MICROWAVE ENGINEERING

AND DEVICES

DR. P MANYERE
COURSE OUTLINE
• 1. Introduction
• Brief history of use of microwaves
• The microwave spectrum economic value
• Importance of microwaves
• Microwave systems
• 2.Passive microwave components
• General properties
• Reciprocity and Non-reciprocity
• Attenuators
• Isolation
• Losses
• Noise
• Power
• Transmission lines
• Wave guides
• Directional couplers
• T-Junctions
• 3. Solid state devices
• BJTs
• FETs
• Gunn Devices
• IMPATTs (impact avalanche and transit time)
• BARITT (barrier injection transit time)
• Tunnel diodes
• PIN diodes
• Varactor diodes etc.
• 4. Microwave Tubes
• TWT
• Magnetron
• Klystron
• 5. Control and Modulation
• Schottky diode
• PIN dIodes
• 6. Microwave systems
• Satellite
• Terrestrial system (ground based)
• Microwave relay
• Radar
• Methods:
• (i) Lectures (50 hrs)
• (ii) Laboratories (12 hrs)
• (iii) Tutorials (10 hrs)

• Student Assessment:
• (i) 3 x Coursework Tests 15%
• (ii) 3 x laboratory practical 8%
• (iii) 3 x Assignments 2%
• (iv) Final Examination 75%
CHAPT 1: INTRODUCTION

Introduction
•Microwaves are the key to present day communication and defence systems.
Objectives:
To acquaint students with thorough knowledge and understanding of the
following:
a.History of microwaves
b.Electromagnetic spectrum
c.Economic significance of microwave equipment
d.Microwave systems
CHAPT 1: INTRODUCTION

• 1. History of microwaves: Microwaves and

their applications have their origin from the 2nd
World War and the Cold War.
• The radar was developed to detect:
• approaching enemy ships
• enemy aircraft
• Accelerated the development and application of
microwaves.
• The microwave spectrum ranges between 1 GHz
and 300 GHz (30cm to 1mm wavelengths).
2. Characteristics of Microwaves: Microwaves are
characterized by the following:
• a. The need to design systems operating at 0.3GHz to
300GHz.
• b. Circuit dimensions are ≈ (1m to 1mm).
• c. Involve the use of applied electromagnetics (Complex
mathematics).
• d. Involve high frequency concepts.
THE FREQUENCY SPECTRUM

Frequency Designation Use/Application

3-30KHz VLF Sonar Navigation
30-300KHz LF Radio Beacons
300KHz-3MHz MF Direction Finding
3MHz-30MHz HF Short wave radio
3. The frequency spectrum and its uses are as illustrated in table
30MHz-300MHz VHF TV, FM Radio
below:
300MHZ-3GHz UHF(Ultra-high frequency) TV, Satellite, Radar
3GHz-30GHz SHF(Super high frequency) Airborne radar,
microwave links, Cellular.
30GHz-300GHz EHF(Extremely-high LANS (Local Area Network
frequency) Systems)
THE MICROWAVE SPECTRUM AND BAND
DESIGNATION

The microwave spectrum can be split into different band

designations:

Frequency Designation
0.03-1 GHz C [VHF]
1-2 GHz D[L]
3-4 GHz E [S]
4-6 GHz F[S]
6-8 GHz G[C]
8-10 GHz H [C]
10-12 GHz I [X]
12-18GHz J [X]
18-20 GHz J [Ku]
20-27GHz K [K]
27-40 GHz K[Ka]
40 GHz Millimetre waves
NEED FOR MICROWAVE

Military
• In military, microwaves are the mainstay of defence
structures.
• Tanks, planes, ships, smart weapons (IBMs), satellite etc
use microwaves
• for communications,
• missile guidance,
• telemetry,
• radar,
• electronic countermeasures (jammers),
• among other uses.
Commercial
• Towards the end of the Cold War, research on microwaves
intensified and they found application in civilian use
(commercial and consumer applications).
• Some of the commercial uses of microwave application
include the following:
• Communications -cellular
• Satellite
• Digital Microwave Radio
• Personal communications
• GPS
 
• Radar:
• Velocity and Range measurement
• Airport traffic control
• medical/imaging radar and ATR.

