Practical RF Circuit Design for Modern Wireless Systems:
Volume I - Passive Circuits and Systems

About the Authors:

Les Besser: A Life Fellow of the IEEE where he held various offices and received awards and recognition for past accomplishments. He holds Ph.D. , M.S. and B.S. in EE. Dr. Besser authored the first commercially successful microwave circuit optimization routine and founded Compact Software (now part of Ansoft), a pioneer group in RF/MW CAE. A “Master Lecturer,” he is currently heading an organization dedicated to continuing education through instructor-led and Internet-based short courses, CD- and video-taped presentations.

Rowan Gilmore is an experienced consulting engineer who introduced the world’s first commercial harmonic-balance CAD simulator while Vice-President Engineering at Compact Software. He has held numerous design and management posts in industry, including Central Microwave, Schlumberger, Telstra and SITA. A senior member of the IEEE, he holds a D.Sc. and MSEE degrees from Washington University in St. Louis, and a B.E. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. He has nearly fifteen years of teaching experience with Besser Associates and CEI Europe.

Summary:

The first of a two-volume set, this leading-edge book takes a practical approach to RF circuit design, offering a complete understanding of the fundamental concepts you need to know and use for your work in this industry. The book lays the ground work for efficient RF circuit design in a step-by-step approach, by defining important principles and parameters and progressively introducing critical analytical tools. It helps you distinguish between RF and low frequency circuits, and offers a detailed look at a typical RF system. This is a tested and insightful book that contains answers to most of the questions practical engineers are asking. The first volume reviews various computer-aided simulation, synthesis, and optimization techniques used in modern RF and microwave design, and discusses the practical use of the graphical design tools, such as the Smith Chart.

Other key topics include passive component modeling, impedance matching, and lumped and distributed filters. Moreover, the authors present an introduction to high-speed circuit design considerations faced by the digital designer at high clock speeds. The book makes extensive use of state-or-the-art CAD programs to illustrate the concepts and theory, and is lavishly illustrated with examples. This text is guaranteed to provide even the most experienced RF designer with fresh, intuitive insight into circuit operation, and will be as useful at universities as a course text on practical RF circuit design, as it will in industry as a training refresher.

This Book will be Featured in the Following Besser Courses:

• Applied RF Techniques I
• Wireless Circuits, Systems and Test Fundamentals
• RF Fundamentals -available at a discounted price when attending the course

Contents:

Introduction to RF Circuit Design - Methodology and Motivation. Top Down Design - from Air interface to System to Components. What is RF?

The Radio as a Typical RF System - Receiver Architectures. The Simple Detector Receiver. The Direct Conversion (Homodyne) Receiver. The Super Heterodyne Receiver-Analog. The Super Heterodyne Receiver-Digital. Receiver Characterization. The Communications Channel. Receiver Noise. Receiver Sensitivity. System Nonlinearity. Receiver Dynamic Range. Receiver Selectivity. Receiver Frequency Response. Analysis of a CDMA Receiver Handset Receiver: Component Specification, Receiver Response.

RF Circuit Fundamentals - Review of Important Definitions: dB and dBm, Energy Storing and Energy Dissipation. Unloaded and Loaded Q-Factor. Resonant Q and its Effect on Bandwidth. Normalization. Basic Transmission Line Concepts. Traveling Waves and Power Flow. Reflection and Transmission Coefficients. Return Loss and Mismatch Loss. Power Transfer vs. Voltage- and Current-Gain Specifications. Two-Port Power-Gain Definitions. Single-Ended and Balanced Circuit Considerations. Grounding Issues.

CAD of Linear RF/MW Circuits - Frequency Domain Circuit Simulation and Optimization. Statistical Analysis, Design Centering and Yield Optimization. . Electromagnetic (EM) Simulation.

Scattering Parameters and the Smith Chart - Conventional Single-Ended S-Parameters. Network Analyzer: Magnitude and Vector Measurements. Large-Signal S-Parameters. Cascade (T-) S-Parameters and De-Embedding. Mixed Mode S-Parameters. The Smith Chart and its Applications. Lumped Element Manipulations. Transmission Line Element Manipulations. Constant Q-Circles. Negative Circuit Elements. Compressed Smith Chart. Impedance Transformations and Matching.

Passive Component Modeling - The Importance of Parasitics, Primary and Secondary Resonances. Lumped vs. Distributed Component Models. Capacitor, Inductor and Resistor Modeling. Ferrite Beads. Crystals and SAW Devices. Power Splitters and Hybrids, 90 Degree Phase Shifters. Single and Coupled Transmission Lines. Microstrip, Stripline. Test Fixtures and De-Embedding. Passive Component Libraries.

Impedance Matching - Conjugate Matching at RF. Parasitic Absorption. Analytical and Graphical Matching Techniques. Narrowband and Wideband Matching Networks. Lumped vs. Distributed Networks. Impedance Matching of Balanced (Differential) Circuits.

Lumped and Distributed Filters - Resonant Circuits. RF and Microwave Filters. Crystal and Dielectric Resonators. Frequency Response. Group Delay. Input/Output Impedances. Component Realizations. Layout and Tolerance Considerations

High-Speed Circuit Design Considerations.

