waves will propagate through free space
and dielectrics
 Conductors have high losses due to induced
current
Propagation Velocity
 Speed of light in free space: 3 108 m/s
 In dielectric and plasma the velocity of propagation is
lower:

c
v
r
Electromagnetic Waves
 Wavelength is :

V p
/ f
Where,
Vp is the phase velocity
is the wavelength
f is the frequency
Ohm’s Law in Space

Z E/H
Electric and Magnetic Fields
 For waves we use the following units:
 Electric field strength E (V/m) Magnetic field
strength H (A/m) Power density PD (W/m2)
 Ohm’s law holds if characteristic impedance Z of
medium is used
 For free space, Z = 377 Ohm
Power Density
2
E
PD
Z
2
H Z
EH
Plane and Spherical Waves
 Waves from a point in space are spherical

 Plane waves are easier to analyze

 At a reasonable distance from the source,

spherical waves look like plane waves, as long
as only a small area is observed
Isotropic
antenna
radiating
equally in
every
direction
Free-space Propagation
 Assume an isotropic radiator at the center of a
sphere
 Let receiving antenna be on surface of sphere
 As we move farther from transmitter the amount
of power going through the surface remains the
same but surface area increases
Power flux density

Power flux density= E X H

 Geometrical loss
Because of the power P on the spherical surface is constant
for every spherical surface (4π r2 ) we consider, the power
flux density at the distance r from the isotropic antenna must
decrease as 1/4πr2.

PD P
2
4 πr

If an isotropic antenna radiates 10 W of power at the

distance of 1 km the power flux density (PD)is about 0.796
microW/m2
Attenuation of Free Space
 Power density is reduced with increasing
distance r
 Power density is total power divided by
surface area of sphere
 Unit: watts/meter

Pt
PD 2
4 r
Free Space Electric Field
 Electric field strength is relatively easy to
measure
 Often used to specify signal strength
 Unit: volts/meter

30 Pt
E
r
Absorption
 No absorption in free space
 EM wave are absorbed in atmosphere as energy is
transferred to atoms and molecules
 Electromagnetic waves are absorbed in the
atmosphere according to wavelength. Two
compounds are responsible for the majority of
signal absorption: oxygen (O2) and water vapor
(H2O).
 Absorption below 10 Ghz is quit insignificant
Reflection
 Specular reflection: smooth surface
 Angle of incidence = angle of reflection

 Diffuse reflection: rough surface

 Reflection in all directions because angle of
incidence varies over the surface due to its
roughness
Specular Reflection
Diffuse reflection
Polarization
 Polarization of a wave is the direction of the
electric field vector
 Linearly polarized waves have the vector in
the same direction at all times
 Horizontal and vertical polarization are common
 Circular and elliptical polarization are also
possible
 It is a physical orientation of radiated waves
in space
Circular polarization
linear polarization
Cross Polarization
 If transmitting and receiving antennas have
different polarization, some signal is lost
 Theoretically, if the transmitting and
receiving polarization angles differ by 90
degrees, no signal will be received
 A circularly polarized signal can be received,
though with some loss, by any linearly
polarized antenna
Refraction
 Refraction takes place when EM wave pass from
one medium to another medium with diff density.
 Atmospheric density changes with height
 Slight refraction of wave
 Increases Radio horizon
Refraction
 Occurs when waves move from one medium to
another with a different propagation velocity
 Index of refraction n is used in refraction
calculations

n r
Snell’s Law

n1 sin 1
n 2 sin 2

 Angles are measured with respect to the

normal to the interface
refraction
Angle of Refraction
 If n1<n2 then ray bends toward the normal (away
from the interface)
 If n1>n2 then ray bends away from the normal
(toward the interface)
 Diffraction
 Occurs when radiation passes an object with
dimensions small compared with wavelength

 The object appears to act as a source of radiation

 Allows radio stations to be received on the shadow

side of obstacles
EM WAVE PROPAGATION
Layer of atmosphere
Terrestrial Propagation
 Propagation over earth’s surface
 Different from free-space propagation
 Curvature of the earth
 Effects of the ground
 Obstacles in the path from transmitter to receiver
 Effects of the atmosphere, especially the
ionosphere
Ground-Wave Propagation
 Happens at relatively low frequencies
 up to about 2 MHz
 Only works with vertically polarized waves
 Waves follow the curvature of earth
 range varies from worldwide at 100 kHz and less to
about 100 km at AM broadcast band frequencies
(approx. 1 MHz)
Ionospheric Propagation
 Useful mainly in HF range (3-30 MHz)
 Signals are refracted in ionosphere and returned
to earth
 Worldwide communication is possible using
multiple “hops”
Ionospheric Layers
 D layer: height approx. 60-90 km
 E layer: height approx. 90-150 km
 F1 layer: height approx. 150-250 km
 F2 layer: height approx. 250-400 km
 D, E layers disappear at night
 F layers combine into one at night
Ionospheric Activity
 More ionization causes signals to bend more
 Ionization caused by solar radiation
 greater during daytime
 greater during sunspot cycle peaks (we are about at
a decreasing value now-2004)
 D,E layers are less highly ionized than F layer and
usually just absorb signals
Refraction of Signals
 Bending of signals by atmosphere decreases with
increasing frequency

 Bending of signals by atmosphere increases with

increasing ionization
Daytime Propagation
 D and E layers absorb lower frequencies, below
about 8-10 MHz
 F layers return signals from about 10-30 MHz
Nighttime Propagation
 D, E layers disappear
 F layer returns signals from about 2-10 MHz
 Higher frequencies pass through ionosphere into
space
Ionospheric Sounding
 Transmit signal straight up
 Note the maximum frequency that is returned
 This is the critical frequency
Important Frequencies in HF
Propagation
 Critical frequency
 Highest frequency that is returned to earth
 Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF)
 Highest frequency that is returned at a given point
 MUF= fcsecθ
 Optimum Working Frequency (OWF)
 85% of MUF for more reliable communication
Skip Zone
 Region between maximum ground-wave distance
and closest point where sky waves are returned
from the ionosphere,