• Microwave heating :
• Industrial
• home (ovens)
  Power Amplifiers
• Solid state
• Tubes
Problems Associated with Microwaves

• These include the following:

• Circuit element dimensions ≅ λ (precision in design).
• Difficulty in measuring associated voltage and
current (E and H).
• Lead inductance eg. A piece of wire whose diameter
∅=1mm and length L=1cm will have an inductance
of 7nH. This means that the reactance XL=ωL=22Ω
(for 500MHz).
• There is need to use microwave strip lines and wave
guides other than ordinary conductors.
ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF MICROWAVE
EQUIPMENT

• Microwave equipment plays a vital role in economy.

• Main market areas for microwave technology are:
• Communications (Cellular, satellite, digital microwave radios,
personal communications etc)
• Consumer (security, heating, cellular communications,
medical).
• Radar systems (velocity measurement, ATC, Automatic Target
Recognition radar).
• Military (Electronic warfare, radar, guidance systems, stealth
weapons, electronic countermeasure systems eg. Jammers etc).
• GPS in automobile tracking, Mobile phone tracking, airplanes
etc
Microwave Systems
• All systems that use microwave frequencies are referred
to as Microwave Systems.
• Microwaves range from as long as one meter to as short
as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies
between 300 MHz (0.3 GHz and 300 GHz.
• This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF
(millimeter waves) and various sources use different
boundaries.
• In all cases, microwave includes the entire SHF band (3
to 30 GHz
• RF Engineering often puts the lower boundary at 1 GHz
(30 cm), and the upper around 100 GHz (3 mm).
• Examples of microwave systems include:
• Satellite communication systems
• Wireless systems,
• Navigation and maritime systems.
• Meteorological systems
• TV& broadcast
• National defense systems (Radars, missile
guidance systems, reconnaissance systems etc)
• Distance Learning
Conclusion
In this section of chapter 1, the history of the microwaves,
the microwave spectrum and the need for microwaves was
discussed. The economic significance of microwave
equipment was outlined as well as microwave systems.
PASSIVE MICROWAVE COMPONENTS

Introduction
•Passive microwave components/devices are those devices/components used
in microwave systems but are not used to amplify microwave signals.
•Such devices are only used for detection, routing, modulation, mixing, or
controlling microwave signals.

Objectives:
•At the end of this discussion, students will have an understanding of the
following:
•a. Examples of passive components
•b. General properties of passive microwave components
•c. Microwave frequency, power and noise measurements
•d. A typical Lab set-up
•e. Sources of noise in microwave circuits
•f. The Friis formula for noise factor.
• Examples of Passive components:
• P-N junctions,
• PIN junctions,
• varactor diodes,
• microwave waveguides,
• microwave antennae,
• microwave measuring instruments,
• isolators,
• circulators,
• filters, etc.
General Properties of Passive Microwave Devices

• a. Reciprocity
• Passive microwave components can
behave in the same way when they are
connected in a circuit either way. If the
scattering matrix of a component is
symmetrical, (i.e. S12  S21 ) it is a reciprocal
devices/component.
• The following is true for any travelling wave that
originates at the source:
• 1. A portion of the wave from a source and incident wave
upon the two port device (a1) will be reflected (b1) and
another portion will be transmitted through the two-port
device.

• 2. A fraction of the transmitted signal is then reflected

from the load and becomes incident upon the output of
the two-port device (a2).

• 3. A portion of a signal (a2) is then reflected from the

output port back toward the load (b2), while a fraction is
transmitted through the two-port device back to the
source.
• In summary, any travelling wave is made up of two
components (Incident and reflected). For example, the output
of the two-port device to the load consists of the portion that
is reflected from the output of the two-port device (a2) and the
portion that is transmitted through the two-port device (a1).
• Similarly, the total wave flowing from the input of the two-
port device toward the source consists of the portion that is
reflected from the input port (a1) and the fraction of (a2) that
is transmitted through the two-port device.
Example of a 2-port device
Zo Zo

Zs ZL
• These observations can be illustrated in equation form
as:
• b1 = S11a1 + S12a2 and b2 = S21a1 + S22a2
• where,
• S11 - the input reflection coefficient
• S12 - the reverse transmission coefficient (reverse gain
or loss)
• S21 - the forward transmission coefficient (forward
gain)
• S22 - the output reflection coefficient
• S11 = b1/a1 when a2= 0 or ZL=Zo (matched system).
• This is an input reflection coefficient. S11 is equal to the
ratio of a reflected wave and an incident wave with
ZL=Zo. Thus, S11 can be plotted on a Smith chart and
the input impedance of the two-port device can be
found immediately.
 
