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Short Courses
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Sunday, 5 June 2011
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| 0800 | - | 1720 | SC-1: Techniques and Realizations of Microwave and RF Filters |
| Drawing from research work sponsored by the European Space Agency, French government agencies, and several international corporations, this course provides modern methods of design, synthesis, and realization for over 25 different types of microwave filters and multiplexers operating over a frequency range from 1 GHz to 35 GHz. Students will learn the fundamentals of filter design, as well as modern techniques for the synthesis and practical realization of an assortment of high performance minimum- and non-minimum-phase filters, dual- and triple-band filters, diplexers, and contiguous-band multiplexers. A variety of planar and non-planar technologies will be discussed, including suspended-substrate stripline, single- and multi-mode cavities, and evanescent-mode waveguide. Students of the course will be eligible for a significant discount from Wiley-IEEE on the purchase of the instructors’ recent book “Advanced Design Techniques and Realizations of Microwave and RF Filters,” on which this course is based. | |||
| The course starts with a concise recall of the fundamental principles that can be applied to the synthesis and design of microwave and RF filters. It then goes into the complete analysis, modeling, and design methodology for several microwave structures used for filtering. Summarized design steps and sample filter realizations as well as measured responses are provided so RF and microwave engineers can have an appreciation for each filter in view of their needs. This approach produces a coherent, practical and real-life treatment of the subject. The course is therefore theoretical but also experimental with over 20 microwave filter realizations. In addition, the complexity of the filters and design techniques increases as the course progresses so that students with various backgrounds can benefit from this short course. | |||
| 0800 | - | 1720 | SC-2: Nonlinear Dynamics and Stability Analysis/Design of Microwave Circuits |
| This course will help designers reconcile the discrepancies between simulations and measurements of nonlinear microwave circuits. These discrepancies often increase production cycles and final costs and can result in mission critical anomalies. In addition to studying nonlinear circuits, students will learn to distinguish between different types of steady-state solutions, identify instability problems through small- and large-signal stability analysis, and understand the dynamical mechanisms responsible for instabilities. Stability analysis techniques will be presented and compared. The course will center on the fundamental phenomenon of an abrupt change in the solution, termed a bifurcation, observed for a microwave circuit when a parameter, such as a bias voltage, is continuously modified. Types of bifurcations will be presented and classified, so that the designer may identify the bifurcation phenomena in measurement and simulation. Examples of instability will be presented for power amplifiers, frequency multipliers and dividers, and voltage-controlled oscillators. The stability analysis procedure, the impact of instability on measured performance, and techniques for stabilization will be demonstrated. | |||
| Lectures will be accompanied by hands-on simulation exercises in which stability analysis and control techniques will be demonstrated using commercial software, as well as by hardware demonstration using a spectrum analyzer. An important advantage of these techniques is that they can be readily implemented and applied by current users of commercial harmonic balance simulation tools. Specifically, these techniques can be used in a supplementary manner without requiring a customized program, only the evaluation of some functions extracted from the commercial simulation tool. The attendee will acquire the formal knowledge and set of systematic and practical techniques to develop robustly stable nonlinear designs. Students of the course will be eligible for a significant discount from Wiley-IEEE on the purchase of Prof. Suárez’s recent book “Analysis and Design of Autonomous Microwave Circuits,” on which this course is primarily based. | |||
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Monday, 6 June 2011
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| 0800 | - | 1200 | SC-3: Noise in Electromagnetic Circuits and Systems |
| There is a growing importance of comprehending the impact of electromagnetic noise and interference in the robust design of highly-integrated, mixed-signal electronics for modern computing, communication, and sensing systems. The objective of this course is to provide an understanding of basic theoretical concepts and of the application of modeling tools and measurement capabilities in the noise-aware design and integration of state-of-the-art electronic systems. In particular, students will gain a working knowledge of the modeling of radiated noise and electromagnetic interference of devices and systems using numerical and analytic network methods and network modeling tools. Theoretical concepts, measurement techniques, and applications (antennas and antenna systems, wireless communications, and general electronic systems) will be presented and numerical examples will be discussed. | |||
| 0800 | - | 1200 | SC-4: Low Phase Noise Oscillators: Theory and Design |
