Microwave & RF Design: A Systems Approach

979 Pages·2009·9.71 MB·English

by  Michael W. Steer

Michael Steer
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina
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Preface
Microwave and RF Design: A Systems Approach is a comprehensive
introductiontoRadioFrequency(RF)andmicrowavedesignwithamodern
”systems-first” approach. The book has been developed over 10 years of
teaching the class to ever-increasing numbers of Master’s-level students
thatisnowaveraging90perclass.Astrongemphasisondesignpermeates
the book with extensive practical design examples focused on the main
technologies encountered in RF engineering today. Design is oriented
toward microstrip and planar circuitdesign so that lessons learned can be
appliedtoreal-worlddesigntasks.
Rationale
The central philosophy behind this popular approach is that the student
or practicing engineer will complete the book with a full appreciation
for RF engineering and gain the practical skills to perform system-level
design decisions. Now more than ever, companies need engineers with
an ingrained appreciation of systems and armed with the skills to make
system decisions. One of the greatestchallenges facing RF and microwave
engineering,however,istheincreasinglevelofabstractionneededtocreate
innovativemicrowaveandRFsystems.Thisbookisorganizedinsuchaway
thatthereadercomestounderstandtheimpactthatsystem-leveldecisions
haveoncomponentandsubsystemdesign.Atthesametime,thecapabilities
of technologies, components, and subsystems impact system design. The
bookismeticulouslycraftedtointertwinethesethemes.
Audience
The book wasdevelopedfor threecoursesatNorthCarolinaStateUniver-
sity.Oneisafinal-yearundergraduateclass,anotheranintroductorygrad-
uate class, and the third an advanced graduate class. I believe it is com-
pletely understandable for senior-level students where a microwave/RF
engineering course is offered. The book is a comprehensive RF and mi-
crowave text and reference with detailed index, glossary, appendices, and
cross-referencesthroughoutthetext.Practicingengineerswillfindthebook
avaluablesystemsprimer,arefresherasneeded,andareferencetoolinthe
field. Additionally, it can serve as a valuable, accessible resource for those
outsideRFcircuitengineeringwhoneedtounderstandhowtheycanwork
withRFhardwareengineers.
viii PREFACE
Organization
The level of sophistication of RF and microwave engineering concepts
begins with a broad, easily read treatment of systems in the first three
chapters. This develops in the middle of the book with the subtleties
of microwave components and immediately useful design knowledge
particularlyfocusedonmicrostrip design.The bookfinishes within-depth
treatment of network synthesis which embodies the full sophistication of
microwaveengineering.Detaileddesignexamplesareusedthroughoutthe
book. These are often used to illustrate design decisions that do not lend
themselvestoformulaicsolutions.
The book is organized around five modules that are largely indepen-
dent but do build on each other and are best taught in sequence. The first
three chapters of the book comprise the System Module. The System Mod-
ule (Chapters1–3) describessystem concepts and provides comprehensive
knowledgeofRFandmicrowavesystems.Theemphasisisonunderstand-
inghowsystemsarecraftedfrommanydifferenttechnologiesandconcepts.
For example, the first chapter, ”Modulation, Transmitters, and Receivers,”
considers the system-level trade-offs driven by modulation requirements.
The choice of amplifier impacts the microwave requirements that must be
designed.ComplementaryMetalOxideSemiconductor(CMOS)circuitryin
Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFICs) necessarily requires that am-
plifiersbe differential,which inturndrivesthe designof balunsand other
balancedstructures.TheSystemModulepreparesthereaderforsubsequent
material by providing the rational for design choices. It is written from a
hardwareperspectivewithconnectionsbetweensystem-levelattributesand
hardwareperformance and requirements.The readerthereforegains valu-
able insight into how different technologies can be traded off in meeting
systemrequirements.Idonotbelievethissystemspresentationisavailable
anywhereelseinsuchacompactform.
TheTransmissionLineModule(Chapters4and5)consistsoftwochapters,
beginningwithachapterontransmissionlinetheory,withmicrostriplines
primarilyusedasdesignexamples.Designexamplesillustratesome ofthe
less quantifiable design decisions that must be made, such as choosing
manufacturabledimensions andavoidingundesirablemodesofoperation.
This module shows how distributed effects form the basis for a large
variety of microwave and RF components that are not available at lower
frequencies.Themoderntreatmentemphasizesplanarcircuitdesignandthe
practicalaspectsofdesigningaroundunwantedeffects.Thetext,examples,
andproblemsintroducetheoftenhiddendesignrequirementsofdesigning
tomitigateparasiticeffectsandunwantedmodesofoperation.
The Network Module (Chapters 6–8) presents the descriptions of mi-
crowavenetworksbasedonS-parameterandABCDmatrices,andtherep-
resentationofreflectionandtransmissioninformationonpolarplotscalled
Smithcharts.Microwavemeasurementandcalibrationtechnologyisexam-
PREFACE ix
ined.Asamplingofthewidevarietyofmicrowaveelementsbasedontrans-
missionlinesispresented.Itisshownhowmanyofthesehavelumpedele-
mentequivalentsandhowlumpedelementsandtransmissionlinescanbe
combined asacompromise betweenthe high performanceoftransmission
line structuresandthe compactnessof lumped elements. The module con-
cludeswith anin-depthtreatmentofmatching formaximumpowertrans-
fer.Bothlumpedelementanddistributedelementmatchingarepresented.
The Coupled Line and Filter Module (Chapters 9 and 10) begins by
presentingdescriptionsofcouplingofparallellines.Itisshownthatcoupled
lines can be used to realize a variety of responses. Detailed design of a
directional coupler is used to illustrate the use of coupled lines. Network
equivalentsofcoupledlinesareintroducedasfundamentalbuildingblocks
that will be used later in filter design and network synthesis. Filter design
is presented as a mixture of art and science. This mix, and the thought
processesinvolved,areemphasizedthroughthedesignofafilterintegrated
throughout the chapter. This chapter integrates and applies many of the
designlessonspresentedthroughoutthebook.
The final module is the Active Device and Synthesis Module (Chapters
11–13) which first considers amplifiers, mixers, oscillators, and switches.
Detailed amplifier and voltage-controlled oscillators are presented. Basic
RFIC designispresentedandthe reasonfordesignchoicesinRFICs made
clear. The capstone chapter presents network synthesis through a number
of detailed design examples. Network synthesis is the methodical design
of microwave networks leading to design insight, novel topologies, and
tailored performance. Synthesis is presented as the merger of art, with
the choice of topologies with the desired fundamental characteristics, and
the mathematical development of successive networks beginning with a
lumpedelementprototypeandresultinginthefinalphysicalrealization.
CourseStructures
University courses can be taught around two or three modules, and the
book can be used to teach two or three classes. A standard microwave
classfollowing theformatofearliermicrowavetextscanbetaughtaround
Modules 2 and 3 (i.e., Chapters 4–8). Such a course will benefit from
the strong practical design flavor and modern treatment of measurement
technology, Smith charts, and matching networks. Transmission line
propagationanddesignispresentedinthecontextofmicrostriptechnology
providing an immediately useful skill. The subtleties of multimoding are
also presented in the context of microstrip lines. In such a class the easily
readchaptersinthesystemmodulecanbeassignedforself-learning.
Thefundamentalphilosophy behindthebookisthatthebroaderimpact
of the material must be presented first. Systems should be discussed up
front and not left as an afterthought for the final chapter of a textbook or
the lastclassof the semester.A systemsfirst classcanbe taughtbeginning