Propagation Experiment Using a G-band Terrestrial Link: Design and Preliminary Results

This contribution presents the design and preliminary results of an electromagnetic wave propagation experiment at G band. The research activity, resulting from the collaboration between Politecnico di Milano and the Huawei European Microwave Centre in Milan, focuses on the design, integration and installation of a custom G-band 325-m terrestrial link connecting two buildings in the university campus. The unidirectional link carries an unmodulated beacon signal at 261 GHz, which allows investigating with high accuracy the atmospheric impairments affecting the propagation of electromagnetic waves. To this aim, the signal attenuation, inferred from the received power, is correlated to the ancillary data measured by the collocated rainfall sensor. The preliminary results reported indicate quite a significant impact of precipitation, which needs to be further studied using the information on the microphysical properties of rainfall.