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.

Lecture Outline:

Assessment Method:

Homework, project, exam. (3/2022)