ECE 60422 - Primer on RF Circuit Design
Course Details
Lecture Hours: 1 Credits: 1
Areas of Specialization:
- Fields and Optics
Counts as:
Normally Offered:
Each Fall
Campus/Online:
On-campus and online
Requisites:
ECE 30411
Requisites by Topic:
Undergraduate electromagnetics, including fundamental concepts of RF waves and transmission lines.
Catalog Description:
This course is about RF circuits designed to provide the necessary foundation to understand the operation and design of RF circuits from the device level to the system level. While RF circuits have played a key role in connecting people over the past decades, their importance will grow exponentially as future generations of communication systems (e.g. 5G), radars, and wireless sensors are expected to dramatically alter the way we communicate and connect people, machines and networks. This course serves as an introductory course for ECE students planning to focus on RF design as well as for non-RF students who seek a foundational understanding of RF circuits and systems. The course starts by introducing fundamental concepts of RF communication systems including the ultimate RF receiver and why our technology cannot still support it. Students are then introduced to basic design principles and tools including transmission lines, the Smith chart and the scattering parameters. Basic system-level design concepts such as noise, linearity and interference that dictate system-level design approaches are also discussed qualitatively. The course concludes by introducing basic receiver architectures and relevant technology trends.
Required Text(s):
- Microwave and RF Design: Networks, Volume 3 (e-book link provided in Brightspace) , 3rd Edition , Steer, Michael , NC State University , 2019 , ISBN No. 1469656949
- Microwave and RF Design: Radio Systems, Volume 1 (e-book link provided in Brightspace) , 3rd Edition , Steer, Michael , NC State University , 2019 , ISBN No. 1469656906
- Microwave and RF Design: Transmission Lines, Volume 2 (e-book link provided in Brightspace) , 3rd Edition , Steer, Michael , NC State University , 2019 , ISBN No. 1469656922
Recommended Text(s):
None.
Learning Outcomes
A student who successfully fulfills the course requirements will have demonstrated an ability to:
- Describe and articulate the basic design principles of RF systems and modules
- Use common tools and techniques in the RF design space.
Lecture Outline:
Topics | |
---|---|
1 | Introduction to RF communications |
2 | Transmission lines and CAD introduction |
3 | The Smith chart and matching networks |
4 | Lumped elements; antennas and RF links |
5 | Scattering parameters |
Assessment Method:
Homework, project, exam. (3/2022)