Design and validation of probes and sensors for the characterization of magneto-ionic radio wave propagation on Near Vertical Incidence Skywave paths

Ben A. Witvliet, Rosa M. Alsina-Pagès, Erik van Maanen, Geert J. Laanstra

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    4 Citations (Scopus)
    136 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    This article describes the design and validation of deployable low-power probes and sensors to investigate the influence of the ionosphere and the Earth’s magnetic field on radio wave propagation below the plasma frequency of the ionosphere, known as Near Vertical Incidence Skywave (NVIS) propagation. The propagation of waves that are bent downward by the ionosphere is dominated by a bi-refractive mechanism called ‘magneto-ionic propagation’. The polarization of both downward waves depends on the spatial angle between the Earth’s magnetic field and the direction of propagation of the radio wave. The probes and sensors described in this article are needed to simultaneously investigate signal fading and polarization dynamics on six radio wave propagation paths. The 1-Watt probes realize a 57 dB signal-to-noise ratio. The probe polarization is controlled using direct digital synthesis and the cross-polarization is 25–35 dB. The intermodulation-free dynamic range of the sensor exceeds 100 dB. Measurement speed is 3000 samples/second. This publication covers design, practical realization and deployment issues. Research performed with these devices will be shared in subsequent publications.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number2616
    Number of pages16
    JournalSensors (Switzerland)
    Volume19
    Issue number11
    Early online date9 Jun 2019
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jun 2019

    Keywords

    • deployable
    • magneto-ionic
    • magnetic field
    • polarization
    • ionosphere
    • radio wave propagation
    • Near Vertical Incidence Skywave (NVIS)
    • circular polarization

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