Efficient ray-tracing techniques for three-dimensional analyses of propagation in mobile communications: application to picocell and microcell scenarios

The application of several ray-tracing techniques, in combination with GTD/UTD (geometrical theory of diffraction/uniform theory of diffraction), for an efficient analysis of propagation in urban scenarios is presented. The frequency of the analysis is in the UHF band, and a three-dimensional model of the geometry, using flat facets, is considered. After a review of the most commonly used ray-tracing techniques, a new method, called the angular z-buffer (AZB) technique, is presented. As is shown and validated with results, the AZB appears to be extremely efficient for GTD/UTD applications.