Introduction to

Microwave Communication
Dr. Hoda Boghdady
Lecture Outline
• Electromagnetic Spectrum
• High frequency main characteristics
• The Microwave band: Advantages and
disadvantages
• Line of Sight (LOS) vs. wireless system
(NLOS)
• Microwave Transmission System
Components
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Microwave Frequency Band
Designations
Microwave Applications
• Telecommunication transmission system
• Remote sensing
• Heating (cooking, industrial application)
• Medical applications (although laser is
replacing it – better resolution and more
power focusing)
Transmission System
• Transmission systems can be categorized
into two main category:
– Guided system (cable system): a point to point
connection must be made, a physical wire is
installed, a frame is transmitted (baseband
transmission)
– Unguided system (free space): point to point is
not necessary, only stations and antennas are
installed, signal is transmitted by a carrier in air
(carrier transmission)
Microwave Systems
• Line of Sight (microwave system)
• Satellite system
• Cellular system
– Fixed (e.g. WLL)
– mobile
• Home networking (inside buildings)
– WIFI, WIMAX, Bluetooth
Microwave Communication -
Advantages
• Ease of installation (no digging), important over
water, mountain, historical places etc.
• Fast deployment of the system
• Ease and flexibility of upgrading (capacity and
services)
• Low in vestment needed for large coverage area
(pay as you build)
• Mobility is possible (PMP)
• Redeployment of radio hardware
• Back-up link can be realized easily and efficiently
• Broadcast applications (PMP)
Microwave Communication -
Disadvantages
• Clearance for L.O.S
• Frequency license and B.W. allocation
permission
• Some area restrictions
• Electromagnetic radiation safety and power
control
• Fading, interference and jamming (security
issues)
• Standards are imposed by outside agencies
System Configuration
• Point to Multi-Point (PMP)
– This system connects many users to one base
station, the base station antenna is
omnidirectional the receiver antenna may be
either omni- or directive. Coverage area is
usually limited to few kms, higher power
• Point to Point (PTP)
– In this system the receiver and the transmitter
antennas are on the same line of sight, a highly
directive antenna is used at both sides. The hop
length can be as 50 – 65 km long, lower power
PTP vs PMP
• PTP • PMP
– 1 Tx, 1Rx – 1 Tx, multi-Rx
– Low power radiated – High power required
– Line of sight is a must – Interference
– Path clearance – Multiple reflection
– High tower – Omni antennas
– Directive antenna – Small coverage area
– Long distance cover. – Access techniques
Important Issues to Consider
• EMI –Security, system performance
• EMC – system immunity to interference
• Interference problems – Freq. management
• Output radiated power control for health
and safety consideration
• New wireless network’s terms : WIFI,
WIMAX, Bluetooth, home networking, …..
Concepts and Definitions
and
System Overview
Definitions
• Decibel and Neper
• S/N, C/N, E/N
• Reflection and SWR
• Noise Figure
• G/T (high gain directive antennas)
• System impairments
• Passive vs. active devices
• Linear and non-linear characteristics
• Microwave system components
Decibels (dB)
Decibels is a power ratio defined by
dB = 10 log(P2/P1)
P2 and P1 are the output and input power
respectively, in many cases P1 is a reference
power level, i.e. 1watt, 1mwatt, therefore
dBw, dBm
For antennas dBi is usually used to specify
power referred to isotropic radiated power
Note that :
dBx represents an absolute value of power
While dB represents a relative power level

10dB gain means 10 times

dBx Abs. level
20 dB gain means 100 times
0dBm 1mwatt
60 dB gain means million times
10dBm 100mwatt
0dBw 1watt
-10dBm
-30dBw 0.001watt
-20dBm -10dB
Neper (Np)
The Neper is the unit for voltage or current ratio

 P2  V22 / R2 
dB  10 log    10 log  2 
 P1   V1 / R1 
if R1  R2 (matching)
2
V2  V2 
dB  10 log    20 log  
 V1   V1 
V2 
Np  ln   1Np  8.686dB
 V1 
Noise Figure
As the receiving signal is very critical in
telecommunication systems, noise
contribution from the receiver is a critical
issue.
Noise contribution of the receiver itself
should be kept to a minimum.
Noise figure (NF) is always specified at the
receiver only. It is the ratio of the S/N at
the input to the S/N at the output.
Noise Figure – cont.
S / N ) in Sin N out Best case
NF  
N dev  0
S / N ) out S out N in
1 GNin  N dev N dev
NF   1 NF = 0 dB
G N in GNin
 N dev  Worst case
NFdB  10 log 1  
 GNin  N dev  GNin

