Use of antenna receive diversity to mitigate scintillation on Ka band satellite links

According to the MPS simulation of Ka band satellite signals, used in conjunction with a typical cloud-present turbulence profile, there can be a substantial diversity benefit from using multiple antennas for links with elevation angles less than 20 degrees. It should be noted that this analysis method can also be applied to horizontal paths (i.e. terrestrial links), in which case the C_n ² value remains approximately constant over the entire path. In a broader sense, this paper has shown the utility of using MPS simulations to model the effects of the troposphere on Ka band signals. This is of particular benefit in the strong scattering regime where the mathematics are intractable.