• Similarly, S22 = b2/a2 for a1 = 0 or Zs = Zo.
• This is an output reflection coefficient that can be
plotted on a Smith chart and the output impedance of
the two-port device can be found immediately.
• The other two S parameters are found as follows:
• S21 = b2/a1 for a2 = 0 or ZL=Zo
• S12 = b1/a2 for a1 = 0 or Zs = Zo
• Notice that in order to measure the individual
S parameters, a1 and a2 must be set to zero.
This is easily done by terminating a network
(source and load) or forcing Zs and ZL to be
equal to the characteristic impedance of the
measuring system, thus eliminating all
reflections from the termination.
• S-parameters are expressed in Re/Im,
Mag/Phase or dBMag/Phase.
• Note that dBMag is calculated as 20log 10√(R²
+X²) for all s-parameters.
• NB. When S is symmetrical, the
component is Reciprocal.
• Examples of reciprocal components
are a section of a waveguide, a filter,
a transmission line etc.
b. Non-Reciprocal Components
• When the scattering matrix of the device is
asymmetrical, the microwave component is
said to be non-reciprocal (S12 ≠S21).
• It means that the device cannot have its
terminals interchanged and obtain the same
characteristic behavior. An example of a non-
reciprocal device is a P-N junction or diode.
c.Insertion Loss
• A component or device placed in a circuit may
introduce some power loss as part of the
energy will be dissipated in the component and
will not get to the load. This loss associated
with the component that has been inserted in a
circuit is referred to as the insertion loss.
• However, it should be noted that there are
some components which may be lossless eg.
some sections of transmission lines.
• The signal loss within a matched circuit, is
usually expressed in decibels as the ratio of
input power to output power and is called
insertion loss.
• Insertion loss is given as:  V1   I1 
Insertion _ loss  20 log   dB  20 log   dB
 V2   I2 
d. Return Loss
• A return circuit is a circuit through which current returns to a
generator or source.
• A loss caused by energy being dissipated in this return circuit is
called return loss.
• Return loss is another important measure of connector quality.
• Poor connection will normally contribute to higher return
losses.
• Connector return loss in a single-mode link, for example, can
diffuse back into the laser cavity (oscillator), degrading its
stability.
• In a multi-mode link, return loss can cause extraneous signals,
reducing overall performance.
e. Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR)
•  In a standing-wave system, the ratio of the
maximum voltage to the minimum voltage is
called the voltage standing wave ratio.
• Standing waves are an indication of poor
matching and energy reflection at the load.
• Proper matching allows maximum power to
be dissipated in the load.
f. Isolation
• Passive components can be used as isolators
to separate or isolate other circuit
components in a system.
• Simple radar that uses one antenna for both
transmission and reception would definitely
need an isolator or circulator to separate the
two and enable the antenna to do both
transmission and reception of pulses.
• The circulator acts as a switch.
g. Frequency, Power, and Noise measurement
• Most passive devices and components are used to measure
microwave frequency, microwave power and signal noise.

• (1)   Microwave frequency measurement

• Microwave frequency can be measured by either
electronic or mechanical techniques.
• Frequency counters or high frequency heterodyne
systems can be used.
• Here the unknown frequency is compared with harmonics
of a known lower frequency by use of a low frequency
generator, a harmonic generator and a mixer.
• Accuracy of the measurement is limited by the accuracy
and stability of the reference source.
• Mechanical methods require a tunable resonator
such as an absorption wave-meter which has a
known relationship between the physical dimension
of the resonator and frequency.
• In a laboratory setting, Lecher lines can be used to
directly measure the wavelength on a transmission
line made of parallel wires, the frequency can then
be calculated.
• Another similar technique is to use a slotted
waveguide or slotted coaxial line to directly
measure the wavelength.
• These devices consist of a probe introduced into
the line through a longitudinal slot, so that the
probe is free to travel up and down the line.
• Slotted lines are primarily intended for
measurement of the voltage standing wave ratio
on the line.
• However, provided a standing wave is present,
they may also be used to measure the distance
between the nodes, which is equal to half the
wavelength.
• Precision of this method is limited by the
determination of the nodal locations.
Typical Lab Setup for microwave
measurement
2. Microwave Power Measurement
• Load-Pull Techniques. The conventional and
active load-pull techniques have the same
concept of operation. They provide
information for the source and load reflection
coefficients as a function of output power and
gain.
 
