Course syllabus

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EME102 Active microwave circuits lp3 VT20 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience

Contact details

Course purpose

The aim of this course is to learn how to design active microwave circuits; such as amplifiers, oscillators, multipliers, and mixers.

Schedule

TimeEdit

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

  1. Design of a microwave-transistor amplifier using modern commercial soft-ware
  2. Assembly of the designed amplifier and measurement to verify the simulated performance

The course contains two home assignments

  1. Design of a noise optimized small-signal amplifier
  2. Exercise in large-signal modeling and nonlinear simulations, carried out in groups of 2

Organisation:

Lectures 32 hours (Dan Kuylenstierna, Vincent Desmaris)

Tutorials 28 hours (Martin Mattsson & Ibrahim Can Sezgin)

Laboratory work 8 hours (Ibrahim Can Sezgin & Martin Mattsson)

Home assignments X hours (Cristian Lopez)

 

Lecture

Topic

Literature

1

Course information, introduction, Transistors, transistor modeling  at a glance

11.2-11.4

2

Twoport parameters, Smith chart, Impedance matching

4.1-4.4, 4.5, 5

3

Small-signal amplifier design, unilateral, stability, Signal flow graphs

12.1-12.3

4

Small-signal amplifier design, bilateral design, constant-gain circles,

12.1-12.3

5

Noise in twoport networks

10.1-10.2, hand outs

6

Modeling of semiconductor devices

11.2-11.3, hand-outs

7

Low noise amplifier design

12.3, Hand outs

8

Power amplifiers

12.5, Cripps 2.1-2.4 & 3.1-3.4

9

Nonlinear simulation techniques

10.3-10.4,
Maas 1.1-1.3 & 3.1-3.3

10

Mixers and frequency multipliers

13.4-13.5
(Maas 6-7, 10-11)

11

Oscillators

13.1-13.3, Gonzales Oscillators 2.1-2.5

12

Study visit

 

13

Challenges in amplifier design: Bandwidth, Multiple-stage amplifiers,

12.4,
hand-outs

14

Resource time

 

 

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.

Learning objectives and syllabus

Learning objectives:

  1. Analyse two-port networks with respect to gain, noise, stability and VSWR
  2. Apply two-port representations for embedding, de-embedding and interconnecting components
  3. Apply equivalent transistor models for representation of microwave transistors
  4. Design and characterise a RF/microwave amplifier circuit (gain, noise, power, bandwidth, VSWR)
  5. Design a RF/microwave oscillator for low phase noise
  6. Extract small-signal transistor model parameters from S parameter measurements
  7. Extract large-signal transistor-model parameters from transistor DC characteristics and bias dependent small-signal S parameters
  8. Design and analyse nonlinear circuits such as mixers and frequency multipliers

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.

Examination form

Successful completion of this course module is based on:

  • Passed written examination (open book)
  • Completion of two lab exercises
  • Home assignment (amplifier design)
  • Home assignment large-signal modeling and nonlinear simulations

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., >4p on each home assignment and >24p on the exam

 

Course summary:

Date Details Due