_______________________                                                                                                                     
     ECE 549 RF Design for Wireless
 

The design of the hardware aspects of wireless systems will be discussed with principal emphasis on the design of radio frequency (RF) and microwave circuitry. System concepts will first be introduced and then functional block design of a wireless system. Topics include RF and microwave transistors, noise, power amplifiers, CAE, linearization, and antennas. 3 credit hours

  
     

Prerequisite
  

Undergraduate course in electromagnetic fields and electronic circuits or consent of instructor.

 
Course Objectives  

To introduce students to wireless radio frequency circuit and system design. The course complements courses dealing with the communication theoretic aspects of wireless communications. The course will establish a broad understanding of RF and microwave circuit and system design in this highly employable field.

 
Course Outline  

This course covers radio frequency and microwave frequency circuit and system design as it pertains to wireless communications. The course serves as an introduction to wireless communications systems but more significantly as an introduction to radio frequency and microwave design of wireless phones and wireless local area networks.

  • Introduction
  • Wireless Systems
  • Passive Circuits
  • Measurements
  • Filters
  • Noise
  • Low Noise High Efficiency Amplifier Design
  • Mixers
  • Power Amplifier Design
  • Frequency Synthesis
  • Propagation Loss and Multi-Path Effects
  • RF Health Issues
  • Advanced Concepts (Linearization)

 
Course Requirements  

HOMEWORK: Twelve (12) assignments (15%)

EXAMINATIONS: Midterm and final exams

IMPORTANT NOTE: The course offered this summer was recorded during the 15-week semester at NC State University. The summer session, however, is 10 weeks in duration. Therefore, students will need to cover the course material at a considerably faster pace than during the regular semester. All course requirements must be completed during the 10-week summer session. This should be a consideration before registering for the course.

 
Textbook  

None

 
Computer and Internet Requirements  

NCSU has recommended minimum specifications for computers that are generally used for courses. Those specifications can be found here: http://www.ncsu.edu/it/compspecs/

Engineering Online recommends that your computer meets or exceeds the following minimum specifications below. A computer with greater capability (processor speed, RAM, internet bandwidth, disk capacity) will be more likely to properly display the video content of Engineering Online courses.

Windows:

  • Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 2003, or Windows Vista
  • Intel-compatible 1 GHz processor
  • 512 MB RAM
  • 60 GB hard drive with 1 GB free space available
  • Video display at 1024 x 768 or greater
  • Sound output and speakers
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 or later, Firefox 2.0 or later, or Google Chrome 1.0
  • Windows Media Player 9.0 or later
  • Real One Player Basic (required for certain courses)
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader
  • Broadband Internet connection (256 Kbps or more)

Mac OS X:

  • Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later
  • G4 processor
  • 512 MB RAM
  • 60 GB hard drive with 1 GB free space available
  • Video display at 1024 x 768 or greater
  • Sound output and speakers
  • Safari 2.0.4 (or later) or Firefox 2.0 (or later)
  • Silverlight  (viewers may be prompted to install this when first viewing a presentation)
  • Real One Player Basic (required for certain courses)
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader
  • Broadband Internet connection (256 Kbps or more)
  • NOTE:  The Flip4Mac plug-in causes problems when viewing Mediasite presentations and should be disabled.

Linux:

  • Playback of Mediasite presentations on Linux is accomplished via the Moonlight Project, an open source implementation of Microsoft Silverlight. For more installation on the installation and configuration of Moonlight, please visit http://www.go-mono.com/moonlight/. The compatible operating systems and browsers are listed on this page.
  • Microsoft Media Pack for Moonlight
  • Adobe Reader for Unix
  • Broadband Internet connection (256 Kbps or more)

 
Instructor  

Dr. Michael B. Steer, Professor
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Monteith Engineering Res.Ctr 435, Box 7911
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7911

Phone: (919) 515-5191
Fax: (919) 515-2285
E-mail: mbs@ncsu.edu
Instructor Website: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~mbs