Elliptical Polarized Radio Wave Decay in Land Communication Links

The topic of depolarization in terrestrial wireless communication links has been poorly researched even for technologies beyond 4G. The main source of knowledge to this field are the Stokes parameters and various experimental results. Here we present an innovative analytical approach based on the multi-parametric stochastic model, as a combination of vision on radio propagation above built-up terrain and statistical description of main features of the terrain: buildings overlay profile, their density and characteristics, elevation of the transmitter and receiver antennas with respect to obstructions surrounding, etc. The proposed approach provides a sufficient way of predicting depolarization decay of radio waves and allows reducing polarization losses in both-sides terminal antennas, thus achieving cheaper data transmission inside wireless networks. This paper makes use of a wave’s total intensity expression and derives probability distributions for parameters that describe the spatial polarization ellipse, energy distribution along and across directions of propagation, and changes in the shape and spatial orientation of the elliptically polarized wave depending of the terrain features. These equations are based on a new physical vision on the Stokes parameters and on the test results accounting for usually used real data of mixed-residential and sub-urban/urban radio communication links.