Agenda

• Basic Transmission Theory

• Review of Decibel
• Link Budget
• System Noise Power (Part 1)

1
Basic Transmission Theory

2
Link Budget parameters
Transmitter power at the antenna
Antenna gain compared to isotropic radiator
EIRP
Flux density at receiver
Free space path loss
System noise temperature
Figure of merit for receiving system
Carrier to thermal noise ratio
Carrier to noise density ratio
Carrier to noise ratio
3
Isotropic Radiator
Consider an Isotropic Source (punctual radiator)
radiating Pt Watts uniformly into free space.
At distance R, the area of the spherical shell
with center at the source is 4R2
Flux density at distance R is given by Eq. 4.1

Pt
F W/m2
4R 2

4
Isotropic Radiator 2
Isotropic Source

Distance R

Pt Watts

Power Flux Density:

Surface Area of
sphere = 4R2 Pt
encloses Pt. F W/m2
4R 2

5
Antenna Gain
We need directive antennas to get power to go in
wanted direction.
Define Gain of antenna as increase in power in a given
direction compared to isotropic antenna.
P ( )
G ( )  (Eqn 4.2)
P0 / 4
• P() is variation of power with angle.
• G() is gain at the direction .
• P0 is total power transmitted.
• sphere = 4solid radians
6
Antenna Gain 2
Antenna has gain in every direction! Term
gain may be confusing sometimes.
Usually “Gain” denotes the maximum gain
of the antenna.
The direction of maximum gain is called
“boresight”.

7
Antenna Gain 3
Gain is a ratio:
It is usually expressed in Decibels (dB)
G [dB] = 10 log10 (G ratio)

The world’s most misused unit ??

(we will see more on dBs later)

8
EIRP - 1
An isotropic radiator is an antenna which radiates in
all directions equally
Antenna gain is relative to this standard
Antennas are fundamentally passive
No additional power is generated
Gain is realized by focusing power
Similar to the difference between a lantern and a flashlight
Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) is the
amount of power the transmitter would have to
produce if it was radiating to all directions equally
Note that EIRP may vary as a function of direction
because of changes in the antenna gain vs. angle

9
EIRP - 2
The output power of a transmitter HPA is:
Pout watts
Some power is lost before the antenna:
EIRP
Pt =Pout /Lt watts reaches the antenna
Pt = Power into antenna Pout Pt
Lt
The antenna has a gain of: HPA

Gt relative to an isotropic radiator

This gives an effective isotropic radiated power
of:
EIRP = Pt Gt watts relative to a 1 watt
isotropic radiator 10
Power Flux Density - 1

We now want to find the power density at the

receiver
We know that power is conserved in a
lossless medium
The power radiated from a transmitter must
pass through a spherical shell on the surface
of which is the receiver
The area of this spherical shell is 4R2
Therefore spherical spreading loss is 1/4R2

11
Power Flux Density - 2
Power flux density (p.f.d.) is a measure of the
power per unit area
This is a regulated parameter of the system
CCIR regulations limit the p.f.d. of any satellite system
CCIR regulations are enforced by signatory nations
Allowable p.f.d. varies w.r.t. elevation angle
Allows control of interference
Increasing importance with proliferation of LEO
systems

12
 Received Power
• We can rewrite the power flux density now considering the
transmit antenna gain:
EIRP Pt Gt
F  W/m 2
(Eqn. 4.3)
4R 2
4R 2

The power available to a receive antenna of area Ar

m2 we get:
Pt Gt Ar
Pr  F x Ar  (Eqs. 4.4, 4.6)
4R 2

13
Effective Aperture
Real antennas have effective flux collecting areas
which are LESS than the physical aperture area.

Define Effective Aperture Area Ae:

Ae  Aphy x  (Eqn. 4.5)

Where Aphy is actual (physical) aperture area.

 = aperture efficiency Very good: 75%
Typical: 55%

14
Effective Aperture - 2
• Antennas have (maximum) gain G related to the
effective aperture area as follows:

4Ae
Gain 
2
Where:
Ae is effective aperture area.

15
Aperture Antennas
• Aperture antennas (horns and reflectors) have a
physical collecting area that can be easily calculated
from their dimensions: 2 D2
Aphy  r  
4
• Therefore, using Eqn. 4.7 and Eqn. 4.5 we can obtain
the formula for aperture antenna gain as:
4Ae 4Aphy
Gain   
 2
 2

Typical values of :
2
 D  -Reflectors: 50-60%
Gain     -Horns: 65-80 %
  
16
Aperture Antenna Types
HORN
Efficient, Low Gain, Wide Beam
REFLECTOR
High Gain, Narrow Beam, May have
to be deployed in space
Let’s concentrate on the
REFLECTORS in the next
slides

