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Microwave transmission refers to the technique of transmitting information over microwave frequencies, using various integrated technologies. Since the portion of the microwave spectrum called millimeter wave is highly susceptible to attenuation by the atmosphere (especially during wet weather), that portion is limited to a few contexts.
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Properties
- Suitable over line-of-sight transmission links without obstacles
- Provides good bandwidth
- Affected by rain, vapor, dust, snow, cloud, mist and fog, heavy moisture, depending on chosen frequency (see rain fade)
Uses
- Backbone or backhaul carriers in cellular networks. Used to link BTS-BSC and BSC-MSC.
- Communication with satellites
- Microwave radio relay links for television and telephone service providers
Parabolic (microwave) antenna
A parabolic antenna is a high-gain reflector antenna used for radio, television and data communications, and also for radiolocation (radar), on the UHF and SHF parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. The relatively short wavelength of electromagnetic radiation at these frequencies allows reasonably sized reflectors to exhibit the desired highly directional response for both receiving and transmitting.
Microwave power transmission
Microwave power transmission (MPT) is the use of microwaves to transmit power through outer space or the atmosphere without the need for wires. It is a sub-type of the more general wireless energy transfer methods.
History
Following World War II, which saw the development of high-power microwave emitters known as cavity magnetrons, the idea of using microwaves to transmit power was researched. In 1964, William C. Brown demonstrated a miniature helicopter equipped with a combination antenna and rectifier device called a rectenna. The rectenna converted microwave power into electricity, allowing the helicopter to fly[1]. In principle, the rectenna is capable of very high conversion efficiencies - over 90% in optimal circumstances.
Most proposed MPT systems now usually include a phased array microwave transmitter. While these have lower efficiency levels they have the advantage of being electrically steered using no moving parts, and are easier to scale to the necessary levels that a practical MPT system requires.
Using microwave power transmission to deliver electricity to communities without having to build cable-based infrastructure is being studied at Grand Bassin on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean.
Common safety concerns
The common reaction to microwave transmission is one of concern, as microwaves are generally perceived by the public as dangerous forms of radiation - stemming from the fact that they are used in microwave ovens. While high power microwaves can be painful and dangerous as in the United States Military's Active Denial System, MPT systems are generally proposed to have only low intensity at the rectenna.
Though this would be extremely safe as the power levels would be about equal to the leakage from a microwave oven, and only slightly more than a cell phone, the relatively diffuse microwave beam necessitates a large rectenna area for a significant amount of energy to be transmitted.
Research has involved exposing multiple generations of animals to microwave radiation of this or higher intensity, and no health issues have been found.[2]
Proposed uses
MPT is the most commonly proposed method for transferring energy to the surface of the Earth from solar power satellites or other in-orbit power sources. MPT is occasionally proposed for the power supply in beam-powered propulsion for orbital lift space ships. Although lasers are more commonly proposed, their low efficiency in light generation and reception has led some designers to opt for microwave based systems.
Current status
Wireless Power Transmission (using microwaves) is well proven. Experiments in the tens of kilowatts have been performed at Goldstone in California in 1975[3][4][5] and more recently (1997) at Grand Bassin on Reunion Island[6]
Microwave radio relay
Microwave radio relay is a technology for transmitting digital and analog signals, such as long-distance telephone calls and the relay of television programs to transmitters, between two locations on a line of sight radio path. In microwave radio relay, radio waves are transmitted between the two locations with directional antennas, forming a fixed radio connection between the two points. Long daisy-chained series of such links form transcontinental telephone and/or television communication systems.
How microwave radio relay links are formed
Because a line of sight radio link is made, the radio frequencies used occupy only a narrow path between stations (with the exception of a certain radius of each station). Antennas used must have a high directive effect; these antennas are installed in elevated locations such as large radio towers in order to be able to transmit across long distances. Typical types of antenna used in radio relay link installations are parabolic reflectors, shell antennas and horn radiators, which have a diameter of up to 4 meters. Highly directive antennas permit an economical use of the available frequency spectrum, despite long transmission distances.
Planning considerations
Because of the high frequencies used, a quasi-optical line of sight between the stations is generally required. Additionally, in order to form the line of sight connection between the two stations, the first Fresnel zone must be free from obstacles so the radio waves can propagate across a nearly uninterrupted path. Obstacles in the signal field cause unwanted attenuation, and are as a result only acceptable in exceptional cases.
Obstacles, the curvature of the Earth, the geography of the area and reception issues arising from the use of nearby land (such as in manufacturing and forestry) are important issues to consider when planning radio links. In the planning process, it is essential that "path profiles" are produced, which provide information about the terrain and Fresnel zones affecting the transmission path. The presence of a water surface, such as a lake or river, in the mid-path region also must be taken into consideration as it can result in a near-perfect reflection (even modulated by wave or tide motions), creating multipath distortion as the two received signals ("wanted" and "unwanted") swing in and out of phase. Multipath fades are usually deep only in a small spot and a narrow frequency band, so space and frequency diversity schemes were usually applied in the third quarter of the 20th century.
The effects of atmospheric stratification cause the radio path to bend downward in a typical situation so a major distance is possible as the earth equivalent curvature increases from 6370 km to about 8500 km (a 4/3 equivalent radius effect). Rare events of temperature, humidity and pressure profile versus height, may produce large deviations and distortion of the propagation and affect transmission quality. High intensity rain and snow must also be considered as an impairment factor, especially at frequencies above 10 GHz. All previous factors, collectively known as path loss, make it necessary to compute suitable power margins, in order to maintain the link operative for a high percentage of time, like the standard 99.99% or 99.999% used in 'carrier class' services of most telecommunication operators.
