What are Microwaves ? Explain their properties.

Microwave: Electromagnetic Spectrum consists of entire range of electromagnetic radiation. Radiation is the energy that travels and spreads out as it propagates. The types of electromagnetic radiation that makes the electromagnetic spectrum is depicted in the following screenshot.

Properties of Microwaves

Following are the main properties of Microwaves.

• Microwaves are the waves that radiate electromagnetic energy with shorter wavelength.
• Microwaves are not reflected by Ionosphere.
• Microwaves travel in a straight line and are reflected by the conducting surfaces.
• Microwaves are easily attenuated within shorter distances.
• Microwave currents can flow through a thin layer of a cable.

• Supports larger bandwidth and hence more information is transmitted. For this reason, microwaves are used for point-to-point communications.
• More antenna gain is possible.
• Higher data rates are transmitted as the bandwidth is more.
• Antenna size gets reduced, as the frequencies are higher.
• Low power consumption as the signals are of higher frequencies.
• Effect of fading gets reduced by using line of sight propagation.
• Provides effective reflection area in the radar systems.
• Satellite and terrestrial communications with high capacities are possible.
• Low-cost miniature microwave components can be developed.
• Effective spectrum usage with wide variety of applications in all available frequency ranges of operation.