RF Communication

Circuit Design
Prof. Tzyy-Sheng Horng
E.E. Dept., National Sun Yat-Sen Univ.
Email: [email protected]
RF Communication
Circuit Design
Prof. Tzyy-Sheng Horng
E.E. Dept., National Sun Yat-Sen Univ.
Email: [email protected]
Syllabus
1. Introduction to Wireless Systems (1.5)
2. Transmission Lines and Microwave Networks (2)
3. Resonators and Impedance Matching (2.5)
4. Small-Signal Amplifiers (2)
5. Midterm (1)
6. Noise and Distortion in Microwave System (3)
7. Low Noise and Power Amplifiers (1.5)
8. Mixers (2.5)
9. Final (1)
Grading
Midterm 50%
Final 50%
Project/report (Bonus)
Prerequisite
Circuit Theory, Electronics, Electromagnetics
Microwave Engineering, Communication System
Textbooks
D.M. Pozar, Microwave Engineering, 2
nd
Ed., J ohn Wiley &
Sons, Inc. 1998. (02-23651662)
D.M. Pozar, Microwave and RF Design of Wireless Systems,
J ohn Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2000. (
04-22588787)
Chapter I
Introduction to Wireless
Systems
Outline
1. Wireless Systems
2. Design and Performance Issues
3. Wireless System Components
4. Cellular Telephone Systems and
Standards
1. Wireless Systems
Classification of Wireless Systems
Wireless System A system allows the communication of
information between two points without the use of a wired
connection.
Media include ultrasonic, infrared, optical, and radio-frequency
(RF)
difficult Moderate to
good
Moderate to
high
RF
easy good high Infrared and
optical
Difficult but
low velocity
poor low Ultrasonic
Propagation
being blocked
Immunity to
interference
Data rate Comparison
RF History
J .C. Maxwell (1831-1879) built up the EM theory.
H. Hertz (1857-1894) verified the EM propagation along wire
experimentally.
G. Marconi (1874-1937) invented the idea of wireless
communication and developed the first practical commercial
radio communication system.
E.H. Armstrong (1890-1954) invented superheterodyne
architecure and frequency modulation (FM).
Categorization of Wireless Systems
1. According to the nature and placement of users
Point-to-point: microwave link
Point-to-multipoint: AM and FM broadcast, TV broadcast,
paging, GPS, TVRO, VSAT, LMDS
Multipoint-to-multipoint: cellular, WLAN
2. According to directionality of communication
Simplex: Communication occurs in one direction, e.g. broadcast
radio and TV, paging, GPS, TVRO
Half-duplex: Communication occurs in two directions, but not
simultaneously, e.g. Walky Talky, Ham radio, Trunk radio
Full-duplex: Communication occurs in two directions
simultaneously, e.g. cellular, microwave link, LMDS, cellular,
WLAN, VSAT. It requires a duplexing technique to avoid
interference between transmitted and received signal, e.g. FDD,
TDD.
Major Worldwide Cellular and PCS Telephone Systems
1
st
generation: Analog modulation (FM), e.g. AMPS, NMT, NTT
2
nd
generation: Digital modulation but low data rate, e.g. PCS,
GSM, PDC.
3
rd
generation: Digital modulation with high date, e.g. WCDMA,
CDMA-2000.
Wireless System Frequencies
Major Worldwide Cellular and PCS Telephone Systems
Commercial Wireless Satellite Systems
Advantages over cellular systems: Capability to cover any
location on earth including oceans, deserts and mountains.
Disadvantages: It requires high-transmit power, high-gain
antenna, and line-of-sight path for mobile users because of
weak received-signal level.
GEO: Geosynchronous Earth Orbit, applications like VSATs.
LEO: Low Earth Orbit, applications like satellite telephones.
MEO: Medium Earth Orbit, applications like mobile
communications, GPS.
Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs)
WLANs provides connections between computers over short
distances.
Operating in the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) bands.