• Figure below illustrates the basic concept of
the load-pull techniques
Two-port load-pull measurement system for microwave
power

Meter A Meter B

Signal Input Tuner Directional Coupler

Generator
Transistor under Test

Load Output Tuner Directional Coupler

Meter C
• It can be realized that the components in the setup in diagram
above, are passive except the transistor under test.
• The transistor under test is placed in a measuring setup where
the dc bias and ac input signal are fixed.
• The output tuner is adjusted until the power meter C
measures a given power level and the input tuner is adjusted
for zero reflected power (read at power meter B).
• The power meter A reads the incident power, and the power
gain can be obtained
• From this information gain, power added efficiency (PAE),
and output power contours can be generated and drawn in
the Smith chart as function of the output load.
ALTERNATIVE SETUP FOR POWER MEASUREMENT
Solid state Microwave Passive Devices

a.PIN Diode
• A PIN (p-type/intrinsic/n-type) diode is a pn diode that has
an undoped (intrinsic) region between the p- and n-type
regions.
• The use of an intrinsic region in PIN diodes allows for high-
power operation and offers an impedance at microwave
frequencies that is controllable by a lower frequency or a
direct-current (DC) bias.
• The PIN diode is one of the most common passive diodes
used at microwave frequencies.
• PIN diodes are used to switch lengths of
transmission line, each capable of carrying
kilowatts of peak power.
• PIN diodes come in a variety of packages for
microstrip and stripline packages, and are used as
microwave :
• switches,
• modulators,
• attenuators,
• limiters,
• phase shifters,
• protectors,
• other signal control circuit elements.
• H/W Q1. a. Draw equivalent circuits of a PIN
diode when forward biased and when reverse
biased.
b. Deduce the expression for resistance
of the intrinsic region and lower cut-off
frequency when PIN is reverse biased.
c. Deduce expression for capacitance of
reverse biased PIN at high RF.
• b. Schottky barrier diode
• A Schottky barrier diode (SBD) consists of a rectifying
metal-semiconductor barrier formed by deposition of a
metal layer on a semiconductor.
• The SBD functions in a similar manner to the old point
contact diode and the slower-response pn-junction diode.
• SBD is used for signal mixing and detection.
• The point contact diode consists of a metal whisker in
contact with a semiconductor, forming a rectifying
junction.
•
• The SBD is more stronger and reliable than the point contact diode.
• The SBD's main advantage over pn diodes is the absence of minority
carriers, which limit the response speed in switching applications and
the high-frequency performance in mixing and detection applications.
• SBDs are zero-bias detectors.

• Frequencies to 40 GHz are available with silicon SBDs, and GaAs SBDs
are used for higher-frequency applications.
c. Variable-Reactance (varactor) Diode
• The variable-reactance (varactor) diode
makes use of the change in capacitance of a
pn junction or Schottky barrier diode, and is
designed to be highly dependent on the
applied reverse bias.
• The capacitance change results from a
widening of the depletion layer as the reverse-
bias voltage is increased.
• As variable capacitors, varactor diodes are
used in tuned circuits and in voltage-
controlled oscillators.
• For higher-frequency microwave applications,
silicon varactors have been replaced with
GaAs.
• Typical applications of varactor diodes are
harmonic generation, frequency
multiplication, parametric amplification, and
electronic tuning.
• Multipliers are used in local oscillators, low-
power transmitters, or transmitter drivers in
radar, telemetry, telecommunication, and
instrumentation.
2. Noise Measurement
• In microwave electrical circuits there are 5
common noise sources:
• Shot noise
• Thermal noise
• Flicker noise
• Burst noise
• Avalanche noise
(1) Shot Noise
• Shot noise is always associated with current flow.
• Shot noise results whenever charges cross a potential barrier, like a
pn junction.
• Crossing the potential barrier is a purely random event.
• Thus the instantaneous current, i , is composed of a large number of
random, independent current pulses with an average value, iD .
• Shot noise is generally specified in terms of its mean-square
variation about the average value i.


in2  (i  i
D ) 2   2qiD .df

• This
1.62 is
10written
19
C as where q is the electron charge
( ) and dƒ is differential frequency.