NF = 3 dB
Noise Figure – cont.
For cascaded elements

NF1, G1 NF2, G2 NF3, G3

NF2  1 NF3  1
NF  NF1    ......
G1 G1G2
If G1  G2  G3 ....  1
NF  NF1
Noise Temperature
• For antennas effective noise temperature is
used instead of NF
• Te = N/(kB)
– N = noise generated by the antenna
– K = Boltzman constant
– B = antenna B.W.
• To = Noise at room temperature = 290°K
S/N, C/N and Eb/N
At the receiver what matter is the ratio of the signal to
the noise not the signal level
S/N is the amount by which the signal exceeds the noise
level (analog signal)
C/N is the carrier level to the noise level
Eb/N is equivalent to S/N for digital signals, Eb is the
energy contained in one bit, N is the noise power per
1Hz cycle, BER is specified at a given receiver
threshold
All above ratios are measured in dB
Reflection Coefficient
• At any impedance mismatch there will be a
reflected wave, therefore all terminations should be
matched, it varies from 0 to 1 in magnitude

Z 2  Z1

Z 2  Z1
• Reflection should be measure at the point of
concern
• Reflection coefficient is used to measure
impedances at microwave frequencies
Standing Wave Ratio (SWR)
• SWR is standing wave ratio on a RF transmission
lines, it is independent on position for lossless system,
it varies from 1 up to ∞ (3.5)
• It is used to measure reflection between the feeder and
the antenna
• It can be measure at any point in the T.L.

V 1 
SWR  max

V min
1 
G/T – Receiver Figure of Merit
• The higher this ratio the better the sensitivity
of the system to weak signals
• G is the gain of the antenna in dBi, it depends
on the antenna size, wavelength and type
(directive or omni-directional)
• T is the total system noise temperature in
degree Kelvin (Ta and Tr)
• G/T varies from –ve values up to 10 dB/K for
omni-directional, can reach 35dB/K for
directive antenna
Passive vs. Active Devices
• Passive: means devices that doesn’t add power
to the system (T.L., circulator, filters, antennas,
etc…
– Passive devices are usually cheaper, easier to
design, can have broadband c/cs
• Active: means devices that adds power to the
system (amplifiers)
– Active devices need more critical designs, B.W.
limited, power limited, more expensive and need
special operation conditions (Temp.)
Linear and Non-linear
Characteristics
• For microwave devices input-output
characteristics and frequency response are
very important
• Most used devices are linear except:
– Mixers and power amplifiers
• Non linear devices can cause signal
distortion (AM to PM, and intermodulation
noise)
Noise & Interference
• Internal noise can be caused by equipment and
devices in the station itself it is usually a
thermal noise coming from the electrons
motions
• External noise is any unwanted signal coming
from the outside it usually has a white
Gaussian distribution
• Noise level should always be kept lower than
the threshold level
Noise & Interference – cont.
• Interference is any unwanted signal in the
operating band
• Interference can be internally, antenna side
lobes, antenna back radiation, bad
branching unit, bad filters, bad design, or
intentionally transmitted signal for jamming
• Interference can be overcame by pre-
frequency survey, and antenna adjustment
Intermodulation Noise
• Intermodulation noise is caused by non-
linear devices
• It may be caused by the power amplifier at
the transmitter
• The worst is the 3rd order IM noise
• The 3dB compression point set the upper
limit for operation
Microwave vs. Low Frequency
• Wavelength is the distance a wave travel to
have a 2 phase change (comes to the same
point – assuming sinusoidal wave)
– Phase Difference is very important
• F=10Ghz,  = 3cm ( /2 antenna = 1.5cm)
• F=60hz,  =5x106 m = 5000Km ( /2 =
2500km)
Sinusoidal Wave


d

2
t

F = 10 GHz  = 3 cm
F = 50 Hz  = 5000 Km
Microwave Frequency Main
Characteristics
• Wave length = speed of light / frequency
– The higher the frequency the smaller the wave
length – (smaller dimensions, scattering, energy
focusing, phase reference…etc.)
• Lumped elements cannot be used
• Different transmission lines
• Frequency dependent components
• Phase references
Microwave System

Information
A/D & signal
processing

B.B. Multiplexing Antenna

Microwave Modulation
IF
Transceiver
Transmitter/

Microwave Receiver
Radio Communication
• Radio communications can be split into 3
types: F
– Simplex TX RX

F1
– Full duplex TX RX
F2
• FDD (FD duplex) RX TX
– Half duplex
• TDD (TD duplex) F1
TX RX
F1
RX TX
Main Component of a Microwave
system
• Intermediate stage (IF modulator)
• Up- and Down- conversion (mixer)
• Filters (very important)
• Amplifiers (power and low noise)
• T.L. and feeders
• Towers
• Antennas
Microwave Transmitter and Receiver
Equipment Block Diagram
Telemetry & OW

