Research on ionospheric point-to-point propagation based on ray tracing method

Shortwave communication and ionospheric oblique detection are essential point-to-point propagation problems, that is, the propagation problems between fixed transceiver stations. The essence of the point-to-point propagation problem is to search for the appropriate elevation and azimuth angles at the emission point to achieve homing of the ray. Ray tracing has always been a tool for studying high-frequency wave propagation phenomena. Homing technology based on ray tracing can accurately realize point-to-point propagation. However, different ionospheric models will have an impact on the trajectory and accuracy of point-to-point propagation. This article builds a point-to-point propagation model based on numerical ray tracing and use Newton Homing technologyes to study the two models: the quasi parabolic segments ionosphere (QPS) model and the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model. It also discusses the robustness and accuracy of the algorithm under different ionospheric models. The results show that the algorithm has high robustness under both models, but the QPS model has faster running speed, while the algorithm has higher accuracy under the IRI model.