• Shot noise is spectrally flat or has a uniform power density, meaning

that when plotted versus frequency, it has a constant value.
• Shot noise is independent of temperature. The term qiDis a current
power density having units .A / Hz 2
(2) Thermal Noise
• Thermal noise is caused by the thermal agitation of charge carriers
(electrons or holes) in a conductor.

• This noise is present in all passive resistive elements.

• Like shot noise, thermal noise is spectrally flat or has a uniform

power density, but thermal noise is independent of current flow.
 
• Thermal noise in a conductor can be modeled as voltage or current.
• When modeled as a voltage, it is placed in series with an otherwise
noiseless resistor.
• When modeled as a current it is placed in parallel with an otherwise
noiseless resistor.

•

4kT 
The average mean-square value of thei 2voltage

R
.dfnoise source or.df  kTB  S N 
e2   4kTR
current noise source is calculated by: or
in
• where k is Boltzmann’s constant ( J/K),
1.38 1023
T is absolute temperature in Kelvin (K), R is
the resistance of the conductor in ohms (Ω), B
is the receiver system bandwidth,  S N  is the
in

input signal-to-noise ratio power and df is

differential frequency (frequency variation).
• The terms 4kTR and 4kT/R are voltage and
current power densities having units of V / Hz 2

and A / Hz .
2
(3) Flicker Noise
• Flicker noise is also called 1/f noise.
• It is present in all active devices and has
various origins.
• Flicker noise is always associated with a dc
current, and its average mean-square value is
of the form:
 

e   ( K / f ).df
2 2
e or i 2   K / f .df
i
2

where K and K are the appropriate device

e i

constants (in volts or amps), f is frequency,

and df is differential frequency.
• Since flicker noise is proportional to the dc
current in the device, if the current is kept
low enough, thermal noise will
predominate and the type of resistor used
will not change the noise in the circuit.
• The terms Ke

f
and K
f
iare voltage and current
power densities having units of V / Hz and A / Hz
2 2

.
(4) Burst Noise
• Burst noise, is also called popcorn noise.
• It appears to be related to imperfections in
semiconductor material and heavy ion
implants.
• Burst noise makes a popping sound at rates
below 100 Hz when played through a speaker.
• Low burst noise is achieved by using clean
device processing.
(5) Avalanche Noise
• Avalanche noise is created when a pn junction
is operated in the reverse breakdown mode.
• Under the influence of a strong reverse
electric field within the junction’s depletion
region, electrons have enough kinetic energy
that, when they collide with the atoms of the
crystal lattice, additional electron-hole pairs
are formed.
• These collisions are purely random and
produce random current pulses similar to shot
noise, but much more intense.
Adding Noise Sources

• With multiple noise sources in a circuit, the

signals must be combined properly to obtain
the overall noise signal.
• Consider an example of two resistors, R1 and
R2, connected in series.
• Each resistor has a noise generator associated
with it.
 

• Thus e12   4kTR .df

1
2
and
2 e 2   4kTR .df
.
• To find the average mean square of the total
noise, it is derived from:   

E
t
2
 e
1
2
e
2
2

• As long as the noise sources arise from

separate mechanisms and are independent,
which is usually the case, the average mean
square value of a sum of separate
independent noise sources is the sum of the
individual average mean square values.

• Thus in our example:
Et2   4kTR1 .df   4kTR2 .df   4kT ( R1  R2 ).df
which is what would be
expected.
• This is derived using voltage sources, but also
is true for current sources.
• The same result can be shown to be true when
considering two independent sine wave
sources.
• The rms value of the total average mean
square noise values will then be given by:
.
   