Information
RF Unit
BB Unit (IFU + Up-
Converter)

• In the base band unit signal is digitized,

coded, framed and scrambled
• In the RF unit IF signal is modulated by the
BB signal then up-converted to the carrier
Microwave Transmitter and
Receiver – One Way

One way system

RFU – Mod./Demod.
• A fixed IF intermediate frequency is
modulated rather than the Carrier frequency
• IF carrier is obtained from a crystal
controlled oscillator operating typically at
70MHz.
• The Modulated IF carrier is then up-
converted to the final microwave frequency
by a mixer
RFU - Transceiver
• The mixer (or up-converter) has two input
and one output (Inp: IF, FLO and Out: Fc)
• The mixer produces sum and difference
products of the input frequencies
• IF = 70MHz, FLO is chosen such that the
final transmitted frequency is produced
• Finally a filter is used to select one of the
two produced side bands
RFU - Transceiver
• At the receiver side, same procedure is
implemented
• The mixer (or down-converter) converts
input frequencies into IF signal
• The input frequencies are the FC and the FLO
RFU – Frequency Synthesis
• The local oscillator input to the up-
converter (down-converter) is obtained from
a “frequency synthesiser”
• A crystal reference oscillator is chosen to
operate at between 5 and 10 MHz (best
stability)
• A frequency multiplier (typically X 4)
provides the required output frequency
RFU - Amplifier

• There are two types of amplifiers in

microwave systems:
– Power amplifier placed at the last stage of the
transmitter, it generates the high power
necessary for transmission, it has high gain
– Low noise amplifier (LNA) placed at the front
end of the receiver, it is characterized by
moderate gain but very low noise figure
RFU - Branching Unit
• In duplex system the
Filter
transmitter and receiver
station are both connected to
the same antenna
• A branching unit (circulator +
filters) is used to direct
microwave power in the
transmit and receive side Filter
Receiver Types
• Homodyne : the local oscillator frequency is
equal to the carrier frequency, the output
signal from the mixer is the BB signal.
Simple but requires high synchronization
• Heterodyne: the local oscillator frequency is
tuned such that the output frequency from
the mixer is equal to the IF frequency
Microwave Link
Design Considerations
System Gain
• A system gain calculation should be performed to
meet the reliability objectives
• System gain incorporates many parameters, it
must be greater than the total loss over the link

Gs  Pt  Cmin  FM  L p  L f  Lb  Gt  Gr

L p  92.4  20 log d  20 log f

Example of System Gain Parameters
Mid band Feeder loss Branching Antenna Gain
Frequency Lf Lb Gt = Gr
GHz Type Loss/200m Freq Div. Size Gain
dB dB (m) (dB)

1.8 Air filled 10.8 5.0 2.4 31.2

Coax. 3 33.2
3.7 34.7
7.4 EWP 64 9.5 3.0 2.4 43.1
Elliptical 3 44.8
WG 3.7 46.5
8.0 EWP 71 13.0 3.0 2.4 43.8
Elliptical 3 45.6
WG 3.7 47.3
FM for Specified System
Availability
• A reliability objective is set (e.g. 0.01%
failure)
• The reliability or availability (1-R) is
calculated
• A and B are chosen after the site is selected,
distance and frequency are also decided
• These will set a FM to be used in the system
gain equation
Fade Margin (FM)
FM  30 log d  10 log(6ABf )  10 log(1 R)  70

• A = roughness factor
– 4 for very smooth terrain including over water
– 1 for average terrain
– ½ for mountains and very rough terrain
• B = factor to convert worst month to annual
probability (for worst month = 1)
– ½ hot humid areas
– ¼ for average inland areas
– ⅛ for mountains or very dry areas
Reliability Objectives
• Reliability objectives set a maximum allowable
time of failure due to all causes as a percentage of
total service time during a given period over a
given route length, e.g. failure should be limited to
0.01% annually over a 400km route
• Or the permitted ‘unavailability’ is 0.01%
• This unavailability corresponds to 99.99%
reliability or availability
How to calculate Availability
• First outages and errors are summarized to
calculate the total amount of failure (all types
of failure), the percentage is then calculated
over one year
• This value is the system unavailability
• Reliability or availability =
100(1-unavailability) = 100(1-U)
Unavailability
• Probability of unavailability due to multipath
fading
U ndp  a  b  2.5  10 6  f  D 3  10  F / 10
U ndp
U div  “I” can vary from 10 to 100
I

• Probability of unavailability due to

Equipment
MTTR MTTR
U 
MTTR  MTBF MTBF
How to improve system
reliability
• Diversity
• Propagation – Frequency
– Multipath – Space
– Selective fading
• Stand by
• Equipment failure configurations
• Power failure • Network
• Disasters (fire, backup
earthquake) (survivability)