17
Reflector Types

Symmetrical, Front-Fed Offset, Front-Fed

Offset-Fed, Cassegranian Offset-Fed, Gregorian

18
Reflector Antenna -1
• A rule of thumb to calculate a reflector antenna beamwidth in a given
plane as a function of the antenna dimension in that plane is given by:
75
 3 dB  degrees (Eqn. 3.2)
D
• The approximation above, together with the definition of gain (previous
page) allow a gain approximation (for reflectors only):

75 
2
 75  2
Gain      
  3dB   3dB H 3dB E

• Assuming for instance a typical aperture efficiency of 0.55 gives:

30,000 30,000
Gain  
 3dB  2
 3dB H 3dB E
19
Antenna Beamwidth
Peak (i.e. maximum) GAIN

Angle between the 3 dB down

points is the beamwidth of the
antenna

20
 Back to Received Power…
The power available to a receive antenna of effective area
Ar = Ae m2 is:

Pt Gt Ae
Pr  F x Ar  (Eqn. 4.6)
4R 2
Where Ar = receive antenna effective aperture area = A e

• Inverting the equation given for gain (Eq. 4.7) gives:

4Ae Inverting… Gr  2
Gr  Ae 
 2 4

21
 Back to Received Power…
• Substituting in Eqn. 4.6 gives:
2
   Friis Transmission Formula
Pr  Pt Gt Gr  
 4R  (Eqn. 4.8)

• The inverse of the term at the right referred to as “Path

Loss”, also known as “Free Space Loss” (Lp):
2
 4R  Therefore…
Pr 
Pt Gt Gr
Lp   
   Lp

22
 More complete formulation
Demonstrated formula assumes idealized case.
Free Space Loss (Lp) represents spherical spreading only.
Other effects need to be accounted for in the transmission
equation:
La = Losses due to attenuation in atmosphere
Lta = Losses associated with transmitting antenna
Lra = Losses associates with receiving antenna
Lpol = Losses due to polarization mismatch
Lother = (any other known loss - as much detail as available)
Lr = additional Losses at receiver (after receiving antenna)

Pt Gt Gr
Pr 
L p La Lta Lra L pol Lother Lr
23
 Transmission Formula
Some intermediate variables were also defined
before:
Pt =Pout /Lt EIRP = Pt Gt
Where:
Pt = Power into antenna
Lt = Loss between power source and antenna
EIRP = effective isotropic radiated power
Pt Gt Gr
•Therefore, there are Pr 
many ways the formula L p La Lta Lra L pol Lother Lr
could be rewritten. The EIRP x Gr
user has to pick the one 
most suitable to each L p La Lta Lra L pol Lother Lr
need. Pout Gt Gr

Lt L p La Lta Lra L pol Lother Lr
24
 Link Power Budget
EIRP
Tx
Transmission:
HPA Power
Transmission Losses
(cables & connectors) Antenna Pointing Loss
Reception:
Antenna Gain Free Space Loss
Antenna gain
Atmospheric Loss
Reception Losses
(gaseous, clouds, rain)
(cables & connectors)
Rx Antenna Pointing Loss
Noise Temperature
Contribution

Rx Pr

25
Review of Decibel

26
Why dB?

There is a large dynamic range of parameters

in satellite communications
A typical satellite antenna has a gain of >500
Received power flux is about one part in
100,000,000,000,000,000,000 That’s a lot of zeros!

of the transmitted power

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a better way to
write these large numbers?
dB also lets many calculations be addition or
subtraction!
27
What is a dB?

Decibel (dB) is the unit for 10 times the

base 10 logarithmic ratio of two powers
For instance: gain is defined as Pout/Pin
(where Pout is usually greater than Pin)
 Pout 
G  10  log  dB
in dB:  Pin 
 Pin 
L  10 log  dB
Similarly loss is:  Pout 
28
A Dangerous Calculation in dB!
dB ratios must NEVER be calculated as 20 times the
base 10 logarithmic ratio of voltages
Unless of course its more convenient, in which case you must
be very, very careful. Here’s why:
If these calculations are performed for say a (passive)

Vin2 2
Vout transformer with winding ratios of 4 output turns per

Pin  Pout 
input turn, Vout = 4 when Vin = 1. If the last term is
neglected, the gain appears to be G = 20log(4) = 12 dB.
Rin Rout This is a curious result for a passive device!
If the last term is used, Rout = 16 for Rin = 1, so the
last term is -12 dB. This restores the balance at G = 0

 Vout
2
 as expected for an ideal passive device.