2 2 2
E  E  E  ...  E rms 1 2 n
• NB. This total rms value of the noise is used
to determine the total system noise figure
and the measurement of noise can be
made easy by determining the signal noise
figure.
Measurement of Noise Parameters
• While S-parameters completely define the
stability, gain and power matching conditions
of a linear two port network, they are not
sufficient to describe the noise behavior of a
noisy, linear, two port network such as a small
signal transistor.
• Another set of parameters, namely noise
parameters, are required in addition to S-
parameters to describe the noisy linear two
port device.
• The noise figure of a linear two port network is
determined as a function of source admittance
and from the relationship, various noise
parameters can be determined as illustrated in
diagram on next slide.
Typical noise figure setup block diagram to obtain
noise parameters

VSWR CRYSTAL
METER DETECTOR
SIGNAL
GENERATOR

POST
AMPLIFIER COUPLER
COUPLER BIAS TEE DEVICE ISOLATOR

NOISE FIGURE MICROWAVE

METER RECEIVER
NOISE DIODE
• The noise figure F is given by:
F  10 log 

dB; where SNR and SNR are the
SNRi 
SNRo  i o

signal to noise ratios at the input and output of

the device or network.
• This measure is a figure of merit for noise
internally generated by the device.
The Friis formula for noise factor
• Friis's formula is used to calculate the total noise
factor of a cascade of stages, each with its own
noise factor and gain.
• The total noise factor can then be used to
calculate the total noise figure. F 1 F  1 F 1
• The total F F     ...
2 3 4

noise factor is given as: total

G G
1
G G G G
1 1 2 1 2 3

where Fn and Gn are the noise factor and

available power gain, respectively, of the nth
stage.
• Note that both magnitudes are expressed as
ratios, not in decibels.
• An important consequence of this formula is
that the overall noise figure of a radio receiver
is primarily established by the noise figure of
its first amplifying stage.
• Subsequent stages have a diminishing effect
on signal-to-noise ratio.
• For this reason, the first stage amplifier in a
receiver is often called the low-noise amplifier
(LNA).
• The overall receiver noise figure is then:
( Frest  1)
Freceiver  FLNA 
GLNA

Frest

• where is the overall noise factor of the

rest subsequent stages.
• AccordingF to the equation, the overall noise
receiver

figure, , is dominated by the noise

F LNA

figure of the LNA, , if the gain is

sufficiently high.
The Friis formula for noise
temperature
•Friis's formula can be equivalently
expressed in terms of noise
temperature: T T
Ttotal  T1  2
 3
 ...
G1 G1G2
• Conclusion
• In this section, Examples of passive components and their
general properties were discussed. Microwave frequency,
power and noise measurement techniques were also
highlighted and a typical Lab set-up was shown. Finally,
sources of noise in microwave circuits and how the Friis
formula can be employed to determine overall noise
factor of cascaded microwave systems was also discussed.
H/W. Q1. The characteristic impedances of three sections of
transmission lines are: Z  8030 0
1

Z 2  20450 
Z 3  75600 

 
The three sections are cascaded in a circuit between a signal
source and its load. Determine the section resistances R1, R2
and R3 respectively of the sections.
Calculate the total average rms value of the noise generated
by the sections given that the frequency of the source of
3GHz has deviation limits of ±1 Hz. The operational
temperature 23
is 20⁰C. Take the Boltzmann’s constant to be
1.38  10
J/K.
• Q2. The signal strength at the input of a radar receiver is
20dB and the corresponding input noise strength is 35dB.
At the output of the receiver, the signal, due to signal
processing, the signal strength improves to 56dB while
the noise strength is 26dB. Determine the noise figure of
the radar receiver.
• Q3. A resistor R, whose value is 75Ω is connected in an
electronic circuit operating with a frequency bandwidth of
500MHz and temperature of 21⁰C. Determine the thermal
noise generated by the resistor. Take the Boltzmann’s
constant to be 1.38 1023 J/K.
• Q4. A 0–3 kΩ rheostat is connected across the output of a
signal generator of internal resistance 500Ω. If a load of 2
kΩ is connected across the rheostat, determine the
insertion loss at a tapping of (a) 2 kΩ, (b) 1 kΩ.