Comparison between horizontal electric dipole and vertical electric dipole in the wireless underground communication

Abstract

Wireless underground communication is currently a very active area of research. It can be utilized in many application scenarios of agricultural and environmental conservation, such as monitoring soil conditions and the content of toxic substances. In wireless underground communication, the primary part of the received signal is lateral wave, and the strength loss of lateral wave is greatly correlated to the form of how it incidents into the ground surface. Consequently, if an electric dipole is used as the emission source, the deployment mode of it will become a decisive factor impacting on the strength of the received signal. Using the Hertz vector analyzing method, this paper analyzes the electric field intensity of vertical electric dipole and compares it to horizontal electric dipole. The theoretical derivation as well as the simulation results proves that using horizontal electric dipole as the emission source is more energy-efficient, which provides a beneficial reference for the design and development of wireless underground communication systems. © Springer-Verlag 2012.