 
 Pout   Rout  This term is usually
G  10 log   10 log
 V2  forgotten (with tragic
P
 in  results!)
 in 
 Rin 
 Vout
2
  Rin   Vout   Rin 
G  10 log 2   10 log   20 log   10 log 
 Vin   Rout   Vin   Rout 
29
Using Decibels - 1
Rules: 10 log10 ( A x B )
Multiply A x B:  10 log10 ( A)  10 log10 ( B )
 AdB  BdB
(Add dB values)
 ( A  B )dB

•Divide A / B: 10 log10 ( A / B )
(Subtract dB values)  10 log10 ( A)  10 log10 ( B )
 AdB  BdB
 ( A  B )dB

30
Using Decibels - 2
Rules: 10 log10 ( A2 )
 2 x 10 log10 ( A)
Squares:
 20 log10 ( A)
(Multiply by 2)
 2 x ( A in dB)

•Square roots: 10 log10 ( A )

10
(Divide by 2)  log10 ( A)
2
1
 x ( A in dB)
2
31
Thinking in dB

Its useful to be able to think in dB

Note that 18 is 2*3*3.
Since: 2 = 3 dB
and: 3 = 4.8 dB
you can find 18 in dB
in your head by adding
3 + 4.8 + 4.8 = 12.6
You don’t even need a
calculator!
This is really handy for
checking link budgets
quickly.

32
References in dB
dB values can be referenced to a
standard
The standard is simply appended to dB
Typical examples are:

33
Link Budget

34
 Translating to dBs
The transmission formula can be written in dB as:
Pr  EIRP  Lta  L p  La  L pol  Lra  Lother  Gr  Lr

This form of the equation is easily handled as a

spreadsheet (additions and subtractions!!)

The calculation of received signal based on transmitted

power and all losses and gains involved until the receiver is
called “Link Power Budget”, or “Link Budget”.

The received power Pr is commonly referred to as “Carrier

Power”, C.

35
 Link Power Budget
EIRP Now all factors are accounted for
Tx
as additions and subtractions
Transmission:
+ HPA Power
- Transmission Losses
(cables & connectors) - Antenna Pointing Loss
- Free Space Loss Reception:
+ Antenna Gain + Antenna gain
- Atmospheric Loss
- Reception Losses
(gaseous, clouds, rain)
(cables & connectors)
- Rx Antenna Pointing Loss
+ Noise Temperature
Contribution

Rx Pr

36
4 Easy Steps to a Good
Link Power Budget
First, draw a sketch of the link path
Doesn’t have to be artistic quality
Helps you find the stuff you might forget
Next, think carefully about the system of interest
Include all significant effects in the link power budget
Note and justify which common effects are insignificant here
Roll-up large sections of the link power budget
Ie.: TXd power, TX ant. gain, Path loss, RX ant. gain, RX losses
Show all components for these calculations in the detailed budget
Use the rolled-up results in build a link overview
Comment the link budget
Always, always, always use units on parameters (dBi, W, Hz ...)
Describe any unusual elements (eg. loss caused by H20 on radome)

37
Simple Link Power Budget

38
Why calculate Link Budgets?
System performance tied to operation thresholds.
Operation thresholds Cmin tell the minimum power
that should be received at the demodulator in
order for communications to work properly.
Operation thresholds depend on:
Modulation scheme being used.
Desired communication quality.
Coding gain.
Additional overheads. We will see more on
Channel Bandwidth. these items in the
next classes.
Thermal Noise power.

39
Closing the Link
We need to calculate the Link Budget in order to
verify if we are “closing the link”.
Pr >= Cmin  Link Closed
Pr < Cmin  Link not closed

Usually, we obtain the “Link Margin”, which tells how

tight we are in closing the link:
Margin = Pr – Cmin

Equivalently:
Margin > 0  Link Closed
Margin < 0  Link not closed
40
Carrier to Noise Ratios
C/N: carrier/noise power in RX BW (dB)
Allows simple calculation of margin if:
Receiver bandwidth is known
Required C/N is known for desired signal type
C/No: carrier/noise p.s.d. (dbHz)
Allows simple calculation of allowable RX
bandwidth if required C/N is known for desired
signal type
Critical for calculations involving carrier recovery
loop performance calculations

41
System Figure of Merit
G/Ts: RX antenna gain/system temperature
Also called the System Figure of Merit, G/Ts
Easily describes the sensitivity of a receive system
Must be used with caution:
• Some (most) vendors measure G/Ts under ideal
conditions only
• G/Ts degrades for most systems when rain loss increases
– This is caused by the increase in the sky noise component
– This is in addition to the loss of received power flux
density

42
System Noise Power

43
System Noise Power - 1
Performance of system is determined by C/N ratio.
Most systems require C/N > 10 dB.
(Remember, in dBs: C - N > 10 dB)
Hence usually: C > N + 10 dB
We need to know the noise temperature of our
receiver so that we can calculate N, the noise
power (N = Pn).
Tn (noise temperature) is in Kelvins (symbol K):

 
T K   T C  273
0
  5
T K   T F  32  273
0

9
44
System Noise Power - 2
System noise is caused by thermal noise sources
External to RX system
• Transmitted noise on link
• Scene noise observed by antenna
Internal to RX system
The power available from thermal noise is:

N  kTs B (dBW)
where k = Boltzmann’s constant
= 1.38x10-23 J/K(-228.6 dBW/HzK),
Ts is the effective system noise temperature, and
B is the effective system bandwidth

45