Description

This course introduces the analysis and design of microwave components and systems. Topics include: modeling of high frequency circuits; transmission lines; scattering parameters; impedance matching; passive microwave components; amplifiers, mixers and oscillators; noise in receivers; elemental antennas and simple and phased arrays; communication links - microwave land, cellular and satellite systems; performance and link budget analysis. The laboratory work is design oriented and implements the lecture material. 

Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)

• Understand important concepts of transmission lines, including characteristic impedance, input impedance, reflection coefficient, and standing wave ratio, and be able to apply them to the design of transmission lines
• Design of lumped element and distributed element matching networks using the Smith chart and analytical equations
• Use network parameters, particularly scattering parameters, in the analysis and design of micrwave components
• Use high frequency models of resistors, inductors, capacitors, transformers, and transistors in microwave circuit design
• Design microwave and RF amplifiers using FETs and BJTs using criteria including gain, noise, stability, power consumption, and impedance matching
• Understand mixer operation, including the concepts of isolation, nonlinearities, and balanced structures
• Design microwave and RF oscillators using FETs and BJTs
• Design antennas, and understand concepts including gain, directivity, efficiency, radiation pattern
• Analyze microwave and RF systems in terms of gain, noise figure, and nonlinear distortion
• Analyze wireless links

Credit Breakdown

Lecture: 3
Lab: 0.75
Tutorial: 0.5

Academic Unit Breakdown

Mathematics 0
Natural Sciences 0
Complementary Studies 0
Engineering Science 26
Engineering Design 25

Outline:

Week 1: 1) Introduction; 2) Review of transmission lines, impedance, reflection, and standing waves, and introduction to microstrip and coplanar waveguide transmission lines

Week 2: 1) Network parameters, including Z, Y, ABCD, and S-parameters; 2) Microwave lumped elements including resistors, inductors, capacitors, and transformers; 3) Quality factor of lumped elements

Week 3: 1) Revew of the Smith chart and plotting the S-parameters of lumped and distributed elements; 2) L-section and stub matching using the Smith chart

Week 4: 1) Noise in microwave systems and noise modeling of passive and active elements 2)analysis of noise in cascaded elements

Week 5: 1) Distortion in systems, including generation of harmonics and intermodulation products; 2) gain compression; 3) estimation of third order intercept and 1 dB compression points for transistors 4) distortion in cascaded systems

Week 6: 1) Process technologies, including silicon and gallium arsenide based processes; 2) High frequency small signal and noise models for FETs and BJTs

Week 7: 1) Introduction to antennas; radiation patterns, gain ,directivity, and efficiency of antennas, examples of antennas; 3) Friis power transmission equation, multipath fading; 4) antenna arrays, examples of antenna arrays

Week 8: 1) Amplifier design: unilateral and bilateral transistors, analysis of transistor stability using stability parameters and circles; 2) design of matching networks for amplifiers; 3) design for arbitrary gain, unilateral figure of merit

Week 9: 1) Low noise amplifier design: use of source inductive degeneration for low noise design; 2) Noise circles for low noise amplifier design; (3) bias networks for microwave amplifiers

Week 10: 1) Oscillator design: use of stability circles; 2) negative resistance oscillator design including dielectric resonator oscillators; 3) feedback oscillator design

Week 11: 1) Mixers: basic operation of mixers; 2) single diode mixers; 3) single FET mixers; 4) balanced and double balanced mixers

Week 12: 1) System analysis; tuned frequency, superheterodyne, and direct downconversion receivers; 2) examples of microwave systems such as cellular phone standards, Bluetooth, satellite systems

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