Course syllabus
Course-PM
EME102 Active microwave circuits lp3 VT21 (7.5 hp)
Course is offered by the department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience
Contact details
- examiner: Dan Kuylenstierna, danku@chalmers.se, tel: +46 31 772 17 98
- lecturer: Vincent Desmaris, vincent.desmaris@chalmers.se , +46 31 772 18 46
- teaching assistant: Martin Mattsson, martin.mattsson@chalmers.se
- teaching assistant:Cristian Lopez, cristian.lopez@chalmers.se, tel +46 31 772 60 59
Course purpose
The aim of this course is to learn how to design active microwave circuits; such as amplifiers, oscillators, multipliers, and mixers.
Schedule
Course literature
David M Pozar, Microwave engineering, 4th edition, Wiley,
2011, (ISBN: 978-0-470-63155-3).
Lecture notes
Scientific and technical papers
Optional: Guillermo Gonzalez, Microwave Transistor Amplifiers: Analysis and Design
E-books available from Chalmers’ library
Steve Cripps, RF Power Amplifiers for Wireless Communications, Second Edition, 2006
(E-book ISBN 9781596930193)
Course design
The course treats analysis and design of microwave circuits, particularly amplifiers but also oscillators and nonlinear circuits like mixers and multipliers.
Topics: Two-port theory, impedance matching, stability, noise/gain optimisation, amplifier design, oscillation conditions, wideband amplifiers, the Bode-Fano criteria, high power amplifiers, microwave oscillators, mixers, multipliers, and nonlinear simulation techniques.
The course contains two lab exercises
- Design of a microwave-transistor amplifier using modern commercial soft-ware
- Assembly of the designed amplifier and measurement to verify the simulated performance
The course contains two home assignments
- Design of a noise optimized small-signal amplifier
- Exercise in large-signal modeling and nonlinear simulations, carried out in groups of 2
Organisation
Lectures 28 hours (Dan Kuylenstierna, Vincent Desmaris)
Tutorials 28 hours (Marttin Mattsson)
Laboratory work 8 hours (Martin Mattsson)
Home assignments X hours (Daniel Cristian Lopez)
Lecture |
Date |
Topic |
Literature/note |
1 |
19/1 |
Course information, introduction, Transistors, transistor modeling at a glance |
11.2-11.4 |
2 |
21/1 |
Twoport parameters, Smith chart, Impedance matching |
4.1-4.4, 4.5, 5 |
3 |
26/1 |
Small-signal amplifier design, unilateral, stability, Signal flow graphs |
12.1-12.3 |
4 |
28/1 |
Small-signal amplifier design, bilateral design, constant-gain circles, |
12.1-12.3 |
5 |
4/2 |
Noise in twoport networks, Low noise amplifier design |
10.1-10.2, hand outs, 12.3, Hand outs |
6 |
9/2 |
Tutorials on Noise and LNA design |
|
7 |
16/2 |
Modeling of semiconductor devices |
11.2-11.3, hand-outs |
8 |
18/2 |
Power amplifiers |
12.5, Cripps 2.1-2.4 & 3.1-3.4 |
9 |
23/2 |
Study visit |
Details will come |
10 |
25/2 |
Nonlinear simulation techniques |
10.3-10.4, |
11 |
2/3 |
Mixers and frequency multipliers |
13.4-13.5 (Maas 6-7, 10-11) |
12 |
4/3 |
Oscillators |
13.1-13.3, Gonzales Oscillators 2.1-2.5 |
13 |
9/3 |
Challenges in amplifier design: Bandwidth, Multiple-stage amplifiers, |
12.4, |
14 |
11/3 |
Resource time |
May be used for lab |
Lectures are given remote over zoom and announced at the course administration page in Canvas
Learning objectives and syllabus
Learning objectives:
- Analyse two-port networks with respect to gain, noise, stability and VSWR
- Apply two-port representations for embedding, de-embedding and interconnecting components
- Apply equivalent transistor models for representation of microwave transistors
- Design and characterise a RF/microwave amplifier circuit (gain, noise, power, bandwidth, VSWR)
- Design a RF/microwave oscillator for low phase noise
- Extract small-signal transistor model parameters from S parameter measurements
- Extract large-signal transistor-model parameters from transistor DC characteristics and bias dependent small-signal S parameters
- Design and analyse nonlinear circuits such as mixers and frequency multipliers
Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.
Examination form
Successful completion of this module is based on:
- Passed written examination (open book) held on line
- Completion of two lab exercises
- Home assignment (amplifier design)
- Home assignment large-signal modeling and nonlinear simulation
Final grade is based on sum of results from home assignments (total 20p) and exam (total 60p): 3 (≥32p), 4(≥48p) and 5 (≥64p). The home assignments and the exam must both be passed individually, i.e., >40% on each home assignment and >24p on the exam. The exam will be held on line and supervised over zoom.
Be aware that all deadlines for home assignments and lab-preparations are sharp. A late home-assignment is not rewarded any points. On-time lab preparatory exercise is a prerequisite for doing the lab.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity will be carefully followed up and all cases where any student may be suspected to have acted against the rules of academic integrity will be reported to the director of studies. If you are unsure about what is good academic integrity and what is not, you can find more information at
Course summary:
Date | Details | Due |
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