Over-horizon microwave radio relay
In over-horizon, or tropospheric scatter, microwave radio relay, unlike a standard microwave radio relay link, the sending and receiving antennas do not use a line of sight transmission path. Instead, the stray signal transmission, known as "tropo - scatter" or simply "scatter," from the sent signal is picked up by the receiving station. Signal clarity obtained by this method depends on the weather and other factors, and as a result a high level of technical difficulty is involved in the creation of a reliable over horizon radio relay link. Over horizon radio relay links are therefore only used where standard radio relay links are unsuitable (for example, in providing a microwave link to an island).
Usage of microwave radio relay systems
During the 1950s the AT&T Communications system of TD radio grew to carry the majority of US Long Distance telephone traffic, as well as intercontinental television network signals. Similar systems were soon built in many countries, until the 1980s when the technology lost its share of fixed operation to newer technologies such as fiber-optic cable and optical radio relay links, both of which offer larger data capacities at lower cost per bit. Communication satellites, which are also microwave radio relays, better retained their market share, especially for television.
At the turn of the century, microwave radio relay systems are being used increasingly in portable radio applications. The technology is particularly suited to this application because of lower operating costs, a more efficient infrastructure, and provision of direct hardware access to the portable radio operator.
Microwave link
A microwave link is a communications system that uses a beam of radio waves in the microwave frequency range to transmit video, audio, or data between two locations, which can be from just a few feet or meters to several miles or kilometers apart. Microwave links are commonly used by television broadcasters to transmit programmes across a country, for instance, or from an outside broadcast back to a studio.
Mobile units can be camera mounted, allowing cameras the freedom to move around without trailing cables. These are often seen on the touchlines of sports fields on Steadicam systems.
Properties of microwave links
- Involve line of sight (LOS) communication technology
- Affected greatly by environmental constraints, including rain fade
- Have limited penetration capabilities
- Sensitive to high pollen count
- Signals can be degraded during Solar proton event [7]
Uses of microwave links
- In communications between satellites and base stations
- As backbone carriers for cellular systems
- In short range indoor communications
Tunable microwave device
A tunable microwave device is a device that works at radio frequency range with the dynamic tunable capabilities, especially an electric field. The material systems for such a device usually have multilayer structure. Usually, magnetic or ferroelectric film on ferrite or superconducting film is adopted. The former two are used as the property tunable component to control the working frequency of the whole system. Devices of this type include tunable varators, tunable microwave filters, tunable phase shifters, and tunable resonators. The main application of them is re-configurable microwave networks, for example, reconfigurable wireless communication, wireless network, and reconfigurable phase array antenna.[8][9]
See also
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- Wireless energy transfer
- Fresnel zone
- Passive repeater
- Radio repeater
- Transmitter station
- Path loss
- British Telecom microwave network
- Kordia New Zealand and Australia
External links
- http://www.kurasc.kyoto-u.ac.jp/plasma-group/sps/history2-e.html
- William C. Brown's Distinguished Career
- AT&T's Microwave Radio-Relay Skyway introduced in 1951
- Bell System 1951 magazine ad for Microwave Radio-Relay systems.
- RCA vintage magazine ad for Microwave-Radio Relay equipment used for Western Union Telegraph Co.
- Digital Microwave Radio
- AT&T Long Lines Microwave Towers Remembered
- AT&T Long Lines
- Western Union Microwave Network History
- Trevor Manning's course 'Microwave Radio for Next Generation Networks' at Oxford University
- An article about how a microwave link is planned and how it works
- IEEE Global History Network Microwave Link Networks
References
- ^ EXPERIMENTAL AIRBORNE MICROWAVE SUPPORTED PLATFORM Descriptive Note : Final rept. Jun 64-Apr 65
- ^ Environmental Effects - the SPS Microwave Beam
- ^ NASA Video, date/author unknown
- ^ Wireless Power Transmission for Solar Power Satellite (SPS) (Second Draft by N. Shinohara), Space Solar Power Workshop, Georgia Institute of Technology
- ^ Brown., W. C. (September 1984). "The History of Power Transmission by Radio Waves". Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on (Volume: 32, Issue: 9 On page(s): 1230- 1242 + ISSN: 0018-9480). http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=1132833.
- ^ POINT-TO-POINT WIRELESS POWER TRANSPORTATION IN REUNION ISLAND 48th International Astronautical Congress, Turin, Italy, 6-10 October 1997 - IAF-97-R.4.08 J. D. Lan Sun Luk, A. Celeste, P. Romanacce, L. Chane Kuang Sang, J. C. Gatina - University of La Réunion - Faculty of Science and Technology.
- ^ Analyzing Microwave Spectra Collected by the Solar Radio Burst Locator
- ^ Tsai, Chen S. (2000-02). "Wideband tunable microwave devices using ferromagnetic film–gallium arsenide material structures". Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials Volume 209, Issues 1-3, February 2000, Pages 10 209 (1 thru 3). doi:.
- ^ 2,980 articles found for: Tunable microwave device. Science direct site.
- Microwave Radio Transmission Design Guide, Trevor Manning, Artech House, 1999
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