| This half-day course will present the theory, underlying principles, and latest techniques for the design of state-of-the-art low-noise oscillators. Detailed design discussions will cover oscillators with exceptional performance operating from 10MHz to 10GHz using using a variety of different resonators: LC, crystal, SAW, helical, printed-helical, coplanar, ceramic transmission line (CRO), and dielectric (DRO). Material new to this year’s course includes simplified accurate phase noise theory for negative resistance oscillators and a longer description of measurement systems and a cross correlation system with a noise floor below -200dBc. Students will be provided with a copy of the presentation and a disk containing the specific complete software required for simulation of the resonator (including parasitics) and simulation of phase noise. Students of the course will be eligible for a significant discount from Wiley on the purchase of Prof. Everard’s book “Fundamentals of RF Circuit Design: with Low Noise Oscillators,” on which much of this course is based. | |||
| 0800 | - | 1720 | SC-4A: Low Phase Noise Oscillators: Theory, Design, and Laboratory |
| This full-day theory and laboratory course was so popular in 2009 and 2010 that it is being offered this year with new material. In the morning the theory, underlying principles, and latest techniques for the design of state-of-the-art low-noise oscillators are presented. Five experiments using a battery-powered kit will apply the morning’s theory and techniques in the afternoon laboratory. The number of students is limited, so please register early. | |||
| Detailed design discussions will cover oscillators with exceptional performance operating from 10MHz to 10GHz using a variety of different resonators: LC, crystal, SAW, helical, printed-helical, coplanar, ceramic transmission line (CRO), and dielectric (DRO). Material new to this year’s course includes simplified accurate phase noise theory for negative resistance oscillators, new demonstrations of other types of oscillators using the laboratory kit including a phase-locked loop (PLL), and a longer description of measurement systems and a cross correlation system with a noise floor below -200dBc. Students will be provided with a copy of the presentation and a disk containing the specific complete software required for simulation of the resonator (including parasitics) and simulation of phase noise. Students will also be provided with a battery-powered lab kit enabling them to design, simulate, build, and measure 100MHz fixed-frequency and tunable-frequency low-noise oscillators. The lab kit includes a low noise regulator, a discrete transistor low residual flicker noise amplifier and a directional coupler to enable accurate measurement of the RF power in the oscillator and a biased potentiometer for the VCO. External connection of the lab kit to a PLL will be demonstrated and the phase noise inside and outside the PLL loop bandwidth will be shown. Students should bring a laptop computer (with a recent Java Runtime installed) to the afternoon lab class to do designs and simulations in class. Students will measure the performance of their designs using the latest equipment from Agilent, Rohde & Schwarz, and Symmetricom. Students of the course will be eligible for a significant discount from Wiley on the purchase of Prof. Everard’s book “Fundamentals of RF Circuit Design: with Low Noise Oscillators,” on which much of this course is based. | |||
| 0800 | - | 1720 | SC-5: Frequency Synthesizer Design Techniques |
| Technological achievements and manufacturing innovations during the last decade or so have led to the widespread use of low-cost, high-performance frequency synthesizers. The objective of this course is to provide a state of the art review of frequency synthesizer design with special reference to low noise techniques. Taught in a series of presentations by a team of industry experts, this hands-on course will provide a state-of-the-art review of frequency synthesizers and phase-locked loops from a design and development perspective. It is designed to be rigorous where appropriate, while remaining accessible to engineers without a specific background in frequency synthesizer design. Examples will be used to enhance understanding of frequency-synthesizer concepts, including real-time presentations of a variety of issues relevant to the design of frequency-synthesizer circuitry, and will be supported by live hardware and software demonstrations. Recent and emerging developments in frequency-synthesizer-related technologies will also be addressed. | |||
| The afternoon hands-on portion of the class will consist of three to four stations consisting of a spectrum analyzer, fully-assembled frequency-synthesizer demo boards and software from National Semiconductor, Peregrine Semiconductor, and Analog Devices, and a phase noise measurement utility from COMSTRON. Participants will characterize the synthesizer devices, measure and understand phase noise and spurious issues, measure the effects of reference quality on phase noise, and experience measurement capabilities and limitations. There will also be a live demonstration of how to calculate and optimize loop filter values for optimum performance. | |||
| 1320 | - | 1720 | SC-6: National and International Spectrum Regulation for Microwave Professionals |
| This half-day course will teach practicing microwave engineers and professionals how to anticipate spectrum-related issues early in the research and development cycle so they can be addressed in a timely way to allow new technology to reach market. Participants will be able to confidently design, implement, and purchase wireless microwave systems compliant with national and international spectrum policies. | |||
| Mr. Nelson Pollack retired from 35 years of federal service as the Technical Director of the Air Force Frequency Management Agency. He represented the US Air Force in many DoD, national, and international spectrum management technical and policy organizations. He was also a member of the US delegation to the 2003 World Radio Conference (WRC-03) and contributed to the DoD and US preparations for WRC-07. Currently, Mr. Pollack’s company, Spectrum Analytics, LLC, provides specialized spectrum regulatory and technical consulting services to Department of Defense agencies and the US defense industry. | |||
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