Examples like IEEE 802.11, HIPERLAN, and Bluetooth.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
RFID systems are used to examine personal ID information
wirelessly in inventory tracking, shipping, toll collection,
personal security access, etc.
Operating in the ISM band.
Comparison with barcode reader:
high long fast No influence No influence high RFID
low short low limited high low Barcode
cost Maximum
distance
Reading
speed
Influence of
direction
Influence of
dirt/covering
Data
density
parameters
2. Design and Performance Issue
Choice of Operating Frequency
Availability of spectrum
Noise (1) increases sharply at frequencies below 100 MHz due
to lightning, ionospheric ducting, engine ignition, EMI from
consumer electrical equipments, etc, and (2) increases steadily
at frequencies above 10 GHz due to thermal noise of the
atmosphere and interstellar radiation.
Antenna gain increases with frequency for a fixed antenna
size.
Bandwidth: High data rate requires a correspondingly high RF
bandwidth, which is easier to obtain at high frequencies than at
low frequencies.
Cost: Operation at high frequencies requires higher cost
because (1) the gain and efficiency of RF transistors decrease
with frequency and (2) component cost increases with
frequency.
Propagation characterisitics: At lower frequencies, signals have
lower path loss and can more easily pass through or around
obstructions than at higher frequencies.
Multiple Access and Duplexing
Multiple access methods - include FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, etc,
and are used to accommodate as many simultaneous users as
possible.
Duplexing: FDD provides more isolation between transmitter
and receiver than TDD. FDD with half-duplex can achieve better
isolation than FDD with full-duplex.
Circuit Switching versus Packet Switching
Circuit switching networks - are used often in hardwired and
wireless telephone systems that provide a direct physical circuit
between the communication parties for the duration of call.
Packet switching networks are used often in internet and data
communication systems that divide messages and data into
packets of fixed length and can provide multiple paths to send
these packets between any two points in the network.
Circuit switching networks have better QoS but lower efficiency
in comparison with packet switching networks.
Propagation
Multiple-path reflection can cause rapid variations in the
amplitude of the received signal over relatively short distances
or time intervals. These effects are referred to as fading.
Many of the most sophisticated techniques used in wireless
communications have been developed primarily to alleviate the
fading effects. These include spread spectrum techniques, the
use of antenna diversity, sophisticated modulation methods, and
error-correcting codes, etc.
Radiated Power and Safety
The human body absorbs RF and microwave energy and
converts it to heat. Such heating is most dangerous in the brain,
eyes, genitals, and stomach organs.
The recommended safe power density limit is lower at lower
frequencies because EM fields penetrate the human body more
easily at lower frequencies than at higher frequencies.
The recommended safe power density limit is higher at higher
frequencies because most of the power absorption at high
frequencies tends to occur near the skin surface.
The sun radiates a power density as high as 100 mW/cm
2
on a
clear day.
IEEE Standard C95.1
3. Wireless System Components
Commonly Used Symbols of RF Components
Block Diagram of a Basic Radio System
This architecture was first called superheterodyne and patented
in 1917 by Armstrong.
Transmitter
Receiver
Antennas
Important characteristics include operating frequency, size,
and gain.
) , (
4
) , (
2

e D
A G =
Low-gain antennas: Examples include dipoles, monopoles, and
whip antennas. Their radiation patterns are nearly omni-
directional.
High-gain antennas: Examples include reflector antennas
(parabolic disk) and patch arrays. Their radiation patterns are
highly directional.
Smart antennas: Examples include phased arrays and adaptive
arrays. Their main beams of radiation patterns can be changed
electronically.
Filters
Important parameters include cut-off frequency, insertion loss,
out-of-band attenuation rate (skirt factor).
Low integrability with IC: For example, in a GSM RF module the
band-select, image-reject, and channel-select filters are usually
off-chip components.
