Basics of RF Engineering, Lectures

After completing this course, the student is able to apply some of the most important and fundamental RF engineering concepts. Those include wave propagation along transmission lines, reflections from loads and other discontinuities of transmission lines, impedance matching for maximum power transfer, the Smith chart, description of two-ports using scattering parameters, various definitions of power gain of two-ports (such as power amplifiers) and stability of two-ports. 

The competence this course provides is general and useful in all sub-disciplines of RF engineering.

Core content

• TRANSMISSION LINE (TL) THEORY. Typical  use of TLs and practical cables and planar structures. Basic TL  concepts and parameters e.g. distributed circuit parameters,  Telegrapher's equations, propagation constant, characteristic impedance,  phase velocity, wavelength, input impedance, reflection at impedance  discontinuity, return loss, reflection (mismatch) loss, and properties  of lossy transmission lines. Replacing inductors and capacitors with  transmission line elements. Their effective capacitance and inductance,  respectively. Properties of quarter wave and half wave lines. Generator  properties: Thévenin equivalent and available power.
• SMITH CHART (SC).  Normalized impedance. Drawing and reading impedances and reflection  coefficients and other related parameters on the SC. Normalized  admittance. Impedance locus as a function of frequency. Use of SC in  designing simple impedance matching circuits.

• IMPEDANCE MATCHING.  The advantages of impedance matching. Simple impedance matching  techniques: lumped element matching, distributed element matching,  resistive vs. reactive matching.  Use of simulation tools (e.g. ADS) in  analysis of simple RF circuits.
•         SCATTERING (S) PARAMETERS AND GAIN CONCEPTS.  Definition of S-parameters, reasons for using S-parameters.  Applications of S-parameters. Determination of S-parameters of simple  (and arbitrary) S-networks. Gain definitions: power gain, available  power gain, transducer power gain; and their relation to S-parameters.
  

Complementary knowledge

• Wave  trap (bandstop filter). Effective  dielectric constant of microstrip line and its relation to the  wavelength in this media.
• How the Smith chart is made? Mathematics behind it.
• Bandwidth of impedance matching. Free-ware design tools.  
• Unilateral  transducer power gain (Gtu), maximum Gtu. Stability of two-ports,  Mu-test and use of stability factors and stability circles.

Common

Exercise: Exercise session

10.03.2023 09:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC103 opetustila (30)
17.03.2023 09:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC103 opetustila (30)
24.03.2023 09:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC103 opetustila (30)
31.03.2023 09:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC103 opetustila (30)
14.04.2023 09:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC103 opetustila (30)
21.04.2023 09:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC103 opetustila (30)
28.04.2023 09:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC103 opetustila (30)

Room booking

Blended Learning: Weekly Meeting

06.03.2023 11:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC103 opetustila (30)
13.03.2023 11:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC103 opetustila (30)
20.03.2023 11:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC103 opetustila (30)
27.03.2023 11:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC103 opetustila (30)
03.04.2023 11:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC103 opetustila (30)
17.04.2023 11:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC103 opetustila (30)
24.04.2023 11:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC103 opetustila (30)

Other Event: Computer tutorial

21.03.2023 09:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC315 tietokoneluokka (16)
28.03.2023 09:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC315 tietokoneluokka (16)
04.04.2023 09:00 - 12:00, TAU Tietotalo TC315 tietokoneluokka (16)

Compulsory Prerequisites

• Circuit Theory, EE.030, 5 cr

Recommended Prerequisites

• Transmission Lines and Waveguides, COMM.RF.430, 5 cr
• Transistors and Amplifier Circuits, EE.ELE.210, 5 cr
• Introduction to High-Frequency Techniques, ELT-41711, 5 cr

General scale, 0-5