In physics, attenuation or, in some contexts, extinction is the gradual loss of flux intensity through a medium. For instance, dark glasses attenuate sunlight, lead attenuates X-rays, and water and air attenuate both light and sound at variable attenuation rates.
Path loss, or path attenuation, is the reduction in power density (attenuation) of an electromagnetic wave as it propagates through space. Path loss is a major component in the analysis and design of the link budget of a telecommunication system.
Line-of-sight propagation is a characteristic of electromagnetic radiation or acoustic wave propagation which means waves travel in a direct path from the source to the receiver. Electromagnetic transmission includes light emissions traveling in a straight line. The rays or waves may be diffracted, refracted, reflected, or absorbed by the atmosphere and obstructions with material and generally cannot travel over the horizon or behind obstacles.
In wireless communications, fading is variation of the attenuation of a signal with various variables. These variables include time, geographical position, and radio frequency. Fading is often modeled as a random process. A fading channel is a communication channel that experiences fading. In wireless systems, fading may either be due to multipath propagation, referred to as multipath-induced fading, weather, or shadowing from obstacles affecting the wave propagation, sometimes referred to as shadow fading.
Radio propagation is the behavior of radio waves as they travel, or are propagated, from one point to another, or into various parts of the atmosphere. As a form of electromagnetic radiation, like light waves, radio waves are affected by the phenomena of reflection, refraction, diffraction, absorption, polarization, and scattering. Understanding the effects of varying conditions on radio propagation has many practical applications, from choosing frequencies for international shortwave broadcasters, to designing reliable mobile telephone systems, to radio navigation, to operation of radar systems.
Rain fade refers primarily to the absorption of a microwave radio frequency (RF) signal by atmospheric rain, snow, or ice, and losses which are especially prevalent at frequencies above 11 GHz. It also refers to the degradation of a signal caused by the electromagnetic interference of the leading edge of a storm front. Rain fade can be caused by precipitation at the uplink or downlink location. It does not need to be raining at a location for it to be affected by rain fade, as the signal may pass through precipitation many miles away, especially if the satellite dish has a low look angle. From 5% to 20% of rain fade or satellite signal attenuation may also be caused by rain, snow, or ice on the uplink or downlink antenna reflector, radome, or feed horn. Rain fade is not limited to satellite uplinks or downlinks, as it can also affect terrestrial point-to-point microwave links.
A link budget is an accounting of all of the power gains and losses that a communication signal experiences in a telecommunication system; from a transmitter, through a medium to the receiver. It accounts for the attenuation of the transmitted signal due to propagation, as well as the antenna gains and feedline and other losses, as well as the amplification of the signal in the receiver or any repeaters it passes through. A link budget is a design aid, calculated during the design of a communication system to determine the received power, to ensure that the information is received intelligibly with an adequate signal-to-noise ratio. Randomly varying channel gains such as fading are taken into account by adding some margin depending on the anticipated severity of its effects. The amount of margin required can be reduced by the use of mitigating techniques such as antenna diversity or frequency hopping.
Microwave transmission is the transmission of information by microwave radio waves. Although an experimental 40-mile (64 km) microwave telecommunication link across the English Channel was demonstrated in 1931, the development of radar in World War II provided the technology for practical exploitation of microwave communication. In the 1950s, large transcontinental microwave relay networks, consisting of chains of repeater stations linked by line-of-sight beams of microwaves were built in Europe and America to relay long distance telephone traffic and television programs between cities. Communication satellites which transferred data between ground stations by microwaves took over much long distance traffic in the 1960s. In recent years, there has been an explosive increase in use of the microwave spectrum by new telecommunication technologies such as wireless networks, and direct-broadcast satellites which broadcast television and radio directly into consumers' homes.
Weissberger’s modified exponential decay model, or simply, Weissberger’s model, is a radio wave propagation model that estimates the path loss due to the presence of one or more trees in a point-to-point telecommunication link. This model belongs to the category Foliage or Vegetation models.
The ITU vegetation model is a radio propagation model that estimates the path loss encountered due to the presence of one or more trees inside a point to point telecommunication link. The predictions found from this model is congruent to those found from Weissberger’s modified exponential decay model in low frequencies.
The Egli model is a terrain model for radio frequency propagation. This model, which was first introduced by John Egli in his 1957 paper, was derived from real-world data on UHF and VHF television transmissions in several large cities. It predicts the total path loss for a point-to-point link. Typically used for outdoor line-of-sight transmission, this model provides the path loss as a single quantity.
The ITU terrain loss model is a radio propagation model that provides a method to predict the median path loss for a telecommunication link. Developed on the basis of diffraction theory, this model predicts the path loss as a function of the height of path blockage and the First Fresnel zone for the transmission link.
The ITU terrestrial model for one terminal in woodland is a radio propagation model belonging to the class of foliage models. This model is a successor of the early ITU model.
The ITU Single Vegetative Obstruction Model is a Radio propagation model that quantitatively approximates the attenuation due to the vegetation in the middle of a telecommunication link.
The Okumura model is a Radio propagation model that was built using the data collected in the city of Tokyo, Japan. The model is ideal for using in cities with many urban structures but not many tall blocking structures. The model served as a base for the Hata Model.
The ITU indoor propagation model, also known as ITU model for indoor attenuation, is a radio propagation model that estimates the path loss inside a room or a closed area inside a building delimited by walls of any form. Suitable for appliances designed for indoor use, this model approximates the total path loss an indoor link may experience.
The log-distance path loss model is a radio propagation model that predicts the path loss a signal encounters inside a building or densely populated areas over distance.
The Longley–Rice model (LR) is a radio propagation model: a method for predicting the attenuation of radio signals for a telecommunication link in the frequency range of 20 MHz to 20 GHz.
This is an index to articles about terms used in discussion of radio propagation.
The computation of radiowave attenuation in the atmosphere is a series of radio propagation models and methods to estimate the path loss due to attenuation of the signal passing through the atmosphere by the absorption of its different components. There are many well-known facts on the phenomenon and qualitative treatments in textbooks. A document published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) provides some basis for a quantitative assessment of the attenuation. That document describes a simplified model along with semi-empirical formulas based on data fitting. It also recommended an algorithm to compute the attenuation of radiowave propagation in the atmosphere. NASA also published a study on a related subject. Free software from CNES based on ITU-R recommendations is available for download and is available to the public.
