Introduction

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EE523 Microwave Circuit Design

Microwave Circuits are composed of distributed elements with dimensions such that the voltage and phase over the length of the device can vary significantly. By modifying the lengths and dimensions of the device, the line voltage (and current) amplitude and phase can be effectively controlled in a manner to obtain a specifically desired frequency response of the device. Microwave Circuits are used to design microwave amplifiers, oscillators, filters, power dividers/combiners, multiplexers, antennas and mixers. The necessary tools for the analysis and design of microwave circuit devices require an understanding of: transmission lines, two-port networks (Z, Y, ABCD Parameters), network theory (S-parameters), impedance matching, and filter design. Much of the course will develop a deeper understanding of these fields while integrating specific applications of microwave circuit design.

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Microwave circuits find their use in a plethora of applications, including: 1) Wireless Communications (cellular, PCS) 2) Wireless Networking 3) Digital Communications (Ground-Ground, SatelliteGround, Satellite-Satellite)

4) Radar Systems (ground based, airborne, personal vehicles) Target detection and identification, imaging (e.g., SAR) 5) Deep Space Communications

6) Medical Imaging and treatment 7) Radio Spectrometry

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What is the Microwave Circuit Designers Duty for Wireless Systems? Designing filters, mixers, amplifiers, oscillators, matching networks, packaging, and system level design of the Analog and Digital Systems Designing the antennas and matching networks Propagation Affects (multipath, signal diversity) What are the principal future challenges? Miniaturized and low cost microwave circuitry (applies to cellular, PCS, GPS, on-board radar). Direct hand held unit communication with low earth orbit and mid earth orbit satellites Direct high-speed digital communication with low earth orbit and mid earth orbit with portable computers. Miniature high-power amplifiers with low signal to noise ratios, miniature high-Q filters, novel printed antennas, new packaging technology for combining RF and digital circuitry, reducing parasitics, improved modeling and analysis capabilities

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EE523 Outline
In this course we will: 1) Review Transmission-line theory and analysis 2) Study waveguies typically used in microwave circuit design 3) Study network theory of circuits and transmission lines (Z,Y, ABCD, and S-Parameters) 4) Study Network Analysis (signal flow graphs) 5) Design and Analyze Matching Networks using transmission line analysis 6) Design and Analyze power dividers, combiners, and directional couplers 7) Design and analyze passive microwave filters (maximally flat, equiripple) using the image parameter method and the insertion loss method. 8) Transform filter designs into actual waveguide circuits using the Richards transformation and the Kuroda identities. 9) Study the design of microwave amplifiers and oscillators