Fundamentals of RF and Microwave Communications Engineering 2-Day Classroom Course

2019 Course Brochure

COURSE OVERVIEW This popular 2-day classroom course provides a thorough introduction to the fundamentals of modern radio frequency (RF), wireless and microwave communications engineering. The course begins by discussing basic RF characteristics, including electromagnetic waves, free-space propagation and transmission lines. Key terms deﬁned include RF power (dBm), characteristic impedance and S-parameters.

Modulation is then described, first fundamental concepts followed by increasingly complex but important methods such as QAM, CDMA and OFDM. The course then addresses a range of key RF and microwave system building blocks (mixers, oscillators, filters and power amplifiers etc.) describing and discussing their individual properties and how they combine to form complete RF and microwave systems.

The course concludes by deﬁning a range of important test and measurement terms and methods used to characterise RF component and system performance. This includes a series of practical demonstrations using the latest RF and microwave test and measurement instruments.

The course is delivered in partnership with leading test and measurement equipment manufacturer Rohde & Schwarz at their UK ofﬁce in Fleet. Throughout the course, there will be plenty of opportunities to ask the instructor questions to help clarify understanding.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN Understand the basic characteristics of RF and microwaves Describe different types of transmission line and their characteristics Understand the fundamentals of RF propagation Understand modulation and different modulation methods Describe various components used in RF communications systems Explain the basic characteristics of RF and wireless transceiver systems Deﬁne common terms used to characterise RF and wireless systems Understand how to perform a range of basic RF and wireless measurements

TARGET AUDIENCE RF, Wireless and Microwave Engineers RF, Wireless and Microwave Technicians New Starters Recent Graduates Production Staff Technical Managers

This technical course is aimed primarily at engineers, technicians and technical managers working in research and development (R&D), design, manufacturing test and production environments in the RF, wireless and microwave communications industry. The course is suitable for recent graduates or more experienced engineers moving into the RF and wireless electronics, who need to quickly get up-to-speed with modern high-frequency communications.

Experienced RF and wireless engineers and technicians with knowledge gaps will also ﬁnd the course beneﬁcial, as well as technical managers working in an RF and wireless communications environment, who wish to improve their understanding of modern RF and wireless communications in order to better manage technical teams.

COURSE CURRICULUM Deﬁnition of RF and Microwaves Transmission Lines RF and Microwave Propagation Modulation Fundamentals System Components System Architectures RF and Microwave Test and Measurement Receiver and Transmitter Measurements Practical Measurement Demonstrations

PREREQUISITES Although there are no formal prerequisites for this course, an ability to absorb and understand technical concepts is essential together with a desire to learn more about the topics covered. A technical background is desirable in order to derive maximum beneﬁt from the course.

Those taking the course would normally be qualiﬁed to degree-level or have equivalent experience in an engineering, physics or mathematics-related subject. If you are unsure about the technical level of the course then either click here to complete the contact form or call our ofﬁce on +44 (0)1962 920 123.

WHAT’S INCLUDED? Class tuition by industry expert with 30+ years of experience Full-colour printed course notes including all presentation slides

Morning and afternoon refreshments and buffet lunches High-quality printed Certiﬁcate of Attendance

COURSE FEE £1125 + £225 VAT = £1350 GBP per person

COURSE DATES Click here to view the latest scheduled course dates.

COURSE LOCATION The course will be held in a modern, well-equipped conference room at Rohde & Schwarz UK. Rohde & Schwarz UK, Ancells Business Park, Fleet, Hampshire, GU51 2UZ, UK

COURSE CONTENT What is RF? Definition of RF and microwaves Electromagnetic frequency spectrum Attenuation of EM waves by the atmosphere Frequency allocations Microwave frequency bands Distributed not lumped elements Electric fields Magnetic fields Electromagnetic radiation Overview of Maxwell’s equations Plane wave fields RF wave characteristics – amplitude, frequency, wavelength etc. Units of power, dB and dBm Watts and dBm History of RF Transmitting and receiving antennas Marconi’s receiver Timeline of wireless communications development Safety issues: Exposure and SAR limits

Transmission Lines Transmission line basics Transmission line characteristic impedance Types of transmission line – coaxial, stripline, microstrip etc. Power transfer efﬁciency Reﬂection and transmission of pulses Transmission line terminated in characteristic impedance

Transmission line terminated in open and short circuit Transmission line terminated in 25 Ω High-frequency device characterisation Reflection parameters – reflection coefficients return loss, VSWR Transmission parameters – transmission coefficient, insertion loss, gain S-parameters Introduction to the Smith chart Phase velocity Group velocity Dispersion

RF Propagation Harnessing wireless propagation Wireless channel characteristics Free space propagation and attenuation of free space Satellite RF communications Satellite downlink power budget Terrestrial propagation Two-ray model for predicting terrestrial propagation Including multipath effects Propagation delay and delay spread Multipath propagation mechanisms Reﬂected paths and Gaussian statistics Measured indoor propagation Frequency-dependent fading Link budget elements and calculation

