73 GHz wideband millimeter-wave foliage and ground reflection measurements and models

This paper presents 73 GHz wideband outdoor foliage and ground reflection measurements. Propagation measurements were made with a 400 Megachips-per-second sliding correlator channel sounder, with rotatable 27 dBi (7° half-power beamwidth) horn antennas at both the transmitter and receiver, to study foliage-induced scattering and de-polarization effects, to assist in developing future wireless systems that will use adaptive array antennas. Signal attenuation through foliage was measured to be 0.4 dB/m for both co- and cross-polarized antenna configurations. Measured ground reflection coefficients for dirt and gravel ranged from 0.02 to 0.34, for incident angles ranging from 60° to 81° (with respect to the normal incidence of the surface). These data are useful for link budget design and site-specific (ray-tracing) models for future millimeter-wave communications systems.