An errata sheet is now available for this book. Updated February 7, 2006

Practical RF Circuit Design for Modern Wireless Systems
Volume II: Active Circuits

Summary:

The second of two authoritative, highly practical volumes, this hands-on resource covers active and nonlinear circuits, and introduces advanced topics in RF circuit and system design. The book opens with an overview of active RF devices and their modeling. It explores nonlinear circuit simulation techniques such as harmonic balance, and extensively illustrates the use of CAD tools in active circuit design throughout. This is a tested and insightful book that contains answers to most of the questions practical engineers are asking. In this thoroughly practical second volume, you learn the theory behind linear and low-noise RF amplifiers, high power RF transistor amplifiers, oscillators, mixers, and frequency multipliers, so you gain an intuitive understanding of their operation.

The final chapter presents the design of a radio chip set and pulls together the component aspects that are covered earlier in the book. This essential reference is lavishly illustrated with explanation of practical issues and supported with clear examples. This text is guaranteed to provide even the most experienced RF designer with fresh, intuitive insight into circuit operation, and will be as useful at universities as a course text on practical RF circuit design, as it will in industry as a training refresher.

This Book will be Featured in the Following Besser Courses:

• Applied RF Techniques I
• Applied RF Techniques II
• Advanced Wireless & Microwave Techniques
• Design and Simulation of Wireless Radio Systems

Contents:

Active RF Devices and Their Modeling - The Diode Model. Two Port Device Models. The Output Terminals of a Two-Port RF Device. The Bipolar Transistor. The Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (HBT). The MESFET. The High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT). Silicon LDMOS and CMOS technologies.

Nonlinear Circuit Simulation Techniques - Classification of Nonlinear Circuit Simulators. Analytical Methods. Time-Domain Methods. Hybrid Time and Frequency Domain Techniques-Harmonic Balance. Frequency Domain Techniques. The Harmonic Balance Method. Harmonic Balance Analysis of Oscillators.

Linear RF Amplifier Designs-General Considerations - Power Gain Definitions. Unilateral Gain Design Approach. Design for Arbitrary Gain. Constant gain Circles. Neutralization. RF Stability and Stabilization Techniques. Resistive and Complex Circuit Loading. Lossy and Lossless Feedback. Broadband Stabilization. RF Device Stabilization Example. Active and Passive DC Bias Circuits for Bipolar transistors and FETs. DC Bias Feedthrough Techniques. Practical Effects-Layout, Grounding, Coupling, Multilayer P.C. Boards.

Linear and Low-Noise RF Amplifiers - Bilateral Design Techniques. Transducer Gain Approach for Maximum Small-Signal Gain. Available Gain Technique for Minimum Noise. Operating Power Gain Approach for Maximum Linear Power. Simultaneous Conjugate Match. Cascaded RF Amplifiers. Linear Power Amplifier Stabilization Example. Low-Noise Amplifier (LNA) Examples. Single-Ended Design. Balanced Amplifier. Broadband Amplifiers (Reactive and Lossy Matching). Feedback Effects on Noise and Stability. Feedback Amplifier Design Example.

High Power RF Transistor Amplifier Designs - Nonlinear Concepts. Some Nonlinear Phenomena. Quasilinear Power Amplifier Design. The Amplifier Load Line. Load Pull Methods. Categories of Amplifiers. Class-A amplifier. Class-B Amplifier. Class-F Amplifier. Comparison of Class-A, Class-B, Class-F and Other Operational Modes. Switching-Mode Amplifiers. Cascaded Power Amplifier Design. Bias Considerations. Bias Changes at the Input. Bias Changes at the Output. Bias Considerations with Power Devices. Distortion Reduction. The Importance of Amplifier Linearity. Operating the Amplifier Backed-Off. Predistortion. Feedforward Cancellation. Device Modification. System Level Reduction of Distortion. Power Amplifier Design Example - Transistor Selection, Transistor Characterization, Matching the Input and Output of the Device, Harmonic Tuning.

Oscillators - Two-Port Oscillator Design Approach. Closed-Loop System Analysis of an Oscillator. Examples of Open Loop Oscillator Design. The One-Port Oscillator Design Approach. A Series Resonant Circuit as an Oscillator. The Negative Resistance Oscillator. Oscillator Start-Up-More Detailed Considerations. Characterization of the Oscillator Negative Impedance. Characterization of a One-Port Oscillator by its Q-Factors. Transistor Oscillator Configurations. The Colpitts Oscillator and its Variants. Oscillator Phase Noise. Oscillator Design Examples. 45.455 MHz Colpitts Crystal Oscillator Design. Design of a 3.7-4.2 GHz Voltage Controlled Oscillator.

Mixers and Frequency Multipliers - Diode Mixers and their Topologies. Single-Ended Mixer. Single-Balanced Mixer. Double-Balanced Mixer. The Image Problem in Mixers. Harmonic Components in Mixers. Transistor Mixer Design. Active Transistor Mixers. Resistive FET Mixers. Dual Gate FET Mixers. FET Frequency Multipliers.

Circuits in Systems-Radio System Applications - Mobile Systems. Second-Generation Mobile Systems. Third-Generation Mobile Systems. Software-Defined Radio. RF Digital Processing. Digital Processing of a Wideband IF. Digital Processing at Baseband. Transceiver Issues Associated with Software-Defined Radio. A 1.9 GHz Radio Chip Set: Design Overview, The Air Interface Specification for PHS, Component Specification, Component Design. Integrated System Chips: An Overview. RF Receiver Front-Ends. RF Upconverters and Transmitter Driver Amplifiers. Transceiver and Complete Radio Solutions. Power Amplifier Modules.

Conclusion.

An errata sheet is now available for this volume. Updated May 26, 2004