About The Fresnel Zone; Figure 19-1 Fresnel Zone - Radwin 2000+ SERIES User Manual

About the Fresnel Zone
19.4 About the Fresnel Zone
The Fresnel zone is an elliptically shaped conical zone of electromagnetic energy that
propagates from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna. It is always widest in the
middle of the path between the two antennas.
Figure 19‐1: Fresnel zone
Fresnel loss is the path loss occurring from multi‐path reflections from reflective surfaces
such as water, and intervening obstacles such as buildings or mountain peaks within the
Fresnel zone.
Radio links should be designed to accommodate obstructions and atmospheric conditions,
weather conditions, large bodies of water, and other reflectors and absorbers of
electromagnetic energy.
The Fresnel zone provides us with a way to calculate the amount of clearance that a wireless
wave needs from an obstacle to ensure that the obstacle does not attenuate the signal.
There are infinitely many Fresnel zones located coaxially around the center of the direct
wave. The outer boundary of the first Fresnel zone is defined as the combined path length of
all paths, which are half wavelength (1/2 ) of the frequency transmitted longer than the
direct path. If the total path distance is one wavelength (1 ) longer than the direct path, then
the outer boundary is said to be two Fresnel zones. Odd number Fresnel zones reinforce the
direct wave path signal; even number Fresnel zones cancel the direct wave path signal.
The amount of the Fresnel zone clearance is determined by the wavelength of the signal, the
path length, and the distance to the obstacle. For reliability, point‐to‐point links are designed
to have at least 60% of the first Fresnel zone clear to avoid significant attenuation.
RADWIN 2000+ Series User Manual Release 4.2.40 19‐4