EE 439 - Radiowave Propagation in Communications

Designation:

Senior/Grad-level technical elective for Electrical Engineering students

Catalog Data:

Radiowave propagation phenomena and problems encountered in practice; effects of the earth and atmosphere on radiowaves. Prerequisite: EE 330.

Prerequisites by topic:

  1. Electrical circuit analysis.
  2. Electromagnetic waves (propagation, reflection, refraction, attenuation, radiation)

Course Objectives:

This course provides the communications oriented electrical engineering students an understanding of the fundamental principles of radiowave propagation phenomena and problems likely to be encountered in practice. Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to analyze and evaluate a communication link (as well as a radar system) from the output of the transmitter to the input of the receiver taking into account the antenna and the effects of the propagation medium.

  1. Frequency bands and propagation mechanisms (2 classes)
  2. Basic antenna parameters for transmission and reception (3 classes)
  3. Noise evaluation of communication systems (3 classes)
  4. Earth reflections and the effects of the atmosphere’s index of refraction (6 classes)
  5. Midpath-obstacle diffraction loss (5 classes)
  6. Surface wave propagation (4 classes)
  7. Ionospheric propagation (7 classes)
  8. Scattering and absorption of a wave by a single particle (4 classes)
  9. Effects of rain, snow, and ice on microwaves and millimeter waves (6 classes)
  10. Tests, quizzes and review sessions (5 classes)

Class Schedule:

Three 50-minute lectures per week.

Contribution to meeting the professional component:

This course contributes to both the engineering science and design professional components.

Relationship to program outcomes:

  1. Graduates will be able to analyze and evaluate the performance of a communication link (as well as a radar system) from the output of the transmitter to the input of the receiver including basic models for the intervening medium. [Ref: Outcome O.3.1 and O.3.2.]
  2. Graduates will be able to understand the fundamental principles of electromagnetic wave interaction with the environment and build on this knowledge base to learn, understand, and appreciate other related topics. [Ref: Outcome O.4.1 and O.6.3.]