Modulation Fundamentals It’s a digital world The communications model What is modulation exactly? Modulation Demodulation Digital communications transceiver Digital modulation principles Digital representation - ones and zeros The sampling process How fast do I sample? Effect of undersampling Quantisation Quantisation noise Simple communications example The Bit Error Rate (BER) function

Forward error correction (FEC) Pulse shaping – bandwidth and ISI Simple pulse ﬁltering example Raised cosine example Raised cosine pulses Bits and symbols Signal vector representation Making a modulated carrier Carrier signal changes: IQ representation Constellation and eye diagrams Signal and noise power, energy per bit etc. Shannon's capacity formula Linear modulation schemes M-ary PSK QPSK and OQPSK 8-PSK and π/4-QPSK EDGE modulation M-ary QAM 16-QAM, 32-QAM and 64-QAM Non-linear modulation schemes FSK Filtered FSK MSK modulation GMSK modulation OFDM and OFDM concept OFDM transmitter signal generation 802.11a modulator block diagram spread spectrum Long Term Evolution (LTE): 2-D time and frequency grid Digital terrestrial broadcast – DVB-T/-H Spread spectrum CDMA: How it works Chip rate and spreading factor Multiple access techniques Uplink and downlink separation: FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, SDMA

RF System Components Transmitter and receiver block diagram Transceiver building blocks Common RF system components Mixer Oscillator Attenuator Two-hole waveguide coupler

Directional coupler terminology Power ampliﬁer Diplexer/duplexer Isolator/circulator Low noise ampliﬁer (LNA) GPS receiver LNA example Filters Modulator/demodulator Diode detectors Antennas Types of RF antenna Antenna terms Effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) Polarization Antennas for portable products

RF System Architectures Bluetooth radio architecture Superheterodyne transceivers GSM–EDGE–UMTS multi-mode chipset LTE/3G MIMO transceiver Direct digitising transceivers

RF Test and Measurement Signal generators Power measurements RF voltage and power RF power measurement equipment Modulation characteristics Transient behaviour of diode detectors Modulation affects linearity correction Thermal detection of RF power Thermoelectric power detectors Transient behaviour of thermocouple sensors Wider dynamic range diode detection Example detector hardware Power spectral density measurements Vector network analysers (VNAs) Simple response calibration Two-port calibration S-parameters for balanced devices Balanced SAW ﬁlter example Group delay

AM-AM and AM-PM non-linearities Spectrum analysis Spectrum analysers Spectral regrowth Intermodulation distortion (IM3) Why does linearity matter? Two-tone intermodulation Definition: Adjacent channel power ACLR measurement 80 MHz spectrum emission mask Noise figure and noise figure measurement Vector signal analysers Definition: Error vector magnitude (EVM) Modulation accuracy – EVM Types of EVM measurement LTE eNB transmitted signal quality (EVM) EVM vs. time and frequency EVM specifications in practice EVM combination mechanisms EVM uncertainty guidelines

Receiver and Transmitter Measurements Transceiver test setup Bit error rate (BER) testing Receiver sensitivity Receiver blocking mechanisms Adjacent/alternate channel selectivity Spurious response measurements Power-time response Phase noise Effects of phase noise Constellations with phase noise

Practical Measurement Demonstrations* Spectrum analyser settings - resolution bandwidth, video bandwidth, attenuation, scaling Spectrum analyser measurements - channel power, occupied bandwidth, ACPR, intermods etc. Modulation demonstration - generation and analysis of different modulation types Vector network anlayser (VNA) setup and calibration techniques VNA frequency sweeps - return loss, VSWR VNA S-parameters Insertion loss, group delay Power ampliﬁer sweeps - compression and AM-PM measurement

* Demonstrated measurements may vary slightly depending on test equipment availability and installed feature sets. There will be opportunities during the course for hands-on time with test equipment under expert guidance from the course instructor.

Please note that minor changes may be made to course content based on delegate feedback, continuous improvement and technological developments.

ABOUT US The Technology Academy was established in 2007 as a private UK company specialising in the development and delivery of instructor-led and online RF, wireless, digital TV and broadcast technology training courses to meet the continuing professional development needs of individuals and companies developing innovative technology products and services. All of our courses are taught by leading technical experts drawn from industry and academia with many years of experience in their specialist ﬁelds. Courses are delivered throughout the UK, Europe and Rest of the World. We are a training partner of Rohde & Schwarz UK, who support courses by providing the latest test and measurement equipment for practical demonstrations.

OUR INSTRUCTORS As experts in their respective ﬁelds, our instructors and advisors are carefully selected from leading technology companies and universities for their comprehensive knowledge of the subject matter. In addition to expert subject knowledge, each instructor has demonstrated the ability to translate complex technical theory into practical, understandable and relevant concepts and teach to a professional audience in an effective, lively and enthusiastic manner. All instructors know the subject matter intimately and are able to expand on all course topics as and when required, emphasising key concepts with suitable analogies and practical examples.

TERMS & CONDITIONS We encourage you to read our full Terms and Conditions, which cover important issues like payment and cancellation policies.

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ANY QUESTIONS? Please click here and complete the contact form or call our ofﬁce on +44 (0)1962 920 123.

Delivered in partnership with leading test equipment manufacturer Rohde & Schwarz.

E&OE.