Band-select
filter
Image-reject
filter
Channel-select
filter
GSM 900 MHz Receiver
GSM 900 MHz Transmitter
Dielectric Resonator (DR) band-pass filters are dominant in
use at RF and microwave frequencies for selecting the receive
or transmit frequency range. They have features of moderately
sharp cut-off (high Q), low insertion loss, and small size.
Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) band-pass filters are dominant
in use at intermediate frequency (IF) for selecting the channel
frequency range. They have features of extremely sharp cut-off
but high insertion loss.
Waveguide resonator band-pass filters are dominant in use at
millimeter-wave frequencies. They have features of sharp cut-
off and extremely low insertion loss but relatively large size and
high cost.
Amplifiers
Three main categories: Low-noise amplifiers, power amplifiers,
and high-gain amplifiers.
Important parameters include power gain, noise figure,
intercept points, low dc supply voltage and power consumption.
Advanced semiconductor technologies for RF amplifiers include
Si, GaAs, and SiGe.
Mixers
A mixer is a three-port component that performs frequency
conversion to ideally form the sum and difference frequencies
from two sinusoidal inputs.
Two main categories: Passive (diode) mixers and active
(transistor) mixers
Important parameters include conversion loss/gain, noise
figure, intercept points, port-to-port isolation, low dc supply
voltage and power consumption.
Oscillators
An oscillator is constructed by active component (transistor) to
provide the power of oscillation and passive component
(resonator) to select the frequency of oscillation.
Choice of resonator includes LC tank and crystal.
Frequency synthesizers (Phase locked loops, PLLs) can provide
output frequencies that are tunable with very high accuracy and
are dominant for use in the local oscillators (LO) in modern
wireless systems.
Important parameters of frequency synthesizers (PLLs)
include frequency tuning range, frequency switching time,
frequency resolution, phase noise, cost, low dc supply voltage
and power consumption.
Very narrow tuning range Very accurate and stable
output frequencies
Crystal
Output frequencies are very susceptible
to variations in temperature, supply
voltage, and load impedance.
Wide tuning range LC tank
Disadvantages Advantages Resonator
Baseband Processing
1
Tx ALC
Tx Shaping
Filter
Framer
(Preamble,
CRC)
Deframer
(CRC-
Detect)
Spreader
Despreader
Equalizer
(DFE)
DAC
ADC
Timing /
Carrier Recovery
Digital PLL
IF
DAC
RF
DAC
RF_AGC
IF_AGC
Rx_I/Q
Tx_I/Q
Tx-Section
Rx-Section
TxD
Tx_RDY
TxCLK
MMI (SDI, SD, SCLK, R/W, CS)
Tx-DAC
Tx-ADC
Tx_AGC_IN
Tx_IF_AGC
Tx_PE
ANTSELB
CCA
RxD
RxCLK
MD_RDY
Carrier Detect/
AGC
Baseband
filter
Control &
Status Reg.
M
A
C
R
F
/
I
F

F
r
o
n
t
-
e
n
d
Timing
Generator
State
Machine
MCLK, PM, RX_PE, RESET
CNTL/Test-Section
ANTSEL
Test
Port
Test 0~7
Preamble
Detector
RSSI
WLAN (IEEE 802.11b) baseband processor
4. Cellular Telephone Systems and Standards
Layout of Hexagonal Cell Areas
Frequency reuse
Handoff
The Connection of a Cellular Telephone System
PSTN
Block Diagram of an AMPS Mobile Telephone System
Block Diagram of an IS-55 Mobile Telephone System
IS-55 is a dual mode system to accommodate AMPS and IS-54.
869~894
MHz
88 MHz
450 KHz
869~894
MHz
824~849
MHz
IQ Demod
FM Demod
450
KHz
824~
849
MHz
FM Mod
IQ Mod
PLLs
132
MHz
VCXO 14.4 MHz
International Digital PCS System Standards at 900 MHz
Interim Standard (IS) are communication standards that have been
agreed upon by members of the Telecommunications Industry
Association (TIA).
Bibliography
D.M. Pozar, Microwave and RF Design of Wireless Systems, Ch. 1